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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#681

Post by graphtrader »

Wxc2jjJmST9XWWL wrote: post #636

Whenever I explain the "USA" to (Eastern) Europeans, I always simply state the notion: "diverse country of the extremes". Yes, widespread obesity, but health obsessions also run deep in that country, gym memberships, elite universities with sports programs full of money. How many weird diet fads start basically in the US? Self-help books, alternative gurus, etc. Bad education? Yes, pretty much. But also some of the b…

People in the US often want things both ways too.

People want giant alcohol super markets with every type, size and price point of alcohol imaginable and then people want to bitch that other people have drinking problems to make a point about their a priori political beliefs.

Very American.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#682

Post by jmckib »

plandis wrote: post #441
Sophistifunk wrote: post #423

People have the cause and effect backwards in my opinion. You know why "binge drinking" isn't a problem in Germany, except for when the Australians turn up for Oktoberfest? It's because you can just buy a beer on the side of the road with your currywurst, and drink it without being hassled. If you act up, you get arrested for acting up. Try openly having a few beers in the park in Australia or the US, you'll be run o…

I regularly go out and have picnics with my wife and have never once been harassed about sharing a bottle of wine with our meal. My family goes camping over Memorial Day weekend to state parks all over Ohio and it’s pretty common to have alcoholic drinks but, as long as you’re not bothering anyone, nobody cares. We’ve been doing this for as long as I’ve been alive and not once has anyone cared in 30+ years. The US ha…

This likely depends on what state and what park you're in. I've travelled the US in an RV and I've definitely seen people scolded for simply enjoying a glass of wine in a state park. Lots of parks also have huge signs all over the place warning that alcohol is not allowed, so presumably they are taking it seriously.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#683

Post by Jabbles »

Sophistifunk wrote: post #423

People have the cause and effect backwards in my opinion. You know why "binge drinking" isn't a problem in Germany, except for when the Australians turn up for Oktoberfest? It's because you can just buy a beer on the side of the road with your currywurst, and drink it without being hassled. If you act up, you get arrested for acting up. Try openly having a few beers in the park in Australia or the US, you'll be run o…

The UK has both the freedom to drink in a park and a binge drinking problem.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#684

Post by netizen-936824 »

hutzlibu wrote: post #639
TRcontrarian wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had the misfortune of several alcoholic roommates, and it's disturbing. They'll yell at you, threaten you, get emotional, violent, cry, the whole works, and then deny it all the next morning. In contrast, every regular marijuana user I've known long enough to form a judgement about their habit is very inoffensive to the people around them. It doesn't seem to bleed out into their work and emotional lives as much.…

Heavy marijuhana smokers can show some or all of that traits, too. But in general if I would have to chooss between a heavy pot smoker and a heavy drinker as roommate, I probably would "prefer" the average marijuanna user

Citation please?

Re: America has a drinking problem

#685

Post by Majestic121 »

leokennis wrote: post #679
RalfWausE wrote: post #669

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is what i want to say: Everything has consequeces! Nothing good comes without the bad, you will have to "pay a price" for everything... even when the "price" is a less enjoyed life ;-) What really bothers me is that it seems that the western culture is (at least from my perspective) striving to become a totally clean, political correct, vegan, moral and abstinent society. Something like the society in "Demoliton…

It depends. Sure, we cannot be perfect. But not being racist has no downsides. Not drinking has no downsides. Same for several other of our vices. So if there's no downside...why don't we stop?

That's where you're wrong : it does have downsides.

Alcohol is a social lubricant, and consuming alcohol with people is a great way to bond, and form communities.

It's not the only way to bond, but it does provide help regarding sociability, especially for shy/introvert people.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#686

Post by op00to »

capableweb wrote: post #656
Wxc2jjJmST9XWWL wrote: post #636

Whenever I explain the "USA" to (Eastern) Europeans, I always simply state the notion: "diverse country of the extremes". Yes, widespread obesity, but health obsessions also run deep in that country, gym memberships, elite universities with sports programs full of money. How many weird diet fads start basically in the US? Self-help books, alternative gurus, etc. Bad education? Yes, pretty much. But also some of the b…

Neither of the things you've listed sounds like diversity, it sounds like inequality. Why is half the country without proper education while the other ones are in the best research institutions in the world? And what does the people are those institutions spend their time on, if it's not helping the other half reaching the same position as themselves? The social experiment seems to be about how extreme you can really…

No one has ever quit a job because they can’t survive on it. If you’re really working paycheck to paycheck and barely scraping by, you don’t have the luxury of quitting. You would be homeless very quickly.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#687

Post by [deleted] »

kenneth wrote: post #508
jasondigitized wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure alcohol is way harder on your body than edibles or vaping cannabis. Alcoholism has a huge blast radius.

I feel like it's likely a larger proportion of weed-users have it affect their productivity and motivation to grow in life than the proportion of drinkers who become dangerous alcoholics or end up with cirrhosis. I don't have data to back this up though. I've seen more lives around me hampered by marijuana than by alcohol, despite having a very large amount of heavy drinkers in my circles.

[deleted]

Re: America has a drinking problem

#688

Post by snovv_crash »

ABCLAW wrote: post #485
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #153

It's hard to reduce the US to a single culture. Alcohol consumption habits vary greatly from region to region, or even city to city depending on where you live. I've noticed that heavy drinkers tend to cluster with other heavy drinkers. The more you see your friends and coworkers binge drinking regularly, the more you feel it's an acceptable and even common behavior. Likewise, non-drinkers tend to cluster with each o…

>It's hard to reduce the US to a single culture. The US had a very particular set of economic conditions in respect of infrastructure quality, volume of arable land for corn production, and corn vs corn mash distillate transport costs. The result? "[In the 1790s], the settlement of the so-called “corn belt” in the Midwest created large new supplies of corn, which was cheaper and more profitable to convert into whiske…

I visited a castle in Switzerland (Chateau de Chillon) and they had a presentation on medieval eating and drinking habits.

Apparently it was absolutely normal for everyone who could afford it to be drunk all of the time, from seamstresses to soldiers. I don't think our modern efficiency-conscious society can really understand what it was like back then.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#689

Post by NationalPark »

misiti3780 wrote: post #232
blhack wrote: post #116

Some of my most cherished memories are those where I was out drinking wine and having really good food with my wife and friends. When people were telling stories about Jesus, the central figure of their religion, one of the miracles they told of was him turning water into wine. This is held up as one of the most important stories in their entire moral system. When the pyramids were being built, the builders were paid…

I agree, these articles are ridiculous. If you have alcoholism in your family -- dont drink. If you're overweight because drinking causes you to eat shitty food and not exercise -- stop drinking. If you have anxiety because of drinking -- stop drinking. If drinking makes you an asshole and is causing relationship problems (I know a lot of people in this category) -- stop drinking. If you like to go out on the weeks a…

The article is about Americans increasingly binge drinking alone though? How is it ridiculous to talk about this problem?

Re: America has a drinking problem

#690

Post by mensetmanusman »

OminousWeapons wrote: post #281
fantod wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noticed this when I was in Germany/Austria as well. In America, if you go out drinking then that's the primary activity. It's what you're doing. But in central Europe socializing and seeing friends is the activity and you just happen to drink because that's what you do when you see your friends.

I disagree with this. Americans go out drinking with friends because alcohol helps you cut through the bullshit small talk and get to the real talk that everyone is afraid to initiate but eager to take part in. If we could all have perfectly candid conversations surrounding sensitive topics without alcohol, there would be no need for most bars to exist.

There are lots of philosophical debates about this. “Is your drunk self closer to the ‘real you’ than your sober self?”

People defend both sides of this thesis often.

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