The New South Wales Government have announced that they are introducing new measures to reduce violent behaviour in city social hotspots and also strengthening existing ones.
I see that already, there’s a number of muppets of various backgrounds who are making noises that the measures are all wrong ….. and that alcohol isn’t to blame for the prevalence of violence around these venues.
It is said that every absurdity has a champion to defend it …. and the very existence of alcohol within our society is a good case in point.
Various drugs are illegal because they are mind altering, addictive substances that have the potential to cause serious harm to individuals, as well as inflict significant financial and social burdens on society. The reason that people use drugs is presumably to distort and enhance their perceptions of reality in some positive way that gives them a buzz.
Alcohol is no different and neither are the reasons for using it. Technology can create a range of beverages with similar flavour charactersitics as those of alcoholic equivalents and when they do, they’re marketting flops. The fact is, most alcohol is an ‘acquired taste’ and you almost have to talk yourself into liking the stuff. It isn’t the taste that makes the stuff such a social hit.
When you consider the pros and cons of alcohol within society …. the road carnage, social problems, financial hardship, family violence, career damage and the personal suffering of those countless people who become addicted to the stuff ….. you’d have to be a real master of denial to still conclude that it is good for society.
Alcohol is right up there with the other hard drugs … so why is it legal, affordable and utterly available within our society?; a society where other hard drugs are criminalised and even tobacco smoking is stigmatized, marginalized and frowned upon?
If you consider that you are a rational human being but you are inclined to support the view that alcohol is a good thing for society, I suggest we give you a little mental health checkup. Please open up and say Baaah!
Andrew Caddle 2014-01-22
andrewcaddle.com
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