Going to a social event without having a drink (alcohol)? Shock Horror maybe?

[happyninja42]

It's just part of the social standard that many cultures have had for generations. Many of the earliest public establishments for people to gather and mingle were pubs (or the equivalent). It became part of the whole deal.

Sort of the same for "Why do you get popcorn when you go to the movies? What's so 'popcorny' about being in a theatre? " Some people only eat popcorn when they are at a movie, and some always get popcorn when they go to a movie. Why? Because it's just part of the ingrained structure of the social activity.

For a loooooong time, most public parties/gatherings, involve alcohol to some degree or another, and thus it's...well I don't want to say expected, but it's certainly assumed by many people that booze will be included in most social events.

Of course that expectation is slowly changing, as more people are of adult age that don't drink alcohol at all (like myself), so it's not so much in demand. I think it's a mix of just simple choice to not have it at your party, because the majority of your friends don't drink, so why spend money on booze? I know if I hosted a party, and invited my friends, maybe 1 person would drink. And by that I mean they are someone who would consume booze, but still probably wouldn't because they just don't bother much. The rest of my friends are almost 100% non-alcoholic in nature. It's just not part of our social structure.

I also think it's partly a reaction to people wanting to prevent any "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" *tear off shirt and do stupid stuff* type behaviour at their party. That stuff can pop up very unexpectedly when you add booze to the equation. So, they might just decide "Meh, no booze, that way we'll likely reduce the chance of Asshatery to 0%"

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

a glass of whine

The Escapist's preferred drink.

Oh shit! Shots fired!

If I do drink at family events, I usually don't have more than a few lagers or ciders and maybe a glass of wine. I find I usually don't need to get drunk or even tipsy. And even if I did, I wouldn't do so with wine or lager.

 

[generals3]

Goooooooooo... Damn its a dull day. British weather at it's best.

While getting items for my mothers 50th birthday party, my mother revealed that we couldn't get alcohol because the centre hosting the event didn't allow it and there was a pub just next door. So I said, "when going to outings and parties, can't handle it without having a drink or two". Then, as inquisitive as I am, I asked myself that question. Why can't some individuals go a few hours at an event without any alcohol. I'm not a drinker, I can't stand the taste, but I was thinking about those who do for the party cause I didn't want them feeling left out and don't mind if anyone drinks or not. Well, until they get piss drunk then I can't stand that.

Is this a British thing? Maybe, maybe not. Or is it part of today's drinking cultural that isn't thought about much and universally, is it seen and used as a way to just "hype" things up. Actually I don't know, which is why I am asking. Time to find out.

Oh but they can, they just don't want to. Alcohol makes those events much more fun. I've been Bob (=designated driver) a couple of times because i couldn't drink (was on antibiotics) and all i can say is: never again. I'd rather stay home and watch a movie than go out/to a party while being sober.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Couple of reasons?

1) Peer pressure
2) (At nightclubs) Being drunk allows you to tolerate the mind-numbing boredom of doing nothing but dancing all night
3) Loosening up

For me, it?s mostly the third reason because, despite not liking the taste of most alcoholic beverages, I can very easily become anxious in social situations. No-one takes the mickey if I or someone else decides not to drink, though. I have a friend who I?ve never seen drink, nor does he even go out much, but he?s still really popular because he?s naturally a jovial guy who is easy to talk with.

 

[Artina89]

I am British and I don't really drink, maybe a vodka and diet coke once in a while, but on the whole I prefer not to. Because of this, a lot of people stare at me like I have grown a second head or something. It gets fairly irritating. I often get the same response when I say that I usually prefer the vegetarian option to the meat option when I eat out with friends and family.

 

[lacktheknack]

Freaking alcoholic drinks. Getting through tech school without ever going for a drink was brutal. People really, really, REALLY want everyone else to drink for some reason.

"But fruity drinks are great!" "But I just wanna share the experience!" "Just one!" "I'll give you five bucks!" "Just one!" "Just̷ ̶ǫne͢!"͘ "҉Juşt̛ o͢ņè͉̙̗̟̼̙̮!̧̗̘̬̣"͖͔͕̪̯̦̩͞ ͈͠ ̨̬͕̯͕̮"͏̦͚̺̣̦̬̥J̠̣u̯͚͚͇̪̰s̢̼̯̪̦͉̘̥t̷̖̫͇ ͓̜̝̟̰o̪̩ń͕̞̺̱̺e͏̞̳̮̹̙ͅ!͘"̬͉͜ ̭͠ ̧̲̬̦͓"̭̩̝J̡̺u̹̯̬̼̼̮̙s̙̫̦͇̝̲t̘̙̬ͅ ̵̘ọ͍̯͔͔̫ṋ͓̻͙͟ę̰͖̭͠!͚"̟̦̼͔̞͕̭̀͘ ̶̦͈ ̸̧̖̰̘̖̖"͏͓̭̻͇̪̩͚̀̀J̶̢̱͙̭̟̪̟̙̱̹͢u̴̶̪̦̖͇̱͍̬̪s̸̻̩̤̙̩̱͘t̠̭̜͔͚̖̟͎̀ ̨͓͈͔̻̣͕̬͟ó̴̭̠̻̞̮̗͕͟n̴͕̥͔̖͢͝ę̠!̴̖͓̮͟͡"҉̠̦̩̟̺̣̫̫ ̘͕̫̦̮̖ ̵͖́̀"҉̙͎͠J̸͚̪̫͈̺͈̮̰ụ̝͞s̴̸̭̞̯̻̹̮͓̝̀ṯ̹͞ ̬̝̰̼͓̪͞ǫ̬̘̫̥̞ņ̮e͘͡͝҉̨̮͚͙̦̤͉͔̯̲̣͇̫͕͉͖̙̥̯!̛̩̗̫̣̱͉̥͠"̥̟̤͙͔̼̙͓̣͉̗̻͚̺͘͠ͅ ̨̜͙͈̝̱̥͓͔̬͢ ̶̴̻̳͇̯̰̥͉̠͓͎͝"̛̻͔͈̙̮͈̖̗̖̼̮̜͘͘J̶̧̢̹͙̜̘͓̜̼̥̳̫͉̖͕u̦̥̬̬̙̩̣̞̮͔̥̦̠̯̞̻̭̮͢͞s͘͏̙̤͈͓̺̜̤̭͖̘̮͕̱͠t̷̠̘͙̝͉̪̝̹͕̞͉̖̲͚͖̻̀͝ ̷̨̡͎̮̯̥̝͖̣͕̻o̡̨̯͎͚̬̬̤̩̞̪̝̺̪̜̩͈̩ͅn̨͉̳̭̦̻̟͢è̸̡̙͍̙̮͖͚̟̩̠͓͘!̵̶͡҉̤̖̥͉͈͍̻͙̬̬"̵̛͉̟͈̦͉͉͢͡ͅ ̡̧̹͇̤͕͕́͞ ́̕҉̤͈̥̟̤"̵̢̭̞̘̯̩̣͜J̴̫̝̣̼̻̩̜̠̱͖̤̭͙̙ͅu͏͖̦͚̝̦͇͕̭̠̤̦͖̯̬̘̳̬̕͡ś̷̳̫̭̳̫̩̗̤̗̤͕͕̼̻͓̪̦t̡̨̜͚͇̫̘̼̮͖͈͎͜ ̵̡͎̠̲͙̰̤͕̣͈̤̟̥͖̝̀ớ̛̼̠̖̞̯̜͎̥̺̬̥͇̞͖̭̕͡n̜͙̤̪̺̬̻̺̣̺̟̦͔̩̠̠̣̣̹̕͜͢͠é̵͏̰̳̪̯̤̬͕̤̝̳̟̭͇̗̙̀ͅ!̛̼͉͇̝̺̼͈̬͎̻͔̭̬̘́͢͝"̴҉̱͈̻̮̭̼̟̹͍̭̲̝͟ NO SHUT UP.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I'm far, far too socially inept to survive a club without alcohol, and it sure helps at parties. That's my excuse. Peer pressure isn't even a factor.

 

[Hieronymusgoa]

Most people I know drink alcohol when going out, I guess most people in general do. I don't but I don't need to/it doesn't do for me what it does for others. When people tell me "Yeah, it's a fun party if you drink a bit" then I say "I won't go when I can only have fun there with alcohol". And since it mostly just makes me drowsy and tired, I wouldn't have more fun anyway with it than without if the party is just not good. Still I totally understand people who like to drink at partys. It's so deeply linked to going out in culture and if they enjoy it they should do it. As long as they are not totally wasted and I have to carry them home I'm fine with it. That has of course happened, too, but not on a regular basis to make me detest people in general just because they like a few beers.

Say what you want, I have never met a single person who wasn't insufferable even only after a single beer. In fact I have a pet theory that every single human being is a horrible drunk, but other people only notice it if they are not drunk yet, which is the reason why everyone has to drink at parties so that no-one feels embarrassed about being the only drunk idiot in the room.

I can't second that everyone with one beer is insufferable but I do totally second that only non-drunks realise the stupidity level of drunks. That's why I always annoy others when they justify stuff with "It was just because I was so drunk". Yeah, free will and all, man, then don't drink so much, srsly. Most probably nobody forced you to binge on it.

 

[nvzboy]

Never drank any alcohol till I was eighteen, I was the only one doing that but my friends respected me for sticking to my decision. And due to the combination of me and ADD i somehow can be chatty as someone with ten drinks in him without needing a drop. So they didn't mind, I acted lively as is already.
Then that one night we were celebrating chrisostomos (only 100 days of high school remaining) and I just poured in a couple beers because... Heck why not? The beers were free and you could get drunk from just being there as the floor was just flooded with beer (this is the reason you don't do free beers at a party).