lightningmagurn said:
PhantomEcho said:
lightningmagurn said:
Perhaps the law is common sense, and that's why it's the law.
Ah yes, there's the answer. Obviously it's common sense that we should teach our kids there's this wonderful beverage that we all have... but they can't touch... because they're just 'not old enough to understand'.
Yep, that's -never-, -ever- been proven to do exactly the opposite thing from DETER kids.
Nope. Common Sense. I'm sure you're right. (/sarcasm)
No, I mean that people commonly agree that (where I live) you shouldn't get fitshaced until you're 21. The law doesn't say anything about lack of education, that's the parents and schools job.
Ah. Well, 21 is a pretty arbitrary number. And most people who agree are -over- that age. The truth of the matter is, these kids are going to drink. If you make it illegal, they're going to drink SECRETLY. It's kind've like the way they handle drugs. You make drugs illegal, you start telling people what they can and can't do to -themselves-... and that's only going to make them HIDE it from you. It doesn't stop anything.
So while I agree with the logic. And believe me, I don't think drinking and school functions have any place in the same SENTENCE... I'm arguing with the logic of the laws, on their level of actually working, rather than if they're agreeable or not.
I don't think kids have any place getting smashed out of their gourds either. But we TEACH them to do so by inhibiting their ability to experience drinking. We mystify it, rather than justify it. We don't teach them to drink responsibly, we teach them to drink SECRETLY... and in turn, without supervision, they learn to drink IRRESPONSIBLY, and for FUN.
Laws like these ENCOURAGE kids to abuse alcohol, rather than prevent it.
And that's why I'm opposed to the whole idea. There's no CRIME in drinking. There's only a crime in drinking if you're young? That's not common sense. That's overreaction to childish stupidity. A real law would be to ensure that kids understand the perils of drinking, and that weight of guilt is a burden of responsibility they will have to bear for the rest of their lives. Tell them how many kids die each year because of alcohol abuse, be it poisoning or drunk driving. Teach them how to know when they've had to much, teach them how much they can drink without directly inhibiting their senses.
And then leave it alone. Let them drink. Let them drink with their friends, let them drink with their family... let them experience the responsibility of it. And when/if they make poor decisions... let them experience that too.
Because nothing is going to stop it. They're going to do it whether you let them or not. Making it 'harder' isn't a real solution. It's just posturing by the law to make it LOOK like they're doing something.
Because there IS no solution for human stupidity. And it doesn't go away at 21. Or 18. Or any age.