Jacey

Because it makes me physically feel good. Very similar to the way a great movie touches me emotionally, I get happy and in a good mood. Alcohol does the same thing to me physically. It's relaxing to sit down after a long day of work and unwind. Sometimes that involves a couple drinks.

MzNeko

I think it's called a no-host bar. If folks want to drink, they can pay for their own booze. Sounds harsh, but that stuff's expensive.

tribalbeeyatch

Two things:
1) People should pause when it comes to deciding to drink an entire fifth of whiskey. In fact, I would bet that the vast majority of people do. And those that don't have a drinking problem. It isn't your point that people with drinking problems should drink less, though, is it?

2) That you pause when deciding whether or not to have a glass of wine with dinner strikes me as just plain silly for the very reasons that you have already articulated. In my opinion, you have lost any sense of proportionality when it comes to the risks of alcohol.

HaysooChreesto!

As far as I'm concerned, the "Open Bar" is something that only the wealthy can accomodate. I have 3 daughters and unless I hit the lottery jackpot I'm not paying for a single open bar at any of their weddings.
At my wedding, there was a certain amount of free beer and wine but when the kegs I paid for ran out, everyone had to pony up their own money.
Now it makes sense. I'd be pissed off too if I were confronted with the pressure to buy booze for a entire wedding party.

I've only been to two weddings in my life where the drinks are free and they were both really extravagant with very rich fathers sponsoring the festivities. As a matter of fact, almost every wedding I've ever been to I've had to pay for my own drinks and it never occurred to me to be upset about it.

Stephen Maturin

Yep, that pretty much sums it up for me too. Never got any sort of handle on the moderation thingy that people talk about. There's nothing quite like going to the ol' watering hole intending no more than to cop a decent buzz and coming to on the floor of a jail cell three days later, all busted up and without so much as the first clue about where you are and how you got there. But that was only a small sample of the wonders that came later on: a glorious year of homelessness, eating out of dumpsters and other trash recepticles, spontaneous eruptions of blood and other fluids, etc. Perhaps best of all was drying out (convulsions, sweats, hallucinations, et al.). Oh yes, and then there's all the collateral damage, including but not limited to the emotional toll such behavior took on the few people who continued to give a damn no matter how far I fell or how badly I screwed them over.

If ever I should get to wondering why I'm still sober after all this time, all I need do is look at a piece of mail sent to me. Ain't a lot of screwballs out there who can get choked up over something like having an address, but I'm one of 'em.

Monkeybot

Well, to be honest, I can't really understand the no-planning mentality either.... we agree on that.

But, IMO, you seem to be shifting the goalposts... it seems like we've gone from "social drinking condones excessive drinking (which makes you do horrible things)" to "it's a throw of the dice whether horrible things happen" to "people don't plan properly for horrible things."

To be honest, I think a lot of these arguments could apply just as well to sex: an unnecessary (for survival), potentially dangerous thing people do because they like it. The more you do it, the more you risk getting pregnant (or getting someone else pregnant) or catching a disease. Sure, YOU can plan to have responsible sex, but not everyone does. But whose fault is that? The existence of sex, or the irresponsible people who don't plan properly?

Additionally, would you argue that people who engage in recreational (i.e. non-procreative) sex are implicitly condoning people who engage in irresponsible , disease-spreading, unplanned-baby-making sex? And if so, how much responsibility do the responsible people have?

Ultimately, I don't know if you can rationally justify drinking; IMO, it really just comes down to one's personal decision. I might as well ask you to make the case for why I should risk the dangers of sex. You can hear every justification in the world for it, but ultimately it just comes down to whether or not you want to do it, and whether or not you are willing to accept the risks. (And if you choose not to drink, I have no problem with that, I'd just like to add.)

seebs

I try to drink a glass of wine a day, because I have been told this is good for my health. I forget pretty often, but I'm getting a little better about it. I hate the stuff.

I will occasionally drink alcoholic beverages socially, but I don't like most of them.

So, for me, it's the apparent health benefits.

Monkeybot

Ah, that makes sense. Tough call... but ultimately it's your wedding, and if neither you nor your fiancee is comfortable with alcohol, by all means, don't have it. In fact, I don't know if I'd recommend potentially being one of the few sober people surrounded by drunks.

It's your day, not theirs... people can live with it. (Or without it, as the case may be.)

That's my two cents, anyway.

Darwin26

you see i had to drink ...but i couldn't be an alcoholic 'cause i had a joint in the other hand, simultaneously ...and everybody knows if ya smoke dope ya can't be an alcoholic... Hell i'm an artist for christ sake ... i need to have ashotatakillya to get the oils flowing onto the canvas... now i'm amused at my grand illogical thinkin ... All the while just trying to fill this hole inside of me ... big enuff to drive a truck through...

Yes, each day with an address and flat ground ... now when i go to parties i slam some Red Bull or take a gallon of Blue electrolyte Gatorade into my veins...

I never drank or did drugs in Viet Nam... not till Kent State... triggered the trap door on my dysfunctional being

elwoodblues

Not trying to move the goalposts. But, yes, the conversation has drifted quite a bit.

As for the comparison to sex... Yes, absolutely. I made the same case last night. But in that case, it's only endangering the two consenting people involved. You don't risk dragging innocent bystandders into it.

That's roughly where we're standing, as well.