What would Britain be without drink? (2016) | Hacker News Reader

What would Britain be without drink? (2016)

theguardian.com

31 pointspepys12 comments

Libertarian soul that I am, in principle I am for its existence. But if it came to a vote, I'd happily pull the lever for "no". Complete hypocrisy, I know. But I have never seen alcohol improve people's behavior, and as the only teetotaler in a family of alcoholics, I was often at the business end of its worst effects.

Is there a good explanation for why people are so sensitive when it comes to alcohol? You can criticize basically everything in the West, but mention the dangers of alcohol, and you'll get blank stares at best[1].

I've never even had a sip and don't ever plan to, and I really don't see what I'm missing out on.

[1]: Now that I read that sentence, I feel like I pulled it out of a Dr. Seuss book..

Same with pot in the state of WA. Totally in support of it for medical purposes, but it is a powerful psychoactive drug which needs to be understood much better. No dog in this game either--but in WA you're either a hippy or a knuckle-dragging hater.

Pot is different though since people are divided. With alcohol, at least from what I've seen, it's one opinion only.

Alcohol has long, deep ties to a lot of cultures. It strikes me as a very human thing, with complex emotional connotations.

For my own part, I've got very few negative memories involving alcohol and very many positive ones. It's difficult to argue against emotion with rational arguments. Especially when you're talking about a drug that seems to suppress rationality in favor of emotion.

For what it's worth, I've got friends that share your opinion. They don't drink, never have, never plan to. To each their own.

That's nice to know (not being facetious)

The strangest comment along those lines was by a UK colleague when we were discussing the potential of Iran opening-up for tourism, which seems like an amazing prospect.

'Of course I wouldn't fly there on Iran Air,' he said, 'because they're a dry airline'.

It seems bizarre to me to base selection of an airline on the availability of alcohol in-flight, but there it is.

If he flew with Iran Air, how would he cope with flying in a metal box at insane altitudes? I think that you're being too hard on him man. /s

On a more serious note, most Middle Eastern airlines (e.g., Emirates, Etihad, QA) serve alcohol on their flights. I think Iran will probably end up doing the same to compete. But deciding to not fly with an airline solely based on this fact is pretty narrow-minded.

Not a great article. It doesn't really say anything; certainly nothing new or insightful.

Maybe if you take a drink or two, you'll cheer up!

It's just not a great article. Idk.

agreed. author is in love with their own words.

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