Why do Irish people act as if drink is this thing to be feared?

completedit · 20-03-2019 12:13am #1

Irish people have such a strange view on booze. You get those Irish people who act as if quitting alchohol will bring about some mystical like superpowers. It's just a drink that gives you a buzz, It's more positive than not, some people just have a stupid attitude to it. They drink alcohol when they should probably just go out for a dinner and a glass of wine. Alcohol is for having fun and letting loose, not sitting around skulling pints around a table. It normalises it too much if you just drink it too much in a normal controlled setting.

Gimme A Pound · 20-03-2019 12:17am

That's an Irish thing?

Given the amount of alcohol consumed here, I don't think it'll catch on.

Actually it's possibly *because* of the amount consumed here that it's put on a pedestal by some. Maybe they used to drink too much and don't want to return to old ways, maybe they have or had an alcoholic family member.

20-03-2019 12:17am

A few quiet pints down at the local, in good company. What better way to unwind after a solid day's work. No adversarial relationship there.

completedit · 20-03-2019 12:18am

Deleted User wrote: »

A few quiet pints down at the local, in good company. What better way to unwind after a solid day's work. No adversarial relationship there.

I don't think so. I go out every 4 weeks or so and have fun, meet randos, do things I wouldn't do if I was sober, sitting around with my friends drinking in a corner of a quiet pub makes no sense. I can do that sober.

20-03-2019 12:20am

completedit wrote: »

I don't think so. I go out every 4 weeks or so and have fun, meet randos, do things I wouldn't do if I was sober, sitting around with my friends drinking in a corner of a quiet pub makes no sense. I can do that sober.

To each their own.

LessOutragePlz · 20-03-2019 12:20am

completedit wrote: »

Irish people have such a strange view on booze. You get those Irish people who act as if quitting alchohol will bring about some mystical like superpowers. It's just a drink that gives you a buzz, It's more positive than not, some people just have a stupid attitude to it. They drink alcohol when they should probably just go out for a dinner and a glass of wine. Alcohol is for having fun and letting loose, not sitting around skulling pints around a table. It normalises it too much if you just drink it too much in a normal controlled setting.

Yeah it's just a drink that is killing over 1,000 people a year.

And costing the Irish economy €2.3bn a year

He said that “some 1,050 deaths a year or 88 a month are due to alcohol. One-quarter of the deaths of young men aged between 15 and 19 are due to alcohol. It is also an element in half of suicides and approximately 30 per cent of incidents of self-harm.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/alcohol-abuse-costs-irish-economy-2-3bn-a-year-d%C3%A1il-hears-1.3394048

Omackeral · 20-03-2019 12:30am

completedit wrote: »

I don't think so. I go out every 4 weeks or so and have fun, meet randos, do things I wouldn't do if I was sober, sitting around with my friends drinking in a corner of a quiet pub makes no sense. I can do that sober.

Hearing someone use words like this would drive me to drink.

artanevilla · 20-03-2019 12:30am

Omackeral wrote: »

Hearing someone use words like this would drive me to drink.

Correct.

realitykeeper · 20-03-2019 12:33am

I think the pursuit of wisdon does not feature strongly in our culture, hence the drinking.

LadySkunk · 20-03-2019 12:35am

Alcohol most definitely is not more good than bad for some people(myself included). I rarely drink but once I’ve had one or two and get that buzz I just keep going and about 98% of the worst mistakes I’ve made have been the result of alcohol.

Don’t get me wrong I can understand the appeal and have had some great times but it’s like a game of Russian roulette on which drunk version of myself is going to come out and the older I get the more I realise it’s just not worth it.

I personally don’t understand the attitude people have with others who don’t drink?

completedit · 20-03-2019 12:36am

I guess I can't relate, I'm just normal on drink, it doesn't make me do stupid stuff and I know when to stop.

amcalester · 20-03-2019 12:37am

completedit wrote: »

I guess I can't relate, I'm just normal on drink, it doesn't make me do stupid stuff and I know when to stop.

Why bother then?

jobeenfitz · 20-03-2019 12:38am

Lots of people drink sensibly others don't and cause loads of destruction to themselves their family and some unfortunates who cross their path.

Effects · 20-03-2019 12:39am

completedit wrote: »

I know when to stop.

When do you stop?

completedit · 20-03-2019 12:40am

When i've got a buzz. Prob 3 pints, a double and a shot.

Neames · 20-03-2019 12:48am

Drinking in moderation is fine.

If you're losing days as a result of a night out, then you're in trouble.

I think people's relationship with alcohol is getting better but we're still very much immersed in a culture that revolves around drinking....a lot.

20-03-2019 12:50am

Omackeral wrote: »

Hearing someone use words like this would drive me to drink.

it's all about the bants with the randos

emilymemily · 20-03-2019 1:01am

Your question doesnt make sense, youre asking why Irish people fear drink then go on a rant about irish people sculling pints.

Ireland has a long history with alcohol, we're known world wide for drinking, paddys day is an international drinking day, every irish family has atleast one alcoholic, theres several in mine. As a culture we have a very unhealthy relationship with drink and most social events consist of copious amounts of alcohol. It will always be apart of the culture but it's not just Ireland, I think most Western countries are the same.

SEPT 23 1989 · 20-03-2019 1:01am

The only ones who fear it can't handle it

backspin. · 20-03-2019 1:16am

completedit wrote: »

I don't think so. I go out every 4 weeks or so and have fun, meet randos, do things I wouldn't do if I was sober, sitting around with my friends drinking in a corner of a quiet pub makes no sense. I can do that sober.

Whats randos.. is that randy people.

noubliezjamais · 20-03-2019 1:25am

Neames wrote: »

Drinking in moderation is fine.

If you're losing days as a result of a night out, then you're in trouble.

I think people's relationship with alcohol is getting better but we're still very much immersed in a culture that revolves around drinking....a lot.

In all fairness, we don't have much to do. This country still is in the grips of recession, has a class system with few opportunities...what do you expect?

Franz Von Peppercorn · 20-03-2019 1:28am

noubliezjamais wrote: »

In all fairness, we don't have much to do. This country still is in the grips of recession, has a class system with few opportunities...what do you expect?

There’s plenty to do. Getting people to do it is another thing.

fonecrusher1 · 20-03-2019 1:29am

Erraah I wouldn't be fond of the drink, but when I do go at it I go at it awful hard...

Andrew00 · 20-03-2019 1:35am

completedit wrote: »

I don't think so. I go out every 4 weeks or so and have fun, meet randos, do things I wouldn't do if I was sober, sitting around with my friends drinking in a corner of a quiet pub makes no sense. I can do that sober.

Sitting in a quiet pub drinking pints and watching the football/racing is better than any nightclub or busy pub

Andrew00 · 20-03-2019 1:42am

meeting randos

Arghus · 20-03-2019 3:08am

LessOutragePlz wrote: »

Yeah it's just a drink that is killing over 1,000 people a year.

And costing the Irish economy €2.3bn a year

He said that “some 1,050 deaths a year or 88 a month are due to alcohol. One-quarter of the deaths of young men aged between 15 and 19 are due to alcohol. It is also an element in half of suicides and approximately 30 per cent of incidents of self-harm.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/alcohol-abuse-costs-irish-economy-2-3bn-a-year-d%C3%A1il-hears-1.3394048

Ah, but the craic though.

20-03-2019 3:53am

I have mystical like superpowers since giving it up..

Hobosan · 20-03-2019 4:43am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I have mystical like superpowers since giving it up..

That's actually how the penis is supposed to work.

Omackeral · 20-03-2019 8:52am

sugarman wrote: »

Randos?

Id bet the OP is the type of person that would ask for a pint of 'Ken' or 'Heino' or 'Heino-mite'. Take your pick.

Heineken - Vitamin H
Guinness - A pint of Arthur
Carlsberg - Probs (as in probably the best lager in the world)

c.p.w.g.w · 20-03-2019 9:02am

TheSkunk wrote: »

Alcohol most definitely is not more good than bad for some people(myself included). I rarely drink but once I’ve had one or two and get that buzz I just keep going and about 98% of the worst mistakes I’ve made have been the result of alcohol.

Don’t get me wrong I can understand the appeal and have had some great times but it’s like a game of Russian roulette on which drunk version of myself is going to come out and the older I get the more I realise it’s just not worth it.

I personally don’t understand the attitude people have with others who don’t drink?

Well if you know that's how you react to alcohol, learn to stop after 2 or just never drink again.

20-03-2019 9:04am

noubliezjamais wrote: »

In all fairness, we don't have much to do.

I think I must genuinely live in a different world to you. I have spent the last 10 years trying to pack 36 hours of living into 24 hour days. The concept of having not much to do could not be more alien to me.

OneArt · 20-03-2019 10:01am

amcalester wrote: »

Why bother then?

I'm pretty normal on alcohol as well... To the outside world. It gives me a nice buzz. Maybe I get a bit bouncy or silly, but that really depends on the people I'm drinking with. At the most I just get more chatty.

Drugs of all kinds can affect people in slightly different ways. And people enjoy them for different reasons. I think for me I mainly just like alcohol for the extra dopamine hit.

realitykeeper · 20-03-2019 10:36am

Deleted User wrote: »

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." William Blake

Yes, but we will have a lot of suffering to do as a consequence of our excesses before we eventually, hopefully learn to cherish wisdom.

20-03-2019 10:54am

completedit wrote: »

I don't think so. I go out every 4 weeks or so and have fun, meet randos, do things I wouldn't do if I was sober, sitting around with my friends drinking in a corner of a quiet pub makes no sense. I can do that sober.

Dug into the corner of a pub, sport on the telly and a fire blazing while horsing into 10 or 12 lovely creamy pints of Guinness and talking utter s*ite is absolute heaven, nothing I’d rather be doing!

suicide_circus · 20-03-2019 10:56am

embrace your fears

jimgoose · 20-03-2019 11:10am

Omackeral wrote: »

Hearing someone use words like this would drive me to drink.

People who go out once in a blue moon to get totes bolloxways and have the bants make me feel queasy and I have to avoid them. I'm for having a few cold ones with mates of an evening down the local camp.

dubdaymo · 20-03-2019 11:11am

Irish people don't fear drink. Where did you get that idea from?

The majority of Irish people (used to be mainly adult men but now women and teens, too) are addicted to alcohol. They'll never admit it, of course, but the (pint of) plain fact of the matter is that they cannot do without it no matter what the occasion whether it be in the home or at events outside.

It's never going to change because in Ireland it's considered macho to drink alcohol and the more the merrier. Kids can't wait to be of age to drink so most will start long before it is legal. As Messala said to Ben-Hur, "it goes on".

Tombo2001 · 20-03-2019 11:14am

Each invidivual has a different life. What alcohol means for you at this point in your life (early 20s, am assuming, correct me if I'm wrong) is
(i) not the same as what alcohol will mean for you in 20 years time
(ii) not the same as what alcohol means for all other people.

One would think the internet would open peoples minds, but if anything its the opposite - its a tool for people to express their own world view based on the experience of that one person, as opposed to opening their eyes and seeing whats happening in the world.

elperello · 20-03-2019 11:20am

The craft of the brewer.
The skill of the winemaker.
The genius of the distiller.

Richard Hillman · 20-03-2019 11:23am

Drinking is wonderful. Just as long as you go to bed at a reasonable time and don't glass anybody on the way there.

Ariadne · 20-03-2019 12:06pm

I fear alcohol but not enough to stop drinking it. I'm one of those people who doesn't go out for a year and then decides it's a good idea to have an orgy after ten double vodkas.

B_ecke_r · 20-03-2019 12:09pm

Deleted User wrote: »

A few quiet pints down at the local, in good company. What better way to unwind after a solid day's work. No adversarial relationship there.

couldn't agree more,

few pints and a slagging no better way to spend an evening

Badly Drunk Boy · 20-03-2019 2:37pm

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

Well if you know that's how you react to alcohol, learn to stop after 2 or just never drink again.

He already said that he rarely drinks anymore. I'm the same. In my case, I'd get to a stage where I wouldn't want to stop, just try to keep the buzz going. And it's not down to stupidity. Chemicals in your body, and especially in your brain, can affect people differently.

I have friends who'd have to have a few drinks every evening, every single day, and always feel they need to, but I could easily do without. But once I started (and hit a certain point), that's that.

Succubus_ wrote: »

I fear alcohol but not enough to stop drinking it. I'm one of those people who doesn't go out for a year and then decides it's a good idea to have an orgy after ten double vodkas.

I'm amazed that the reprobates around here didn't pick up on this! :pac:

Neames · 20-03-2019 2:55pm

noubliezjamais wrote: »

In all fairness, we don't have much to do. This country still is in the grips of recession, has a class system with few opportunities...what do you expect?

Do whatever interests you...that could be cycling, photography whatever floats your boat.....try to socialise over dinner rather than drinks. You don't have to cut it out altogether....but if it is affecting your health or your relationships then cut back or give it up.

chrissb8 · 20-03-2019 3:31pm

completedit wrote: »

Irish people have such a strange view on booze. You get those Irish people who act as if quitting alchohol will bring about some mystical like superpowers. It's just a drink that gives you a buzz, It's more positive than not, some people just have a stupid attitude to it. They drink alcohol when they should probably just go out for a dinner and a glass of wine. Alcohol is for having fun and letting loose, not sitting around skulling pints around a table. It normalises it too much if you just drink it too much in a normal controlled setting.

Most Irish people have someone they know effected by alcohol. Have seen some pretty horrible things happen to people on drunk. And more often than not have had nights or incidents which have revolved around alcohol.

There is everything to fear about alcohol consumption in Ireland and respecting it is the "stupid attitude" that everyone should have. Alcohol is "normalised" in many cultures as being part of the diet...Italy, Germany, Spain etc. So I don't get when people say stupid things like drinking around a table is bad somehow?

What? it's a terrible thing to go out and have a few drinks for the sake of enjoying the drink itself and unwinding getting a slight "buzz" then trotting off away home. In my mind people should drink less on a night out and then when the occassion does happen have a bit more.

Just our problem, as a nation, is that going to the local every Saturday and drinking 9-10 pints is a good thing.

Geuze · 20-03-2019 3:40pm

noubliezjamais wrote: »

In all fairness, we don't have much to do. This country still is in the grips of recession, has a class system with few opportunities...what do you expect?

Ireland is not in a recession.

noubliezjamais · 20-03-2019 5:29pm

Geuze wrote: »

Ireland is not in a recession.

We may not be in a recession but things haven't gone back to the golden days of the Celtic tiger.

Economics teacher constantly says this.

Dial Hard · 20-03-2019 5:35pm

noubliezjamais wrote: »

Economics teacher constantly says this.

Ah. That explains a lot.

James Brown · 20-03-2019 5:53pm

realitykeeper wrote: »

I think the pursuit of wisdon does not feature strongly in our culture, hence the drinking.

I've been chasing wisdon for several years and when I catch him he'll get a belt of my shillelagh I can tell ya.

James Brown · 20-03-2019 5:55pm

Geuze wrote: »

Ireland is not in a recession.

The terminology is generally not very accurate IMO. Record breaking worsening crises, but no recession as the economy is doing well. I suppose even when 'we were practically eating out of bins' 'our own' were doing grand.

Edgware · 20-03-2019 7:23pm

Succubus_ wrote: »

I fear alcohol but not enough to stop drinking it. I'm one of those people who doesn't go out for a year and then decides it's a good idea to have an orgy after ten double vodkas.

When I'm lying on the floor in my own piss and vomit after 15 pints I know then its time to hit the double vodkas

Why do Irish people act as if drink is this thing to be feared?

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