I'm on vacation and today I've had a mixed drink at lunch, two beers on the beach, and am getting ready for dinner where I might just have a couple more drinks. I'm living it up here. Hmm...no plans on driving though. I guess I'm not a real drinker according to OP.

Had my first pumpkin beer of the season earlier this evening. Yummy.

Anonymous wrote:Wow! Lots of people here are pretty threatened by talk of booze being a problem. That in and of itself seems to indicate a problem...

I think people were reacting more to the OP's attitude that because some people are irresponsible in their drinking habits that must mean that all people who drink are irresponsible alcoholics (anyone who "needs alcohol" is most likely an alcoholic). That's a ridiculous over-generalization that cannot rationally be true.

OP's attitude is also likely to be relatively unpopular in a country that places a high value on individual freedom of choice. The idea of no one being able to do something because some people cannot do it with appropriate restraint is probably always going to be a hard sell. Prohibition was tried before... and it did not go well, nor did it last. That seems to be something OP would support, but I personally find the idea objectionable because I think it is contrary to one of the core values of this nation, freedom.

I don't "need" to be able to drink alcohol, but neither do I think it is necessary (or a good precedent) that I not be permitted to do so because of someone else's bad choices.

I would not be at all averse to an intelligent, reasoned, lively discussion about society's attitudes towards alcohol, problems caused by alcohol abuse, how society responds to issues related to alcohol abuse, or anything of that nature. I think that could be a very interesting and potentially beneficial discussion. However I think OP's attitude and approach are extreme and therefore unproductive at actually addressing the problem about which she is concerned.

Anonymous wrote:Wow! Lots of people here are pretty threatened by talk of booze being a problem. That in and of itself seems to indicate a problem...

Threatened? No. Just think you're wrong. But of course if I disagree with you I must have an alcohol problem. Right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you can't handle drinking, it's easy...DON'T.DO.IT.AT.ALL.

OK. What if you can handle drinking?

If you can handle drinking, fine. But what I'm seeing is that most can not.

No what you're seeing is that some cannot. Most can. Most don't drink and drive or do any of those other things.

"Why does mommy drink, kids?"

"Because we're bad!"

Saw this today and thought of this thread:

"Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)... There are just some kind of men who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results."
- Harper Lee

Anonymous wrote:Wow! Lots of people here are pretty threatened by talk of booze being a problem. That in and of itself seems to indicate a problem...

Not really. I don't drink at all and think the OP is a bore and a twat. I'm also not religious and don't judge people who are , even though religion causes more problems on this planet than any single thing.

OP sounds insufferable and I don't think anyone needs to worry about her, her only friend is probably her cuckold husband.

Anonymous wrote:Wow! Lots of people here are pretty threatened by talk of booze being a problem. That in and of itself seems to indicate a problem...

I don't drink a lot, but I do sometimes (maybe 2-4 drinks/month, usually a glass of wine with dinner if we are out). No one would ever consider me a problem drinker. And I think OP is batty. Of course there is a small segment of the population who has a problem with alcohol. It is like every other addiction. There is a small segment of the population who is addicted to food, sex, work, exercise, etc. That doesn't mean that most people aren't just fine and it is silly to extrapolate to that group of people all of the bad things that can be caused by alcohol.

Wow! Lots of people here are pretty threatened by talk of booze being a problem. That in and of itself seems to indicate a problem...

the one area in which I slightly agree with OP is that the culture of excessive drinking at colleges needs to be addressed because it does contribute to many problems for kids at a vulnerable age. Drinking is one part of a more complex dynamic--kids leaving home, lack of safety net/family, experimenting with independence, etc. I wish there were more of an awareness of excessive drinking on college campuses and good solutions to deal with it--but demonizing alcohol isn't going to work.

more broadly, OP does not have a rational perspective--she essentially feels that because alcohol sometimes is a real problem for some people, that it should be banned for everyone, even though the vast majority of people do not have or cause problems with their alcohol consumption.

OTOH, I feel the way about guns that OP feels about booze.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a nondrinker, I can not understand people's need to consume alcohol. Eliminate alcohol consumption and you eliminate many social evils and disease. What is this addiction in our society that makes it impossible for people to give up alcohol? Is it at all possible to have a great party without alcohol. If you need alcohol to enjoy life, maybe something is wrong.

Thoughts?

Do you eat meat OP? As a non-meat eater, I cannot understand people's needs to consume meat. Eliminate meat consumption and you eliminate many social evils and disease. What is this addiction in our society that makes it impossible for people to give up meat? Is it at all possible to have a great party without serving meat? If you need meat to enjoy life, maybe something is wrong.

The difference between you and me is that I would never actually say the above (despite it actually being accurate when phrased the way you did it). I just choose not to eat meat and let people who choose to eat it eat it without me looking over their shoulders passing judgment. I even - GASP - serve it when I have parties because people like it. I guarantee there is something you enjoy (perhaps meat) that others do not and could easily be perplexed by you. So just shut up.

I'm the OP and I am a vegetarian. So end of conversation?

If a person can handle a glass of wine and never let it affect their mind, fine. But I think it's abundantly clear many people can not. The recent story about the UVA story of HG prompted me to write this thread. And it needs to be brought up and should be openly, honestly discussed. You don't like that it makes you feel judged? Sorry. People are injured or dying every day because of alcohol related issues, certainly not limited to the recent case of HG and DWI. So you don't like that I bring it up? Too bad.

Why so shrill and argumentative? What's your deal?

She's totally obsessed and irrational. It's quite bizarre actually.

Why do people bother having judgy opinions about others that ultimately dont effect them. What a waste of time and energy. Drink, don't drink, whatever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a nondrinker, I can not understand people's need to consume alcohol. Eliminate alcohol consumption and you eliminate many social evils and disease. What is this addiction in our society that makes it impossible for people to give up alcohol? Is it at all possible to have a great party without alcohol. If you need alcohol to enjoy life, maybe something is wrong.

Thoughts?

Do you eat meat OP? As a non-meat eater, I cannot understand people's needs to consume meat. Eliminate meat consumption and you eliminate many social evils and disease. What is this addiction in our society that makes it impossible for people to give up meat? Is it at all possible to have a great party without serving meat? If you need meat to enjoy life, maybe something is wrong.

The difference between you and me is that I would never actually say the above (despite it actually being accurate when phrased the way you did it). I just choose not to eat meat and let people who choose to eat it eat it without me looking over their shoulders passing judgment. I even - GASP - serve it when I have parties because people like it. I guarantee there is something you enjoy (perhaps meat) that others do not and could easily be perplexed by you. So just shut up.

I'm the OP and I am a vegetarian. So end of conversation?

If a person can handle a glass of wine and never let it affect their mind, fine. But I think it's abundantly clear many people can not. The recent story about the UVA story of HG prompted me to write this thread. And it needs to be brought up and should be openly, honestly discussed. You don't like that it makes you feel judged? Sorry. People are injured or dying every day because of alcohol related issues, certainly not limited to the recent case of HG and DWI. So you don't like that I bring it up? Too bad.

Why so shrill and argumentative? What's your deal?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP here. Oh my. Last time I checked there isn't a legal limit on coffee consumption.

Last time I checked, there isn't a legal limit on alcohol consumption either. You fucking moron.

Try telling that to a cop when you get arrested while driving intoxicated… moron.

There is a legal limit on alcohol IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO DRIVE. Otherwise there are no laws.