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| quote: | Originally posted by ABTsportsline
most of the people who have posted in here have been attacking (or quoting and drilling, pick whichever sounds better to you) those who have honestly replied that they don't do drugs at parties. Well, if you do casual drugs at parties, then why are you getting involved in the discussion of this thread? its not like people in here are saying "we are better than drug users".... no conspiring going on.
I don't think you are lesser of a person if you do drugs. I do think you are lesser of a person if you criticize someone for not doing drugs.
-ABT- [/B] |
Well, yeah, but I think there is a subtle "holier than thou" attitude amongst some of the abstainers here (youself excluded) which is causing some the drug-users to jump onto their back foot and justify what they do. In the title, for instance, "leave your mark here if you party drug free!", there is a subtle implication that abstenance from drug use at parties is somehow demonstrative of a high moral-integrity that has been forgone by anyone who uses drugs (periodically or not) at any sort of a party.
To make it a bit more simple, take a look at the stance taken by some teetotallers (though, let me stress, not by all) where simply because they have chosen to go down a certain path, they assume they have a right to patronise those who do decide to drink alcohol. Their logic is that alcohol leads to violence, debauchery and, ultimately, to self-destruction. It damages the body, breaks up homes and contributes little good to society. Now, in a somewhat spurious sense, they are right. Alcohol does do a lot of damage. It kills a lot of people, and harms the lives of so many more. How many times have we all woken up from a big night out and immediately regretted something we'd done while under the influence? From this perspective, it's hard to think about anything good to say about alcohol at all. From the perspective of an outsider - one who has never drank - the consumption of alcohol must seem like a great evil. It doesn't cure cancer, it doesn't make anyone a better person, it just, in the long run, causes a lot of damage to a lot of people.
But this is where you kinda need to look behind the rhetoric and really analyse what's going on. Sure alcohol does do a lot of damage, but to what percentage of users? To what kind of users? Does going out to the pub after work for a few beers to any damage at all? The teetotaller perspective would be that you shouldn't need alcohol to unwind at all, but isn't that missing the point? If you've never drank alcohol before, how can you possibly have formed such an absolutist perspective? "I've never needed alcohol to unwind, therefore there must be something wrong with you". But they miss the point: the occasional beer isn't going to cause any damage to anyone, but excess consumption of beer over a prolonged period is likely to cause damage. There's nothing wrong with going to the pub and consuming one or two beers, but there is something wrong with going to the pub every day and consuming 10 or 20. Teetotallers fail to make this distinction between use and abuse, but it's still hard to justify any sort of alcohol consumption to them at all - I mean, what do you tell them? "I enjoy the feeling of getting drunk". Well that must mean that you must have some problems in your life that you need to escape, yeah? Shouldn't you be drunk on life? "It helps me relax/unwind/socialise". Shouldn't you be able to do all these things without alcohol though?
It's hard to justify the use of alcohol to those who don't use it, simply because it's impossible for them to understand how alcohol enhances the moment. I can enjoy myself without alcohol, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy consuming it anyway. Alcohol does cause a lot of damage, but only if it's used the wrong way. For everyone who dies from alcohol abuse, there's a thousand more enjoying, sensibly, for it for what it is, whether they're capable of justifying its use to the teetotallers or not.
Look, anyway, I'm not going to labour the point. I'm sure if you've read between the lines you'll understand my perspective on drug use by now, so I guess I'll just leave it at that. Each to their own.
Anyone fancy a pint?
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....yeah...
