posted October 21, 2007 06:53 AM         

When I was on a date the other night, I wondered how long it would take the guy to realize I didn't drink. Answer: all of 5 seconds. He then proceeded to tell me about how he had downed 15 vodkas and 15 of some other short, whose name escapes me, some nights before.
"That's outrageous," I said. "I'd be dead if I drank that much!"

Then, later on in the evening, came the immortal question: "OH, YOU'RE DRINKING WATER? ARE YOU SURE YOU WOULDN'T LIKE ANYTHING STRONGER???"

BINGO!!!!! (Usually followed by a titter on the end, but in this case, not.)

"I've just drunk 5 or 6 cans of Red Bull," he said, "if you drink that much, it wakes you up in the night with your heart going boom-boom-boom!" I reasoned that either the guy must be a bit simple, or overexaggerating, in which case he was being just as much of a plonker.(BTW, I dated him for a laugh. It was an Internet date, and I couldn't for the life of me imagine that we would have much to say to each other, but thought a date might be, er, *fun*, my sense of humour being somewhat dark.)

I mean, this is an extreme example, but I get SO MANY comments on my not drinking, and I do say to people that I choose not to make a big deal of it, but they seem to elect to make it one.

posted October 22, 2007 12:47 PM         

I drink only rarely. On special occasions. And when I do I only drink frozen Margaritas, original flavor and no salt. Or at my favorite Chinese restaurant I drink Volcanos which I have to share because they are huge. But they are yummy and taste like punch with a kick.

Nothing wrong with not drinking either.

posted October 22, 2007 02:51 PM         

Why must we drink? Have we fallen to a level where in order to feel good about ourselves or have fun we must intoxicate or bodies? We dont have the will or courage to speak so we drink to unmask how we really feel? So many abusers.. we drink to escape, instead of standing and fighting.. we lose all inhibitions, make irrational decisions, we suffer and bring it on others.. Commit horrible acts of violence , rape, hurt. We are not confident or comfortable enough with ourselves so we drink to socialize.. I dont understand any of this..

posted October 22, 2007 03:21 PM         

quote:

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Commit horrible acts of violence , rape, hurt.

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"I got drunk and killed/raped someone last weekend...ooops"

I've hang around with drunk guys and never have they tried to harm me. Alcohol does not turn you into a demon...drugs sometimes.

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posted October 22, 2007 07:42 PM         

Also, just think of all the $$ we save by not drinking!!! It's crazy if you go out and order 1 beer or 1 glass/wine or 1 mixed drink.........you could buy a 6-pack for the price of 1 beer at a bar!

Even at restaurants they charge an arm and a leg for a drink.

Yep, we sure do save a lot of $$, that's for sure!

posted October 22, 2007 10:04 PM         

In her post Xena said:

"I don't drink, but get a lot of comments from those who do."

Thank you, Seeing Stars for demonstrating to everyone that what Xena said about not drinking also applies to those who do drink.

It has been proven that while drinking lowers inhibitions people do not do things while intoxicated that they morally would not do when they are sober. If a person rapes and kills someone while drunk they would do the same thing while sober if the situation arose. Because drinking may lower ones inhibitions but it doesn't change their morals.

Also prohibition didn't work the first time. What it did is create a situation similiar to drug dealing today. Prohibition created bootlegging and illegal speak easy's and wars between criminal factions over turf. All the things we have today with drugs.

Besides, while the government is down on cigarettes it allows the promotion of alcohol because the government makes a lot of tax money off of the sales of alcohol and liquor licenses of bars. Yet I have never seen anyone kill someone while driving and smoking. For this reason the government would lose a lot of money by bringing back prohibiton and the streets would be even more unsafe as far as killings go. Not to mention half the politicians and their wives are alcoholics.

posted October 22, 2007 10:28 PM         

Granted, there are a legion of guys who will take advantage of a girl, even take part in a gangrape of a "friend," and say it's her fault for getting drunk and not realizing that guys only want one thing. This isn't me talking, it's the guys saying this themselves. Even so, alcohol is more a means to an end rather than the cause.

I speak as one who almost never drinks (or does any other kind of drug, unless you count chocolate and caffeine), and was raised by alcoholic parents that I'm estranged from.

That said...
http://www.reason.com/news/show/27927.html

quote:

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While the Rainbows do an impressive job of guiding their anarchic community through the various hardships of living outdoors, the going isn’t always smooth.

First, the participants show a strong aversion to the use of money. On my first day at the Gathering, I made my way to the large "trading village" in the hope of scoring a trinket to impress my own hippie princess back home. The large circle included scores of Rainbows displaying everything from beads and handmade crafts to psychedelic mushrooms and rolling papers.

It soon became clear that no one was interested in my money. Trying to buy a bowl from a teenage girl, I asked what she was hoping to trade. When she told me she needed gas money to get home, I jumped at the opportunity. She sneered at my useless wad of bills. "Look man," she said, "I really try to keep money out of the trade." Instead, she was hoping to trade with people willing to siphon fuel directly out of their cars.

After several similar encounters, I realized that the closest thing to money at the Rainbow Gathering was green of another sort: marijuana. Weed was acceptable as a trade in almost any circumstance—an informal medium of exchange. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any, so we had to go to A-Camp.

A-Camp was the only place at the Gathering where alcohol was widely accepted. Rainbows discourage its use but established the enclave because some members are alcoholics and can’t go long without a drink. It was also, we were told, the only place where money was seen as an acceptable marker of value.

So off we trudged, but only grudgingly. On the way into the Gathering, we had walked by A-Camp at about 6 a.m. The serious alcoholics on hand were either still or already drunk. A fight had broken out over an offensive remark one Rainbow had made about Guatemala: Someone sent his pit bull after the offender, and the entire encampment, including at least 50 people, was in an uproar for 20 minutes. The ubiquitous fighting made it clear that America’s only legal intoxicant is probably its most disruptive.

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posted October 23, 2007 10:48 AM         

Mirandee said:

quote:

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It has been proven that while drinking lowers inhibitions people do not do things while intoxicated that they morally would not do when they are sober. If a person rapes and kills someone while drunk they would do the same thing while sober if the situation arose. Because drinking may lower ones inhibitions but it doesn't change their morals

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