Why does drink turn some people into idiots?

godtabh

I've been out to night and have had a few pints with a few friends. On a nite link now and the amount of people smoking on it is unreal. These are probably the same people who if they were on the bus going to work on a Monday morning would've enough cop on not to be smoking.

That’s just an example of the crap we see on a typical Saturday night.

I would be delighted if they brought in the same sort of control they have on the sale of drink in the likes of Iceland. Wouldn’t affect me that much but I'm sure there would be a generation of young people who would be totally put out by it.

A bit of a rant but the replies I get I'm sure I’m will make it all worth while!

I’ll correct the spelling mistakes and what not tomorrow

monkeyfudge

If smoking is the worst thing you see on your Nitelink then you must have a very nice Nitelink.

bronte

Had a trip home on the shytelink tonight myself. Bit of aggro upstairs with a few drunken folk. Wish I coulda afforded a taxi!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

The latinians called it "In Vino Veritas" or something.

Basically, people who act a certain way when pissed are that way. They just have don't act that way when sober because social protocol and basic inhibitions get in the way.

With alcohol, such concerns are dulled. Which means that people who are happy when pissed are happy when sober. People who are depressed when pissed are depressed when sober (but hide it).

People who act like arrogant little sh1ts when they're pissed are arrogant also arrogant little sh1ts when they're sober, but know better than to act that way.

cournioni

Drink is nothing, you should see certain people change when they're on coke...

godtabh

monkeyfudge wrote: »

If smoking is the worst thing you see on your Nitelink then you must have a very nice Nitelink.

It wasnt but its probably the thing that pissed me off the most as its the thing that affected me the most. Its a simple thing that changes when you add drink

Dudess

I wanted to get drunk to the point of idiocy tonight but no matter how much I drank, I couldn't reach my goal...

Dehydrated as fukk now.

godtabh

Dudess wrote: »

I wanted to get drunk to the point of idiocy tonight but no matter how much I drank, I couldn't reach my goal...

Dehydrated as fukk now.

Thats the advice I got a few weeks ago after a break up but I didnt see the point.

As homer says alcohol the cause of and solution to all lives problems

Rb

Dudess wrote: »

I wanted to get drunk to the point of idiocy tonight but no matter how much I drank, I couldn't reach my goal...

Dehydrated as fukk now.

Ooh, time for a game of "Guess which one is Dudess' thread" in PI

Caoimhín

Is there any real scientific research into why some ethnic groups simply cant handle the alcohol, I'm thinking Irish, Japanese, Northern Europeans?? Is there a historical reason for this, genetic maybe. Why must we over indulge (guilty myself at times btw) where as others can take it or leave it.
I know I'm generalising.

Rb

caoibhin wrote: »

Is there any real scientific research into why some ethnic groups simply cant handle the alcohol, I'm thinking Irish, Japanese, Northern Europeans?? Is there a historical reason for this, genetic maybe. Why must we over indulge (guilty myself at times btw) where as others can take it or leave it.
I know I'm generalising.

It's not scientific, it's to do with the culture/attitude towards alcohol in the country.

Here, people have access to drink young and start binge drinking because it's "great fun". They bring it in to adulthood, don't grow the f*ck up about it, and drink themselves into a mess as often as they can. We've a binge drinking culture in this country which has been brought through from youth and will probably be passed on to the next generation unless something is done about it.

Probably a similar situation in Japan, though of course they're naturally smaller and lighter and have different diets to us so they probably just get píssed a lot quicker than us.

SimpleSam06

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Basically, people who act a certain way when pissed are that way.

I don't think thats true. Alcohol is essentially a poison, and drinking over a few days in the same week makes a complete mess of your sleep cycles. So what you have is irritated, half poisoned, sleep deprived dehydrated people running around with reduced control over their higher functions (and often only partial control of their basc functions). This is hardly representative of the way a person "really" is.

The in vino veritas phrase is a reference to the way that the brain becomes lazier when drunk, and so is less likely to concoct a convincing lie. A lot of "truth serums" work the same way.

aidan_walsh

It's not scientific, it's to do with the culture/attitude

I sure hope there are no sociologists reading this.

Hagar

Drink doesn't turn people into idiots, it just reveals them for what they are.
Many of them, when they are sober, manage to conceal it.

Irish Halo

caoibhin wrote: »

Is there any real scientific research into why some ethnic groups simply cant handle the alcohol

I've heard the stories that Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians can't handle alcohol because of their genes and as an excuse to limit the sale of it to these "primitives" (it is always framed that way) but have never seen any science to back it up and believe it is just low level racism.

Hagar wrote: »

Drink doesn't turn people into idiots, it just reveals them for what they are.
Many of them when they are sober manage to conceal it.

This is true.

Dun laoire

I remember seeing our milkman in a nightclub and i told him he was the best milkman in the whole wide world and gave him a big hug.

Crumble Froo

Dudess wrote: »

I wanted to get drunk to the point of idiocy tonight but no matter how much I drank, I couldn't reach my goal...

Dehydrated as fukk now.

become sleep deprived the night before, fail to eat teh day of, drink double doses in normal time the night of.... enhance with greenery if all else fails....

sorted.

Wertz

caoibhin wrote: »

Is there any real scientific research into why some ethnic groups simply cant handle the alcohol, I'm thinking Irish, Japanese, Northern Europeans?? Is there a historical reason for this, genetic maybe. Why must we over indulge (guilty myself at times btw) where as others can take it or leave it.
I know I'm generalising.

There is evidence that among certain ethnic groups, mainly of east Asian origin, a % of the populace have an altered means of production of a bodily enzyme called ADH, which leads to a lowered tolerance level or magnified effects of intoxication. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_flush#Explanations
AFAIK it's not a problem we suffer with in the west (in indigenous populations)...as RB says, it's cultural mixed in with a big dollop of stupidity...

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

Latinians...

Romans?

nice1franko

rb_ie wrote: »

It's not scientific, it's to do with the culture/attitude towards alcohol in the country.

Here, people have access to drink young and start binge drinking because it's "great fun".

damn right it's great fun.

if you only thnk it's "great fun" then you're doing it wrong

Sherifu

nice1franko wrote: »

damn right it's great fun.

if you only thnk it's "great fun" then you're doing it wrong

Hmmm?

Rb

nice1franko wrote: »

damn right it's great fun.

if you only thnk it's "great fun" then you're doing it wrong

Grow up.

life_is_music

yup people are idiots...........take last night for example I robbed 2 bar stools, 2 framed pictures and 2 shot glasses.

Woke up this morning realising what a retard I am

Dyr

Irish Halo wrote: »

I've heard the stories that Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians can't handle alcohol because of their genes and as an excuse to limit the sale of it to these "primitives" (it is always framed that way) but have never seen any science to back it up and believe it is just low level racism.


This is true.

AFAIK a lot of native american reservation thingeys have a self imposed ban on alcohol because it such a problem for them

AckwelFoley

Hagar wrote: »

Drink doesn't turn people into idiots, it just reveals them for what they are.
Many of them, when they are sober, manage to conceal it.

This i believe is correct.

I know guys when sober are lovely.. if they have a few pints all they want to do is fight.
My mate is an arguementative dick head with drink.

I turn into a complete horn bag when i drink :rolleyes:

dsmythy

Wertz wrote: »

There is evidence that among certain ethnic groups, mainly of east Asian origin, a % of the populace have an altered means of production of a bodily enzyme called ADH, which leads to a lowered tolerance level or magnified effects of intoxication. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_flush#Explanations
AFAIK it's not a problem we suffer with in the west (in indigenous populations)...as RB says, it's cultural mixed in with a big dollop of stupidity...

More on genetic variance with regards to East Asian's ability (or lack there of) to intake alcohol.

dsmythy

snyper wrote: »

I turn into a complete horn bag when i drink :rolleyes:

You hide that fact when you are sober? :pac:

AckwelFoley

dsmythy wrote: »

You hide that fact when you are sober? :pac:

Yes. I try. I strap "it" to the inside of my leg... and i try to be polite to women and not speak as if they are objects :pac:

JavaBear

rb_ie wrote: »

Grow up.

Stop putting yourself above other people.. because you're really not.

godtabh

JavaBear wrote: »

Stop putting yourself above other people.. because you're really not.

I would've said the same things as rb_ie but he beat me to it.

I really do think the government needs to sort out the control and sale of drink. THe fact that you can buy drink in a petrol station to me is unbelievable

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

kearnsr wrote: »

I would've said the same things as rb_ie but he beat me to it.

I really do think the government needs to sort out the control and sale of drink. THe fact that you can buy drink in a petrol station to me is unbelievable

Why so? You think people are going to get some petrol, buy a beer and drink it on the way home?
(Cue Homer - "one for me.... one for you!")

Seriously, this is a cultural thing. Not a governemnt thing. Blaming the government for this is like blaming them for the bad weather. And as soon as they do try to tighten the laws you'll be complaining that it's an infringment on your rights - look at the Good Friday argument.

Drink does not turn people into idiots. They're idiots to start off with.

Wagon

PORNAPSTER wrote: »

Drink is nothing, you should see certain people change when they're on coke...

Have to agree with that. There was a pair of complete ***** at the back of the 77 on my way into town on friday night, snorting coke and shouting at Romanians, kicking the door of the bus when they got off and generally pissed people off. And it wasn't a nightlink, it was at 8pm. Gay :mad:

stovelid

kearnsr wrote: »

That’s just an example of the crap we see on a typical Saturday night.

Agreed. I was in the Dice bar yesterday, and there were two twats stumbling around the tables bugging people.

They were doing that fake camaraderie (but with an large undertow of lairyness) to ensure that they didn't actually get into fights.

When they left, I saw them (through the window) annoying some young lads hanging around the corner. One can only hope that they ended their night in A and E.

Wagon wrote: »

at the back of the 77 on my way into town on friday night, snorting coke and shouting at Romanians,

Times have changed. I used to get that bus when I was younger and lived out there. It was usually glue and cider back then.

godtabh

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Why so? You think people are going to get some petrol, buy a beer and drink it on the way home?
(Cue Homer - "one for me.... one for you!")

Seriously, this is a cultural thing. Not a governemnt thing. Blaming the government for this is like blaming them for the bad weather. And as soon as they do try to tighten the laws you'll be complaining that it's an infringment on your rights - look at the Good Friday argument.

Drink does not turn people into idiots. They're idiots to start off with.

It was more to do with the drink driving culture that I think its a bad idea to sell drink in a petrol station.

I'm not blaming the goverment for the drinking problem but there is a lot more they could do to solve the problem

Caoimhín

They were doing that fake camaraderie (but with an large undertow of lairyness) to ensure that they didn't actually get into fights.

Whats this phenomenon stovelid?

rossie1977

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

The latinians called it "In Vino Veritas" or something.

Basically, people who act a certain way when pissed are that way. They just have don't act that way when sober because social protocol and basic inhibitions get in the way.

With alcohol, such concerns are dulled. Which means that people who are happy when pissed are happy when sober. People who are depressed when pissed are depressed when sober (but hide it).

People who act like arrogant little sh1ts when they're pissed are arrogant also arrogant little sh1ts when they're sober, but know better than to act that way.

i have been saying for a long time and its interesting, some of my friends only need one or two drinks and its all agro and a few of those friends are girls :eek:

i don't understand why some people want to fight when drunk; i see it all the time and lived in athlone for 5 years where i saw it 20-30 times a night

keen

Smoking on the night link? Big deal get over it.

Kold

Hagar wrote: »

Drink doesn't turn people into idiots, it just reveals them for what they are.
Many of them, when they are sober, manage to conceal it.

I don't agree, I think some mixtures just make people go nuts.

I am, for the most, the most docile human being in the world but I went f*cking ballistic the other night. I like to get steamed often enough, I'm a student and I tend to have a good time; a few beers and then down to the pub to get rowdy, go dancing and have the craic. The other night though, I drank 4 glasses of wine before heading out and drinking a good few pints and then some cider and I can't explain it but I went f*cking nuts and did some sh*t I regret. I actually can't imagine what must've been going through my head because I would have never actually done that sh*t any other night.

Also, I've never really ever wanted to start fights and in the past, gin has made me pretty aggressive.

I've taken note and will not be mixing wine and beer or drink gin in future.

Jager however tends to make me the happiest danciest lush there is. It's like the hyperactivity before coming up and it sure gives me a bit more confidence.

Capt'n Midnight

One theory I've heard is that in the East they drank tea and other infusions while while in the west we drank beer. In them days water wasn't always clean so drinking tea/beer was a way of staying alive in cities. Probably not true.

As a species we do have a very high tolerance of chocolate, many other mammals would be killed off by what we'd eat on easter sunday.

stovelid

caoibhin wrote: »

Whats this phenomenon stovelid?

Last night, it was coming over to people's tables and being initially friendly, but crowding into your space, giving you the evil eye if you didn't go along with it, or doing stuff like prodding you to make a point.

Basically, stopping short of doing something that they can get punched for, but being lairy all the same.

Caoimhín

stovelid wrote: »

Last night, it was coming over to people's tables and being initially friendly, but crowding into your space, giving you the evil eye if you didn't go along with it, or doing stuff like prodding you to make a point.

Basically, stopping short of doing something that they can get punched for, but being lairy all the same.

I see.
No that wouldnt have a happy ending where I drink.

Rb

JavaBear wrote: »

Stop putting yourself above other people.. because you're really not.

Excuse me?

I don't binge drink anymore. I'm not one of those drunken louts wandering around Dublin city after the clubs close, getting into fights/causing mayhem and using up Garda resources that could be used elsewhere, had there not been so many idiots who went OTT with alcohol so I will say what I want to those who are, or those who endorse their behaviour or the culture that has resulted from it.

Caoimhín

rb_ie wrote: »

Excuse me?

I don't binge drink anymore. I'm not one of those drunken louts wandering around Dublin city after the clubs close, getting into fights/causing mayhem and using up Garda resources that could be used elsewhere, had there not been so many idiots who went OTT with alcohol so I will say what I want to those who are, or those who endorse their behaviour or the culture that has resulted from it.

I'm forced to agree on this.

beautiation

I don't agree that idiotic behaviour when drunk is necessarily a sign that someone really is an idiot! I love getting all stupid and sentimental and doing stupid things when I've been binge drinking but it's partly voluntary, because being ridiculous every now and then is just great craic. Especially when it's in a place where everyone else is in the same condition and the usual inhibitive judgemental atmosphere of society is gone.I act extreme when sober as well when around my very best friends who I trust, I don't want to talk about intellectual things or be clever around them cos it's not half as much fun as ending up in a random giggling mess shouting nonsense at passersby. Does that make me an idiot? If so, so be it. I believe that a lot of trouble that comes from drinking isn't from the alcohol itself, but from the fact that society is so uptight when sober that the liberation of its dissolution is simply overwhelming for some people and they lose all control. That's part of the reason why I think Irish and British society are plagued so much by alcohol problems, we're so much more repressed than other societies.

Originally Posted by Ikky Poo2
The latinians called it "In Vino Veritas" or something.

Basically, people who act a certain way when pissed are that way. They just have don't act that way when sober because social protocol and basic inhibitions get in the way.

With alcohol, such concerns are dulled. Which means that people who are happy when pissed are happy when sober. People who are depressed when pissed are depressed when sober (but hide it).

People who act like arrogant little sh1ts when they're pissed are arrogant also arrogant little sh1ts when they're sober, but know better than to act that way.

There is some truth in this I think, but what about people who are really bipolar when hammered? You know, dancing on the tables at twelve, sobbing in the toilets at two. While the initial condition people are in when drunk may be a sign of their underlying hidden self, I think that that can get distorted over time, as the disorientating effects of the alcohol set in and it begins to amplify emotional reaction to the littlest events that happen. IMO sometimes people behaving unacceptably when drunk deserve to just have it written off as a bad trip or whatever, and not to be judged for it.

godtabh

beautiation wrote: »

it's not half as much fun as ending up in a random giggling mess shouting nonsense at passersby. Does that make me an idiot?

Yes that makes you an idiot. You are whats wrong with the drinking culture these days

BraziliaNZ

I get hammered quite a lot and really enjoy it. I never get in any trouble and always just walk home quietly when I leave a bar or wherever I'm leaving. For me it's just a way to loosen up and helps me socially, it's easier to meet people when I'm drinking. It's the morons who go crazy and fight and break things that are the problem. Most of these idiots have problems anyway. If I like to drink a lot and it doesn't do anyone (except my liver) and harm, no one on these boards has a right to say it's wrong.

beautiation

kearnsr wrote: »

Yes that makes you an idiot. You are whats wrong with the drinking culture these days

Oh wow, that's quite an honour! Though you shouldn't be so modest; judgemental buzz killers like yourself deserve part of the credit cos people probably need to be pissed to be able to put up with you!

Crumble Froo

cos shouting at strangers is ok?

personally, i find it quite invasive and intimidating.

Rb

kearnsr wrote: »

Yes that makes you an idiot. You are whats wrong with the drinking culture these days

+1. Wtf is wrong with these people?

Crumble Froo wrote: »

cos shouting at strangers is ok?

personally, i find it quite invasive and intimidating.

Just ignore them tbh.

Crumble Froo

the poster or the groups of people shouting at you on the street at night?

posters, i couldnt care less about, groups of obviously drunk people shouting at you while you're walking by yourself at night... ill ignore and scurry past, but that doesnt make me feel any little bit safer.

Caoimhín

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

I get hammered quite a lot and really enjoy it. I never get in any trouble and always just walk home quietly when I leave a bar or wherever I'm leaving. For me it's just a way to loosen up and helps me socially, it's easier to meet people when I'm drinking. It's the morons who go crazy and fight and break things that are the problem. Most of these idiots have problems anyway. If I like to drink a lot and it doesn't do anyone (except my liver) and harm, no one on these boards has a right to say it's wrong.

No, your an adult (i presume) so you can drink away until your heart (or liver) is content. It is indeed the assholes who get angry and abuse verbally or physically other people that is the problem.
Oh and if you have health insurance to cover the inevitable medical costs incurred by over indulging over a sustained period. I dont see why the rest of society should cover that cost.

godtabh

beautiation wrote: »

Oh wow, that's quite an honour! Though you shouldn't be so modest; judgemental buzz killers like yourself deserve part of the credit cos people probably need to be pissed to be able to put up with you!

I' well able to have a good time with and with out drink.

People can drink and get drunk with out pissing off or upsetting other people. They can be decent people drunk or sober. But as the tittle goes some people just turn into idiots