Understanding Public Space (My Take on "Smoking Areas")

For those of you who don't really know me, I have an avid love for sitting in open spaces.
Despite the heat, I much prefer outdoor seating. Unless it is unbearable, I will usually avoid air conditioned rooms and opt for the more eco-friendly options.

This stems from a variety of reasons:

Uno:
I don't like having to freeze my fingers in Malaysian weather. It don't make sense when it should be a no brainer that being in Malaysia entails the tropical weather that does not involve turning my fingers to icicles. No Elsas required here.

Dos:
I like the fresh air. When breezes come by, I'm appreciative. If it rains, even better. Out in the open sans recycled air, I can't help but feel more responsible to take care of the planet.

Tres:
I like to people watch. By sitting outside, I get to take in my surroundings, be it the calm hustle of the vehicles, the interaction of people that could inspire my next neuro connection, or just to zone out in daydream, watching static drives me mad.

Quatro:
No sound reverberation. Therefore, no catching unwanted attention from conversations I'm having with whoever is with me.

But unfortunately for me, I find myself in a unpleasant place when I become the recipient of second hand smoke. Despite having picked up smoking for a very short-lived time span, I always saw to it that I would keep my smoke away from others. And in the occasions that I wanted to smoke, I'd look around (and even up when I am in close vicinity to higher buildings with open windows) to stand in a way that will not affect unsuspecting second hand smoker victims.

My smoking days are long gone, but since, I've become even more sensitive to cigarette smoke. This fact comes as rather surprising taking into account that one of my favorite places to go when in Korea was a nightclub, where everyone was like a waking chimney, spewing clouds of evaporated ash in my face and into my lungs. Funnier, is the fact that I ended up gaining employment at said club.

Working there was pretty cool. I must say the experience has been invaluable to me to say the least, but walking home at wee hours in the morning in a thick coat of smoke is one thing. Despite the delectable smelling shampoo conditioner combo, my hair post shower still smells strongly of smoke is another. 

So it goes without saying that I am not a fan of second hand smoke. Beyond that, is when I take a seat on an outdoor setting, only to see waves of humans coming next to me and exhaling second hand smoke. It's not the smoking I have a problem with. It is the direction in which the exhaled smoke goes.. in the general direction of my face.

In many occasions when I am vocal about it with my friends who are sitting outside with me, they tell me something around the lines of..

Kim, the outside IS smoking area. 

While yes, lots of people do go outside to enjoy a smoke because most people prefer sitting on the inside where the air-conditioning in the heat, there is a small but present handful of people that ARE outside enjoying the non air-conditioned indoors.

Being on the outside, be it on a beautiful veranda of a cafe, or at a high table at the entrance facing the main road, outside space is meant to be shared. Whether or not you're smoking, it's a public space to be used by all. I like to equate getting undesired second hand smoke in my face (as a result of choosing outdoor seating) with a stranger asking your personal questions in your face out of no where. Take for example, you're outside, waiting for a friend to arrive, or having a really intimate moment of listening to your friend pour their upset heart out, when suddenly, a random person comes up to your ears, and starts asking your personal questions. Granted, smoke not as intense. However, to those who do not smoke for various, valid reasons, but being given an unrequested and unwelcome gesture can get under one's skin. Especially when it keeps happening in various places in one day.

I believe that we're all aware of the dangers of smoking, and those who still do so have their reasoning. Thus, I do not condemn those who do. (Though frankly, I do wish that they re-evaluate their choice. As the health effects of smoking will in turn bring a lot of pain to those they love, I do hope that they'll re-evaluate the worth of smoking.) However, I think it's important that those who do are considerate of the people who also want to enjoy the open without the scent of recycled cigarette smoke.

Update: #TurkishAirlinesSaveSomalia

So a couple posts ago, I talked about how famous social media funny man Jerome Jarre posted a video to start a campaign to get supplies to Somalia.

What happened?

A six-year old girl died from dehydration after walking 150 kilometers in search of water with her mother.

Enraged by that situation, he started a campaign with #TurkishAirlinesSaveSomalia.

A handful of celebs have come forth in support of the campaign.

And….

YAY!

Turkish Airlines has come forth with a pledge!

On March 27^th, their GoFundMe page raised a hefty sum of donations and have already started their shipment of both passengers and 60 tonnes of food which include rice, cooking oil, porridge (I am guessing the oatmeal kind), nutritional biscuits, flour, and sugar. They’ve also promised that they will not stop at just that.

On the GoFundMe page is an excited exclamation

Not only they are making available a full cargo flight that can fly 60 TONS OF FOOD, but they agreed to let us ship food containers on their commercial aircraft to Somalia, UNTIL THE END OF THE FAMINE !!!

Jerome Jarre has also offered thanks to every single person who donated.

INTERNET YOU DID IT !!! 💪

WE HAVE AN AIRPLANE & WE HAVE FOOD !!!

WHAT IF WE COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING?

➡️ #NominatedForSomalia 🚨 pic.twitter.com/lIDq5geWV9

— JÉRÔME JARRE (@jeromejarre) March 19, 2017

Actor Ben Stiller has also offered his charity StillerFoundation to manage the funds, and also to ensure transparency of the funds.

Ah, humanity has been restored.. just a little. 

Have a fantabulous weekend guys! 

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What YouTube's Restricted Access Has Taught Me

Not too long ago, YouTube created a Restricted Mode with aims of limiting child access to certain videos has caused an uproar.
A good friend and LGBTQIA+ YouTuber posted on their Instagram about the restriction and was definitely displeased about the news. As an advocate, ally, and member of the community, they were upset that YouTube made the decision to restrict their videos to not only those within the community, but as a means of creating dialogue with those who have varying understanding of the community, and to educate and encourage those who are struggling with their own understanding about themselves.

Lots of content creators have found their content unrightfully removed; videos that educate/ help were taken down to appease some,

while those that have innuendos were not..

(Singer sisters Tegan & Sara put it so poignantly...)

It comes with no surprise to say the least, that the huge uproar has resulted in YouTube coming forward with new statements regarding the issue:

"We recognise that some videos are incorrectly labelled by our automated system and we realise it's very important to get this right. We're working hard to make some improvements"

So it got me thinking 

about censorship, especially in Malaysia where I am now located, and have spent most of my living breathing life in..
In retrospect, listening to the radio (which consisted solely of English radio broadcasts), most of what comes to mind is a lot of mainstream music that would blare on the speakers of the car speakers. And there would be some songs that I would sing and then somewhere somehow when a specific word was originally in that song, would be just the sound of..

BLANK.

Those in Malaysia would know what I mean. You'd be listening to a song and then mid verse, a pause where a word is supposed to be. Sometimes if there are a few, you'd just hear pauses one after another.
So teenage me would go...

"I kissed a *blank* and I liked iiiiit. Taste of her cherry chapstickkkkk"

Ah, naivette times.

Anyway, back on topic.. from my memory, anything related to sex or anything "abnormal" including anything LGBT related, or profanities, would be blanked out like that. Then, as time went by, something as simple as "Hail Mary" and "Jesus" would be blanked. I've not heard the word "Buddha" get censored thus far, but I'm curious to see if that would happen.
Since my return from Korea, I've had the privilege of listening to songs that have been warped into some funky inaudible language with the aim of censoring profanities/vulgarities.

ONE:

Censoring is one way of preventing the youth from the misuse of profanities, bullying, and violent behavior. But in my opinion, it does nothing to actually ensure the prevention of disrespectful/degrading behavior. Quality education and upbringing is. This takes me back to a conversation I once had with my neighbor about using profanities. He told me that profanities when used appropriately, can help further emphasize the meaning of what is being said.

Example:

I'm so hungry.

I'm so fucking hungry. 

He told me that as a kid, his dad had explained to him that profanities are also part of one's vocabulary. They are alright when used to accurately reflect one's thoughts, that he could use it ANYTIME. Except for one: on others. If used to degrade someone else, then the meaning has been misused and misunderstood.

Going back to the issue of LGBTQ censorship, I don't think that YouTube made right by creating the censorship. What I think should be corrected is the way we educate our children, to teach acceptance, respect, and love. Not to preach discrimination, anger, violence, and hate.

Looking at the education I had growing up (in Malaysia), our education system still has a long long way to go. If Moral Studies involves children and teens WRITING DOWN the CORRECT moral "value" of a situation, while forcing students of varying faiths to eat in the bathrooms, away from those who are fasting, then we are preventing our own growth and progress through oppression and censorship.

In sum: a quality education is one where the learner is taught how to be critical on themselves, and not projecting one's negativity on others


TWO:

Censorship to a certain extent is healthy. Especially when it comes to shielding sexual activities such as pornography from young children. As children, they should do what one does in childhood. That is to play, interact, and see the world through play, experience, and exploration. Getting out and about, in the fields, mud, planes, boats, playgrounds. Through their exploration is where they will have questions, where we, those with our unique experiences as grown ups, shed light through our own experiences.

LGBTQIA+ videos for the most part are made with the hopes of providing guidance, encouragement, and support to those who have questions. Regardless if you're in or out of the community. Their aims are never to place harm on others. Granted, there ARE a small handful who do not do so, but even those do not deserve censorship. Not only because there should be freedom of speech, but also to create a hate speech dialogue to build each other up.

In sum: Let children do what they do best, have fun. Censorship can be healthy if it gives children the space to go out and learn through interaction and exploration, to prep them for life, not to control and oppress.




As an avid user of YouTube, as I am sure many of us are, I am disappointed to say the least at YouTube's decision. But I am also hopeful that we can all come out and voice our frustration that is respectful and one that encourages us to take a step back to listen and to be listened to. As for the radio waves here in my home country, I also think that we should start rethinking the meaning of censorship and the roles we play as a society and a community.

Are we teaching children to think, or have we become numb to the "education" that aims to teach us how to obey and memorize moral values instead of applying them in our daily lives?