<p>I was referring to the idea of deliberately getting drunk / binge drinking – even if systems are in place (eg not driving) which to me is different from enjoying a glass of wine or even getting a little buzzed. It wasn’t directed at you! </p>
<p>I think there’s a huge difference between not worrying about how much you are drinking because you are not driving (i.e., staying with friends at a cottage for the weekend, or taking cabs from a restaurant to a nightclub in the city) and deliberately getting stupid drunk as in the case of the coworkers I mentioned above. I didn’t read cosmicfish’s description the way you did, I guess.</p>
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Since it was directed at me, let me respond then. </p>
<p>I know exactly the last time I went out to get deliberately drunk, and it has been almost 3 years - the other times it has been (as I mentioned before) a result of simply not caring that much whether or not I hit that state. Regardless, whether I (or anyone else) gets drunk on purpose or not, why should it be any different than “enjoying a glass of wine or even getting a little buzzed” as far as anyone else is concerned?</p>
<p>My health is my own. If I ruin my liver drinking, or break my back on a motorcycle, or get obese and diabetic by eating processed foods, or die of boredom sitting in my living room having never done anything unhealthy or risky in my life, in ANY case, why should that be license for a stranger to pass judgment on me?</p>
<p>And you seem skeptical of my “systems in place”, a far too grandiose description for making sure that I have either a designated driver, taxi, or place to sleep. What precisely is the problem? Are you unable to consider that someone can drink without posing a danger to others? Are you concerned that I might vomit on someone’s carpet, and if so, isn’t that rightly their concern rather than yours?</p>
<p>I am especially concerned about the distinction between “drunk” and “little buzzed”, because legally there usually is not a distinction between the two - whatever disregard you may have for my ability to control myself, if you are a “little buzzed” you are still not able to operate a vehicle, and in my experience it is those who ARE a “little buzzed” who are more likely to think that they can do so!</p>
<p>Oh,see, I read cosmicfish as sounding just like your coworkers - deliberately getting drunk. And I think there’s an appreciable difference between a little buzzed and drunk. To me drunk is stumbling around, making an ass of yourself, vomiting, not having a memory the next day of what you said, etc. A little buzzed is just laughing a bit loudly, letting your hair down but still in control. (And I agree driving is inappropriate either way, but the buzzed person is in enough control he says “I better not drive” whereas the drunk person is so out of it he believes he can.) </p>
<p>There’s actually some middle ground between “a little buzzed” and so drunk a person is making an ass of himself and vomiting. Maybe cosmic fish is referring to that middle ground. But important to note that all of the people in those various scenarios need a designated driver. </p>
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Well, in my entire life I have vomited from alcohol three times, and lost memory once. As for making an ass of myself, I am not sure I would want to attribute that to alcohol - might be more of a constant condition.</p>
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Realistically, yes, but I have always had a pretty high tolerance and a surprising amount of control while inebriated - at my worst, most people can’t tell that I am inebriated.</p>
<p>Regardless, what is the problem? If I get as drunk as PG describes, who then is hurt? Myself, certainly, but I am allowed to hurt myself. My hosts, possibly, if I were to commit the social sin of out-drunking them (something I do NOT do). But otherwise, why would anyone else care?</p>
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My experience has been the exact opposite. Those who are buzzed can usually convince themselves that they can drive, and therefore often do it. Drunks usually know they can’t… but may do it anyway because they are stubborn. The fact that “buzzed” is so much more common is why I am used to seeing more “buzzed” drivers than “drunk” drivers. </p>
<p>^^
If you are a “buzzed driver” then you are driving while under the influence.</p>
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I don’t think anyone is arguing that point.</p>
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<p>Perhaps you are thinking back to the days of grain-alcohol punch in a fraternity bathtub.</p>
<p>Perhaps I am!! Lol. That kind of thing I did maybe 3 times, and I was done with THAT scene! </p>
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<p>How do you know you are seeing a buzzed driver vs. a drunk driver vs. someone texting or otherwise distracted?</p>
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<p>Some drunk or near-drunk people are not like that at all. Yes, some are obnoxious and even mean. But, there are some that become kind of quiet and just sit on a couch. I remember babysitting for a family where the dad was a big drinker. He would just drink and drink…and then go to bed. </p>
<p>My uncle was a hard core alcoholic. Most of the time, you would see him with a drink in his hand all day long into the night at family holiday things. I never heard him slur his words even once. I do know that he got a couple of DUIs back in the day. He also smoked like a chimney and eventually died of a heart attack.</p>
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I worked in the hospitality industry for most of a decade, and I am talking about people I saw (a) drink and then (b) drive, employees, patrons, friends. These are people for whom I either witnessed their level of consumption and/or heard from the next day - I was used to seeing the 3-4 drinks, a little wobbly guy climb right into his car while the 6-8 drinks, slurring speech guy either sit down or get SAT down by someone else. Yes, this is anecdotal, but that is why I say “my experience” at the start of that paragraph.</p>
<p>Gerard Depardieu drinks 14 bottles of wine a day! I wonder if he considers himself just a social drinker.</p>
<p>This is amusing or horrifying, depending on your view. I can’t help but think he’s exaggerating.</p>
<p><a href=“Gerard Depardieu admits to drinking 14 bottles of wine a day | Daily Mail Online”>Gerard Depardieu admits to drinking 14 bottles of wine a day | Daily Mail Online;
<p>14 bottles of wine a day? Does he make it out of the potty?</p>
<p>Well, he may feel “fresh as a daisy” but he looks awful.</p>
<p>That cannot be right. </p>
<p>^^ There are also small 1/4 size decanters; I have a couple of those. If he is letting the wine breathe in one of those, it is very possible he is calling that a bottle. In that case, it is closer to 3 1/2 bottles of wine a day, not 14. That changes the amount a lot. </p>
<p>Used to work with one guy who drank a case of beer a day, another who drank a fifth of whiskey a day. Not what Depardieu claims, but it still amazes me how much some people can put away and still make it to work the next day.</p>
<p>And yes, both were alcoholics.</p>