Alternate title: …Geez. White people. Except, I don’t know if the Florida woman who enlisted county government in her ongoing neighborhood feud is white. One mustn’t stereotype. But my unabashedly knee-jerk sympathies aren’t with her:
For the record: I get neighborhood people BBQing in my face all the time. All. The. Time. They torture me with their brisket and their smokers and their I don’t know what that it even is but it smells so good… sorry, where was I? Oh, yes, BBQ smells. Yet another way to criminalize an activity that is made up of an entire set of perfectly legal activities.
I kind of feel sorry for big government enthusiasts in these kinds of situations, actually: it typically doesn’t end well when you’re being forced to argue things out to their logical conclusion. In this case: they’re all ready to embrace the principle of People shouldn’t have to smell other people’s stuff; they then duly sign off on There ought to be a law about that; and then they run right smack dab into the middle of And somebody just used that law to make the State harass people trying to grill some ribs. So I guess that you guys are happy about that now, right? No ribs, and people reporting on their neighbors. Sounds like the Left’s dream world. And they’re left sitting there, feebly going But I like ribs, while everybody looks at them with the usual weary distaste.
Which big government advocates totally deserve, because big government advocates never want to spend their valuable lifespan keeping track of all the new laws, decrees, pronouncements, executive orders, regulations, exemptions, and rules that they’re always advocating for. But many of them are not actually evil. Badly-educated and not prone to critical thinking*, but not evil. I can spare a little sympathy. A very little sympathy.
Via Florida Man! One of the greats of Twitter, he is.
Moe Lane
*My, but that kettle is certainly sooty.
PS: “That’s why I’m recording it, bro.” Smart move, Mr. BBQ guy. Smart move.
I had a neighbor like that, always smoking. So I did the proper response, I bought a smoker of my own. Why just in the last week I’ve smoked homemade racks of bacon, some pork loin into Canadian bacon, and smoked a roast to rare, which I then sliced thin and turned into some really, really good Italian beef. Think I’ll do a pork shoulder into some pulled pork tomorrow.
can i drop by your house on weekends?
Has a victor emerged from this dispute yet?
But Moe, can we not look up actual Pinellas County ordinance? Oh, we can!
.
Sec. 58-216. – Permitted open burning.
(a) A campfire or other fire will be allowed that is used solely for recreational purposes, for ceremonial occasions, for outdoor noncommercial preparation of food, or on cold days for warming of outdoor workers, as long as excessive visible emissions are not emitted.
I did a search for my county, and Lake County is completely silent on the matter of BBQ smoke emissions as far as I know. I can’t find much on the subject.
.
There is a ban on open burning of any kind, only when there is a drought. Which is, honestly, reasonable.
Ah, but it’s the ‘excessive’ that rose up and bit these people on the brisket. 🙂
He doesn’t cite 58-216. He’s citing a “nuisance” ordinance of some kind.
I can spot the public nuisance.
And it’s not the guy making supper.
I almost feel sorry for the Code Enforcement dude.
The “I’m just doing my job and not using my brain” guy? Not I.
Could just put a slice of tire on the barbie and go away for the afternoon