In this week’s magazine ‘The Commentator’, F2C Chairman Dave Atherton has written a thoughtful article on the plight of Shisha bars and their customers under the smoking ban, called ‘Multiculturalism we all might enjoy, but they won’t let us’.
The article is here.
He argues that:
the state has no right whatsoever to dictate legal activities on private property. It is particularly galling with a shisha bar, as that product is the sole raison d’être of the given business. If you don’t like smoke, they are easily avoided. The vast majority do not serve alcohol, so little trouble is associated with them. Broadly speaking, they can also serve as a point of supervised, social contact for younger individuals (particularly younger Muslims) who may not have taken to the binge-drinking culture.
There are some remarkably un-libertarian comments following his article, ranging from the facile comment that Muslims get away with it (no they don’t – if you read Dave’s article over £20,000 in fines have been imposed on shisha bars in Manchester alone, and in other towns and cities shisha bars have been forcibly closed down), to the following outburst from someone who obviously hasn’t grasped the concept of freedom to choose:
Oh come on! Why do you have to choose this bit of freedom to defend!?! Big government is encroaching our our freedom and you decide to take a stand ON SHISHA? Why do you have to choose something that induces cancer? Oh sure its better than cigarettes but that doesn’t mean its good.
If you’re going to attack big government can’t you defend something worth the effort like freedom of the press or do an article about the Rotherham case.
Hmm. With liberty-loving ‘friends’ like that, F2C wonders who is the enemy?