Sometimes the point of alcohol is just to get a little bit drunk.
Similarly, asking anyone to defend their position on why sobriety is superior will eventually have them sound like they are insecure and judgemental.
It's impossible to defend any amount of alcohol consumption without sounding like an alcoholic.
Submitted 5 days ago by earphone843@sh.itjust.works to showerthoughts@lemmy.world
Comments
ted@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
my_hat_stinks@programming.dev 4 days ago
I can’t think of a scenario where you ask someone to defend why they don’t drink but they are the one that is insecure and judgemental. There’s plenty of situations where people drink when they shouldn’t (eg driving) but it’s not quite so common to be in a situation where you must drink but don’t.
ted@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
Maybe I’m just terminally online, but I’ve seen lots of people boast that they’ve “never gotten intoxicated” and view this as some sort of moral boon. It just reads as fear to me. Not that I’d force them to get high, but don’t knock it if ya haven’t tried it.
pH3ra@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
If you are in a position where you need to defend your booze consumpion, you’re probably an alcoholic.
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
Not really. Say you have one beer a week after mowing the yard. I could say, “If you aren’t addicted, then just quit.”
pH3ra@lemmy.ml 4 days ago
No one in the real world is going to ask you that and even if they do it’s probably their problem.
In any other case, if a person tells you “hey, tone it down with the booze” you probably should.
MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 4 days ago
“I drink infrequently”
“I drink a few drinks a month”
“I dont drink more than a few times a year.”
Nah, there are lots of ways to do this
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
“Why don’t you just stop drinking for good then?”
MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 3 days ago
That would be an extraordinarily rude response to those statements and I would seek to stay way the fuck away from anyone with that obvious of a behavioral issue.
AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 4 days ago
“Because my consumption isn’t problematic.”
Like the person who is only drinking a half dozen times a year doesn’t have a relationship with alcohol at all. They don’t even think about it in a regular day. The only person who would hear a red flag in those responses is someone who does have a relationship with alcohol, and it’s probably not a good one.
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 3 days ago
You can’t explain anything to people who will intentionally misunderstand you and assume the worse.
SouthEndSunset@lemm.ee 3 days ago
Cause they want to have “a drink” occasionally.
latenightnoir@lemmy.world 5 days ago
This sounds like it starts from the assumption that it can only be consumed for the effect, not the taste.
I drink once, maybe twice every year, and never more than 2-3 drinks. And I specifically either sip a finger of Jägermeister, a White Russian, or expensive gin tonics, because I enjoy the taste.
What I do not enjoy is getting drunk. Not only because the following two days are worse than death, but especially because I don’t like how my body slips out of my control and how it encourages my mind to drift toward the dark place.
Slovene@feddit.nl 5 days ago
You drink alcohol EVERY YEAR?! Wow, look at this boozehound over here.
seven_phone@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I think alcohol like music can not be separated from its effect upon the mind. I think those effects are entirely the point we take it, I think if it was just taste you would not drink your White Russian. I think when you drink it it is because you want to visit or at least be reminded of your dark place. Like all drugs it is vital not to ignore the positive effects they can have while also being very aware of the long term negative consequences. As to answering the original question I think if you drink less than the average it is permissible to give as your reasons that you sometimes like the way it makes you feel. You drink in the same way you put on music, not because of the sound or the taste but because it takes you to somewhere else and for a little while that is where you needed to be.
latenightnoir@lemmy.world 5 days ago
These are a lot of assumptions about a person you don’t know personally.
As a counterexample, if there were any other substance which could replace vodka in its entirety while not containing alcohol, I’d drink Virgin White Russians all day long. Same goes for Jäger. And I have already tried some non-alcoholic gins and they entirely miss the pungency, which is the very element which confers alcohol its unique taste.
No, I genuinely do not like alcohol for its effects. It is not my jam. If I want to enjoy both the buzz and safe dips into my dark place, I smoke a doobie.
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I love the taste!
I’m also addicted to the substance.
miss_demeanour@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 days ago
I’m addicted to the taste.
latenightnoir@lemmy.world 5 days ago
All due respect, I cannot speak for your situation, but neither does your situation for everyone else who likes to sip alcohol.
I cannot stand the taste of cinnamon or licorice, but I don’t believe addiction is required to be able to enjoy them.
TheBraveSirRobbin@lemmy.world 4 days ago
tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 days ago
My uptake definitely increased significantly in early November 2024
MelonYellow@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
Yeah, like you could totally defend going for a wine tasting a few times a year without sounding like an alcoholic. The amount matters.
nesc@lemmy.cafe 5 days ago
Why would you need to defend anything?
dogsnest@lemmy.world 5 days ago
So nobody takes your booze.
Dorkyd68@lemmy.world 5 days ago
It’s actually quite simple, sounds like you need to change your friend group
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
Oh, I don’t have friends, it was just a shower thought.
evergreen@lemmy.world 5 days ago
That’s a pretty subjective statement as it really depends on to whom youre defending it. Does consuming any amount of alcohol make one an alcoholic? I suppose differing people will have differing definitions.
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
That’s the point, though. Even if you have one beer a week, defending that if challenged to quit will make you sound like an alcoholic.
GBU_28@lemm.ee 5 days ago
But that doesn’t make sense, one beer a week is absolutely not triggering chemical addiction. At that rate you could attack any ritual behavior, or regular consumption of anything beyond nutrient paste and water
To me the important distinction is between chemical and behavioral addiction, habits and compulsions.
shalafi@lemmy.world 4 days ago
cracks knuckles
I’m fine with my 12-pack a day of Keystones.
deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 5 days ago
You need different friends.
electric_nan@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
Try it with opiates lol.
stupidcasey@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Na, fuck alcohol, it’s as deadly as rat poison, a little won’t kill you but no amount is good for you and the only reason you are defending it is because you think it has some good traits and it doesn’t. Maybe it’s a good thing it’s hard to defend since it is literally poison. Try Pot or Lsd both are less harmful than Alcohol and are more fun
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Na, fuck sugar, it’s as deadly as rat poison, a little won’t kill you but no amount is good for you and the only reason you are defending it is because you think it has some good traits and it doesn’t. Maybe it’s a good thing it’s hard to defend since it is literally poison. Try Pot or Lsd both are less harmful than Sugar and are more fun
Fixed that for you.
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
They’re not completely wrong, though. The studies show that no amount of alcohol consumption is healthy for you.
But, they were an asshole for how they said it.
DragonsInARoom@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I enjoy drinking
Dumbkid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 days ago
Nah I’m alcoholic, why defend it beer makes me happy
deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 5 days ago
I don’t have a drink problem. I drink. I get drunk. I fall down. No problem.
kungen@feddit.nu 4 days ago
I don’t abuse alcohol. I love alcohol, so why would I abuse it?
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I used to drink enough to think that. Lost quite a bit of weight when I switched to weed.
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 4 days ago
I’m almost through that case of Christmas Ale I bought in November.
ehpolitical@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
Ha, that’s actually true. Good one.
nostradamnit@piefed.social 5 days ago
I watched this movie last night, and it rings clearly with this topic - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Round
maxalmonte14@lemmy.world 5 days ago
That’s because the amount of alcohol you need to survive is 0, sugar on the other hand is both, needed and “bad”.
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
You need 0 refined sugar to survive too.
maxalmonte14@lemmy.world 5 days ago
That’s true, my wifi was coming and going so I didn’t get to elaborate more in my original comment.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 5 days ago
If you’re trying to justify your drinking to me after I said “Oh, I don’t drink” I’m really gonna think you’re an alcoholic because I said nothing to warrant you needing to justify yourself. I just don’t like drinking myself.
Almost every single time I have made a comment about how I do not like alcohol, I get a few replies from people trying to justify their consumption to me, as if I said I hate people who drink.
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
I guess I’m lucky. Since I retired from drinking no one has pushed back when I’ve declined to partake.
JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I think in some areas, the culture is starting to shift around that a bit. I remember the 2000-2010s era having a lot of shows that were more on-the-nose about the topic and then seeing more people talking about how to properly interact with recovering alcoholics on social media in the years following.
Purely anecdotal, of course. I just get the vibe that some areas where drinking used to be very expected, have learned to treat it as a choice
Paradachshund@lemmy.today 5 days ago
Also don’t drink, can confirm.
GBU_28@lemm.ee 5 days ago
That sucks. I like to drink and also drink non alc drinks. I’d just ask your fave 0.0 or non alc derived beverages,maybe I’ll check em out