First off - some statistics. Did you know that drinking alcohol on a regular basis lowers your IQ by a rate of about 5% per unit of alcohol? Or that it increases the likelihood of getting pregnant by a THIRD...?! Or that a person can have fun at a factor of x60% when heavily intoxicated...?
Of course you didn't know that. Because it's a complete farce. And it demonstrates my point. People are too quick to blame alcohol for... well a multitude of things - be they sins or otherwise. Time for a little roleplay now class - how many times have you heard (first hand, or from a second or third party) something along these lines:
Case #1
"Ahhh... Last night was just... sooooo MESSY. Pretty sure I almost died, or *insert suggestive themes here*. Was a good night though."
"Were you drunk?"
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| This is me, sans the beer. I'm SUCH a mess... |
Now what was wrong with that scenario? (aside from the fact that no one really says "bah" in real life...) Alcohol is used as the primary scapegoat for peoples actions, granting them a certain level of "drunken immunity," glorifying the acts that would usually be vilified if performed during the day.
I know this is starting to sound "preacher-ish," but I can assure you - I do drink. On occasion, I do get "messy," (as my friends jest at me for...), and yes, I'd probably end up doing the same thing as the perpetrator from Case #1. But I would never solely blame my actions on alcoholic influence. Alcohol doesn't make someone do something. Nor do I believe that a persons true personality can only "shine" when they're drunk. Surely it's a case of them just being a really boring sober person?
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| This baby is both hungover and adorable. Tut tut, underage drinking at an all-time high |
I'm not saying either that alcohol is to blame for the downward spiral of society. Of course, people have to be of a certain maturity to be able to drink nowadays (and I'm not naive enough to assume that under-age drinking doesn't happen... I've seen the news!). I just don't think it's particularly mature of people to blame acts of complete stupidity on alcohol. Ironically, those people are... stupid.
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| This lady is stupid. Or drunk...? Hmm... hard to tell, she might be a combination of the two. |
(OK, can someone please confirm if I actually used "irony" in the correct way...? I've never known... D: )
I want to begin by saying that I agree to a certain extent with your blog – in many cases people are still able to make decisions under the influence of alcohol. However, I believe it must be remembered that alcohol changes the person who makes these decisions. As you argue, alcohol certainly doesn’t allow people’s personalities to shine. However, what it does do is contort their personality and allow this to shine. Speaking from experience (my Dad’s an alcoholic) I know that alcohol can make you say and do things that you never would: it changes the person that you are. Under the influence of alcohol my Dad has said some ridiculous things that I know not even a part of him believes. Similarly, my Dad (who coincidently is extremely intelligent and kind) has done some ‘silly’ things which neither he nor any other rational person would do. And, without being pedantic, alcohol does lower your IQ when you consume a lot of it over a period of time and research has shown how it affects the brain and can alter personality. I appreciate your article is on general drinking and drunken behaviour and not alcoholics, but I believe my arguments about how alcohol can change people are still relevant. Nonetheless, your article is very good and interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, I appreciate it. I think for the most part, you took my blog in the wrong context. It was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, (hence the "joking" narrative), and I would never make light of alcoholism or alcohol-related illness or injury. I think in regard to my stats, I only exaggerated them to show a way in which people would attribute alcohol for - unwanted pregnancies, falling IQ and as a means to have more fun.
ReplyDeleteYou are right in assuming I'm merely commenting on social behaviour and that, if people do stupid things when they're drunk, then alcohol is only a factor in their behaviour. The people themselves have chosen to drink, and have therefore put themselves in that position. But I agree, that alcohol can change a person and make them act in ways unthinkable when sober, I don't however, believe it's a particularly valid excuse for doing silly things, if you (quite often) willingly put yourself in that situation. Your counter-arguments are indeed relevant and I appreciate the time you took to read this blog and comment, and welcome any future feedback you can give me :)
I agree with anonymous when he/she says that long term alcohol abuse can change an individual's personality. It would be safe to say my dad is too an alcoholic, his personality has changed though I wouldn't be able to say if this was from the current alcohol in his system or from long term chemical changes in his brain, mainly because I haven't seen him long enough sober to judge due to his addiction to it. Whilst I wouldn't say your article sums up alcoholics I would say it sums up binge drinking and uni culture pretty accurately! I've done things on nights out which I've used the guise of alcohol to justify it / for me to stomach it easier in the morning. Plently of people use the excuse of the drink in their hand to justify their actions then to take self control and responsibility for their actions. You're both right when you say alcohol does not let an individual's personality shine. I too often drink to excess and never think of the consequences it has to me in the long term, something I guess I should really think more about, but I've stopped using alcohol as an excuse for my actions and in many ways have just accepted well.. that I was stupid! Keep blogging :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, thanks for your comment. I appreciate the effort it must've taken to post the comment at all... D:
ReplyDeleteIt saddens me to hear about another person who knows someone with alcoholism, and I appreciate you both sharing your stories with me on my blog - a very public forum. And yes, you're right - I did only intend to comment on how people so easily blame alcohol for the stupid things they'd do on a night out.
I guess overall, I don't have enough life experiences to comment on such a heavy issue, but I hope you'll appreciate my attempt at least. Thanks for your comments... :')
I just want to make it clear that I wasn’t trying to criticise your blog in anyway and I do appreciate your bringing the topic up and indeed wish it was discussed more openly and frequently. There are obviously many different and contradictory issues surrounding alcohol use/misuse. I completely appreciate that you were talking about student/social drinking (which is obviously completely different) and I agree with both you and Sam when you say it is used too readily as an excuse for students doing stupid things, and (even if the alcohol does impair their decision making) they could be seen as silly for knowingly getting themselves into that state (providing, of course, they are not addicted) – not that I condemn it!! (Sorry a wordy sentence I know!) In my comment, I was just trying to highlight another angle and, just to reiterate, I was not meaning to criticise your blog and I am pleased you approached the topic – it would be useful if people would far more! :)
ReplyDeleteAhhh... I didn't think you were criticising it at all :) And even if you were, it was very constructive at least. In truth, this post was meant to be viewed more light-heartedly, to "juxtapose" with my intense-sounding blog post yesterday. I never intended it to cause a debate such as this, but again, I thank you for your comments and suggestions. Thanks for reading my blog :D
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