Normal Abnormal Drinker

ThingMeBob left this comment on a previous post about the excess of UK drinking culture.

‘Yet it’s such a part of the fabric of our culture now, I can’t see it changing much’

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Should & can it be changed?

Well there are a legion of statistics which demonstrate the negative consequences of drunkenness. From social disorder to health there is a consensus that we are in trouble. We have always been in trouble if you ask me. Let me take one stat only. Doctors recommend 21 units a week as a safe limit for men. For 21-50 units they cannot be certain it will affect all people but know it will affect many. But for over 50 units doctors are unequivocal that all will be severely affected. That is about 16 pints of stella. I know so many people who drink in excess of this weekly. Normal people who aren’t alcoholics or problem drinkers like me. This is the normal abnormality of our culture. A culture which should be changed.

But can the ingrained habits & culture of an ancient nation be changed? If you know the UK then you’ll know it is a mammoth task because we do love to drink. Yet cultures can be changed within the lifetime of a person. Think of the attitudes prevalent even 40 years ago. The position of women in society, attitudes to religion, race & homosexuality. Or on a smaller scale attitudes to recycling, sunbathing & exercise.

Attitudes will swing when multiple sources of information first change and then iteratively confirm an idea.

The government has access to the minds of every young child in the country. Let’s teach them the true facts regarding the social & health affects of alcohol. Give them the information to make those choices rationally. For sure they will still get drunk but ingraining healthier attitudes in their formative years will curb their enthusiasm at some point.

Campaigners, the government & the drinks industry need to get the message across that responsible drinking is an activity which respects oneself & the society one lives in.

Though it seems far fetched I think that some positive attitudes already exist. Bear witness to the rise of coffee culture in cities as hardcore as Glasgow and you know a change is afoot. Plus the column inches & airtime that are devoted to this subject are considerable & increasing. The message is there for anyone tuned in.

My WordPress stats contained the following search.

‘moderation is boring alcohol’

It makes me think about why we Brits began drinking. I suspect in many cases it was to make something happen. Alcohol liberates our tongues and bodies from the normal social constraints. Especially when we hadn’t mastered the arts of meeting new people & seduction.

As adults do we need to be messy drunk to have a good time? Are we all so bored scared of each other? I must admit there are times when I have been so bored or socially excluded that I got drunk. At-least then I was numb to the situation.

Now I’m mostly sober our culture does seem strange. I don’t view it as inherently bad but I would say it is out of control.  I don’t begrudge anyone a good drink but the levels of stupidity I notice (because I am no longer one of the drunks) is too much.  Watching people get so drunk they have lost all control of their limbs, language & stomach content is not pretty.

And that used to be me.

I bought in to the UK’s drinking culture in a big way. In particular I bought into the west coast of Scotland’s drinking culture. That is like going to the pet shop for an Alsatian and opting for a Rottweiler instead. What is this culture? If you drink you are normal but if not you are weird, boring, a wimp, insulted all the time. If you vomit & cant remember anything it is a good night. If you vomit & then carry on drinking your a trooper.

If you drink moderately in the UK there is still something very wrong with you. You are a ribbed, insulted and subject to sly attempts to get you drunker. Ever heard the phrase ‘your playing catch up’ or being cajoled into playing drinking games. This is normal. By which I mean rarely questioned & accepted. Not getting ‘blitzed’, ‘blasted’, ‘fucked’ or ‘para’ is abnormal.

It took my recent experiences of alcohol’s negative consequences too see the obvious. This is backwards. Normal should mean getting merry & going home without your stomach contents hitting the pavement. Perhaps a little bleary the next day but not hanging by a thread. This may seem patently obvious. But when your 18 & you live in a culture where drink is revered and is ‘the done thing’ it isn’t. This is when habits & outlooks are formed.

Very normal people still look at me sideways if I drink a shandy on Saturday night. Some even know my situation & profess to understand but can’t help encouraging me to have another. These people aren’t hardcore drinkers. A lot of them are over 30 and highly educated. They do it automatically because it is the culture.

If you live in the UK then you know what I’m talking about. It’s printed in your DNA. You’ve ingested it since birth. If you live in a more enlightened place try to think of a cultural norm you don’t question (like flying the Stars & Stripes on the 4th of July). Then imagine being the only person in your street who doesn’t.