3012 posts
529 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 15th 2005
There's a new liquor inspector here in Vermont and he's reinterpretting
state law which is bringing about quite a few unwelcome changes to my
college's approach to parties with alcohol. The drinking laws and
therefore the drinking age as well has been the topic of much
conversation here.
Considering the fact that a large number of pitters live outside of the
United States, I was wondering what your thoughts were on having the
drinking age set at 21.
Personally, I think it's strange that the U.S. government views me as
old and mature enough to fight in a war, but I can't legally have a
beer.
Many people are afraid that drunk driving and irresponsible behavior
would greatly increase with a drop of the drinking age, but why is it
that the rest of the world can handle a much lower drinking age?
Is it a problem rooted in American culture?
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by **Dedi** on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 3:40am
284 posts
39 snarkmarks
Registered:
Dec 21st 2004
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Just move to Australia lol. Just kidding, I don't even know what the drinking age is here, but I don't need to drink alcohol, so long as I have Coke!
3012 posts
529 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 15th 2005
Another problem with our culture is that nudity and sex is such a taboo
subject (for example in movies and videogames) while violence is highly
tolerated.
Case in point: the whole hot coffee GTA:San Andreas debacle.
Anyway -- its thing's like that that make me think there's something really wrong with our culture.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Dr Brasso on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 5:27am
1878 posts
198 snarkmarks
Registered:
Aug 30th 2003
Occupation: cad drafter
Location: Omaha,NE
ok, look....ill tell ya straight away, im a parent, and im a dick about it. ill also tell ya a quick story....true story
about 5 years ago i went down to check out a local pub for a potential gig, ended up staying for a bit to hang with a buddy who was the local bouncer. a kid was having his 21st birthday party at this pub, and all his family and friends were there....shots and beer were flowing heavily (they were irish, whatever that means.. :wink: ) and a merry time was being had by all...myself included.
....until about 30 minutes before closing time.....cant find the birthday boy. they start a small search.... turns into big search. .....cant find him. at this point people are beside themselves, and we are doing all we can.....cops show, various others....cant find him.....i gotta go, its 4 am....maybe he just took off to play with a chickee....who knows, hes 21, its his birthday. and hes hammered. woot.
....they searched all night, into the morning......and the pub pops up on the midday news....they found the kid about 150 yards down the way.....fell into 8 inches of water in a drainage canal and drowned. too f**kin drunk to get up and out. on his 21st birthday. ...and at his family's and friends instigation.
live with that one......
point being....no. i think the drinking age is fine where its at, unless yer a soldier. you can die for yer country, you can drink. period.
but like i said in the beginning, im a parent....it changes yer perspectives.....
Doc B...
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Hugh on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 6:17am
Hugh
member
900 posts
207 snarkmarks
Registered:
Oct 25th 2003
Occupation: College Student
Location: Amerika
I entirely agree with Nickel... kids drink 'cause they're not allowed to until they reach a ridiculous age, and then they go wild 'cause they can drink legally, but they haven't learned any "drinking etiquette" as it were because they lack any experience with how much they can drink before they're drunk/trashed/puking/blacked out.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Dr Brasso on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 6:44am
1878 posts
198 snarkmarks
Registered:
Aug 30th 2003
Occupation: cad drafter
Location: Omaha,NE
....exactly.....they are still kids.....even at 21. and all kids need guidance....a drinking age is a cureall to a fluid problem...all kids handle everything differently....till they get the experience to deal with it.
Doc B....
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by $loth on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 7:42am
$loth
member
2256 posts
292 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 27th 2004
Occupation: Student
Location: South England
It is very crazy that you can go to war but can't have a shot.
It's wierd that there is such a big difference in drinking ages, as
some of you know I just got back from Madeira, the drinking age there
is 16, yet you don't see drunk teens roaming the streets (only the
british ones).
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Cash Car Star on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 7:43am
1260 posts
345 snarkmarks
Registered:
Apr 7th 2002
Occupation: post-student
Location: Connecticut (sigh)
It's at 21 right now partially because our driving age is 16, and those newly indoctrined to the drinking fold have proven to be predictably irresponsible in its consumption. This is why, in Connecticut at the very least, you can drink at 18 as long as you're on private property with the owner's consent and not going anywhere. The only other real option is to not have a drinking age, but have a society which respects the whole notion of drinking better.
Fat chance.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by fishy on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 9:50am
fishy
member
2623 posts
1476 snarkmarks
Registered:
Sep 7th 2003
Location: glasgow
it's a curse on society, with the worst behaviour coming from the youngest drinkers.
as for natural selection being involved in such an unfortunate accident, well, that's just pish.
i eat paint
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by French Toast on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 10:39am
Posted
2005-09-04 10:39am
3043 posts
304 snarkmarks
Registered:
Jan 16th 2005
Occupation: Kicking Ass
Location: Canada
Beer tastes like ass. Not sure that the experience of drinking it
has inclined me to do so more when it's legal for me.
I've seen way to many assholes that go on drinking binges. I'd rather spend my time at Dairy Queen.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Kain on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 12:02pm
Posted
2005-09-04 12:02pm
Kain
member
225 posts
33 snarkmarks
Registered:
Oct 24th 2003
Occupation: Architect
Location: Lebanon (Middle East)
I started drinking beer+soda when I was 10. At 16, I used to drink half a bottle of vodka, and I have an almost normal life now (except that I waste hours and hours of my time reading gaming clan forums :wink: ). So I think it should be lowered at least to 18; these are the years where you enjoy it the most.
The story of the guy who drowned at his 21st birthday is horrible, Doc B, but that's maybe because he didn't start drinking progressivly; it's like you lose your virginity with an orgy. Maybe if it was his 18th, he wouldn't have gotten that drunk...
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by MisterBister on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 12:21pm
Posted
2005-09-04 12:21pm
277 posts
78 snarkmarks
Registered:
Oct 17th 2004
Occupation: studying
Location: SWEDEN
Here in Sweden, the rules are quite messed up.
I'm 18 and I'm allowed to buy low alcohol beer at the lokal stores awell as go to the pub and buy strong stuff.
However if you want the strong stuff in another place than the pub you
have to buy it at ba "state-controlled company for the sale of wine and
spirits" and im not allowed to enter that place until im 21. How weird
isnt that?
Drinking lots of vodka at the age of 16 is quite common here in Sweden aswell, everyone drinks like mad =P.
BTW, are you americans not "allowed" to have sex before youre 18?
That sounds weird.. Doest anyone follow that "rule"?
Here in Sweden, we have nothing that tells us when its ok or not ok to have sex, just a hint on a proper age, 16.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by rival on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 1:54pm
rival
member
512 posts
141 snarkmarks
Registered:
Apr 7th 2005
Occupation: being a pain in the ass
Location: inverness
in britain, if your in you home and under parental consent you can have a drink at five.
Bullet Control: $5000 for a bullet.
"I would blow your f**king head off! ...if I could afford it. I'm gonna get another job, start saving some money... then you a dead man!"
3012 posts
529 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 15th 2005
MisterBlister, I'm not sure if it varies from state to state but I know
here in Vermont that the legal age of consent is 16. Which means
that if either party enagaging in sexual activity is younger than 16
its not legal. Even if they are both under 16 its still not
legal... but this rule isn't particularly enforced...
I've never heard of two young lovers getting busted :smile:
Anyway back to drinking, I think that if alcohol wasn't such a taboo
subject like it is here, children would learn how to deal with it
responsibly as they age, instead of having to learn about alcohol
furtively and dangerously before they're 21, or not knowing anything
about it at all until they're 21 and they put themselves in dangerous
situations like that young man, because he didn't know his limits.
The parental pressure that many teens feel make them hide their
drinking habits and I can tell you this from personal experience.
I'm 20, and just this past summer I was having a few drinks with some
friends 15 minutes from my house. It was getting late and I knew
I wasn't fit to drive home, but I was too afraid of what my parents
would say if I told them I was too drunk to drive (since they are very
against me drinking before 21) so I drove home anyway. It was the
stupidest thing I've done, ever. And basically my fear of my
parents overruled any fears of hurting myself or others, which is
stupid now that I think about it, but in the moment, it seemed like my
only option. If I lived in somewhere in Europe, I'm sure I
wouldn't have driven drunk that night because I wouldn't have felt
pressure to hide my drinking. I would have just called home and
said, dad I'm drunk so I'm going to stay here.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Dr Brasso on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 3:48pm
1878 posts
198 snarkmarks
Registered:
Aug 30th 2003
Occupation: cad drafter
Location: Omaha,NE
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Dr Brasso</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>....exactly.....they are still kids.
Doc B....
</DIV></DIV>
so then everyone who's not your age is "still a kid?" that doesnt work, cause anyone younger than you would be eternally a kid. the line is different for every person, and if you can't handle it, you die. that's the bottom line. part of natural selsction.
We're polluting the gene pool by protecting these ppl from themselves.
nickel, yer a smart man, but that is the god damn dumbest argument ive heard in ages....i did NOT say that everyone whos not my age is a "kid", although the older i get, the the more i seem to look at younger adults as kids....no offense intended.....im saying exactly what fishy and others have said....including you. the line of "maturity is different for all....which is why a single drinking age is in effect. we do not have the resources or the "test" for "mature enough to drink" yet.....if yer 18 and been in combat, youve been forced to grow up ....immediately, and ill be the first one to shake yer hand and buy you a drink.... if yer a poor little rich kid who's bored and decides that drinking is big fun, well, yer in for a rude awakening eventually.....read and heed the signs when yer young.....itll pay off when you get to be my age......if you make it. :wink:
now, i dont want to be a hipocrite....i was raised in germany, and i was damn near a full tilt drunk when i was in the service, and combat ready.....but that was circumstances, and i was a "dumb kid"
if i had it to do over, id do it a bit differently...
Doc Brasso... :dodgy:
3012 posts
529 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 15th 2005
Sorry about that MisterBister, I had just woken up when I wrote that.
Reno, the drinking age is 21 all across the united states.
Individual states have the ability to change the drinking laws in their
state and lower, for example, but the federal government effectively
forces the states to maintain the 21 year old law because if they
change it, they lose a ton of federal funding towards roads and
highways. Apparently Mrs. Dole gave a ton of money with the
caveat that she would only provide it if the drinking age was 21.
That's what I've heard, I may be wrong so any of you can correct me.
Doc Brasso, I agree that drinking responsibly is something that should
be tought by the parents, but with a drinking age of 21 it seems to me
that a lot parents choose not to prepare their kids for the realities
of drinking until they've already explored it with their peers.
The majority of kids in my area started drinking at age 14 or 15
(although I didn't start drinking regularly until 18) and most parents
are oblivious to what their kids are doing. Some parents (my
mother included) cling to this idea that their children wont be tempted
to drink before 21 and they don't bother to worry about the issue of
drinking until much later. It was only this year that my mother
began to accept that I drink at college, after numerous hints. If
the drinking age was 18 I would expect parents would teach their kids
how to drink responsibly at a lower age than they do now, since they
legally get to drink sooner and parents can't ignore the issue for
quite as long.
Some people are afraid that if the drinking age is lowered to 18 that
many kids in highschool will be able to buy alcohol and then distribute
it down the chain from seniors to juniors to sophomore to
freshman. But Reno was very correct when he assumed that 16 year
olds are already drinking in the US, and they don't have a hard time
getting a hold of alcohol. Fake IDs, real IDs from older
siblings, and older family members or lenient establishments all
provide the means for underage drinking to occur. The government
and police seem so intent on eradicating underage drinking, instead of
educating kids on how to drink safely. The end result is that
kids binge drink and put themselves in situations where they'd rather
not go to the hospital with a friend who needs help, because they're
afraid of the consequences.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Dr Brasso on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 7:18pm
1878 posts
198 snarkmarks
Registered:
Aug 30th 2003
Occupation: cad drafter
Location: Omaha,NE
.....because they are kids, and havent really learned their ass from a bucket yet.....the problem is, i know "adults" who are the exact same way..... go figure.
Doc Brasso... :dodgy:
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Tracer Bullet on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 8:13pm
2271 posts
445 snarkmarks
Registered:
May 22nd 2003
Occupation: Graduate Student (Ph.D)
Location: Seattle WA, USA
I don't see what the big deal is. Who cares what the drinking age is? As numerous people have pointed out it, most people start drinking long before the legal age anyway. If your parents were going to teach you about responsible drinking, they would have done it already, all laws aside. Good parents teach their kids about sex and alcohol long before there is any temptation to try either.
Some people are like slinkys...
They aren?t really good for anything, but you can't help but laugh when one tumbles down the stairs.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by fishy on
Sun Sep 4th 2005 at 11:19pm
Posted
2005-09-04 11:19pm
fishy
member
2623 posts
1476 snarkmarks
Registered:
Sep 7th 2003
Location: glasgow
an 'ability test' for drinking rights is a stupid idea, but if it came to it, i don't think it should be reserved for the youth.
i eat paint
3012 posts
529 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 15th 2005
Peer pressure should not be underestimated. It's a powerful
force, because aside from your family and for some people god, there is
no greater influence on your life than your friends. Friends are
usually people who you greatly respect, and their decisions
inadvertantly influence your own. Obviously if some stranger came
up to me and told me to smoke pot, I'd tell him to get lost. But
if my two best friends attempted to persuade me and pressure me for
months, inadvertantly something's gotta give. You can't dismiss
all those who fall to peer pressure as pathetic.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Foxpup on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 4:47am
Foxpup
member
380 posts
38 snarkmarks
Registered:
Nov 26th 2004
Occupation: Student
Location: the Land of Oz
In Australia, the legal age is 18, otherwise you have to be on private property and have your parent's permission.
Better to be in denial than to be human.
Bill Gates understands binary: his company is number one, and his customers are all zeros.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Cash Car Star on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 5:09am
1260 posts
345 snarkmarks
Registered:
Apr 7th 2002
Occupation: post-student
Location: Connecticut (sigh)
I love my parents, but I gotta admit, their ability to talk with me about difficult subjects was s**t and a half. I've said it before in threads where we've discussed public schooling, TB, your parents are far above the norm in terms of what they were willing to do. Please don't assume ours were (or could ever be) as enlightened.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by KingNic on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 6:45am
185 posts
49 snarkmarks
Registered:
Feb 5th 2004
Occupation: Student
Location: UK
That was a sad story Brasso but it most certainly qualifies for a
Darwin award. The guy obviously didn't know how to handle his drink and
had never touched it before. This would've happened if it was his 18th
birthday, his 21st or his 25th.
My parents started me off drinking when I was bout 14-15 (Can't
remember much). All I was given was a bottle of Bacardi Breezer to have
with my tea on holiday maybe twice a week. They've gradually built me
up over the past few years and I know what to expect with Alcohol. I'd
been drinking a fair few times with friends before my 18th and as a
result, I knew my limit. On my 18th I went right up to that limit, but
didn't go over.
I'm a lightweight (gradually getting better) and if I hadn't been
introduced to alcohol gradually then I'd have gone right that limit and
may well have ended up with a Darwin award. Raising the drinking age to
21 would do nothing. Americans obviously drink before 21 and the people
who get harmed by it are those who stick so religeously to the law.
-KingNic
-Slapping polygons together incoherently since 2000
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Junkyard God on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 8:27am
654 posts
81 snarkmarks
Registered:
Oct 27th 2004
Occupation: Stoner/mucisian/level design
Location: The Nether Regions
thye should not lower the drinking age as they get to drive at an earlier age.
would be dangerous!
Hell, is an half-filled auditorium
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Fjorn on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 2:26pm
Fjorn
member
250 posts
25 snarkmarks
Registered:
Jun 5th 2004
Occupation: Student/Amateur Writer
Location: California - USA
Well, look at it this way honestly
Country A:
There is no minimum drinking age. Youre family raises you, maybe about
10-12 your parents think you can handle a little, give you a small
amount for christmas dinner. Later on, you're parents give you
little bits here and there, more as you mature and become able to
physically handle it, you grow up drinking responsibly.
Country B:
Minimum drinking age is 21. You are raised in a 'YOU WILL NOT DRINK
UNTIL YOU ARE 21' household. You turn 21, go on a binge, you're found
next morning dead of alcohol poisoning
While B is a bit extreme, its happened.
Signature? What signature!?
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by jake on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 2:57pm
jake
member
59 posts
6 snarkmarks
Registered:
Jul 21st 2005
Location: England
As I understand it any individual state could lower the minimum
drinking age but only at the expense of losing federal highway funding.
This suggests that one of the principal reasons for raising the age
limit is to reduce the number of drink-driving fatalities in the 18 -
21 age group. I've just read the following:
"According to research at the Center of Alcohol Studies, at Rutgers
University, raising the drinking age to 21 increased drinking-induced
fatalities in the 21-24 age group, by about as much as it lowered
fatalities for those aged 18-20. The study researchers suggested that a person's amount of drinking experience, not the age of the person drinking, played the most important factor in alcohol fatalities."
If this is true then the sensible course would seem to be to reduce the
legal age for drinking to 18 and raise the age at which you can legally
drive to 21.
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by French Toast on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 3:07pm
3043 posts
304 snarkmarks
Registered:
Jan 16th 2005
Occupation: Kicking Ass
Location: Canada
No, don't raise the driving age to 21. That would suck so
hard. In Kanata, you can drive at 16 (2 years for me) and I don't
want anything to ruin that :smile:
Re: U.S. Drinking Age
Posted by Crono on
Mon Sep 5th 2005 at 9:21pm
Crono
super admin
6628 posts
700 snarkmarks
Registered:
Dec 19th 2003
Location: Oregon, USA
You guys are assuming that everyone who drives also drinks and everyone who drinks also drives, which neither of which are true. I wouldn't want to wait until I was 21 ... before ... to drive just because some douches drank too much. Not to mention, I don't drink ... So, that's kind of the s**t end of the deal, don't you think?
[vent]
There are other problems too. A large majority of teenagers here (not saying all, I wasn't like this, neither were any of my friends) are the most irresponsible drivers I've ever seen. Besides some anal-douche who thinks they're hot s**t cause they've got a BMW and cuts you off going about 60. Yeah, way to go, you almost killed us to get to the red light 2 seconds sooner, ass.
I'm sorry. I hate other drivers who're irresponsible, not only does it risk people's lives, needlessly, but it also costs me more money! Since they're in my age range, I get tacked with premiums in the area. I really hate insurance, also ... and the IRS ... what kind of moronic country would have a mandatory taxation system that wasn't part of the government, America, that's who.
[/vent]
Blame it on Microsoft, God does.