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Why I Don't Drink

neal.is

11–20 of 74 posts

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#11
post #7

> Almost everyone will at some point ask me why I don't drink, which is fair considering it's engrained into human society. There should be no need to explain why you don't drink. Period. There's nothing wrong with not drinking and there's nothing weird about not drinking. If people are asking with any sort of condescension, you are probably spending time with the wrong people.

asking why someone doesn't drink doesn't imply condescension

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#12
post #10
post #6

This feels like a very "American" article [1], in the way it frames the discussion. The intro suggests the author has a policy of not drinking at all (or only every few months), but most of the bullet points only apply to why you shouldn't binge-drink. I did not find anything in this article that applied to normal drinking. If you drink a glass of wine with lunch, and one or two with dinner, as a typical southern Eur…

The author's not telling you not to drink, he's just explaining why he doesn't. It's OK for some of those reasons to be against specific kinds of drinking he doesn't want to engage in.

None of his points explain even from a personal perspective why he doesn't drink, though. Which of his bullet points explain the pros and cons of wine with dinner vs. not having wine with dinner?

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#13
post #8

Everyone's got their vice. Some people have many. Alcohol just isn't yours. I personally love beer. I really enjoy it... but i have nothing against anyone for making the decision not to drink it.

>I go to clubs. I enjoy certain intoxicants.

Sounds like he gets high, but doesn't drink.

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#14

Why I don't do X? Seriously, you can do what you want and i am sure you have your reasons. Why must we feel compelled to announce our choices?

Some companies, failing to differentiate themselves from fraternities, hold "drink-ups" instead of meet-ups. Sometimes not drinking ostracises you from a culture. (I have this problem in an even-more-conspicuous way: I don't like hot drinks, or the taste of coffee. This makes "let's get coffee and chat" a bit awkward.)

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#15
post #6

This feels like a very "American" article [1], in the way it frames the discussion. The intro suggests the author has a policy of not drinking at all (or only every few months), but most of the bullet points only apply to why you shouldn't binge-drink. I did not find anything in this article that applied to normal drinking. If you drink a glass of wine with lunch, and one or two with dinner, as a typical southern Eur…

Fortunately, there's more of a casual drinking culture brewing (no pun intended) in the U.S. based around craft beer and other alcoholic beverages. I probably have a beer a day on average, but I make a point to never get drunk.

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#16
I agree with most of his points, and that's why I don't drink to excess. But I'm happy to have a glass of red wine with a steak or a nice stinky piece of cheese, and I don't suffer any of the drawbacks he states. I don't feel an urge to continue drinking either, because yeah, being drunk and hungover later sucks!

Drinking (or doing anything) responsibly doesn't just mean "find a DD and then get trashed", it can also mean "find satiation with a little bit of something nice."

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#17

Why I don't do X? Seriously, you can do what you want and i am sure you have your reasons. Why must we feel compelled to announce our choices?

Alcohol is a prevalent part of a lot of lives — it's what a lot of people do to be sociable.

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#18
post #8

Everyone's got their vice. Some people have many. Alcohol just isn't yours. I personally love beer. I really enjoy it... but i have nothing against anyone for making the decision not to drink it.

>I go to clubs. I enjoy certain intoxicants. Sounds like he gets high, but doesn't drink.

Probably chows down on ritalin like half of HN. ;)

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#19
I'm wallowing in self pity after a great night last night. New Zealand is like Oz and the UK in that it has a huge, ugly, binge drinking culture. I was caught up in it for a while but eventually I had to perform a bit of self-reflection, realise that I was a bit of a dick when I lost control and really focus on what I wanted. Turns out I enjoy drinking with friends, but I hate being wasted and out of control. I also really enjoy the taste and variety of the conduits which we use to numb ourselves.

Why am I posting this? Because it sounds like OP and myself (and likely many, many others) have gone through a similar experience of calibrating ourselves to alcohol, but found ourselves coping with the downsides in different, equally-valid ways.

Re: Why I Don't Drink

#20
post #12
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author's not telling you not to drink, he's just explaining why he doesn't. It's OK for some of those reasons to be against specific kinds of drinking he doesn't want to engage in.

None of his points explain even from a personal perspective why he doesn't drink, though. Which of his bullet points explain the pros and cons of wine with dinner vs. not having wine with dinner?

"It is expensive." is definitely relevant. If my fiancee and I go out for dinner and we each have a couple of drinks, the tab at least doubles.
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