This comment is profoundly unsympathetic to people who have recovered from alcoholism and decided that for their own health they must abstain. This comment is profoundly unsympathetic to people with sensitivity to alcohol. I'm deeply grateful that my friends and the people I work with respect each others' boundaries with alcohol and other substances.

So what if you do "have a problem"? Is it right for someone to push alcohol on you, knowing that you have a problem? Perhaps I should offer discounts at the liquor store to people who turn in their AA coins, because alcoholism is "their problem" not mine?

Craig Ferguson's comments on alcoholism are worth listening to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZVWIELHQQY

That's exactly right. The author does have a problem.

And one perfectly excellent way of managing the problem in question (alcoholism) is to not drink alcohol.

Pressuring unwilling non-alcoholics into drinking is already a dick move to begin with. Coercing alcoholics into drinking (and possibly triggering a relapse of a problem which kills tens of thousands of people a year and ruins an order of magnitude more lives) is a hundred times worse.

Alcoholism aside, why do you think that it's OK to judge someone based on what they do/don't want to drink? Some people make the conscious choice to not have alcohol. That's OK!

The author states upfront that she is an alcoholic.

Champagne at 9:30am? It makes my mind foggy and I wouldn't get any work done for the rest of the day.

Let's reword that shall we ...

> Consider that the one with a problem might be you if you can't even have one line of coke.

> Consider that the one with a problem might be you if you can't even have just one hit of this joint.

Why is it a problem for you if I don't want to put something that is not good for me into my body?

Would you feel the same if I questioned why you don't have "just one cigarette with the guys" I mean go on, one cigarette won't kill you and you make us all feel uncomfortable when you don't join in. Be a team player don't be that guy.

And what would you say to me, given I'm diabetic?

Yeah, I've had a few beers in my time, and still once in awhile. But I've finally realized in the last few years exactly how badly alcohol messes up blood sugar levels (honestly, practically every illegal drug is safer for me from a biochemical perspective because how the liver's function of regulating blood sugar levels is affected by alcohol) and so I drink far more judiciously now. I wish I'd paid more attention to this years ago.

But alcohol is not really the point of the article, it is the emotional relationship to alcohol that people / society has and of the immaturity of this relationship. Her boss in the first anecdote sounds like a wanna-be cult leader. She should have mentioned his age; that would have been useful, I think - I am assuming the older one gets, the wiser about such things normal people get (the pointlessness of bullying people like that).

You could substitute "agile", or some other fad buzzword, and you could easily write a similar article. I am now reminded of my stint at Peoplesoft, where first day of orientation was all about the wonders of becoming a PeoplePeople and PeopleThis and PeopleThat. It was pathetic.

Companies consciously are using cult indoctrination tactics now, I think. The idea of 'pay people a decent wage in return for quality work' is ... old fashioned. Instead, you are supposed to give your soul to the company in return for ... what? I don't remember this attitude when I was in my twenties, but that was before the Internet happened and 20 year olds started becoming billionaires.

When "rah rah rah" is the driving force, as opposed to a sense of professionalism, then that's not a job a sensible person wants. Software development / IT is not a religion, it is merely a craft.