footscrazy
Bluelight Crew
Hair of the dog for me today ![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
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AADD Moderators: andyturbo
The Alcohol thread...
- Thread starter pisspotnrock
- Start date
redsweater
Bluelighter
man i hate the attitude here how binge drinking is fine and even cool but take a few pills to feel good and suddenly you are a junkie 8(
footscrazy
Bluelight Crew
^ I dunno, my family is opposite to that, they'll turn a blind eye to my heroin and ice use but heaven forbid I have the smell of beer on my breath!
There's no doubt alcohol doesn't get the respect it deserves, but I haven't even come across this view lately. It's probably just the people I know but being an alcho is somehow the least acceptable addiction, it's almost like the perception is, if you're going to choose something to get addicted to, at least go all out and make it something good. To me it seems like alcohol addiction is often considered the bummy, cheapo addiction.
There's no doubt alcohol doesn't get the respect it deserves, but I haven't even come across this view lately. It's probably just the people I know but being an alcho is somehow the least acceptable addiction, it's almost like the perception is, if you're going to choose something to get addicted to, at least go all out and make it something good. To me it seems like alcohol addiction is often considered the bummy, cheapo addiction.
Busty St Clare
Ex-Bluelighter
I get more peeved with people (more often young women) who have bad effects following a night drinking and want to blame it on someone spiking their drinks. I can understand someone being suspicious if they have had only one or two (or none at all) but a lot of the time they have been drinking all night a wide range of drinks.
redsweater
Bluelighter
I totally agree that alcohol addiction is looked on with shame and embarrassment while opiate addiction is viewed more a disease; however I wasn't talking about addiction at all. I just simply meant going out and getting drunk a few nights a week is acceptable whereas taking opiates even less frequently certainly isn't (at least in my peer group). I don't really mind, considering I know they are doing more damage to themselves than I am... its just kind of perplexing.
That being said I enjoy a beer or two every so often, I just dislike being drunk.
Christ!
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2006
- Messages
- 1,013
I'd never turn down a drink
Lemonade is some good stuff, occasionally I'll go a ginger ale. You and me both Busty. Seems like a spiked drink is an excuse for just about anything, and then they get the whole 'oh poor you' and + attention. It's tricky because you can never be for sure if their drink was spiked or not (unless they went to the hospital and got tested soon after), but I'd bet 90% are false alarms with alcohol being the culprit.
ColtDan
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2009
- Messages
- 24,876
this.
its a disgusting, backwards, fucked up naive view. people need to wake up
people drink and smoke... and its viewed as fine. yet if somebody dabbles in drugs their looked down apone and disregarded as a law breaking "druggie"
hypocrite wankers
drug_mentor
Bluelight Crew
It is funny you say that as the reason I started drinking every night as opposed to taking other drugs (other than pot) is because I knew I could afford to drink it every night and never be forced to stop due to financial reasons.
SpiritFolk
Bluelighter
I find drinking amongst my drug taking friends is looked down way more and MDMA use and is seen as a more pure and classy way to indulge. Maybe it is just my circle of friends but I use both and think it is more how you use and how badly you rely on the drug that defines if your an addict or not.
if you've been surrounded by in-your-face drunks when sober (or worse, tripping!) you can get some kind of perspective on the sort of drug alcohol is, or can be, for some people at least.
i have friends that i can only assume have never been in this position, who get a bit offended that i avoid situations where everyone is pissed.
the thing about a lot of drugs of addiction (opiates and amphetamines as footsy said) is that they can be easier to hide. alcohol breath, and the staggering or lack of complete control that can come with it is pretty impossible to hide at times.
maybe the reason your family didn't ask more questions about your (illicit) drug use is that it opens up a whole other can of worms - although i don't know how taboo drugs are for them. sometimes it is easier not to ask and to pretend everything is ok.
my family are pretty damn square, and only ever assume the worst about any substance use, were horrified that i smoked pot in high school, yet were cool with the binge drinking i did in my late teens (it's "legal"). it was pretty obvious which was worse though - one made me wander around town all night doing all manner of crazy shit i could barely remember in the morning, the other made me smile and giggle and look at the clouds. i've never really come across another drug as scary as alcohol...but i guess it's all a matter of what is normal and what you warm to.
i'm heartened to find there are others on here that don't drink though. it's something of a rarity in this country, innit?
i have friends that i can only assume have never been in this position, who get a bit offended that i avoid situations where everyone is pissed.
the thing about a lot of drugs of addiction (opiates and amphetamines as footsy said) is that they can be easier to hide. alcohol breath, and the staggering or lack of complete control that can come with it is pretty impossible to hide at times.
maybe the reason your family didn't ask more questions about your (illicit) drug use is that it opens up a whole other can of worms - although i don't know how taboo drugs are for them. sometimes it is easier not to ask and to pretend everything is ok.
my family are pretty damn square, and only ever assume the worst about any substance use, were horrified that i smoked pot in high school, yet were cool with the binge drinking i did in my late teens (it's "legal"). it was pretty obvious which was worse though - one made me wander around town all night doing all manner of crazy shit i could barely remember in the morning, the other made me smile and giggle and look at the clouds. i've never really come across another drug as scary as alcohol...but i guess it's all a matter of what is normal and what you warm to.
i'm heartened to find there are others on here that don't drink though. it's something of a rarity in this country, innit?
Mr Blonde
Bluelighter
It sure is, unfortunately. Fuck I hate it when people make a situation awkward just because I don't drink.
Jakeperson
Bluelighter
^^ Pussy
Mr Blonde
Bluelighter
I quite honestly can't stand alcoholics, no offence to the drinkers in here, but i have lost numerous friends to alcohol and can't stand that all they think is yes about every decision they make while drunk, I don't mind the occasional drink but id honestly prefer weed or booze any day as i have more control of my actions/thought and actually am able to say no.
popeyes mate
Bluelighter
In my younger days when we went out drinking we would wake up at my girlfriends house in the morning with very little recollection of the last club we were at let alone how we got home. I can only now imagine just how tragic we must have looked at the end of the night! I hardly ever go out drinking now as taxi's in my area are few and far between and one from the city to home would set me back about $60-70.
During the summer I love a beer and drink pretty regularly on hot days, maybe just one or 2 when I get home from work. Winter I drink bourbon, but a lot less frequently.
I just came back from a weeks beach holiday where my boyfriend and I went through 3 cartons of beer, however we were never pissed. The first few days back it was kinda habit just to have one. Melbourne Cup day I was home with the kids and had a wine for the race.. just because.. hell it was the cup! I will probably now go weeks without a drink as I really dont consider myself a drinker.
I agree there is a different perception of the drunk to the drug user. You will probably think I am the biggest wanker however I once got a co-worker sacked as she was drinking at work, driving company cars around (if your drinking at work at 10am you obviously have a problem and should not be on the fucking road as far as I am concerned) and basically she was fucking off at 2pm and leaving me to take all her calls and do her work. Yes I felt like a hypocrite as I have racked up at work and even smoked shards.. and feel justified in doing so as I do my job, pick up the slack from a lot of others and will still be in the office at 6pm.
Another lady I knew from work was a known alchoholic and dont know how the hell this happens but she fell out of bed one night and broke her neck! WTF
My work involves aranging care for the elderly in their homes. Im sorry but the drinkers are dirty dirty fuckers. It will be interesting to see in 30 years or so what the elderly meth heads look like?? Bet they have cleaner houses than the alcho's
During the summer I love a beer and drink pretty regularly on hot days, maybe just one or 2 when I get home from work. Winter I drink bourbon, but a lot less frequently.
I just came back from a weeks beach holiday where my boyfriend and I went through 3 cartons of beer, however we were never pissed. The first few days back it was kinda habit just to have one. Melbourne Cup day I was home with the kids and had a wine for the race.. just because.. hell it was the cup! I will probably now go weeks without a drink as I really dont consider myself a drinker.
I agree there is a different perception of the drunk to the drug user. You will probably think I am the biggest wanker however I once got a co-worker sacked as she was drinking at work, driving company cars around (if your drinking at work at 10am you obviously have a problem and should not be on the fucking road as far as I am concerned) and basically she was fucking off at 2pm and leaving me to take all her calls and do her work. Yes I felt like a hypocrite as I have racked up at work and even smoked shards.. and feel justified in doing so as I do my job, pick up the slack from a lot of others and will still be in the office at 6pm.
Another lady I knew from work was a known alchoholic and dont know how the hell this happens but she fell out of bed one night and broke her neck! WTF
My work involves aranging care for the elderly in their homes. Im sorry but the drinkers are dirty dirty fuckers. It will be interesting to see in 30 years or so what the elderly meth heads look like?? Bet they have cleaner houses than the alcho's
popeyes mate
Bluelighter
Oh and I had this friend many years ago - she was a lot older than me, who used to drink a 750ml (yep back in the day) of Jim Beam a day. She would carry it around, and just drink a shot at a time, as she would drink a beer or 6 she had tucked away in her handbag as chasers.
She was a classic. Still know her, she has lost her licence for life now....
She was a classic. Still know her, she has lost her licence for life now....
footscrazy
Bluelight Crew
Fieldy said:
popeyes mate said:
Even though I mentioned in my previous post how I know alchos are looked down on by druggies, I'm really saddened and disappointed in the views of you two.
It seems even druggies have their prejudices...
popeyes mate, I think your coworker acted like a dick and it doesn't sound like she was in a fit state to work, and so it sounds justified that she had to leave that job. I find your generalisation of all drinkers/alcoholics as dirty fuckers puzzling though. Despite the fact alcohol tends to make people act in ways that no other drug can, I think the underlying biology and motivations behind alcoholism are the same as any other addiction to any other drug. Therefore, I think the drug of choice is perhaps secondary to the 'addiction', as such. I can relate to, and find compassion for addicts, regardless of their DOC. To me, it seems kind of close minded to judge users of a particular drug as worse than others, for facts perhaps as simple as alcohol was more easily accessed, or affordable for them, so that's the substance they became addicted to. Addiction is strongly neurochemical and biological as well as being a matter of choice, and addiction can occur to any psychoactive drug provided it's done enough, so perhaps a big factor that separates alcoholics from drug users is chance.
Alcohol is a drug that has perhaps the worst detrimental physical and mental effects of any drug. Perhaps because of this, or maybe for other factors (including alcohol's affordability) alcoholics tend to have the stereotype of being stupider or less worthy of respect than certain other types of 'addicts'. I think that maybe the detrimental effects of alcohol addiction are more noticable than many other drugs, so those who don't have much to begin with, find it much harder to maintain a level of respectability than other drug users.
Like I said before, I find the judgemental attitudes disappointing. I do strongly believe in personal responsibility and I don't believe in absolving people of this simply because they're addicts. But I think more understanding would be useful.
fivelinefury
Bluelighter
I drink every night (take a little break every couple of months or something), but do drink quite a bit. Its good, but even better with some benzos/codeine, etc.
popeyes mate
Bluelighter
Footscrazy I do take on board what you have to say, and your comments are justified.
I didnt say ALL drinkers in the general public are dirty (I dont know how they live at home), however in my line of work its my job to put in support to assist the clients in being active to improve their own situation and in the 15 years I have been in my role visiting people in their homes I find alcoholics, no matter their age the ones unwilling to want to change and living in a way I personally find appalling.
I have witnessed a lady who would sit in her chair and just urinate on a towel she would stuff between her legs as she is generally too drunk to walk to her toilet. She would then expect her carers to pick this up and rinse it out. Her house was filled with dog faeces as she would be unable to let the dogs out oftne enough. A man who's lino your shoes would stick to due to the urine on it as he would keep a bucket next to his bed and the lounge rather than walk to the toilet. His aim was not great. The experiences go on and on. To be offered a seat which is covered in dried vomit and human faeces is common.
I do have to appreciate all sides of a situation, so when my staff slag off these peoples family members for not supporting their mother or father, I have to remind them that the parent has possibly never been their for their kids during the kids life. And when the persons family are on my back to have the person removed from their home and placed in hospital etc, I have to remind the families its the individuals choice (in most situaltions we dont intervene).
I try to keep myself in check every day not to judge, but when you have people expecting support and saying they cant pay the very minimal fee involved (we have volunteers who take these people to appointments and need to be reimbursed for petrol), and the next day they are paying a taxi to pick up a cask of wine and a packet of smokes for them it does not sit well with me.
The vast majority of addicts I meet are pretty quick to state they want help to get a better life for them and their families. But just in MY experience the drinkers are generally in denial of the extent of their problem, and have at least 3 reasons why its not their fault their situation is as it is.
Just my observations.
I didnt say ALL drinkers in the general public are dirty (I dont know how they live at home), however in my line of work its my job to put in support to assist the clients in being active to improve their own situation and in the 15 years I have been in my role visiting people in their homes I find alcoholics, no matter their age the ones unwilling to want to change and living in a way I personally find appalling.
I have witnessed a lady who would sit in her chair and just urinate on a towel she would stuff between her legs as she is generally too drunk to walk to her toilet. She would then expect her carers to pick this up and rinse it out. Her house was filled with dog faeces as she would be unable to let the dogs out oftne enough. A man who's lino your shoes would stick to due to the urine on it as he would keep a bucket next to his bed and the lounge rather than walk to the toilet. His aim was not great. The experiences go on and on. To be offered a seat which is covered in dried vomit and human faeces is common.
I do have to appreciate all sides of a situation, so when my staff slag off these peoples family members for not supporting their mother or father, I have to remind them that the parent has possibly never been their for their kids during the kids life. And when the persons family are on my back to have the person removed from their home and placed in hospital etc, I have to remind the families its the individuals choice (in most situaltions we dont intervene).
I try to keep myself in check every day not to judge, but when you have people expecting support and saying they cant pay the very minimal fee involved (we have volunteers who take these people to appointments and need to be reimbursed for petrol), and the next day they are paying a taxi to pick up a cask of wine and a packet of smokes for them it does not sit well with me.
The vast majority of addicts I meet are pretty quick to state they want help to get a better life for them and their families. But just in MY experience the drinkers are generally in denial of the extent of their problem, and have at least 3 reasons why its not their fault their situation is as it is.
Just my observations.