Clubs and Bars -- Drugged Hamsters

[The Arab]

OK, I'm genuinely curious about it. What is the fascination of Americans with binge drinking and getting 'wasted'

Where is the 'fun' in this ? Why do you drink alcohol ?

Most people give a general and meaningless reason as "to be social." What does drinking alcohol have to do with being social .. except if it's there to act as a social lubricant and loosen inhibitions and act as a social crutch ?

In my opinion, most people drink for two reasons. First, peer pressure/social climate mandates drinking as the "thing to do" and something "fun." The masses do it, because everyone else is doing it.

Second reason,and primary in my opinion, is the use alcohol to help "break the ice" and loosen inhibitions for people who tend to be more repressed and don't know how to naturally interact in social environments with people they don't know. Drinking helps them relax, calms their nerves, helps them talk and socialize. It gives them confidence, confidence JUST TO TALK TO PEOPLE.

Why the hell are you folks so repressed that you are incapable of opening up and having fun and conversation without using something to alter your state of mind ? Seems to me those places where people drink the most, are also the most repressed.

But why do all these people need alcohol to help them relax and socialize , unless there's some kind of psychological difficulty in people in "opening up" without the use of mind altering substances.

Now, if people were social in everyday life, and went to drink to be more social, that's fine. But it seems to me, people are repressed and closed the whole week, then on the weekends they drug themselves like hamsters, and the effect is weird. They repeat this cycle week in and week out, stumbling around like fools, never learning. Are you folks trying to escape reality ? Simply not capable of enjoying yourselves unless drugged ? Seems like it to me.

When I'm in clubs/bars, I'm sober, and I'm f***ing social and charismatic.

Everyone else is retardedly intoxicated , acting out, acting like children, posturing, and in general making fools of themselves. It's like being in a looney bin with mental patients. Just like mental patients, intoxicated people are unpredictable and they even talk like mental patients.

BACKGROUND :

Back where I'm from, it's dry. No bars, no alcohol sold officially anywhere.

People are extroverted, talkative, relaxed. People enjoy conversation and socializing, have fun, laugh, dance..... with no alcohol. We know how to enjoy ourselves and express ourselves, even with a simple conversation and the use of humor.

[lookin4happiness]

You're right,
Needing alchohol to socialize is a sign of f***ed up people and a f***ed up society. People are better off without any alchohol or drugs in their lives at all to be quite frank, both are poisons and they can definitely ruin your lifes. Plus alchohol is f***ing expensive. If I counted up all the money I have seen my parents spend over the years on their casual (but daily) wine drinking habit I am sure it would be astonishing, given their middle class means. I myself have pretty much stopped drinking altogether. I drink maybe one or two beers every 5-6 weeks. My body has stopped craving it and I feel very healthy and feel like I am on the right track.

One of the things about American life is that people are repressed as shit. Many of the die hard drinkers/druggers don't have any religion/spirituality, or genuine social connection/relationship to vent their human feelings/concerns and frustrations and therefor have no choice but to get blitzed and act out their repression.

[Keyser]

Great, another f***ing idiot with his "let's bash the Merkins" thread...

f***ing loser with no life and nothing better to do...

[The Arab]

Great, another f***ing idiot with his "let's bash the Merkins" thread...

f***ing loser with no life and nothing better to do...

[have2fly]

I disagree. Back where I am from alcohol is consumed widely, but people dance, talk, meet and have fun. I drank beer and vodka (on holidays) since middle school and now I am making a successful career in the U.S. Drinking isn't terrible if it is in moderation.

America is disconnected in general, so many people like to get drunk so they can forget the social norms. In Russia/FSU it's about having even more fun and drinking is seen as a way to get "closer" in many ways - with guys it's about closer friendship, with girls it's about making moves and making out. But it's done very differently from America, drinking is also done in a different way, there is a custom behind it etc.

So Arab, if people would not drink in American bars, bars would still be shallow, filled with fake douchebags. You can't change the culture, even if you make people stop drinking.

In predominantly Muslim Kazakhstan most men do drink by the way.

[Billy]

1. When you have to work like a mindless zombie you need to have drugs to feel alive again.
2. Most heavy drinkers come from countries with cold climates. Living in cold areas is depressing so you need something to lighten up your mood. Or in case of Australia they have still the working ethic of a cold climate but it´s not easy to switch to the life mode so they need their drugs.

[The Arab]

I'm specifically talking about the club/bar scene in Los Angeles.

Though it's pretty much the same in Miami, NYC, and Chicago from what I've seen.

I don't drink because of religious reasons mind you .... a lot of Arabs drink when abroad like there's no tomorrow.

I'm into fitness and health and alcohol lowers testosterone and has other detrimental effects for athletes and people who train.

I'm also very personable, curious, and social by nature.I'm at ease in social situations, which is a product of my upbringing with heavy focus on debate and socializing.Let's just say I am a social and networking butterfly. I don't need to drink to loosen up because it doesn't do anything for me.

The zest for life, warm sun, sand, coffee, the din and ruckus of conversation and argument, the blare of taxis and the soug ... you ARE a product of your upbringing, you are shaped by your surroundings.

I'm not hating on drinking in general, because it would be silly to think everyone shares the same mindset and psychology as you do, because people don't. In fact, I am in the minority and for the majority, drinking alcohol is pleasurable.

Russians/Eastern Europeans tend to have more introverted personalities , but they're still real and not fake.

[Billy]

BACKGROUND :

Back where I'm from, it's dry. No bars, no alcohol sold officially anywhere.

People are extroverted, talkative, relaxed. People enjoy conversation and socializing, have fun, laugh, dance..... with no alcohol. We know how to enjoy ourselves and express ourselves, even with a simple conversation and the use of humor.

You can not have the cake and eat it. How old are you? Did you ever worked hard in your life?

[gsjackson]

You call what Americans do when they get hammered "socializing?" Pay closer attention to what they're "saying." It's all about mindlessness. Among the possibilities you named, escape from reality comes closest. They have no individuality, no personalities, and they know this, so they attempt a Dionysian merger into a great mindless blob of humanity where they don't have to individuate. That's why they're so comfortable in enormous crowds, such as at a ball game or a crowded club, venues that would be quite uncomfortable for a normal and sober person. All are equally mindless, and no personality is required.

[The Arab]

BACKGROUND :

Back where I'm from, it's dry. No bars, no alcohol sold officially anywhere.

People are extroverted, talkative, relaxed. People enjoy conversation and socializing, have fun, laugh, dance..... with no alcohol. We know how to enjoy ourselves and express ourselves, even with a simple conversation and the use of humor.

You can not have the cake and eat it. How old are you? Did you ever worked hard in your life?

You mean like a 9-5 job ?

No, I did my own thing, on my own time. I was my own boss.

[targetguy]

I havent had a drink for years and find no need for a drink. to me alcohol makes me lasy and gives me a headache. If i hAd a good female companion and she wanted a drink i guess it would be ok but myself i have no use for alcohol. I have seen a lot of the effects of it on auto accidents and loss of conscious of many especially college students that i think it is a phase people go through. I think the moslems have it right in regard to alcohol it should be prohibited along with a lot of the crap on tv. The us seems to be a society where the few sports players and actors have it all with the grossly overpaid ceos of companys and they cant figure out why the us is falling apart at the seams and isnt a more level playing field type society.

[odbo]

You call what Americans do when they get hammered "socializing?" Pay closer attention to what they're "saying." It's all about mindlessness. Among the possibilities you named, escape from reality comes closest. They have no individuality, no personalities, and they know this, so they attempt a Dionysian merger into a great mindless blob of humanity where they don't have to individuate. That's why they're so comfortable in enormous crowds, such as at a ball game or a crowded club, venues that would be quite uncomfortable for a normal and sober person. All are equally mindless, and no personality is required.

Very good points. I tend to avoid places where masses of idiots congregate but still force myself to venture out to county fairs and such once in a while because us avoiding the problem will only make it worse. We need to maintain human contact even if the people we are dealing with are barely human.

[have2fly]

You call what Americans do when they get hammered "socializing?" Pay closer attention to what they're "saying." It's all about mindlessness. Among the possibilities you named, escape from reality comes closest. They have no individuality, no personalities, and they know this, so they attempt a Dionysian merger into a great mindless blob of humanity where they don't have to individuate. That's why they're so comfortable in enormous crowds, such as at a ball game or a crowded club, venues that would be quite uncomfortable for a normal and sober person. All are equally mindless, and no personality is required.

Great observation! That's exactly what I was trying to say, that East Europeans drink for a different reasons and drinking is actually fun over there because people become even more open and even more funny. Girls loosen up even more, girls sometimes would strip on a house party in Ukraine easily, not even because they want to get laid, but just because they are having fun and enjoying themselves etc. Drinking in America is about forgetting your present and trying to relax, but it does not help that much actually.

[Billy]

The Arab, no wonder you feel cool as you was your own boss. Working under a tough boss is not an easy thing. Specially while producing mindless consumer shit.

To bring some balance to the thread:

Alcohol kills more than half Russian men and women in their most productive years, according to new research.

The international study found three quarters of deaths among men and half of deaths among women aged 15-54 could be attributed to alcohol abuse.

Such a mortality rate for this age range is five times higher for men and three times higher for women when compared to Western Europe.

Professor David Zaridze, who led the research, worked out that alcohol had killed three million in the country since the failed attempt to restrict sales in 1987.

Some 30,000 people - twice the number the Soviet Union lost in its 10-year war with Afghanistan - now die from alcohol poisoning in Russia every year.

The research focused in three industrial cities - Tomsk, Barnaul and Biysk - and found alcohol was responsible for 52 per cent of deaths - 13 times the world average.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... prime.html

[jamesbond]

OK, I'm genuinely curious about it. What is the fascination of Americans with binge drinking and getting 'wasted'

Where is the 'fun' in this ? Why do you drink alcohol ?

Most people give a general and meaningless reason as "to be social." What does drinking alcohol have to do with being social .. except if it's there to act as a social lubricant and loosen inhibitions and act as a social crutch ?

In my opinion, most people drink for two reasons. First, peer pressure/social climate mandates drinking as the "thing to do" and something "fun." The masses do it, because everyone else is doing it.

Second reason,and primary in my opinion, is the use alcohol to help "break the ice" and loosen inhibitions for people who tend to be more repressed and don't know how to naturally interact in social environments with people they don't know. Drinking helps them relax, calms their nerves, helps them talk and socialize. It gives them confidence, confidence JUST TO TALK TO PEOPLE.

Why the hell are you folks so repressed that you are incapable of opening up and having fun and conversation without using something to alter your state of mind ? Seems to me those places where people drink the most, are also the most repressed.

But why do all these people need alcohol to help them relax and socialize , unless there's some kind of psychological difficulty in people in "opening up" without the use of mind altering substances.

Now, if people were social in everyday life, and went to drink to be more social, that's fine. But it seems to me, people are repressed and closed the whole week, then on the weekends they drug themselves like hamsters, and the effect is weird. They repeat this cycle week in and week out, stumbling around like fools, never learning. Are you folks trying to escape reality ? Simply not capable of enjoying yourselves unless drugged ? Seems like it to me.

Everyone else is retardedly intoxicated , acting out, acting like children, posturing, and in general making fools of themselves. It's like being in a looney bin with mental patients. Just like mental patients, intoxicated people are unpredictable and they even talk like mental patients.

People are extroverted, talkative, relaxed. People enjoy conversation and socializing, have fun, laugh, dance..... with no alcohol. We know how to enjoy ourselves and express ourselves, even with a simple conversation and the use of humor.

I have often wondered the same thing. Why are there so many "party animals" in the US? It's funny how in America, people can't open up to other people unless they are buzzed with alcohol. People act so fake at bars and clubs, that's why I avoid them like the plague.

When people find out I don't drink, they look at me like I am an alien! In America, if you are a young single person, it's assumed that you go out on the weekends and get wasted. The thing is, in the US, the only places where it's ok to approach women is at bars and clubs, so the only reason I would ever set foot in a bar is to meet women.

People who don't drink in the US are in the minority, the party animals are in the majority. Just another reason why I don't feel comfortable living in the USA.