Pardon me while I vent here a little bit. Call me a conservative, call me a member of the religious right, call me what you will, but I invite thoughts on this topic that bothers me.
I wish I could understand the fascination with drinking alcohol, especially beer among people aged 18-30. These people value beer more than water it seems, and water is necessary for your life. I live in a college town and I know there is partying, but why is alcohol necessary to have a good time? When I went to college I got drunk once, but it was accidental. It sucks and I never want to repeat the experience. Now I am a college graduate working at a company in my field, with lots of so called "professionals." However, some of these people are less mature than college students with their weekend antics. We have this one guy who tries to party every weekend and then comes in with his stories about how drunk he got, how drunk other people got, how they tried to get home, how much they could not remember, etc. I was in the break room listening to a 30 year old woman talking about a party she had this past weekend. She said that one of the people on the day shift who is about 40 years old probably, came to the party and got totally trashed and threw up all over her carpet. Then in the same breath she said it was a good time. I muttered "not for the poor guy who threw up on your rug" as I walked out of the room. I was disgusted. How can that be fun? And I heard another guy talking about how he could not remember how he got home. I said "why don't you remember?" He said "because I drank myself into a stupor."
Then there is the issue of drunk driving. These people never learn. It is very easy to say when you are sober that you'll never try to drive a car drunk. But when you actually get drunk, it's a whole different thought process. You think you can do anything and it's no big deal, and your inhibitions go down. You don't think like you do when you are sober, so your risk of trying to do dangerous things like that is higher. These people don't care and have no respect for anyone else, making loud noise at night in apartment complexes where other people are trying to get some sleep. But you don't have to be driving to be a danger to others. I need more than my fingers to count the times I drove to work down the street with all the bars on it and had to dodge college students that were recklessly walking or falling into the street. They are a mortal danger to themselves and others even if not behind the wheel. And sadly, I believe this grim picture is not going to change as long as people keep looking for escape and answers in the bottom of the bottle.
I wish I could understand the fascination with drinking alcohol, especially beer among people aged 18-30. These people value beer more than water it seems, and water is necessary for your life. I live in a college town and I know there is partying, but why is alcohol necessary to have a good time? When I went to college I got drunk once, but it was accidental. It sucks and I never want to repeat the experience. Now I am a college graduate working at a company in my field, with lots of so called "professionals." However, some of these people are less mature than college students with their weekend antics. We have this one guy who tries to party every weekend and then comes in with his stories about how drunk he got, how drunk other people got, how they tried to get home, how much they could not remember, etc. I was in the break room listening to a 30 year old woman talking about a party she had this past weekend. She said that one of the people on the day shift who is about 40 years old probably, came to the party and got totally trashed and threw up all over her carpet. Then in the same breath she said it was a good time. I muttered "not for the poor guy who threw up on your rug" as I walked out of the room. I was disgusted. How can that be fun? And I heard another guy talking about how he could not remember how he got home. I said "why don't you remember?" He said "because I drank myself into a stupor."
Then there is the issue of drunk driving. These people never learn. It is very easy to say when you are sober that you'll never try to drive a car drunk. But when you actually get drunk, it's a whole different thought process. You think you can do anything and it's no big deal, and your inhibitions go down. You don't think like you do when you are sober, so your risk of trying to do dangerous things like that is higher. These people don't care and have no respect for anyone else, making loud noise at night in apartment complexes where other people are trying to get some sleep. But you don't have to be driving to be a danger to others. I need more than my fingers to count the times I drove to work down the street with all the bars on it and had to dodge college students that were recklessly walking or falling into the street. They are a mortal danger to themselves and others even if not behind the wheel. And sadly, I believe this grim picture is not going to change as long as people keep looking for escape and answers in the bottom of the bottle.
Erm, no. I just said that I don't follow the stereotypes! I do own a single Marks & Spencer jumper though - but it's a black round-necked one. Not one of those huge furry things with odd green and brown patterns on. My dad wears one of those jumpers but I've never ever seen him have more than what he can safely drive home with. Even when we're not in the car. He enjoys continental (that means European for all non-Brits) lagers when we're abroad, but never has more than one. 
