'I fought the war, but the war won'

After a girls' night out, where I stuffed myself with well deserved lobster, given I swam like a Sharks survivor for 20min, it was time to test the fuzzy feeling left by the dessert wine Vin Santo. I must stay I got the buzz, with red cheeks and easy smiles, and a warm feeling of time wisely spent.

Unfortunately my route was troubled by public transport and its users. I was peacefully digesting my giant load of food, when some stereotypical kid in hoodie, baggy pants and arrogant way of walking got in the coach, stood next to me near the door, finished rolling up his herbs, lit it up, took a puff and exhale the disgusting smell of hash...well, in my head I was cursing his unconceived descendants (ie wishing for his low fertility), while wishing for his puff to choke him. So in my sweetest voice, I said:
-'excuse me, could you please turn that off. I am allergic'
I was almost hoping he was blind to not see the big red non smoking sign all over the carriage. Or maybe he didn't understand English? But then this punk asnwered while trying to shamefully extinguish his poison.
-'you should have stopped me before I lit it up'

Maybe I should have just taken the whole think and extinguished it with my foot. So I told him he knows he shouldn't be smoking in the tube anyway. To that he mumbled something about being 'strict'...really, I could have mumbled something about 'respect'. But I was most amazed noone else actually reacted when he lit up that cigarette!

At the next stop, some people got off at the station so some seats became vacant, so I put some distance between myself and the 'may he die painfully' kid. And sure enough, he lit up his thing again! And once more, noone among the 30 people in the carriage said nothing. So I got up and left the damn carriage!

Maybe I am making a big deal of this, but it is not a good sign when noone other than my 1m50 person to stand up to a kid disturbing your well being in a public transportation.

I well remember that proverb we put in school for a cultural event:'it takes a village to raise a kid'..well this community I am living in is not raising the kids very well...