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What I want to know is why there are people jumping on dradiin's case, when the man is clearly dealing with a tough situation. He comes here, disappointed/upset that his friends have developed a drinking problem, and you all tell him that he needs to get a grip and that his friends aren't really alcoholics, they're just hunting caribou. It's as if you guys think you know more about his friends than he does. I mean, how can you be so callous, really?
Dradiin, I hope your friends can deal with their problem and get over it and return to good health. I have had friends with addiction problems, and I have dealt with it personally, so I know what it's like. I see no reason for everyone to come down on you. It seems that there are just some people on City-Data who are more interested in making others feel bad than providing any sort of help or support when people ask for it. I don't live in Barrow, nor have I been there, but I refuse to believe that these people are somehow different from any other alcoholics just because they live at the edge of the continent. It's a different place and culture, sure, but alcoholism does not change according to its surroundings. Just because they are Inupiat doesn't mean they are a different "type" of alcoholic; there is no such thing as a different "type" of alcoholic.
I don't normally see Floyd's posts due to my settings, but I read one of them, and I shouldn't, as it was just as callous and condescending as ever. But I found grannysroost's post to be flat-out judgmental, and it sounded as if she was talking down her nose at Dradiin. I don't care who you are, where you've been, or how much you think you know, there is just no reason to judge people and give them instructions on how to live, especially when the person giving said instructions lives thousands of miles away. Good things and bad things will come and go, and you will be fine; if you can handle living in Barrow at all, you can deal with this. It will just take time.
Wow, depressing stuff. Is the alcoholism really that bad in Alaska? Geez, I'm not sure I'd fit into that scene. Surely there are healthy people who spend their winters enjoying healthy activities, and not snuggling up to the bottle.
Last edited by NomadicBear; 12-02-2010 at 11:20 PM..
Reason: Removing unnecessary hyperbole
It's sad, the alcohol disease. Once someone has it, it never goes away and most of the time it is the cause of death. It gets stronger, reasserts with vigor its' hold on the human mind and drags it into a pit that can only be escaped in one of two ways. The first one is death, alcohol promises you the moon then cheats on the promise and takes away all you used to hold dear, even your life, but not quickly, it strips away your friends, family, everything you used to know and love then it takes away your self respect and finally your life. There is no cure. The only thing that can be done is very hard, but it works. The drunk has to stop drinking. They lie to themselves, they say the alcohol is not the problem, it is the solution, everything else is the problem. Alcohol is a thief. It robs you of your friends, then your family, then your self-respect, then your life. To stop drinking is an unbearable thought, at first. It is hard, you sweat, you shake, you can't eat because your stomach is doing jumping jacks inside your body. It takes days to learn to sleep again. You didn't sleep when you were drinking, you passed out, not the same thing as sleep. You don't eat well while you are drinking, it messes up your high to eat, drinking on an empty stomach gets you where you want to go, quicker. Alcohol, for the alcoholic is death, disguising itself as a friend. It is a difficult thing to give up your friend. My father died an active alcoholic, he could not give up alcohol, he believed the lie that it was his friend. I have lost many friends to substance alcohol, I no longer drink it,at all. I know it is a thief, I will not give it the opportunity to kill me too.
I don't drink either. I've never gotten drunk or stoned. People say I'm lucky that I don't have a problem. It's not luck, I chose a long time ago that I wouldn't touch any of the stuff that I've seen that family and friends do that hurt them and their families.
Good luck my liver never wants to experance winter in AK.
There is nothing about a place or a season that forces someone to drink. I've known plenty of drunks in warm, sunny places. Drinking to excess is a decision that some people make in order to deal with personal problems. No matter where they live, or what their circumstances, everyone is free to make a different decision.
Dradiin, whatever's going on with your friends, I hope they come back around, and that you make others you can rely on. I know how tough it is to be somewhere new where you don't know many people. Hang in there.
There are plenty of people who don't drink, Nomad, myself being one of them, aside from the rare Corona or Kahlua drink on the holidays....
There are plenty of people in Alaska that drink. The per capita consumption of alcohol in this state used to be, and probably still is, at the top of the list.
The point is that it isn't a Native problem. Alcohol is an Alaska problem. Saying "Natives have a problem with alcohol" is BS in that sense. They do, but so do Caucasians, Koreans, Tongans, Mexicans, and every other kind of people living in Barrow. And just because a Native person doesn't act the way a Caucasian would doesn't mean they are "lost to the bottle".
I have friends who use alcohol, and some of them abuse it,while others are going to some day. I treat them all to exactly the same discussion: it's going to kill you. Same goes for cigarettes. I try very hard to help them quit. Unfortunately some people can't quit.
I do use drugs! Beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, blood thinners, and other wonderful things. I only wish I could smoke marijuana instead.
I'm on Beta Blocker, too. Seems to be another problem in my family history.
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