Personally, I would ony drink because I like the taste of the drink, not to get drunk. Drunks are often violent. I don't want to be like that. Drinking is a personal thing you should do in moderation because you enjoy the taste of the drink you're consuming. Some people do it to be cool or to eliminate their problems and those aren't good reasons at all.
quote: Perhaps it's because America is still a young country country.
This might make sense had not the people who founded America come from Europe. It's got nothing to do with the age of the country. It's simply social trends. We've split along the way in terms of alcohol consumption.
quote: Which state lowered its drinking age to 18 temporarily?
New Jersey, and I'm pretty sure there were others.
quote: The kid who stayed up all night will be tired and haggard the next morning or afternoon. The kid who drinks too much will have a major hangover, vomit, or do something stupid like drive and hit a tree. The American philosophy - "more is better" or "the bigger the better" - that ends up hurting us sometimes. When something becomes legal (such as drinking in your case), it loses its "coolness."
Again, this would make sense if only minors drank in binges. I know many, many legal drinkers that do it. It's a social staple. Since alcohol is not a daily part of our lives, it becomes a special occasion. This means, myself included, that when you drink, you drink for a reason, and that's to get drunk.
And for the record, I still stay up all night and am haggared in the morning. Wait till you get to college, then you'll understand.
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?"
Alright, I see your point about Europe not being a good comparison in terms of alcohol use. Perhaps it's because America is still a young country country. In the Old World, it doesn't really matter to people if you drink several glasses or wine in a day but here even if you have that much in a stretch of several days, people would say you have a problem. America and Europe have different views on the subject so you're right...it isn't fair to compare them.
Which state lowered its drinking age to 18 temporarily? I think that state saw an increase in "abuse" because kids were relatively new to the privelege. For example, remember the first time your parents allowed you to stay up as late as you wanted to? You probrably thought : "Oh boy, I'm going to stay up all night because I can!" Kids don't take their new responsibilites in moderation and in the end it hurts them. The kid who stayed up all night will be tired and haggard the next morning or afternoon. The kid who drinks too much will have a major hangover, vomit, or do something stupid like drive and hit a tree. The American philosophy - "more is better" or "the bigger the better" - that ends up hurting us sometimes. When something becomes legal (such as drinking in your case), it loses its "coolness." Restriction brings curiousity but on the other hand Americans need to moderate the amounts of X (any substance) they intake even if they have complete access to it. Just look at the obesity problem here in America!
"We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled." (Hermione Granger)
quote: Geesh! Personally, I believe the drinking age should be lowered because if kids have more access to alcohol, they're less likely to abuse it.
When my parents were graduating high school, the drinking age was lowered to 18 for several years. I'm not exactly sure of the duration. However, the result was heavy increases in abuse and drunk driving accidents. Thus we see the drinking age back up to 21.
True, in Europe they're more lax. However, they've got a completely different culture about it. Alchohol is not something generally consumed in moderate quantities every day here in America. Europe is not a good parallel.
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?"
Drinking isn't such a big deal in Europe and other foreign countries but here in America, people are like natzis :"you can't do this, you can't do that..." Geesh! Personally, I believe the drinking age should be lowered because if kids have more access to alcohol, they're less likely to abuse it.
"We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled." (Hermione Granger)
I don't drink to be cool or rebellious or numb the pain or because I'm an alcoholic or any of that. I drink because I like the way it makes me feel, and I live in a small town in Idaho and it's either that or watch TV. I don't get totally ****faced, I don't get drunk around people I don't trust and I always make sure I have a way home.
I drink underage, but it's too have fun. I don't try to drown any tears or drink all the time. I also don't drink alot. I don't touch beer. I can't stand the smell of it.
I'm 16 and I drink. I don't see anything wrong with it. I've never been drunk in my life, and I don't plan to get drunk. I don't drink to be cool, I don't drink beer because I don't like the way it tastes. I don't drive so there's no problem with that. I don't drink in big parties or clubs. I only drink with close friends in safe places. Sometimes I get slightly tipsy. It's fun. I know when to stop and what to drink.
People drink for all different reasons some drink to escape from reality. Others drink to be cool, or they like the taste, or because there bored, or to have fun.
Some people drink underage, to feel incontrol of there lifes. Or to "feel kooler" ... Or the biggest reason of all: To mend the pain they feel, to not feel to empty, to forget about stuff that is hurting them at the time. Its there way of dealing with emotions...
quote: Dr, if you really drank that much in an hour, and you weighed 200lbs, you would blow a .3 BAC, .4 BAC and you can die.
there is no way you could get a "decent" drunk. .3 people start throwing up or passing out.
check it out yourself.
Funny, when I put in my own values, I got more like a .24 or .25. I weigh more than 200 lbs. During much of college I was up around 240. Granted, now I've lost weight, and i'm closer to 220 or 215. So I'd have to cut myself back to 12 or 13 shots in the first hour to get a .23-.24.
And again online calculators don't take into acount a number of factors, such as metabolism, food and water intake, and your personal tolerance/experiance with intoxication. These factors, based on my physiology and drinking habits, would actually drive my BAC closer to .2. While that's definitely drunk, it's also not getting wasted. That's my definition of "decently drunk". I'm right at a point where I'm not passing out or not remembering things but very much intoxicated.
So more or less, that calculator says I'm telling the truth.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DrStrangelove,
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?"
I think that the real question is Why do people drink and drive and do stupid things? I drink underage, my parents know and don't care. I've never been drunk and I've never like taken a dare to take 20 shots or whatever. Drinking isn't dangerous until you start being stupid while drinking.
I'm sure everyone has different reasons for why they drink.I don't have a problem with drinking as long as it is done responsibly.I drink when my friends and I are having a party, or just hanging out.I won't lie, there have been times when I have used alcohol as a way to temporarily deal with problems.I wouldn't say I have a drinking problem though. I have only been drunk a couple of times.I don't think drinking is a solution to problems.Anyone who needs to get drunk everyday should try to get help, alcoholism is a serious problem.I do think many teens would have less of a fascination with alcohol if their parents were not so strict about drinking. I think more parents should teach their children to drink responsibly, and to never drink and drive.
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