Quote:
Originally Posted by littl3chocobo
yeah, the point of drinking isn't to enjoy the drink but to have an experience. enjoying alcohol comes later when you've built up a tolerance and have established a social circle around it(like wine tasting and clubbing)
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I can't express just how
strongly I disagree with this.
The point of drinking
is supposed to be to enjoy the drink. If you're doing something you dislike for the purposes of having an experience and establishing a social circle,
you're doing it wrong. That is an unhealthy way to approach ANYTHING because it normalizes the bad parts and it opens you up to peer pressure. Taking this approach to something notorious for inhibiting rationality compounds those problems, because you aren't fully your normal self when you're having this experience.
The reason my relationship with alcohol is as healthy as it is is specifically
because I drink the things that I enjoy. I don't drink because the people around me drink. I don't drink because I like feeling drunk. This means that I don't have to tolerate drinking disgusting swill; I'm not desperate enough for the experience that I'll take the cheapest thing I can get my hands on. If I put it in my mouth and I don't like it, I won't keep going, so even spending a penny on something I don't like is a waste of money -- if I'm going to drink, I'm going to drink something
good.
If you're the kind of person to enjoy clubbing, you should enjoy clubbing without having to get drunk. If you only enjoy it when you're drunk, then the alcohol is encouraging behaviors that you would normally avoid; this should be a warning sign.
If you want to participate in a wine tasting, it's true that you should already understand your limits. But social circles surrounding these kinds of events aren't about the act of drinking. They're about the appreciation of the artistry that goes into a fine product.