NY Sushi Bar Drops the Convoluted Practice of Tipping

[Russell]

...my customer grabs the cigarette from the guy, puts it out, and (in English) says "so is being considerate of others...I thought Japan was all about keeping the Wa?"

If someone had done that to me as a smoker, I would have swung a punch (and probably ended up getting the shit beaten out of me because I'm as weak as piss, but...)

But if he would have been a big Russian guy shouting in Russian to you, would you still have punched him?

Now imagine how the Japanese guy felt...

[Samurai_Jerk]

...my customer grabs the cigarette from the guy, puts it out, and (in English) says "so is being considerate of others...I thought Japan was all about keeping the Wa?"

If someone had done that to me as a smoker, I would have swung a punch (and probably ended up getting the shit beaten out of me because I'm as weak as piss, but...)

Yeah, someone ought to put that guy's teeth in the back of his throat. If you're sitting a a restaurant that allows smoking, you have no right to say shit to anybody. Don't fucking go if you don't want to be around smokers. It's pretty fucking simple.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

...my customer grabs the cigarette from the guy, puts it out, and (in English) says "so is being considerate of others...I thought Japan was all about keeping the Wa?"

If someone had done that to me as a smoker, I would have swung a punch (and probably ended up getting the shit beaten out of me because I'm as weak as piss, but...)

But if he would have been a big Russian guy shouting in Russian to you, would you still have punched him?

Now imagine how the Japanese guy felt...

I'm going to lose if I fight no matter who it is, so a big prick is probably better because it ends quicker.
I'm willing to bet that choko's Merkin mate only had a go at the Japanese bloke because he was smaller. It's fucking bullying. And non-smokers are often terrible bullies...mind you, smokers could be a lot politer. I didn't realize how annoying cigarette smoke is until I stopped, though, so I think many smokers don't understand how offensive the odor can be but are always on the defensive because they're constantly belittled and bullied.

[GomiGirl]

I didn't realize how annoying cigarette smoke is until I stopped, though, so I think many smokers don't understand how offensive the odor can be but are always on the defensive because they're constantly belittled and bullied.

Thank you!! This is a perfect summation of what it is like as an ex smoker.

I felt really bullied as well which made me more determined to be an arsehole and smoke more.

Now as a non-smoker, I realise how smelly it actually it and I am humbled and embarrassed of my former behaviour. Nobody likes to be told what to do, especially when you know they are right and you are wrong, but still the rebel in me always made me thumb my nose at it.

But having been there, I am the last person to tell a smoker not to smoke as I know it will have the opposite effect. I just move away now, quietly.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I didn't realize how annoying cigarette smoke is until I stopped, though, so I think many smokers don't understand how offensive the odor can be but are always on the defensive because they're constantly belittled and bullied.

Thank you!! This is a perfect summation of what it is like as an ex smoker.

I felt really bullied as well which made me more determined to be an arsehole and smoke more.

Now as a non-smoker, I realise how smelly it actually it and I am humbled and embarrassed of my former behaviour. Nobody likes to be told what to do, especially when you know they are right and you are wrong, but still the rebel in me always made me thumb my nose at it.

But having been there, I am the last person to tell a smoker not to smoke as I know it will have the opposite effect. I just move away now, quietly.

That is exactly what I do.
People forget that smoking is an addiction to nicotine. Addiction is a mental illness. People do not behave normally when something comes in front of their addiction, which probably explains why you felt determined to smoke more (and why you shouldn't be embarrassed).
In my experience, which is considerable, nothing compares to the psychosomatic hold of nicotine, except sugar.

[gaijinpunch]

Yeah, someone ought to put that guy's teeth in the back of his throat. If you're sitting a a restaurant that allows smoking, you have no right to say shit to anybody. Don't fucking go if you don't want to be around smokers. It's pretty fucking simple.

Which was why we told the establishment that their smoking section literally 1 cm from the opened up patio which ensured the smoke blew into the restaurant was fucking stupid. They offered for us to go to the back of the restaurant.... We're like, "Uh, no. You need to move your smoking section". We were almost done. Sorry, there's never an excuse to not point out how asinine someone or something is. I'm an ex-smoker and very lenient. I wouldn't tell anyone in a smoking section to not smoke. I will, however, point out a fundamental error in a restaurant's layout though. I realize TIJ and very little makes sense, but sometimes my gaijin-ness kicks in and I have to do someone a favor.

People forget that smoking is an addiction to nicotine.

The joke's on the smoker though in the end. The physical addiction of nicotine is basically non-existant in most smokers. Total mind over matter.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

The joke's on the smoker though in the end. The physical addiction of nicotine is basically non-existant in most smokers. Total mind over matter.

Mental or physical, it was no fucken joke for me....I've dealt a fair bit with all sorts of addictions and none have come close to affecting me the way nicotine has. I haven't been able to give up sugar and probably won't even try.

[Yokohammer]

Another ex-smoker here.

It's been around 25 years though.

I can happily hang and enjoy chatting with people who are smoking in a bar, for example. Doesn't bother me any more. But I hate it in restaurants when I'm trying to enjoy a meal. It's sort of a TPO thing for me.

[Samurai_Jerk]

...my customer grabs the cigarette from the guy, puts it out, and (in English) says "so is being considerate of others...I thought Japan was all about keeping the Wa?"

If someone had done that to me as a smoker, I would have swung a punch (and probably ended up getting the shit beaten out of me because I'm as weak as piss, but...)

But if he would have been a big Russian guy shouting in Russian to you, would you still have punched him?

Now imagine how the Japanese guy felt...

I'm willing to bet that choko's Merkin mate only had a go at the Japanese bloke because he was smaller.

Exactly. The guy's a fucking bitch.

[gaijinpunch]

The joke's on the smoker though in the end. The physical addiction of nicotine is basically non-existant in most smokers. Total mind over matter.

Mental or physical, it was no fucken joke for me....I've dealt a fair bit with all sorts of addictions and none have come close to affecting me the way nicotine has. I haven't been able to give up sugar and probably won't even try.

Same here -- I smoked a pack and a half a day for years... I quit in Japan, which was in and of itself another huge hurdle (amongst many) on the road to quitting. I smoked one first thing in the morning when I got up. However, I was never once awoken in the night with pangs, requiring a cigarette to put me back to sleep. My body functioned perfectly w/o nicotine, except for some mild anxiety. You can't say this of other chemicals. Heroin would be the extreme case, where withdrawal results in sweats, shakes, and vomiting. Many prescription drugs have very fast-acting physically addictive properties (ambien, for example) which are hard to ween off of.

[matsuki]

...my customer grabs the cigarette from the guy, puts it out, and (in English) says "so is being considerate of others...I thought Japan was all about keeping the Wa?"

If someone had done that to me as a smoker, I would have swung a punch (and probably ended up getting the shit beaten out of me because I'm as weak as piss, but...)

But if he would have been a big Russian guy shouting in Russian to you, would you still have punched him?

Now imagine how the Japanese guy felt...

I'm willing to bet that choko's Merkin mate only had a go at the Japanese bloke because he was smaller.

Exactly. The guy's a fucking bitch.

He's 70....he's not intimidating anyone on size, just hard as nails when he gets upset. (though the year before he verbally subdued a shithead racist into friendly submission and pathetic apology...was on a train and the grumpy asshole started telling us to fuck off because we were speaking English on the train and "THIS IS JAPAN")

Anyhow, the restaurant had no smoking section, it was just a free for all....so fine, you can smoke inside. The issue was more or less that in Japanese restaurants, sitting next to you is literally sitting next to you so lighting up when the guy next to you has just been served and is trying to eat (this was a restaurant, not a bar) is really fucking rude. Noone, even smokers, likes their food to taste like it was served in an ashtray. If we weren't eating or it was a bar, it wouldn't have been an issue. With all the alternatives there are out there now, I got no sympathy for nicotine addicts wanting to get their fix at the expense of others.

[Samurai_Jerk]

...my customer grabs the cigarette from the guy, puts it out, and (in English) says "so is being considerate of others...I thought Japan was all about keeping the Wa?"

If someone had done that to me as a smoker, I would have swung a punch (and probably ended up getting the shit beaten out of me because I'm as weak as piss, but...)

But if he would have been a big Russian guy shouting in Russian to you, would you still have punched him?

Now imagine how the Japanese guy felt...

I'm willing to bet that choko's Merkin mate only had a go at the Japanese bloke because he was smaller.

Exactly. The guy's a fucking bitch.

He's 70....he's not intimidating anyone on size, just hard as nails when he gets upset. (though the year before he verbally subdued a shithead racist into friendly submission and pathetic apology...was on a train and the grumpy asshole started telling us to fuck off because we were speaking English on the train and "THIS IS JAPAN")

Anyhow, the restaurant had no smoking section, it was just a free for all....so fine, you can smoke inside. The issue was more or less that in Japanese restaurants, sitting next to you is literally sitting next to you so lighting up when the guy next to you has just been served and is trying to eat (this was a restaurant, not a bar) is really fucking rude. Noone, even smokers, likes their food to taste like it was served in an ashtray. If we weren't eating or it was a bar, it wouldn't have been an issue. With all the alternatives there are out there now, I got no sympathy for nicotine addicts wanting to get their fix at the expense of others.

Why didn't the two of you try the alternatives? Typical fucking entitled gaijin. I would have spit in that old fucker's face.