Something to be said for that good oldfashioned Su'rn Babtis culture. Most people I know see nothing "cool" about drinking alcohol. For a large part of the US "drinks" mean the fizzy fruity kind. Most restaurants offer ice water, soda pop, maybe coffee or tea, with meals. Beer would mean a special license and cost them a lot of business, so few restaurants bother.
I'm mostly Irish with some Cherokee, so I've never cared to find out how bad I'd feel for how long. I defined my limit long ago as a thimble-sized cup of Communion wine, which in most churches I've attended was interpreted as "new wine," straight unfermented grape juice. Alcohol tolerance is genetic. This fact has historically been used to harm both Irish and Cherokee people so I'd have no qualms about calling pressure to drink alcohol racist.
Fortunately, in most of the US drinking-and-driving is seen as a violent crime against persons, so if urged to drink alcohol socially anyone seeking better health, trying to lose weight, or just trying to save money, can always shout "I'm driving!"
Even those who enjoy their "cup/pint of extroversion" without forming ugly consequences seem to do so much better without it...During his first marriage my husband was a heavy drinker. He was not an alcoholic and, when I said I wouldn't want to live with a heavy drinker, he was able to offer me an alcohol-free home. Depriving himself of pleasure? Hah. He might have needed a social crutch at age 25, but at 50 he was even more charming without it. And people marvelled at how much "younger," happier, and more energetic he was during his sober years.
So, thank you, Emma Bates, for posting about being another person who feels better when you choose not to drink alcohol. I find myself half-remembering an epigram... "On this you may depend... one who wants you to drink more than you want, is not your friend."
I quit drinking during the pandemic after 10+ years of working in the service industry. I really don't miss it at all. I still hang out at bars and with friends that drink but the waking up without a hangover part never gets old.
+You might enjoy the book Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol. It goes into how being a brewer specifically was "women's work" until, of course, it wasn't anymore!
Interesting and thought-provoking. One thing I have noticed over the last few years is that people are using the word 'sober' instead of 'teetotal' which I find a bit insulting. People who do drink normally are sober 99.9% of the time. It's like calling everyone who isn't thin 'fat'. At least, that's how it's coming across (not in your article though, which is brilliant).
Something to be said for that good oldfashioned Su'rn Babtis culture. Most people I know see nothing "cool" about drinking alcohol. For a large part of the US "drinks" mean the fizzy fruity kind. Most restaurants offer ice water, soda pop, maybe coffee or tea, with meals. Beer would mean a special license and cost them a lot of business, so few restaurants bother.
I'm mostly Irish with some Cherokee, so I've never cared to find out how bad I'd feel for how long. I defined my limit long ago as a thimble-sized cup of Communion wine, which in most churches I've attended was interpreted as "new wine," straight unfermented grape juice. Alcohol tolerance is genetic. This fact has historically been used to harm both Irish and Cherokee people so I'd have no qualms about calling pressure to drink alcohol racist.
Fortunately, in most of the US drinking-and-driving is seen as a violent crime against persons, so if urged to drink alcohol socially anyone seeking better health, trying to lose weight, or just trying to save money, can always shout "I'm driving!"
Even those who enjoy their "cup/pint of extroversion" without forming ugly consequences seem to do so much better without it...During his first marriage my husband was a heavy drinker. He was not an alcoholic and, when I said I wouldn't want to live with a heavy drinker, he was able to offer me an alcohol-free home. Depriving himself of pleasure? Hah. He might have needed a social crutch at age 25, but at 50 he was even more charming without it. And people marvelled at how much "younger," happier, and more energetic he was during his sober years.
So, thank you, Emma Bates, for posting about being another person who feels better when you choose not to drink alcohol. I find myself half-remembering an epigram... "On this you may depend... one who wants you to drink more than you want, is not your friend."
I quit drinking during the pandemic after 10+ years of working in the service industry. I really don't miss it at all. I still hang out at bars and with friends that drink but the waking up without a hangover part never gets old.
+You might enjoy the book Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol. It goes into how being a brewer specifically was "women's work" until, of course, it wasn't anymore!
Interesting and thought-provoking. One thing I have noticed over the last few years is that people are using the word 'sober' instead of 'teetotal' which I find a bit insulting. People who do drink normally are sober 99.9% of the time. It's like calling everyone who isn't thin 'fat'. At least, that's how it's coming across (not in your article though, which is brilliant).