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Look at how Europe introduces young people to alcohol - many young people drink a beer or a glass of wine responsibly with their families for dinner from a fairly young age. People are taught moderation.
In this country, drinking is outright prohibited until 21. Get caught and you face legal action. Is a 20 year old drinking a beer at a ball game really a criminal matter? By prohibiting drinking, we encourage young people to take unnecessary risks. Once people get access to it, they're like kids in a candy store and many go to excess - the woohoo drinkers. If an old guy is seen frequently stumbling out of a bar in NYC, boards the subway, then wets himself, is that really a criminal matter? He'd get charged with public drunkenness, but it's really a medical/health issue in treating the alcoholism.
Europeans also drink more per capita, but tend to have fewer problems out of it.
If someone drinks at home, frequently but responsibly, that person is treated like a bum wino. If someone goes out and hits the clubs or bars every weekend, they're a party animal. Most drinking in society is viewed irresponsibly, and while drinking can certainly be irresponsible, I think the perception is much worse than the drinking itself.
Look at our homegrown religions and denominations in country. Mormonism outright prohibits drinking. The Southern Baptist Convention certainly doesn't like it either. Lutherans and Catholics tend to be more tolerant of drinking.
I wish European attitude(s) to drinking were adopted here. Rid ourselves of the forbidden fruit syndrome (that goes for some other drugs as well) and encourage socially uplifting intoxication--to the extent that such a thing exists, it exists there, not here.
I wish European attitude(s) to drinking were adopted here. Rid ourselves of the forbidden fruit syndrome (that goes for some other drugs as well) and encourage socially uplifting intoxication--to the extent that such a thing exists, it exists there, not here.
The fact that you desire and abuse something bc it is "forbidden" is less a symptom of it being forbidden and more a symptom of immaturity and lack of guidance.
Plenty of kids never touched alcohol or abstained from sex and never turned into binging wh*res the minute they were left to their own devices. It is called having goals, discipline, and self-respect.
A few years ago I would get to that level every once in a while, and it all depended on who I was hanging out with. I'm a happy drinker. I like to stir up people into having a good time.. I would be the one splashing in the fountain outside of the bar..
Now, I really don't go out as much, and don't miss it. I've been there, done that..
Sitting around a campfire with a couple beers is my kind of good time now..
I wish European attitude(s) to drinking were adopted here. Rid ourselves of the forbidden fruit syndrome (that goes for some other drugs as well) and encourage socially uplifting intoxication--to the extent that such a thing exists, it exists there, not here.
Totally agreed. Legalized, regulated, and responsible regulations removes middle-men like drug dealers and ensures things are safe.
I don't hang out with people like that. They're annoying as ****. Even my friends who are alcoholics don't act like that. We'll get loud on occasion, but it's usually because there's a heated debate going on. O
"Woohoo" drunks are looking for attention and self-aggrandizement, and it all traces back to their insecurities if they're over the age of 25, imho. I like to hang with adults.
Bingo. I remember my first beer too, but some people never grow up.
I wish European attitude(s) to drinking were adopted here. Rid ourselves of the forbidden fruit syndrome (that goes for some other drugs as well) and encourage socially uplifting intoxication--to the extent that such a thing exists, it exists there, not here.
I want to agree with you, but how exactly would anyone quantify "socially uplifting" as it applies to alcohol intoxication?
Why do so many Americans (and yes, I would also say Canadians, Australians, Germans, Brits, New Zealanders and many in Eastern Europe and Russia) receive rowdy drunkenness in certain social settings more leniently compared to, I guess as a European example, France. It's only the French who I've personally heard to frown on excessive displays of intoxication similar to those one may encounter elsewhere in Europe or in North America. I think maybe people in the Nordic countries might frown on it as well, but I'm not altogether certain about that.
And depending on where you live in the U.S., alcohol is definitely not a "forbidden fruit". I don't know if you're familiar with the interior West, especially the sparsely populated northern areas, but if you are, then you might know what I mean.
I want to agree with you, but how exactly would anyone quantify "socially uplifting" as it applies to alcohol intoxication?
Why do so many Americans (and yes, I would also say Canadians, Australians, Germans, Brits, New Zealanders and many in Eastern Europe and Russia) receive rowdy drunkenness in certain social settings more leniently compared to, I guess as a European example, France. It's only the French who I've personally heard to frown on excessive displays of intoxication similar to those one may encounter elsewhere in Europe or in North America. I think maybe people in the Nordic countries might frown on it as well, but I'm not altogether certain about that.
And depending on where you live in the U.S., alcohol is definitely not a "forbidden fruit". I don't know if you're familiar with the interior West, especially the sparsely populated northern areas, but if you are, then you might know what I mean.
I lived in Iowa for a year and I had never seen so much boozing anywhere in my life. It was common for coworkers to knock back a couple at lunch (skywalk from our office had stop offs in several bars) then go back out in the evening. Bars wouldn't cut you off or even call the police unless you were belligerent - they'd just call a cab to take you home.
In east TN, places cut you off quick and drinking is much less acceptable due to the Baptist influence
Here's a question I have regarding drinking, I suppose it works in this forum.
While this forum is talking about woo hoo drinkers, I have noticed another drinking phenomenon I find strange. Why do so many people focus so much on drinking when they are at a social gathering? I've noticed some people who seem to be very focused on the amount I drink at a social gathering. For example, I was at a party this summer and at least three different times I had the same person ask why I didn't have a drink in my hand. At another party later on this summer this same person commented that I didn't have a drink in my hand when I had just arrived and had not even put my jacket down. Later on I had someone else ask me if I was "beered out" when I had finished a drink and had been all of ten minutes without a drink. And I can't count how many times I've been at bars (when I used to go to them much more often than I do now) and people would comment why I was drinking so slowly. To me the kind of behavior these people are talking about binge drinking which seems like alcoholic behavior to me.
I get that some of this is a joke and some could be considered hospitable, but I've never understood why people focus so much on the amount of booze someone drinks. I guess I just don't pay that much attention to how much someone drinks when I'm in a social gathering and just prefer to socialize with people.
Here's a question I have regarding drinking, I suppose it works in this forum.
While this forum is talking about woo hoo drinkers, I have noticed another drinking phenomenon I find strange. Why do so many people focus so much on drinking when they are at a social gathering? I've noticed some people who seem to be very focused on the amount I drink at a social gathering. For example, I was at a party this summer and at least three different times I had the same person ask why I didn't have a drink in my hand. At another party later on this summer this same person commented that I didn't have a drink in my hand when I had just arrived and had not even put my jacket down. Later on I had someone else ask me if I was "beered out" when I had finished a drink and had been all of ten minutes without a drink. And I can't count how many times I've been at bars (when I used to go to them much more often than I do now) and people would comment why I was drinking so slowly. To me the kind of behavior these people are talking about binge drinking which seems like alcoholic behavior to me.
I get that some of this is a joke and some could be considered hospitable, but I've never understood why people focus so much on the amount of booze someone drinks. I guess I just don't pay that much attention to how much someone drinks when I'm in a social gathering and just prefer to socialize with people.
Anyone else ever noticed this kind of behavior?
I'd say these people are a bit defensive, and possibly borderline or full-blown alcoholics.
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