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As long as these people don't drink and drive I'm fine in watching the train wreck.
It's their problem and their fault they haven't sought out and succeeded in sobriety.
It's was my biological father's fault he didn't either.
He died at age 49 of cancer of the esophagus brought about by alcohol abuse.
He deserved to die just as these people do if they don't reach out for help.
Thank God I was sheltered by my adoptive mother from his idiocy.
Seeking out help to stop drinking is the first step in turning your life around.
I watched my father deteriorate into the depths of his own personal hell.
While he was hospitalized I went into his house and stripped him of his money and his Rolex.
They would have been sold anyway to buy more liquor.
I considered them mine anyway for the embarrassment of being related to him.
If you are such a weakling as to not do so you deserve the alination of your family, friends and ultimately your death.
So, what would you have us do? Outlaw it and make criminals out of just about everyone?
No, not at all. I can see, however, that you or anyone else could have that knee-jerk type reaction to my original post. Actually, prohibition would be a failure.
What should probably take place, to curb Americans' alcohol abuse (that means "binge" drinking), is less acceptance of it. If there were truth in advertising, for example, maybe Americans would drink a little less or not drink to get drunk (which is "binge" drinking). Instead of the silver bullet lighting up your night, maybe a truthful advert would say "hey, if you drink like 10 of these within 2 hours, you might accidentally cut your finger off on your table saw and end up in the emergency room." Yes, I know there are the fine-print warnings on the commercials, but who actually adheres to that?
Really, there should be less adverts for alcoholic beverages, which increase its social acceptability. In the past 15 years or so, adverts have increased and now some show how debonair one can be while sipping Patron. Most folks I know who drink tequila, any kind, are doing so to get drunk. On the Nat Geo show, the ER nurse said she thought tequila was one of the more problematic beverages out there because many of the people she's treated arrived in the ER after doing tequila shots.
I'm getting way off topic a little. My OP was an attempt, however feeble, to show that a legal drug causes way more problems than does an illegal one, marijuana. I question American society for being so tolerant and accepting of a dangerous substance while outlawing a substance like pot, which is rather benign. I doubt ERs see a lot of people who've stabbed themselves after having smoked a lot of pot. I don't think ERs see a lot of patients who've been rioting after having consumed some pot brownies.
The drug war will always be ridiculous as long as alcohol gets a free pass.
So, you're a nanny state liberal who believes we have to be "protected" from "bad" things?
No thanks. It's a free country. If someone wants to drink beer, it's none of your business unless it results in harm to you.
It becomes everyone's business when binge drinkers cause violence and/or disturbances and the police have to come sort it out. It further becomes everyone's business when uninsured binge drinkers end up in the ER because they caused themselves some kind of injury.
Actually, all commercials glamorize it and show young kids partying.
Why do pharmaceutical drug commercials have to go into a five minute dissertation about how the drug could potentially cause nausea, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, your anus to turn inside-out, death, etc., yet you don't hear a peep from alcohol commercials? Heck, television tobacco advertisements are completely banned in this country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by plwhit
We need to create a new government agency to govern this....
The Dept of Alcohol, T....... oh wait, we already have one...
Never mind.
One of my favorite t-shirt designs:
"Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency."
I don't watch much TV but do "all commercials glamorize it and show young kids partying" ? What are those commercials?
I like the way we stopped advertising tobacco, that's really all we should be doing with alcohol too. And pot, once we stop being stupid about it.
I don't believe in laws preventing people from doing things they want but I do believe it's in the publics best interest to put limits on what they can then do (like driving) or how the message about it spread (advertising). It SHOULD be common sense and a no brainier but once you mix humans and money in we loose that and it becomes "how low can we go" and "how far can we push it".
I don't watch much TV but do "all commercials glamorize it and show young kids partying" ? What are those commercials?
I like the way we stopped advertising tobacco, that's really all we should be doing with alcohol too. And pot, once we stop being stupid about it.
I don't believe in laws preventing people from doing things they want but I do believe it's in the publics best interest to put limits on what they can then do (like driving) or how the message about it spread (advertising). It SHOULD be common sense and a no brainier but once you mix humans and money in we loose that and it becomes "how low can we go" and "how far can we push it".
Agreed. There has to be an awareness when using anything that causes impairment and promoting it. Advertising is there for one reason-It usually works. Alcohol commercials and related appeal to the "hip and happy" set. Notice the people in beer commercials: Not passed out in a dumpster but glamorous and enjoying life. And this is not always the case realistically. In an often high stress society, it is understandable for one to want to "take the edge off" sometimes. But excess is another story altogether.
I don't believe in laws preventing people from doing things they want but I do believe it's in the publics best interest to put limits on what they can then do (like driving) or how the message about it spread (advertising). It SHOULD be common sense and a no brainier but once you mix humans and money in we loose that and it becomes "how low can we go" and "how far can we push it".
Whatever happened to parents imparting common sense and right and wrong to their children?
Try reading the actual study. Even the authors admit their study was flawed because they did not control for alcohol use, only chronic abuse. Their study was also funded by a government agency charged with drug control and sending a clear anti-drug message. I guess they succeeded with you.
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Nice try but...
