Opinions on Heavy Drinking?

[Jonluw]

Video games is one of those social activities where I can enjoy myself a lot without drinking though.

That though is what I really don't get. I get the drinking, I even get being drunk despite never having been beyond a mild buzz, but I just fail to understand the "I need booze to have a good time at social occasions" mindset that is prevalent throughout the area I live in.

Pretty much, yeah.
Parties were extremely depressing before I started drinking.

 

[Patrick Buck]

Because somtimes it's fun to do somthing fantastically stupid.
But if you drink loads of water, you can avoid the bad morning after, and it's a good way to take the edge of a hard week.

 

[Woodsey]

Video games is one of those social activities where I can enjoy myself a lot without drinking though.

That though is what I really don't get. I get the drinking, but I just fail to understand the "I need booze to have a good time at social occasions" mindset that is prevalent throughout the area I live in.

I always think that, if someone needs alcohol to have fun at a party, then that person must be extremely boring, as if the booze must make up for a lack of humor, charm, and generally being a fun and interesting individual.

There's a show on TLC called Four Weddings, and they have a lot of people on there like that. Basically the show is about four brides who attend and rate other's weddings, and whoever wins gets a tropical honeymoon somewhere exotic. They like to pit polar opposites against each other, so if they have someone who doesn't want alcohol at their wedding they will surely get someone who can't stand to NOT have alcohol at weddings.

And their complaints are just as you said--"You can't loosen up without alcohol" "Your guests will be uncomfortable." How do these people talk with strangers on the bus? At what point did alcohol become necessary for mingling with strangers?

Why would anyone want to talk to strangers on the bus? And don't confuse "loosening up" with "extreme social disorder if they can't drink".

 

[Jonluw]

How do these people talk with strangers on the bus? At what point did alcohol become necessary for mingling with strangers?

I suppose I could provide a little insight into the psyche of someone with that mindset if you're interested.
To answer your questions: I don't talk with strangers on the bus at all. Never. There's nothing as uncomfortable and awkward as someone I don't know striking up a conversation. And I find people who do talk with strangers on the bus extremely odd. Can't for the life of me comprehend them. Embarassingly, my dad is of that type.

Not everyone are the same as you. Not everyone feels the same about mingling with strangers. If I was put in a large location with a lot of strangers, I'd probably just find myself a corner to go be melancholic in.

 

[xXGeckoXx]

Basically, it's because getting wasted is a shitload of fun.
Particularly if you're clever enough to drink water and stick to clear spirits. It saves you a lot of pain the next morning.

Sometimes, I just want to roll around on the floor giggling to myself. And who's to say I shouldn't?

Of course, no one wants to reach the point where they throw up. The trick is to balance the narrow line between "drunk as hell" and "sick".
And the day after... That's basically just the price you have to pay to have that particular brand of fun. Besides, there is a good deal of ways to dampen it.

Spoiler: Also, Jim Jeffries is a funny fuck.

Skip to 1:30 if you only want the drinking part.

Exactly. Party enjoyment has a sharp curve. Sometimes drunken parties can be really fun. You have to get as drunk as possible without throwing up it's like some kind of balancing act.

Really the point is that assuming you are an intellectual person a party sometimes just means to let go and there is no better way to do that than take a huge amount of a substance that stops you from thinking then just going with the flow.

 

[GamerKT]

If you *need* to get drunk to have fun, you're boring, but whatever you want. Just saying, when you choose to do that, you lose some right to complain about shit the next morning.

Never understood it, personally. I can act stupid on my own. Quite fantastically, too.

Basically, it's kinda dumb, but don't complain afterwards if you do it.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Video games is one of those social activities where I can enjoy myself a lot without drinking though.

That though is what I really don't get. I get the drinking, I even get being drunk despite never having been beyond a mild buzz, but I just fail to understand the "I need booze to have a good time at social occasions" mindset that is prevalent throughout the area I live in.

Pretty much, yeah.
Parties were extremely depressing before I started drinking.

For heaven's sake why? Is it impossible to talk and laugh with people without booze? If you can't, how on earth do you manage during, say, lunch break at school? And if you can, why can't you apply it at a party setting?

There's actually someone at my school who's a bit like that. He's 'fantastic' at a party (if you're into that sort of thing), gathers people around himself with ease. Outside the party circuit though, he's the most uninteresting individual you can imagine. It didn't struck me as odd when I learned that he barely has any real friends.

I also always wonder how people like that are going to manage when they grow up. You're not a teenager you're entire life, and if you need large quantities of booze to be a 'fun' person, then may the Nine be with you when you reach your 30's.

 

[Lev The Red]

opinions of it vary based on culture.
i grew up in the US, so i have no problem drinking, but i don't like getting particularly hammered. however, i have friends in russia that i go drinking with, and drinking is culturally very different over there, especially for men. there are all kinds of unwritten rules and etiquette around drinking. mainly, you're supposed to keep up with the people you are drinking with. if you can't, they'll make fun of you and your night will be miserable and if you CHOOSE not to, you'll probably never be invited out drinking with them again because they'll think you're rude or a snob. there's a russian phrase, "sober men are never to be trusted."

 

[Spectral Dragon]

I personally don't drink. I consider myself too young, and I can't consider all of the consequenses. Plus I know too much about substances, so that's another against. I can't think of any situation I've been in alcohol would have improved. Sure, it seems like fun, but I can have as much fun sober, and remember it afterwards. Plus I've seen top many cases of people drinking to excess.

It's okay to me, with people who drink, even if I personally dislike it, as long as they're ready to face the consequenses. But not if they're young. Young people and drivers shouldn't drink, in my opinion.

 

[Lilani]

Why would anyone want to talk to strangers on the bus? And don't confuse "loosening up" with "extreme social disorder if they can't drink".

The way some of them talked about it, it seemed as though they had an extreme social disorder. They look all angry throughout the whole thing and are real party poopers, criticizing everything and whining about not having their booze.

I saw this a lot when I worked at Disney World, too. I worked in the Magic Kingdom, which is a dry park. People would ask me, at like 10:30 in the morning, "Where can I get a beer around here?" Then I'd have to tell them there's none in the park, and when they didn't think I was just pulling their leg I'd get "Really? Really?! You can't be serious. You've got to have it somewhere" or "Well that's not very magical." Really, people? Suck it up and spend some time with your family. If you want to drink so bad find a sitter for the kids and go to Downtown Disney.

In the other parks, I've even seen two parents pushing strollers side by side, each with a beer in their hand. If there's one place where you want at least one parent to have all of their presence of mind, it's a theme park situation with small children. Serious legal implications can be made if you lose track of your kid and they get lost or hurt because you were buzzed.

But I'm going off on a tangent. My point is some people get REALLY agitated when they can't their alcohol when and where they want it. My favorite day was St. Patrick's Day, when there were a whole bunch of douchey college guys running around the park looking for booze and I got to ruin their days one by one by telling them they came to the wrong park.

 

[Jonluw]

Video games is one of those social activities where I can enjoy myself a lot without drinking though.

That though is what I really don't get. I get the drinking, I even get being drunk despite never having been beyond a mild buzz, but I just fail to understand the "I need booze to have a good time at social occasions" mindset that is prevalent throughout the area I live in.

Pretty much, yeah.
Parties were extremely depressing before I started drinking.

For heaven's sake why? Is it impossible to talk and laugh with people without booze?

Except for with a few close friends, or if there is some entertaining activity we all participate in (like D&D night); yes. Pretty much.

If you can't, how on earth do you manage during, say, lunch break at school?

I mostly discuss anime or videogames with a buddy of mine. There's still a lot of silences and breaks involved in the conversation though. If he isn't at school, I'll normally just eat my lunch alone and as efficiently as possible before going to pace around school for a bit. In the spring and autumn I like to sit on the benches in front of the cathedral during lunch.

There's actually someone at my school who's a bit like that. He's 'fantastic' at a party (if you're into that sort of thing), gathers people around himself with ease. Outside the party circuit though, he's the most uninteresting individual you can imagine. It didn't struck me as odd when I learned that he barely has any real friends.

I also always wonder how people like that are going to manage when they grow up. You're not a teenager you're entire life, and if you need large quantities of booze to be a 'fun' person, then may the Nine be with you when you reach your 30's.

Indeed. The 30's. Those'll be fun...
But I can't worry about that; that's how you end up in the suicidal setting. I have enough to bother me in the short term.

It's worth pointing out though: It's not so much "Not being charming, interesting or witty" as it is "Not being able to relax and bring out those traits in a alcohol free social setting".

 

[Iron Mal]

I've been the one sober guy at a birthday party while everyone else was drunk (not a fun experience, I can tell you that) and while I personally don't drink (or smoke or do drugs or have casual sex or pretty much anything that can be labelled a vice) I don't look down on or feel superior to those who do, if you want to do it then fine, I never really felt any urge or desire to try it so my opinion on the matter can be summurised as 'don't really care'.

Yes, there are the obvious health issues, yes there are the potential dangers associated with any instances of being in an altered state of mind and yes it probably costs a metric fuck-tonne of money to buy more booze but if you're going to get specific and nit-picky about it then you can point out the flaws and problems with everyone's preferences and likes (for those of you who are health nuts and enjoy your exercise, no matter how healthy you are or how well you keep yourself in shape you will end up dead like the rest of us, thank you and goodnight).

As for people who proclaim the 'social benefits' of alchahol, please be quiet. I know that being slightly tanked can make for some very memorable nights and a lot of fun with your friends but we all know that it's not because booze is some miracle wonder drug that suddenly makes you friendlier or more charismatic (again, I've been the sober guy at a drunken party, people who are tanked are funny more in the 'laughing at you' way than the 'laughing with you' one).

I know this is a bit of a cookie-cutter, goody two-shoes point to make but if you do need chemical assistance in order to be social and have a good time then it does sort of suggest that there is something wrong with you as a person.

I'm socially challanged and have a hard time talking to people (I used to be even worse though, even making eye-contact was difficult for me), the only reason I've gotten even slightly better at socialising is because I forced myself into social situations and made an active effort to be more social to compensate, so I'm not really sympathetic to people who claim that they need booze in order to be social and talk to people.

If you want to drink then fine, but only do it because you enjoy doing it, not because 'it's social'.

 

[Daveman]

Because it's entertaining for those around me.

Genuinely I have no idea why, afterwards I feel awful, I do not respond remotely well to being hungover. Yet I always have the urge to do it. I just find it fun.

Because it's just really fun.

People who don't understand this are generally really, really boring.

YES. I really find this to be the case. Also people who say "I don't need alcohol to let myself go" in fact just don't WANT to let themselves go because they're afraid of looking stupid. I know I'm an idiot so I really have no problem with that.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Complete strawman.

Booze is not required to have a good night, but you'd be hard pressed to find a social event it couldn't in some way enhance.

You're the type of commenter I hate seeing in these threads.

Questionable experience with the substance in question, in the situations in question, yet using grandiose generalisations to back up otherwise lacking points.

Do some people go overboard? Sure, that doesn't mean everybody who drinks specifically to get drunk takes it too far. And it doesn't mean people who drink need it to have a good time. Or that they lack "humor, charm and generally being a fun and interesting individual."

Ehh, what? You're misinterpreting what I'm saying, it seems. It's not a strawman as I'm not trying to make a point, I'm just giving my experiences with those things. I know people who are like that, who complain and whine that it's boring if there isn't booze at some social gathering, and plenty of them to boot as it's the prevailing mindset around here. And what do those people do outside alcohol-fueled parties? Talk about previous alcohol-fueled parties.

I ain't trying to make a point or anything, I'm just giving a sketch of a situation; they're the ones who say that they need alcohol at a party, I ain't saying that of them. That guy I talked about in a previous post is actually a pretty sad example, the sheer difference alcohol needs to make with that guy. I wonder what's going to happen with him when he leaves the college circuit.

Indeed. The 30's. Those'll be fun...
But I can't worry about that; that's how you end up in the suicidal setting. I have enough to bother me in the short term.

It's worth pointing out though: It's not so much "Not being charming, interesting or witty" as it is "Not being able to relax and bring out those traits in a alcohol free social setting"

That's sorta sad, actually, and also what's wrong with kids in general. Long-term thinking is important y'know, and it's not like you can't do anything about not being able to bring out those traits in an alcohol-free social setting.

Still, as I already said; may the Nine be with you. You're going to need it.

 

[elvor0]

Can someone please explain this to me?

Because it's a way of having fun? It's not some bizarre new fad that's just come out, I hate it when people make threads where they get people to "explain" some really easy to understand concept. Seriously, that's the answer to all these damn "Why do people do X" threads; because it's fun. If you don't enjoy getting hammered then that's fair enough, it's the same response I'd give to every person asking "why do this?" but how you fail to get why people enjoy it is just beyond me.

What I don't understand is why you felt the need to create a thread just to explain to you why people drink.

Explain that one to me?

If you *need* to get drunk to have fun, you're boring, but whatever you want. Just saying, when you choose to do that, you lose some right to complain about shit the next morning.

Never understood it, personally. I can act stupid on my own. Quite fantastically, too.

Basically, it's kinda dumb, but don't complain afterwards if you do it.

That and to all the damn people saying "Why do you NEED X to have fun, you must be soooo boring" Just...ugh...SHUT.UP. No I don't need it, it's a way of enhancing the thing I'm doing because I personally enjoy it, the same as I enjoy playing video games, guitar or getting stoned; other people might say you're dumb for playing video games and think they're better than you because they don't. It's not a difficult concept to get your head around.

Also, get over yourself, it's not complaining, sure they're going to say "I feel like shit" because they do, they then generally laugh about what happened last night and have a bacon sarnie, it comes with the territory, it's just something people accept will happen the next morning for getting wasted. Don't act all high and mighty because some people choose to do something that you personally don't enjoy, it doesn't effect you in anyway, and it doesn't make you better than people who drink.

 

[Captain_Pancreas]

Video games is one of those social activities where I can enjoy myself a lot without drinking though.

That though is what I really don't get. I get the drinking, but I just fail to understand the "I need booze to have a good time at social occasions" mindset that is prevalent throughout the area I live in.

I always think that, if someone needs alcohol to have fun at a party, then that person must be extremely boring, as if the booze must make up for a lack of humor, charm, and generally being a fun and interesting individual.

There's a show on TLC called Four Weddings, and they have a lot of people on there like that. Basically the show is about four brides who attend and rate other's weddings, and whoever wins gets a tropical honeymoon somewhere exotic. They like to pit polar opposites against each other, so if they have someone who doesn't want alcohol at their wedding they will surely get someone who can't stand to NOT have alcohol at weddings.

And their complaints are just as you said--"You can't loosen up without alcohol" "Your guests will be uncomfortable." How do these people talk with strangers on the bus? At what point did alcohol become necessary for mingling with strangers?

Why would anyone want to talk to strangers on the bus? And don't confuse "loosening up" with "extreme social disorder if they can't drink".

Completely agree there. Don't think I've ever come across anyone who speaks to anyone they dont know on the bus other than a compulsary 'excuse me' or 'thank you' when moving past people. Generally in my experience if people sit next to someone else when there's spare seats you get an evil glare like you're the creepiest person alive. Also gotta agree with the 'loosening up' different from 'social disorder'. I'm not sure if its just England, but sparking up conversations with strangers is in general not seen as a normal thing to do without a good reason. While drinking in excess is not a pleasant experience, alcohol does help strengthen bonds between friends, it doesn't mean you can't have serious conversations while sober but can you honestly tell me that that those moments where you have a good laugh at just being a bit stupid rather than something clever aren't fun on occasion. There's a reason alcohols like beer date back to some of our earliest civilisations. Beer brewing is one of the oldest mass produced drink really. Its a process we've been perfecting and improving for thousands of years

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

My dad drinks like a fish, and it's going to kill him way earlier than the age he could live to if he gave a fuck. I like to get faded as much as the next man, but if it becomes a dependency, it's my own stupid fault; if I take that a step further by pretending that acknowledging the problem makes all its' consequences go away, that's just enabling my own self-destruction by believing that the worst thing it's doing to me is making people ***** at me about my health, as opposed to it actually destroying my health. I don't say shit to him anymore because it's futile, every conversation is just an exercise in evading the subject, so I've said my peace and decided to leave it at that because he's had thirty years longer than me to figure out it's a bad idea to drink a quarter bottle of whiskey every night.

It's a stupid way to poison yourself, man. At least cigarettes make it harder to breathe 24/7 so you're acutely aware of how much you're hurting yourself every time you light up, but alcohol lets you quietly trade happy numbness for premature organ failure. That said, you reap what you sow, and I'm out of sympathy to spare for people that choose to hurt themselves, because I've been up and down that road too many times to listen to anyone that acts like it's not their own fault.

 

[Encentrik]

I've been the one sober guy at a birthday party while everyone else was drunk (not a fun experience, I can tell you that) and while I personally don't drink (or smoke or do drugs or have casual sex or pretty much anything that can be labelled a vice) I don't look down on or feel superior to those who do, if you want to do it then fine, I never really felt any urge or desire to try it so my opinion on the matter can be summurised as 'don't really care'.

Yes, there are the obvious health issues, yes there are the potential dangers associated with any instances of being in an altered state of mind and yes it probably costs a metric fuck-tonne of money to buy more booze but if you're going to get specific and nit-picky about it then you can point out the flaws and problems with everyone's preferences and likes (for those of you who are health nuts and enjoy your exercise, no matter how healthy you are or how well you keep yourself in shape you will end up dead like the rest of us, thank you and goodnight).

As for people who proclaim the 'social benefits' of alchahol, please be quiet. I know that being slightly tanked can make for some very memorable nights and a lot of fun with your friends but we all know that it's not because booze is some miracle wonder drug that suddenly makes you friendlier or more charismatic (again, I've been the sober guy at a drunken party, people who are tanked are funny more in the 'laughing at you' way than the 'laughing with you' one).

I know this is a bit of a cookie-cutter, goody two-shoes point to make but if you do need chemical assistance in order to be social and have a good time then it does sort of suggest that there is something wrong with you as a person.

I'm socially challanged and have a hard time talking to people (I used to be even worse though, even making eye-contact was difficult for me), the only reason I've gotten even slightly better at socialising is because I forced myself into social situations and made an active effort to be more social to compensate, so I'm not really sympathetic to people who claim that they need booze in order to be social and talk to people.

If you want to drink then fine, but only do it because you enjoy doing it, not because 'it's social'.

This. +10 Respect.
In terms of talking to people, I'm not that bad; I talk to people but my problem is continuing the conversation because I'm terrible at thinking on my feet when it comes to normal conversations. Some people have that ability to just spring conversations out of their head but unfortunately, I am not one of them. Although I can safely say that I am by no means a guy who no one wants to be around; I have my friends and I have fun with them. I guess the word to descrive my social experiences would be "average"; I'm not the life of the party nor am I the outcast; I talk to who I want and when I do, I end up having a good time.

@evlor0: Relax man, I simply wanted to know what the reasoning was behind excessive drinking; as you can see, not everyone agrees to the whole "it's fun" opinion. Some drink because it relaxes & others just enjoy the taste; I drink from time to time, I'm just wondering what the reasoning behind going out and getting drunk was. Seeing the various answers people has show that not everyone does it just because it's fun, most do, but not all. Besides it's not like I'm hating on people who do, I just wanted a simple answer. Last I checked, I was allowed to make a thread like this: Why are you responding to this thread if you're simply complaining about its existence?