Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think a big part of the problem is that America is very large and very car focused. If you can reasonably walk to where you're drinking (or more importantly, walk home from there), then you're less likely to drive drunk. Many bars in America essentially require driving to and from.
Isn't this a zoning problem rather than a size problem? Does zoning generally allow having a neighborhood bar?
Fake IDs in the age of the internet
91–100 of 201 posts
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think a big part of the problem is that America is very large and very car focused. If you can reasonably walk to where you're drinking (or more importantly, walk home from there), then you're less likely to drive drunk. Many bars in America essentially require driving to and from.
I think the car-orientation of the US would greatly benefit from a European-style approach to teaching kids about alcohol. I lived in Germany for a year as an exchange student when I was 16, the age at which kids can drink without a parent present. They can't get a license until 18. The vast bulk of kids there, in my experience, seemed to figure out sane drinking well before they got behind the wheel. Coming back to…
I couldn't agree more, and numerous problems are pretty much a direct result.
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're a stereotypically ethnic Polish person (just guessing from the username) no one is going to even look cross-eyed at you if you can speak English at all. The 21 year drinking age is still idiotic and actively harmful.
The only advise I would give on this angle is more that one should carry their passports (or some other form of ID) with them if they want to enter US bars / drinking establishments or even just want to order a beer. The United States (from my perception) seems to have far more establishments serving alcohol, whose policy is to ask identification for everyone (or if not everyone, a ridiculously over-heavy subsection…
It's all pretty bonkers.
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#94Interesting that they mention Boston - along with NC it's the only place where my green card has been refused as an acceptable form of ID. I have no idea why a federally issued photo ID with my name, DoB and photo on it apparently isn't enough to prove my age. As a Brit, it amuses me that there are apparently so many balding 20 year olds with grey beards in the US that I am suspicious. They also don't seem to like my…
There's a reason Ben Franklin moved to Philly.
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Greece, we don't check IDs for alcohol use (in practice. I think we're supposed to be doing it, nowadays). There are also no on-premises laws for alcohol. I think that's mostly because the culture is different, as people don't generally drink to get drunk like in other countries. You won't see the round-after-round drinking that you see in the UK or US, people will generally buy one or two drinks, and will rarely…
Pardon my ignorance, but why drink if not to get 'drunk'? Alcohol doesn't taste very nice, so the only advantage I get out of it is that I feel more of a 'buzz'. Is it common just to drink as if it were something that tastes nice, like juice?
Also, my understanding of the word drunk is that it means "very or extremely intoxicated." Even if you hated the taste of alcohol you could still put up with the taste and have a small amount to feel slightly intoxicated and still not be drunk.
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#96Interesting that they mention Boston - along with NC it's the only place where my green card has been refused as an acceptable form of ID. I have no idea why a federally issued photo ID with my name, DoB and photo on it apparently isn't enough to prove my age. As a Brit, it amuses me that there are apparently so many balding 20 year olds with grey beards in the US that I am suspicious. They also don't seem to like my…
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
Compared to what? I've seen much simpler driver's licenses from other countries. Up until recently (2013 maybe) the French driver's license was literally a piece of pink paper with a picture glued to it. http://flawlessfakeids.com/wp-content/uploads/French-Fake-Dr...
Compared to Germany for example with a bunch of holograms and whatnot: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/DE_Licen... In contrast to e.g. the French, our drivers licence is a valid means of identification though.
This can prove your name and age, but not your nationality.
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#98Interesting that they mention Boston - along with NC it's the only place where my green card has been refused as an acceptable form of ID. I have no idea why a federally issued photo ID with my name, DoB and photo on it apparently isn't enough to prove my age. As a Brit, it amuses me that there are apparently so many balding 20 year olds with grey beards in the US that I am suspicious. They also don't seem to like my…
Boston is the real deal when it comes to ID crackdowns. About 150k college students so some tens of thousands of fake IDs, plus a history of blue laws. I believe that legally they are even allowed to refuse legitimate out-of-state US drivers' licenses (most places do not do this, but they can). Foreign passports also can be refused. And that's not even counting the notorious "box scanners" which, to my knowledge, are…
A document that permits someone to enter the country isn't acceptable to prove their age. Wacky.
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being a well-off 19yo engineer in Poland I can't even imagine being treated unequally in everyday life, so that's yet another reason to not visit US for me, other than almost certainly being questioned at a border (although 90% of my income comes from startups in California).
Don't let it stop you. Despite the anecdotes most people pass through the border with no issues at all, certainly no more than the grilling you'll get flying into parts of Europe (UK and Denmark come to mind from my personal experience - nothing too crazy just a lot of questions vs some of my US crossings where they barely look at you). Likewise with the violence you'll see in the media. Most of America is safe and p…
Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being a well-off 19yo engineer in Poland I can't even imagine being treated unequally in everyday life, so that's yet another reason to not visit US for me, other than almost certainly being questioned at a border (although 90% of my income comes from startups in California).
If you're a stereotypically ethnic Polish person (just guessing from the username) no one is going to even look cross-eyed at you if you can speak English at all. The 21 year drinking age is still idiotic and actively harmful.
Why is that? Are Polish persons more grown up looking?