i went to this club/lounge last night in sunnyvale. i can’t remember the name of it, but it was across the way from the forum. anyway, there was no cover for the place, but this organization was accepting donations to support the fight against cancer. sounds noble enought, right?

but the girl who explained what the cause is about and collected donations was too busy smoking outside the club to collect donations, holding up the line. then she explained to us, with smoke heavy on her breath about the cause.

she said something very articulate about fighting cancer and raising money for this organization, but all i heard was something like:

yeah, uhhh…i’m collecting money for the fight against cancer because, you know, cancer is bad. but uhhh, i’m going to smoke this cigarette, because, damn, it’s just so good. i mean, i know that smoking can cause cancer and i know that it’s bad and all, but i’m going to do it, anyway. that’s my right. and furthermore i’m going to raise money for organizations that fight cancer, because who wouldn’t want to fight cancer? it’s a bad thing, yo. i know cancer’s bad, i want money to fight that bad, but i’m going to invite the potential for that bad in my life too, because well…it’s just so damn good.

…

yes, cancer is a bad thing. yes, smoking isn’t the only cause of cancer. yes, i believe that there should be a fight against cancer. but ask me for donations for the fight against cancer when you so openly invite that risk into your life and it just seems wildly hypocritical to me. it inspires this anger from me because though you are doing a good thing, you are doing a bad thing for yourself…and it’s sad.

did it seem a little hypocritical that there was a crowd of organizers and/or their friends smoking outside? did it seems a little hypocritical that their smoke was wafting into the club forcing us to inhale their second hand smoke? all to help support an organization that fights cancer? just a little.

my aunt passed away after her fight with cancer. she did not smoke, nor did she live with anyone who did. she was a genuinely sweet woman and was one of the few adults that i grew up with who i felt i could talk to about anything. i believe that she had pancreatic cancer and in the past i’ve made donations to organziations like the american cancer society to aid in research to fight cancer. i believe in the cause. i believe that minimizing the suffering or abolishing the suffering through medical means is a worthy cause. she didn’t make a choice to put herself at higher risk than others. this just happened to her and i’m sorry that it did. i’m sorry that she had to go through so much suffering. it makes me sad and i wouldn’t want anyone to go through that.

now, maybe this makes me vengeful, but i believe that people should be responsible for their actions. if you are going to put yourself at risk, you should be prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. but don’t look to me to bail you out if you got yourself in a jam. you are your own person, you are fully capable of making your own decisions.

i didn’t make a contribution to the cause last night. it felt too much like bailing these people out. i don’t wish ill for them, i hope they all lead healthy, fruitful lives. and though i support the greater cause, i don’t support the way that these organizers were going about it.

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