tackling the big issues.... underage drinking + australia's drinking culture...
- Thread starter katmeow
- Start date
psycosynthesis
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,473
^Pretty much. Remember the "SMS-messages responsible for gatecrashing and teen drunkeness" news items a few years back?
Wouldn't surprise me to be honest. Also a good way to get the little bastards to shut up so we can all have some peace and quiet.
preacha said:
Wouldn't surprise me to be honest. Also a good way to get the little bastards to shut up so we can all have some peace and quiet.
kryalkastleE
Bluelighter
- Joined
- May 31, 2002
- Messages
- 4,501
My first underage drinking experince was at a 21st when i was 12.
Both my brothers (8 and 10 years older) made me drink midori and malibu (with oranges juice...eww!) until i was fairly intoxicated. I thought it was heaps of fun.
Alas the next day was the family christmas party at my nans house where i vomited all over the rug in her lounge room in front of my whole extended family. and then threw up some more in the bathroom sink (not being a seasoned drinker i didnt know the toilet was obvious place) and My mum ended up cleaning my vomit out of both places - chunks in the sink - not pretty!
All she said was "well im guessing you wont be drinking again for a while"
And i didnt....
I still can't stomach malibu!
My other first drunken experince at a party at 15 with my friend (a seasoned drinker) and mum bought me 2 orange barcadi breezers to drink, to which when i arrived at the party i got an 18 year old to buy my 4 more.
I drank them quickly because i needed to get drunk, and then sober up before my mum picked me up, but an hour or so later i found myself vomiting in the garden, and it was the worst orange rum stench ever.
Again. still cannot drink barcardi breezers.
I think underage drinking is kind of a part of growing up. I think it teaches most people that when you reach 18 or so, you start to drink a little more responsibly and for me it taught me my limits. Some people go too far yes, but for me it was a part of growing up.
Both my brothers (8 and 10 years older) made me drink midori and malibu (with oranges juice...eww!) until i was fairly intoxicated. I thought it was heaps of fun.
Alas the next day was the family christmas party at my nans house where i vomited all over the rug in her lounge room in front of my whole extended family. and then threw up some more in the bathroom sink (not being a seasoned drinker i didnt know the toilet was obvious place) and My mum ended up cleaning my vomit out of both places - chunks in the sink - not pretty!
All she said was "well im guessing you wont be drinking again for a while"
And i didnt....
I still can't stomach malibu!
My other first drunken experince at a party at 15 with my friend (a seasoned drinker) and mum bought me 2 orange barcadi breezers to drink, to which when i arrived at the party i got an 18 year old to buy my 4 more.
I drank them quickly because i needed to get drunk, and then sober up before my mum picked me up, but an hour or so later i found myself vomiting in the garden, and it was the worst orange rum stench ever.
Again. still cannot drink barcardi breezers.
I think underage drinking is kind of a part of growing up. I think it teaches most people that when you reach 18 or so, you start to drink a little more responsibly and for me it taught me my limits. Some people go too far yes, but for me it was a part of growing up.
lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
- Joined
- May 20, 2003
- Messages
- 10,324
I haven't personally noticed any increase in the amount of teens drinking. Occasionally on my way out on a Friday or Saturday night I see hoardes of teens marauding the streets (moving between parties assumedly) but this is nothing different from when I was a teen. I'm 24 now and seeing as my friends range between 22 and 30 I don't really have any contact with the underage drinkers of today. Nor want to, nothing shits me more than teens. Drinking aside the youth of today seem more vacous than I remember my peers being.
I started drinking when I was 16 after my year 10 formal. This was kind of mid ground I guess for my peers. The cool kids had already been drinking and vomiting on each other for a year or two at this point. And the hardcore nerds I never saw drink during High School (but who knows maybe they drank at LAN parties or something). I think drinking is kind of highly tied up with your immediate friends and social status when you're a teen.
16 was a big year for me, I discovered booze, sex, weed, and started getting more heavily into punk rock. My girlfriend at the time had just moved out of home due to problems with her foster parents, so my friends and hers always had somewhere to drink if need be. I still only really drank sporadically up until year 12. My parents knew I drank and they couldn't do much about it (I've always been honest with them about everything - they're pretty cool) but they never really bought me booze. Although once my Mum gave me a bottle of Jack Daniels back the sacko's confiscated from me at the local Westfield. There was a party coming up and I told her I was going to buy it again anyway and it would be less hassle for me.
Towards the age of 18 my drinking etc. really kicked up a notch. I worked at Lone Star from 17 to 19 and the crew there were mainly over 18 and ecouraged the hell out of me to come party. Subsequently the ages of 18 and 19 don't say much to me, but I recollect some aspects of living them. I discovered other drugs besides weed at 19 and that curbed my drinking somewhat for a while.
I've been binge drinking most weekends for the last 6 years amongst everything else.
I started drinking when I was 16 after my year 10 formal. This was kind of mid ground I guess for my peers. The cool kids had already been drinking and vomiting on each other for a year or two at this point. And the hardcore nerds I never saw drink during High School (but who knows maybe they drank at LAN parties or something). I think drinking is kind of highly tied up with your immediate friends and social status when you're a teen.
16 was a big year for me, I discovered booze, sex, weed, and started getting more heavily into punk rock. My girlfriend at the time had just moved out of home due to problems with her foster parents, so my friends and hers always had somewhere to drink if need be. I still only really drank sporadically up until year 12. My parents knew I drank and they couldn't do much about it (I've always been honest with them about everything - they're pretty cool) but they never really bought me booze. Although once my Mum gave me a bottle of Jack Daniels back the sacko's confiscated from me at the local Westfield. There was a party coming up and I told her I was going to buy it again anyway and it would be less hassle for me.
Towards the age of 18 my drinking etc. really kicked up a notch. I worked at Lone Star from 17 to 19 and the crew there were mainly over 18 and ecouraged the hell out of me to come party. Subsequently the ages of 18 and 19 don't say much to me, but I recollect some aspects of living them. I discovered other drugs besides weed at 19 and that curbed my drinking somewhat for a while.
I've been binge drinking most weekends for the last 6 years amongst everything else.
muzby
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
- Messages
- 5,517
i like a drink as much as the next man... but.. is it just me noticing more or is australia getting worse and worse in terms of binge drinking??
it seems like every day we hear something about drinking related vandalism or violence... (and before the usual suspects on this board start waffling on about "its the media of today" i also mean anecdotally..)
i personally don't see the benefit in getting that wasted that i cannot walk properly, accuse just anyone that they are looking at me funny or feel the need to vomit due to excess consumption...
and when did it become a right of passage to spend the later teen years of your life getting so blotto that you can't actually remember them??
when did bingeing become the norm?? if we look back to the late 40s & 50s, we there was the "6o'clock swill" which was due to pubs closing at 6pm on weekdays, so people would drink as much as they could before then... yet, things didn't seem to be as bad then... you speak to your grandparents and it wasn't as big an issue.. people drank, went home and generally didn't cause trouble (except for the delightful chaps who would go home and beat their wives..)
what do you think when you are out and you see people who are that drunk they don't even know where they are?
do you drink to this extent?
is binge drinking generally accepted as ok?
how can we go about changing this??
i know it wont come any time soon, due to australia's drinking culture....
it seems like every day we hear something about drinking related vandalism or violence... (and before the usual suspects on this board start waffling on about "its the media of today" i also mean anecdotally..)
i personally don't see the benefit in getting that wasted that i cannot walk properly, accuse just anyone that they are looking at me funny or feel the need to vomit due to excess consumption...
and when did it become a right of passage to spend the later teen years of your life getting so blotto that you can't actually remember them??
when did bingeing become the norm?? if we look back to the late 40s & 50s, we there was the "6o'clock swill" which was due to pubs closing at 6pm on weekdays, so people would drink as much as they could before then... yet, things didn't seem to be as bad then... you speak to your grandparents and it wasn't as big an issue.. people drank, went home and generally didn't cause trouble (except for the delightful chaps who would go home and beat their wives..)
what do you think when you are out and you see people who are that drunk they don't even know where they are?
do you drink to this extent?
is binge drinking generally accepted as ok?
how can we go about changing this??
i know it wont come any time soon, due to australia's drinking culture....
kittymeow
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2005
- Messages
- 924
Hmmm interesting.
I think the main cause is the general take-no-responsibility attitude of many people these days.....If you can do what you want with very little chance of being punished or held accountable, then why not???
Humans always want more and when you're young you push how far that more can go. As the world has become more connected, a wider range of things are easier to access and also soon pass out of the zeitgeist/fashion/trend whatever.
On the overall - it does seem a thing with the generation below us (I'm speaking anyone under 23, even 26 or so)....and as much as I disagree with it all, we've yet to see them grow up - and we're not that far ahead either...so things might still change. I know I got over my drinking stage very quickly - mind you I never reached such incomprehensible levels of drunkeness on a regular basis.
As for when it became the norm....probably around 10 years ago??? Or are the any older BLers that would say earlier? Coming out of the 80s maybe?
Maybe that since the 80s there really has been no earth shatteringly terrible times on our sheltered continent...so young people create their own drama. We're living in a time of excess.....soon maybe all that money will burn away and we'll be plunged back into being true battlers leaving no time or money for getting smashed every weekend.
Meh - I'm just rambling now...I'd love to see other people's responses too
I think the main cause is the general take-no-responsibility attitude of many people these days.....If you can do what you want with very little chance of being punished or held accountable, then why not???
Humans always want more and when you're young you push how far that more can go. As the world has become more connected, a wider range of things are easier to access and also soon pass out of the zeitgeist/fashion/trend whatever.
On the overall - it does seem a thing with the generation below us (I'm speaking anyone under 23, even 26 or so)....and as much as I disagree with it all, we've yet to see them grow up - and we're not that far ahead either...so things might still change. I know I got over my drinking stage very quickly - mind you I never reached such incomprehensible levels of drunkeness on a regular basis.
As for when it became the norm....probably around 10 years ago??? Or are the any older BLers that would say earlier? Coming out of the 80s maybe?
Maybe that since the 80s there really has been no earth shatteringly terrible times on our sheltered continent...so young people create their own drama. We're living in a time of excess.....soon maybe all that money will burn away and we'll be plunged back into being true battlers leaving no time or money for getting smashed every weekend.
Meh - I'm just rambling now...I'd love to see other people's responses too
muzby
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
- Messages
- 5,517
^^^ good response...
and something i forgot to add to the discussion is the current debate about allowing more bars in sydney, to give it a more "melbourne" feel to the CBD...
depending on who you listen to, it is either a good thing or a bad thing.... how can melbourne have more places you can drink, yet have less of a violent CBD culture than sydney??
and something i forgot to add to the discussion is the current debate about allowing more bars in sydney, to give it a more "melbourne" feel to the CBD...
depending on who you listen to, it is either a good thing or a bad thing.... how can melbourne have more places you can drink, yet have less of a violent CBD culture than sydney??
muzby
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
- Messages
- 5,517
Rated E said:
and the "obvious award" goes to....
drinking gets you drunk... however different cultures treat alcohol in different ways.. which makes a difference to what people tolerate as "too drunk" in australia, for some reason we feel the need to celebrate everything with a drink..
what point is too much?
Rated E
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2006
- Messages
- 9,263
muzby said:
You might have missed the point I was making. Which is, why the Today Tonight approach to the discussion?
I agree, drinking is probably encouraged more in Australia than other countries. I'm just not ready to agree that it's been getting any worse or better of late (even though it probably has been doing one or the other, I'm not big on the anecdote as proof stuff
). And just because somethings always been a certain way doesn't make it alright, so that's not I'm trying to say.I think most people will tend to go through a learning process, hopefully early on in their drinking career. Alcohol can give a pleasurable experience, though it certainly isn't lacking in immediate negative side affects, ie. people tend to figure out where their limits lie.
kittymeow
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2005
- Messages
- 924
I'm not saying the world is going to turn to shit...just that it goes through cycles.
And logic dictates that if you push something too far it will break....so pushing our excesses too far will result in a crumble of the things that allowed us that excess.
Muzby, I never knew about a limit on bars in Sydney! Is the night time atmosphere in the CBD so greatly different to Melbs? Simply allowing more bars would not necessarily equate to a CBD like Melbourne - it would depend greatly on the type of bars and the people that visit them. I think that would be like trying to change the kind of people that live in the entire city!
As for our reason for wanting to celebrate everything with drink - I dont think its so much that as our higher tolerance to getting wasted.
I know it always gets brought up in this debate, but the places I've been to in Europe have a greater distinction between social drinker and alcoholic. From what I've seen, its not acceptable at all to get so blind so often and if you do you are put firmly in the "Alcoholic depressive" category. In my family's town (and surrounds), everyone drinks - but there are a few known alcoholics in each village. As for the young people...my cousins and the like all enjoy getting a bit drunk but no where near to the level they do here. Thats my experience of Eastern EU - it could be very different in the West.
And logic dictates that if you push something too far it will break....so pushing our excesses too far will result in a crumble of the things that allowed us that excess.
Muzby, I never knew about a limit on bars in Sydney! Is the night time atmosphere in the CBD so greatly different to Melbs? Simply allowing more bars would not necessarily equate to a CBD like Melbourne - it would depend greatly on the type of bars and the people that visit them. I think that would be like trying to change the kind of people that live in the entire city!
As for our reason for wanting to celebrate everything with drink - I dont think its so much that as our higher tolerance to getting wasted.
I know it always gets brought up in this debate, but the places I've been to in Europe have a greater distinction between social drinker and alcoholic. From what I've seen, its not acceptable at all to get so blind so often and if you do you are put firmly in the "Alcoholic depressive" category. In my family's town (and surrounds), everyone drinks - but there are a few known alcoholics in each village. As for the young people...my cousins and the like all enjoy getting a bit drunk but no where near to the level they do here. Thats my experience of Eastern EU - it could be very different in the West.
ValeTudo
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2004
- Messages
- 2,482
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22727256-2,00.html* Woman blinded in nightclub glassing
* Urges pubs to switch to using plastic cups
* Incident is fourth glassing in three weeks
A WOMAN glassed in the face and now blind in one eye has demanded pubs and clubs be forced to use toughened plastic cups.
Krystle Kelley made the plea from her hospital bed where she remains in pain since being attacked on a dance floor early on Sunday morning.
"I want them to take all glass out of pubs and clubs so this doesn't happen to anyone else," she said, speaking to The Daily Telegraph.
"I have lost my sight for the rest of my life over what? Just from going out one night for a couple of quiet drinks with friends."
The 20-year-old's call follows plans by police to encourage Sydney CBD pubs and clubs to consider changing to the plastic alternative late at night.
"As far as I'm aware the call for plastic cups has so far only been for Sydney venues," Ms Kelley, from Wollongong, said.
"I want it extended across the state. Glassings happen everywhere and you cannot do it for one section of the community and not the other."
Ms Kelley is the fourth person to be glassed in NSW in less than three weeks. On Melbourne Cup night a young man suffered severe cuts to the face when struck with a glass at a Surry Hills pub.
And last Friday, a 19-year-old Tamworth teenager was rushed to hospital after being allegedly hit with a schooner glass at a hotel.
On October 13 an off-duty police officer was hit in the eye with a glass at a city pub when his alleged attacker made an unwanted advance towards one of his colleagues.
As a result, the owner of Scruffy Murphys, where the alleged assault took place, now serves all drinks in toughened plastic cups after 10pm.
Ms Kelley, who works in retail, said she does not know what the future holds having lost the sight in one eye.
She will undergo her second operation in four days today in an attempt by surgeons to reattach her retina.
"Where I work have said they'll keep my job, but who knows?" she said.
"I don't even know how long I am going to be in hospital.
"All I have been told by the doctors is that I will need three more operations just for a start."
Ms Kelley says the altercation between her and her alleged attacker at the Glasshouse Tavern in Wollongong occurred after they bumped into one another while dancing.
"We exchanged words and within 30 seconds I had a glass hurled into my face," she said.
"I fell to the floor covered in blood.
"Eventually I managed to crawl through the crowd and made my way into a staff room where I rang the police on my phone."
A 23-year-old woman has been charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent over the incident.
eggman
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2005
- Messages
- 7,009
No need to ban glasses
Just dont go to the same pubs that Francis Begbie goes to, problem solved.
Where I grew up on the NSW Central Coast there was a local guy who lost his eye in a glassing incident at one of the local sporting clubs
for more random anecdotes be sure to sign up to my newsletter
Just dont go to the same pubs that Francis Begbie goes to, problem solved.
Where I grew up on the NSW Central Coast there was a local guy who lost his eye in a glassing incident at one of the local sporting clubs
for more random anecdotes be sure to sign up to my newsletter
drugfukkdrockstar
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2003
- Messages
- 9,820
My god. Women are getting more and more vicious with each other, huh. That's fucking pathetic.
Goes to show ya, you can't just mouth off at anyone these days. It would help to avoid places where there are a lot of skanks.
Goes to show ya, you can't just mouth off at anyone these days. It would help to avoid places where there are a lot of skanks.
drugfukkdrockstar
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2003
- Messages
- 9,820
Well if the area is a bit rough, a local pub will tend to have a rougher skankier crowd.
ValeTudo
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2004
- Messages
- 2,482
Its not a case of avoiding skanks or Francis Begbie types (that's ridiculous. idiots can be anywhere). a glass is as effective a weapon as a big fuck off sword or somethig. literally hundreds of people are glassed every year in oz and while booze tastes worse from plastic, it is beyond doubt that any avenue for reducing these violent assaults is worth exploring