Five years ago I made a lifetime commitment to myself to never touch it. Not because it was cool to say so (because believe me, it's not), not because I felt I needed the reassurance of a community of like-minded people, but because it was in my character to do so. It has never made sense to me so even the other day when someone asked me, "so why don't you drink?" I responded with, "I think the better question is why DO you drink?"
I find it a sad day that in our culture of over-consumption and "moral high ground" that someone who DOESN'T drink is perceived as an outcast.
I don't preach. If you ask for my opinion, I will tell you. If it's in your character to drink, more power to you. I don't look down on "sellouts" or people who once claimed to "not drink" but now run off to the first bar they see to get "socially lubricated." I respect it more when someone is honest with themselves, whether it be sexually, politically, or emotionally. I do not respect facades or insincerity. So if you're running around with an X on the back of your hand and do not feel it in your head and heart, if you haven't put into perspective that it is a philosophy, and not a music scene and fully comprehend that it is a commitment for life and nothing less... if you don't know that feeling then I don't expect you to maintain the claim. Good for you for being truly honest with yourself, because most people can smell insincerity and no one respects it.
But that's not what this is about.
It's not so much the idea of getting wasted that turns me off, it's the "social" aspect that is so unattractive.
I see people walk into bars, articulate and intelligent and just for a night out with the girls or boys, then stumble out as embarrassing shadows of who they once were. That the only way the can feel comfortable conversing with someone is to have a glass of wine or a cocktail. That it's not in their character to be open and honest with ideas or theories on life, that the only way they can dance and let go and feel free and laugh is with the help of something manufactured that they have to pay for. And that's where they lose my respect because they (or someone) had to PAY to let go and to relate and to lose their inhibitions.
I understand the lure of getting drunk. It takes you to another world where you don't have to think about your problems and you can laugh without consequences... or at least until you wake up. And I also understand the weakness and lack of character it takes to step inside these places and pay for a glass of liquid courage. I understand that you don't have it in you to man up and deal, that you have to put money into someones pocket and tip jar to feel alive.
I understand this.
Understand, the physical act of drinking isn't what I'm talking about. That is simply your choice and I don't think that choice makes me better than anyone because they drink some liquid and I don't. Although, I do think I make better choices than you do.
But where I won't play the politically correct card is WHY you choose to drink.
If you are a chickenshit who is incapable of expressing your feelings that you need to drop money on a bar to feel more like "yourself," which is an idiotic concept in and of itself, then yes, I believe that my character is stronger than yours. Because your actions are a pathetic reflection of your will and your lack of true expression.
And that's why I think you are weak.
And that's why I see you as a sad and trite and scared little kid.
And that's why when you ask me why I don't drink, I know you don't get it and it tells me everything I need to know about your character.
And that's why I don't respect you.
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2 comments:
Top 2 favorite post on the last true evil.
I wish I had the mind and vocabulary to say what you just did.
I admit that I drink but only when I eat greasy foods like wings or nachos.
Beer somehow clears my pallete and renews my tastebuds so I can taste every type of cheese on each salted chip, or so the taste of hot wings don't blend in with the honey garlic.
And, I actually like the taste of specific beers. As gross as that may sound, it's true.
If I drink a little too much, yes, I'll get a buzz. But then I know to stop. I don't drink to get drunk.
Heck, getting drunk with a group of friends in someone's basement horsing around and playing video games is fine, with the exception that no one gets out of hand. When people say "let's get wasted", I don't understand why. I don't see the allure of losing control. That's the worst feeling in the world. When I used to get "wasted", I wouldn't remember anything the next morning and feel sick. When I got "wasted" and a part of my brain was still functioning properly, that part would wonder why I'd want to make myself feel like this. But, once you commit, you stay like that until you pass out or throw up.
When drinking gets associated with an activity, such as going to the bar or dancing, then this is where it becomes a problem. Not only is drinking drinking, now dancing is drinking. And now whenever you go to a bar or dance, you drink.
It's other people's decisions though. If you do decide to go out to a public place and pre-game it hardcore, remember: You look like an idiot. You might think you look like you're having fun and I hope you are. But, you look like an idiot. Don't worry though, everyone to your left, right, in front and behind, all look the same as you. An idiot.
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