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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#861

Post by shoemakersteve »

notyourday wrote: post #724
gambiting wrote: post #708

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Why should everyone be in the same position? They didn't put in the same effort. For a simple reason - because we know, empirically, through decades of studies(some of which were done by the very US of A!), that it produces better results for the entire society. I've learnt long ago that it doesn't matter how I feel about benefits system personally - yeah I hate that some people get money for doing nothing. But it'…

> For a simple reason - because we know, empirically, through decades of studies(some of which were done by the very US of A!), that it produces better results for the entire society. It does not - one simply needs to look at USSR, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, GDR or any other countries that followed that model.

Ah yes, because social security is literally Stalinism.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#862

Post by madcow2 »

sigstoat wrote: post #790
madcows wrote: post #779

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> blue color work is honorable and needed and they can be productive and get a job that will support them and their family Honorable? Maybe. Able to support a family? Not without a secondary income from a spouse. And who's looking after the kids at that point? I hope you also have extended family that are willing and able to help, otherwise that's not much of a family.

> > blue color work is honorable and needed and they can be productive and get a job that will support them and their family > Able to support a family? Not without a secondary income from a spouse. now i suspect that you simply don't know anyone who does blue collar work. can all blue collar work support a family easily? no, but neither can all white collar work.

> now i suspect that you simply don't know anyone who does blue collar work.

Incorrect.

HVAC, plumbing, elevator repair, landscaping, painting... These are all careers in my family. My dad was the only white collar of four brothers. Grandpa was AC/Refrigerator repairman.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#863

Post by gambiting »

tastyfreeze wrote: post #851
gambiting wrote: post #849

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is attacking personal success here - it's important and should be celebrated. But the opportunities in the US are absolutely not equal, far from it.

Any person in the US can improve their lot in life. Nobody said it is easy. Success is hard work with a measure of luck. But, it is absolutely possible to go from living on the streets to living in a mansion in a lifetime. How is that not equal opportunity?

I cannot stop myself but flip this around - how can you possibly call this an equal opportunity?

It's like having a race where some people start 100m behind others and saying "well if they try hard enough, they can still win! The race itself is fair after all!"

>>Success is hard work with a measure of luck.

Of course ,but the American system is 1) ignoring that some people started at a much worse position in life and expecting them to "just work harder" 2) assuming that any problem you might encounter in your life is of your own doing, after all if you get into an accident and end up in lifetime medical debt.....well you shouldn't have gotten into an accident, right? Or again - just work hard to pay it back and you're fine?

After all it is possible. Yes, and winning lottery is technically possible but I don't think buying Lotto tickets is a valid way of living your life either.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#864

Post by epicureanideal »

muskox2 wrote: post #859
mensetmanusman wrote: post #691

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statistically it is far more men than women; and since this account is from an anecdotal point of view, it’s entirely possible female abuse of alcohol wasn’t witnessed.

Source on the statistics? I'm curious.

The honest statistics show that it’s about 50/50 male and female initiated violence. See Murray Strauss’s 30 Years Denying the Evidence.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233717660_Thirty_Ye...

It’s just that some groups find the honest research inconvenient so they try, largely successfully, to suppress it. The suppression behavior on certain sides of issues has been discussed by plenty of reputable people, including Steven Pinker in his book The Blank Slate.

These days in order to believe the results of any research paper I need to read it for myself with an incredibly skeptical eye for what is being left out, how questions were asked, etc.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#865

Post by chitowneats »

gilbetron wrote: post #329
jmcdl wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a common refrain but at the same time it seems to be the one substance commonly used across most of the world since ancient times. None of the other supposedly less harmful, banned drugs are so ubiquitous. Perhaps there's a good reason for this (besides varying availability of other substances)?

It's a really interesting question. Maybe the benefits of having something to drink that has alcohol to kill of pathogens outweigh the negatives?

I'm sorry, which pathogens are killed by imbibing alcohol? I've never heard of such a thing, even historically.

Edit: Next time I'll do a cursory googling before commenting. This is apparently an existing hypothesis for common types of bacteria such as e coli, salmonella, etc in the drink itself, not in the body.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#866

Post by JoeAltmaier »

chitowneats wrote: post #865
gilbetron wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a really interesting question. Maybe the benefits of having something to drink that has alcohol to kill of pathogens outweigh the negatives?

I'm sorry, which pathogens are killed by imbibing alcohol? I've never heard of such a thing, even historically. Edit: Next time I'll do a cursory googling before commenting. This is apparently an existing hypothesis for common types of bacteria such as e coli, salmonella, etc in the drink itself, not in the body.

I wonder if they meant killing pathogens in the drink, before you drank it. Clean water is a modern thing.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#867

Post by detaro »

chitowneats wrote: post #865
gilbetron wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a really interesting question. Maybe the benefits of having something to drink that has alcohol to kill of pathogens outweigh the negatives?

I'm sorry, which pathogens are killed by imbibing alcohol? I've never heard of such a thing, even historically. Edit: Next time I'll do a cursory googling before commenting. This is apparently an existing hypothesis for common types of bacteria such as e coli, salmonella, etc in the drink itself, not in the body.

Pathogens have a harder time living in alcoholic beverages, making the drink itself safer.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#868

Post by chitowneats »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #866
chitowneats wrote: post #865

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, which pathogens are killed by imbibing alcohol? I've never heard of such a thing, even historically. Edit: Next time I'll do a cursory googling before commenting. This is apparently an existing hypothesis for common types of bacteria such as e coli, salmonella, etc in the drink itself, not in the body.

I wonder if they meant killing pathogens in the drink, before you drank it. Clean water is a modern thing.

Bingo. Edited my comment above.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#869

Post by Marsymars »

bigfudge wrote: post #608
Marsymars wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get how one could pretty easily fall into a group of people who drink on a weekly (or more frequent) basis. That being said, of people I'm close to, my parents are a good counter-example. They split one beer every month or so.

Out of interest. What do people do at social occasions? What would you do if you met a friend after work on a Friday night? I think we need better options for this in the Uk... most cafes shut and not drinking in a pub still feels weird (and soft drinks are so sweet)

I've never had much trouble getting alcohol-free drinks at pubs/bars in Canada. More hip places usually have alcohol-free options (alcohol-free beer/cocktails, kombucha, etc.), and less hip places will at least have some kind of bagged herbal tea if you're avoiding caffeine. Bars/pubs will pretty much always have coffee too, even if it's not especially good.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#870

Post by astrange »

quotemstr wrote: post #709
capableweb wrote: post #656

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Why do you suppose that under conditions of perfect fairness we would see perfect equality? That's just not the case. Human talent is not sprinkled in the proportion in each person. You can achieve equality only through Harrison Bergeron measures. I'd rather have freedom.

If you want inequality to be based on talent, you need "Harrison Bergeron" levels of redistribution, since you can't have generational wealth.
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