Current Events > Why do people freak out when someone says 'I don't drink alcohol'?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Unless you live in a dry country/state or are a recovered alcoholic, most people have the occasional drink. When someone says, "I don't drink, anything, ever", it's out of the norm. For alcoholics, it's tantamount to treason. For everyone else, it's like saying, "I morally choose not to eat any Japanese food".\

The Top Crusader posted...

EverDownward posted...

krazychao5 posted...

I then ask why and then judge them based on their answer. Most normal people don't swear off alcohol, so they either have no control and had to quit because alcohol ruined their lives or religious reasons or they claim it tastes bad. None are acceptable answers.

Dad was an absolutely awful person when drunk, I had to watch him growing up. Swore off alcohol and didn't drink a single drop until several years after he passed away.

That's probably the main reason for me not drinking as well. Well, my dad, not your dad.

I was about to say, where ya been brother?
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Probably because a ton of people are willing to drink at least a little bit.

Totally fine to not drink, though. If people give you trouble for it, they suck.
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it is the same as if someone is like "did you watch my favorite show and like it?" and you reply

"no I didn't like it!"

it is an attack on their ego

the problem here being that people are tying their ego to a drink

it is illogical but people gonna people


tl;dr
saying you don't drink hurts their feelings because they irrationally see drinking as a part of who they are
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Because America glorifies alcohol and binge drinking
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Ex-alcoholic, been dry since 2008. I get a little tired of explaining why I don't go into pubs (the truth is, you're never really an ex-alcoholic), and pointing out that it's not because I don't like drink.

Also, lol at the arrogance of talking about "well adjusted people". Everyone kids themselves that they're "well adjusted" until it happens to them. Plenty of "well adjusted people" like to drink, sure. But alcoholism can be a gradual and insidious process (it can take years to get a grip on you) because you don't think it's unusual to really like it: you're "well adjusted" in a society in which drinking has a huge cultural importance. You're meant to really like it. You know that. So you don't realise until it's too late how fine the line is between really liking it and really, really liking it.

No excuses from me: I had no inner demons to drown, no broken pieces of my life to repair, no escape route I was desperately searching for. I just enjoyed the feeling of being drunk. Simple as that.
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Dash_Harber posted...

When someone says, "I don't drink, anything, ever", it's out of the norm. For alcoholics, it's tantamount to treason. For everyone else, it's like saying, "I morally choose not to eat any Japanese food"

Well that's their own dumb fault for assuming?
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Twin3Turbo posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

When someone says, "I don't drink, anything, ever", it's out of the norm. For alcoholics, it's tantamount to treason. For everyone else, it's like saying, "I morally choose not to eat any Japanese food"

Well that's their own dumb fault for assuming?

Hey, someone asked why people freaked out, I didn't say they were justified for doing that.

krazychao5 posted...

I then ask why and then judge them based on their answer. Most normal people don't swear off alcohol, so they either have no control and had to quit because alcohol ruined their lives or religious reasons or they claim it tastes bad. None are acceptable answers.

Why is not liking the taste an unacceptable answer? Actually I don't see why the other two are unacceptable answers either.
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GeneralKenobi85 posted...

krazychao5 posted...

I then ask why and then judge them based on their answer. Most normal people don't swear off alcohol, so they either have no control and had to quit because alcohol ruined their lives or religious reasons or they claim it tastes bad. None are acceptable answers.

Why is not liking the taste an unacceptable answer? Actually I don't see why the other two are unacceptable answers either.

because he likes the taste so you have to or you are a bad person

in other words, he is a nerd

you know like how if a nerd likes an anime and you don't then you are a bad person
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GeneralKenobi85 posted...

Why is not liking the taste an unacceptable answer?

See one part of me says that's a perfectly acceptable answer. It is.

The other part of me realizes...there's a huge variety of flavors. YUUUUUUGE. There's bound to be something you'd like the flavor of. But a lot of people don't care to wade through a bunch of shit to get to it, which is understandable.
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Anisoptera posted...

What's so bad about someone wanting to live their life without ever drinking beer, drinking wine, or taking a 'shot'?

Cuz its not a common thing. Why is it so hard to accept people have incredulous responses to not common things?
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Imagine hosting a graduation party and getting upset at someone who doesn't want to take a glass of the expensive CHAMPAGNE you bought for the occasion because "they don't drink alcohol".

Just yesterday I was at a Meetup (from Meetup.com) to go watch, of all movies, Despicable Me 3. Before the movie, they drank. I went with them, just ordered a Coke Zero, and they were making fun of me for it. I think they were just being playful but still. After the movie, I went with them to a bar. I had a mixed drink. I got slightly buzzed. I still don't get why people like it. I paid a lot of money for the drink and it tasted okay (it was a tropical one, not strong in alcohol taste) but I hated the feeling of being buzzed so much that I drank over a pitcher of water to flush the alcohol out of my body.

Needless to say, I have no intentions of drinking or hanging out with them anymore. Also, it's really annoying how many people on Meetup.com drink. Except for, from what I see, the self-described nerd groups.
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Both the times I went to the bar after work with coworkers, they thought it was weird that I got lemonade instead.
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Canuklehead posted...

Most people who feel the need to announce they "don't drink alcohol" are those straight edge weirdos who like to shove that fact down everyone's throat.

This. I don't care if someone doesn't drink but the most vocal people about it are the most obnoxious & annoying.

I don't drink because I don't want it


I don't give a shit if anyone else does

As long as they're not out drinking and driving
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Damn, a lot of people got butthurt over a nonsensical post on GameFaqs. Holy butthole, Batman!
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I have had 4 drinks in my life. Hated them all. Tastes like shit
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Anisoptera posted...

What's so bad about someone wanting to live their life without ever drinking beer, drinking wine, or taking a 'shot'?

humans are lemmings
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I don't drink because alcohol tastes like paint thinner to me and even a little bit makes me feel sick. I don't bring it up except when people ask if I want something to drink or if we're talking about drinking.

Because people who think you need to drink in order to have a social life or to have fun are idiots
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Canuklehead posted...

Most people who feel the need to announce they "don't drink alcohol" are those straight edge weirdos who like to shove that fact down everyone's throat.

I never announce it unless someone asks or offers me.
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DezCaughtIt posted...

I don't drink because I don't want it


I don't give a shit if anyone else does

As long as they're not out drinking and driving

I am in complete agreement with this. My exact same feelings.
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As someone who doesn't drink, it's because most of the people who bring it up tend to be stuck-up douches or look down on those that do. Makes it eyeroll worthy, though I have seen some people get upset I only bring it up when asked to drink something though.

I dunno, but I've seen some pretty strange reactions about it on CE.

I have a number of reasons for it, but what's quite interesting to me is one reason seems to get a better reaction to it than the others.
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Go_Totodile posted...

Lmfao wow literally shaming people who choose not to drink. Good job CE.

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thronedfire2 posted...

Go_Totodile posted...

Lmfao wow literally shaming people who choose not to drink. Good job CE.

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Anisoptera posted...

What's so bad about someone wanting to live their life without ever drinking beer, drinking wine, or taking a 'shot'?

You should probably find different people to hang out with if they freak out when you say that. I love alcohol personally but I never freak out if someone says they don't drink. To each their own I say.
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I've never seen someone freak out about it. Not even in high school.
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Anisoptera posted...

Imagine hosting a graduation party and getting upset at someone who doesn't want to take a glass of the expensive CHAMPAGNE you bought for the occasion because "they don't drink alcohol".

That is a weird thing to be mad about. I would just drink their glass too. More for me. It's a win-win.
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Who cares if they do OP, that just proves they're shallow minded shit heads.

People have lots of reasons not to drink.
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Dash_Harber posted...

Unless you live in a dry country/state or are a recovered alcoholic, most people have the occasional drink. When someone says, "I don't drink, anything, ever", it's out of the norm. For alcoholics, it's tantamount to treason. For everyone else, it's like saying, "I morally choose not to eat any Japanese food".\

There's a little but of a difference between Japanese food and alcohol. Japanese food isn't a substance with addictive qualities linked to liver and heart problems that causes people to do stupid things like sing karaoke.
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Alcohol is for followers.
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krazychao5 posted...

I then ask why and then judge them based on their answer. Most normal people don't swear off alcohol, so they either have no control and had to quit because alcohol ruined their lives or religious reasons or they claim it tastes bad. None are acceptable answers.

Maybe they are on medication
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TIL that there are actually people who think that not drinking is abnormal human behavior and that it is something that's universally done.

What a world we live in.

krazychao5 posted...

I then ask why and then judge them based on their answer. Most normal people don't swear off alcohol, so they either have no control and had to quit because alcohol ruined their lives or religious reasons or they claim it tastes bad. None are acceptable answers.

Krazy individual indeed. For the record, I don't touch alcohol simply because it's not something I'm obligated to try and I've never had the desire to do so. With so many limitless options on beverages out there, there's no need to resort to alcohol.
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It's the same when someone mentions being a vegetarian or vegan. I get that there are people from these groups that are preachy, but there are also normal people that only mention it when it's relevant. Just like all groups of people, there are reasonable and unreasonable members.

I only mention it when someone offers me meat; I don't want to decline and make them feel like I don't trust their cooking or anything, so I say "no thanks, I'm a vegetarian". That's literally all I ever intend to say on the subject, but it's really funny how many people then tell me why they eat meat - "I tried giving it up but love the taste", "it's how I was raised", etc. It's not like my statement of my lifestyle choice is an attack on your choices, but if that's how you take it, then maybe you're making the wrong choices for yourself.

It happens a little less often with drinking, but when I tell people I don't want a drink, they will sometimes start defending their choice to drink, and it honestly kind of annoys me. I'm not a confrontational person, and I don't want what feels like a confrontation whenever I mention things like that.
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Veggeta X posted...

What's crazy is some people hate alcohol put smokes weed non stop.

I rather burn trees than to drink alcohol. I've been drinking alcohol for awhile for the past decade and doesn't come near with burning trees.

Burning trees is great, I love inhaling, I love the smell of it, taste of it and etc

I literally hate everything about drinking alcohol.
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They get self-conscience and think they are alcoholics, lol

I technically don't drink but I don't refuse a drink in a social setting-I just don't buy alcohol for myself at home but if someone offers me or if I'm at a sports bar I'll have a drink
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Just the times we are living in.

I don't drink alcohol. When people ask me why, I tell them I suffer from a bad case of OSD.

"Obsessive Sobriety Disorder"

It is a rare condition that fills an individual with an irresistible compulsion to face life sober.

That's what I tell people to make a joke about it. If they want a serious answer, I have several reasons but even I'm not certain which is the predominate one.

My class underwent the D.A.R.E. program when I was a kid. Sometimes I think it stuck with me more than most because I stayed away from drugs in high school and college, never smoked and never had a drop of alcohol. I made a silent vow after that to never drink alcohol and at the age of 30 I've done well. Later I also learned that I have alcoholics on both sides of my family (aunts, uncles, grandparents). If the studies about alcoholism being hereditary hold any merit then I'm seriously screwed. Perhaps I could break the chain and maintain better control of myself but with all the shit going on in my life I could easily see myself constantly drinking myself into a stupor. Better to stay away altogether.

Even if people view it as "weird" or a violation of some social convention I commend anyone else who chooses to forgo alcohol. Speaking from personal experience, I know the pressure is there and it takes a lot of willpower to resist it.

To my fellow teetotalers, let us raise our non-alcoholic glasses in a toast!

Long line of drunks and alcohol related problems in my family. Offering me a drinks like telling me to go suck at life like my father.
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...In which CE takes this topic personally.
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I typically don't drink because often the only thing offered is beer or wine and I'm not a huge fan of either of them.

Some people do get judgey if you aren't drinking or getting drunk yeah. It was more common when I was younger though.
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LordTrinen posted...

I don't drink alcohol. When people ask me why, I tell them I suffer from a bad case of OSD.

"Obsessive Sobriety Disorder"

It is a rare condition that fills an individual with an irresistible compulsion to face life sober.

That's what I tell people to make a joke about it. If they want a serious answer, I have several reasons but even I'm not certain which is the predominate one.

My class underwent the D.A.R.E. program when I was a kid. Sometimes I think it stuck with me more than most because I stayed away from drugs in high school and college, never smoked and never had a drop of alcohol. I made a silent vow after that to never drink alcohol and at the age of 30 I've done well. Later I also learned that I have alcoholics on both sides of my family (aunts, uncles, grandparents). If the studies about alcoholism being hereditary hold any merit then I'm seriously screwed. Perhaps I could break the chain and maintain better control of myself but with all the shit going on in my life I could easily see myself constantly drinking myself into a stupor. Better to stay away altogether.

Even if people view it as "weird" or a violation of some social convention I commend anyone else who chooses to forgo alcohol. Speaking from personal experience, I know the pressure is there and it takes a lot of willpower to resist it.

To my fellow teetotalers, let us raise our non-alcoholic glasses in a toast!

Holy shit, are you me?
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I only drink wine on special occasions, which is really rare.
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krazychao5 posted...

I then ask why and then judge them based on their answer. Most normal people don't swear off alcohol, so they either have no control and had to quit because alcohol ruined their lives or religious reasons or they claim it tastes bad. None are acceptable answers.

There's nothing you dislike its taste, that is liked by others?
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