Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I lived in New Orleans a long time, so I know alcoholics. They don't usually sip mimosas in restaurants, they drink alone at home because they've run all their friends off because of their addictive behavior. I don't think there's any such thing as a mild alcoholic. You either are or you ain't. There are definitely different types of alcoholics though. The maintenance alcoholic is hard to spot, and they're usually trouble w/ a capital T.
In the 19th century alcohol consumption was much higher, because water sources could not be trusted to be sanitary. People drank a lot of beer and hard cider, and alcoholism and its associated problems were worse.
One unappreciated aspect of the temperance movement is that potable water was then available, so there was an alternative to alcohol.
I think all the drinking culture paraphernalia like wine moms and beer o'clock t shirts are super tacky, but alcohol consumption is down compared to the past (although it has risen moderately since the mid 90s). Like many things in our culture people project an illusion to look cool but actually live more staid lives than appearances would suggest.
I have often wondered why more children born before 1900 did not develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
I will not argue that regularly drinking alcoholic beverages during pregnancy is okay, but I never really understood why it is not okay for a pregnant woman to drink ONE glass of champagne at a wedding or on New Year's Eve. From my reading, many women drank at least one serving of an alcoholic beverage a day before the 20th century, and unless I am mistaken, there were not many birth defects as a result. To emphasize, I am NOT an advocate of drinking alcoholic beverages during pregnancy, but I am curious why that is so.
American social culture revolves around alcohol. Pretty hard to avoid it if you don't want it in your life.
I had a friend who was convicted of DUI (drugs, not alcohol) and a condition of release/probation was that he was not permitted to be present anywhere alcohol was served. That ended his social life for that time period.
Huge part of the economy and direct government involvement in some states. I think we all saw its relevance during COVID, when many private establishments were shut down for "public safety", but the state run liquor stores remained open without question.
I think the term "alcoholic" is overused and not always accurate. If a person drinks often and it's causing major problems in their life and to others close to them, they might want to consider calling it quits (but they never do, because they can't). If a person drinks often and otherwise has it together, maybe they're just a person who enjoys drinking. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I've known alcoholics and I've known drinkers, there's a definite difference.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was first described in 1973.
My mother drank and smoked during all six of her pregnancies, and we're all fine (twitch twitch).
I suspect the risk of FAS increases with the volume and frequency of the mother's drinking. I've known two people that I'm aware were diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; both their mothers were alcoholics. Both were difficult as kids, and had hard lives as adults.
If simply *not drinking* prevents such issues, it makes sense to stay on the wagon for 9 months. If you can't give up alcohol for a year, you have a drinking problem.
For non-alcoholics, I've never understood the judgements against day drinking or drinking alone. Alcohol has the same pleasant relaxing effect at 9 am as 9 pm, whether you're alone or with friends. If you're not driving, working, etc, I don't see a problem with having a drink at any hour.
Sadly, I can't even remember the last time I had a drink; it's been months--and I used to enjoy a cocktail nearly every evening. My husband is craving Mexican food, we'll have to go to the place with the good margaritas.
I have often wondered why more children born before 1900 did not develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Probably because there weren't a whole lot of female power drinkers back in the olden days. I'm not saying it's "okay" nowadays, but go into any bar in the US on a weekend and you can witness many women publicly drunk. That was probably unheard of until around the 1920s when flappers cut their hair short and smoked in public (and drank too, I imagine). Most people worked much harder than we do now and there wasn't leisure time to sit around drinking.
For the women that did drink a lot and popped out a weird looking kid with behavior problems, they probably just wrote it off as 'retarded' and didn't connect it to alcohol at all.
No. If anything, the US is puritanical when it comes to social drinking. Adherents of the cult of "AA" think most social drinkers are alcoholics and are not shy about accusing those who imbibe socially of being "alcoholics."
As a former psychiatric nurse, I have little respect for AA or their jargon.
Mind and monitor YOUR OWN DRINKING. Abstaining from drink is a personal choice. If drinking bathers you, find associates and friends who share your viewpoints.
I've certainly seen this kind of day drinking at airports. Many people are nervous about flying, or feel demeaned by the general air travel experience. I see people ordering multiple drinks, while waiting to board, when they normally wouldn't have even one. And once you're aloft, if you want a drink you typically have to wait for the flight attendant to come by, and you have to pay him or her, if you're in coach. This is another incentive to pre-game at the airport; at least it seems more civilized, if you will, in a terrestrial bar. If you're flying first class, then cocktails on the plane are free which is a good incentive not to spend your money at the airport bar.
I'm not involved in the airline or travel industry, and I don't even fly very much, but I have definitely noticed this when I do travel.
Additionally, drinks on a plane are exorbitant in coach. I won't drink on a plane because they quote me $7 to $8 a drink. Not doing it.
Sounds like the food served on flights in 1962, with silverware.
I flew a lot in the 60s. and my mother was a TWA Airline Hostess (that's what TWA called them. I do have a great interest in Midcentury furniture, culture, cooking, clothes and decor.
clothes
I remember steak and lobster tails in first class. Og and shrimp cocktails.
We had left over salmon from the day before, so I decided to make croquets. Anyway, I have decided to take this as a compliment.!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
