Still think it protects the worker? Bad enforcement of smoking ban can get people FIRED

Despite my virulent (some might say violent) opposition to the city of Santa Fe's utterly draconian no-smoking law, I can tell you that I have been vigilant in complying with it. In fact, I have mostly just STOPPED GOING OUT at all, and while my six pints every other night probably isn't having an impact on anyone's bottom line, I will admit I *have* become much less gracious about not smoking in places where it is permitted.

Case in point: Last weekend I attended the Violent Femmes concert at Paolo Soleri, and lit up a smoke while waiting for the band. Some lame-ass Baby Boomer chick behind me had the fucking gall to say, "Oh please, put that out. I can't stand cigarette smoke." Whereupon I stood up and said, (loud. Real loud.) "If you can't stand cigarette smoke, why don't you go LIVE IN A BOX? And don't plan a trip to Mexico, South America or Europe, you fucking whiner," before leaving the area.

Back in the day before the ban, I might've been really polite about it. But hey, these people have the law on their side, so all I can say is "GET YOUR LAWS OFF MY FUCKING BODY." Today's experience at the La Posada, however, really takes the cake for what a fucked up law this is and what a ridiculous time businesses are having with implementing it.

This afternoon, after my day gig, I went over to the La Posada to have some iced tea and write in my journal. This is a fairly routine ritual for me, though one I haven't engaged in since the Ban, since I don't go out anymore, other than to Fatso's, who are circumventing the law on their outdoor patio. But I went to LaPo because I like to hide there, and when I really have something to do on a bright clear day, I could, I reasoned (mistakenly) that I could just go out to the patio and smoke when I needed to.

After a half hour of writing in the bar, I stepped outside. I made a mental note of how far 25 feet from the door was, and saw another smoker sitting at a table. That must be the line, I thought, accepting a light from him and walking even further away to talk to a friend from out of state on my cell phone.

I was meandering around the outdoor water fountain when I heard, then saw, a woman racing up to me, shouting, "No smoking in Santa Fe! No smoking in Santa Fe!" I was stunned, to say the least, then heard my friend say, "Is someone telling you you can't smoke outside? What the fuck?" I started to tell my friend there was this new law, and then this chick grabbed me and dragged me a good fifteen feet across the patio. "What the fuck?"

I hung up my phone. "What is this?" The woman told me it wasn't her fault, it was a new law, I could only smoke at this one table and I had to stand there and be a happy smoker. I was just stunned. I had absolutely no idea who she was, could only assume that she was a drunk patron on a power trip, some friend of Patti Bushee's out to use the law to harass me unnecessarily. She pointed to the other guy and told him to go over to my table, and I just stood there as she went back inside, retrieved an ashtray, and came back, telling me, "If you want to complain, go to www.rockresorts.com, which I recognized as the parent company for the La Posada. "They haven't implemented a meaningful policy so you can imaginet the kind of shit I've had to take for this."

And that was when I realized that this woman works for La Posada. So this psycho trip was some kind of business-sanctioned intervention on my person on behalf of the hotel? Clearly, it was time for me to leave and never come back.

"You're a rude disrespectful bitch," I said to her as I stormed off the patio and into the bar to retrieve my laptop. "And you had absolutely no right to touch me."

I could feel a pile of righteous anger gearing up inside me and I just *knew* I had to get the hell out of there before I got really actively mad. Why the hell wasn't I told what the hell the goddamn policy in any other way but that? Unbelievable that I would be treated like a fucking criminal for smoking a cigarette. I am a grownup. As a teenager, no one pulled that kind of shit on me, and I'm thinking, I'm in khakis, I hold a regular job, I am a respected member of this community, I am an arts journalist, I write about the stuff that people come here to see, and this woman thinks it's perfectly okay to treat me like a pile of garbage because I smoke.

Thank you, Patti Bushee - and the rest of you cowards on the City Council. Thanks a whole hell of a lot.

On my way out, bar manager Don McCoss, whom I'd seen around before, asked if there was a problem, but I just said, "This is absolutely fucking outrageous and I have to leave." And I did. And as soon as I was in my car, I broke another one of Santa Fe's bullshit laws and immediately got on my cell-phone and dialed 411. I felt utterly assaulted - by this woman, by the La Posada, and by this law, that is designed, they say, to *protect* workers (many many many of whom smoke themselves) and absolutely eliminate smoking within 25 feet of everything.

I called the Manager on Duty and filed a formal complaint. I threatened a lawsuit for assault, and actually meant it for a few hours. It didn't help any when I was told she was suspended - yeah, this chick sucks, and she's crazy and she never should've touched me, but what I really want from this incident is this:

The La Posada - and every other bar and restaurant in this city - needs to have a clearly stated policy, in writing, posted outside their establishment, insofar as where smokers can smoke. No more ambiguity. If, as in the case with the La Posada, that the proximity of the bar makes it impossible for smokers to leave the premises to smoke and smoking isn't permitted on the premises, then that needs to be clearly stated AND PUBLICIZED. If the whole place is non-smoking, then I want to know that before I enter the building - because I just won't. I won't buy a drink, I won't waste my time, and I won't pretend that I can just have one over here, because I'll be at home enjoying a drink and a smoke by myself.

Right now, this law is no big deal because it's July. But just you wait until the tourists are gone and it's February - you think I'm going to go out and drink expensive alcohol in bars when no one welcomes me or treats me like that?

If the La Posada is unwilling and unable to post these guidelines in a clearly marked place, then your problem isn't with me - it's with the City Council. And maybe you should think about all the tips that the saintly "workers" that Bushee and Co. are trying to protect are going to lose because this law is wrong and should be contested strongly by the business owners of this city. Including the La Posada.

She never should've touched me and it doesn't matter why she did. But run-ins like that stemming from a behaviour that has only recently been criminalized can only be the result of poor poor planning on your part. And politically motivated poor planning on the part of the city. Which doesn't surprise me in the least.