I live in a country where smoking has generally been on the decline for a while now but even still I see thousands of cigarette butts in just about any public place. They litter the sides of the road, bus shelters, alleyways, outside clubs, bars and pubs, public toilets, park benches and just about everywhere else. Its even extending to disposable vapes now as well.
For the most part, where I live doesn’t have that much of other kinds of litter about and is generally clean. And most public bins and all smoking areas have ashtrays and dedicated cigarette bins so it wouldn’t be hard to dispose of them properly like any other piece of rubbish and even then there’s often cigarette butts within sight of the bins and ashtrays.
Why then do people have a completely different approach for cigarettes?
The fact that you’re thinking about others’ perspectives at all is a good sign. Sometimes, when I can’t understand the mindset of someone toxic and I get frustrated, I take a step back and consider what would happen if I did start thinking like them. The fact that it’s difficult to imagine goes to show that I’m wired against certain shitty mindsets. It sounds like you are, too.
In trying to understand others, you’re showing more thought and empathy than a lot of people bother to practice. It’s frustrating and can be confusing at times, but you’re not broken for being unable to view things through the eyes of someone that doesn’t care about doing the right thing.