"I can have fun when I'm sober"
- Thread starter NickInABox
- Start date
You can be fun while drunk but you can't be interesting.
Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
Teenagers still have problems grasping logic. A+B does not = C for most of them. *sighs*
I think a certain amount of rebellious behaviour is normal and healthy during adolescence, provided one still maintains a smidgen of self-control... and therein lies the problem for a lot of teenagers: they overdo it and abandon their common sense and self-control.
I, for example, won't deny that I did a bit of drinking when I was underage (though I could probably count the number of times I did it on one hand). There may have been a couple of instances where I had a little bit more than I should have, but generally I made sure I drank no more than enough to give me a pleasant buzz; all it really made me do was smile a lot, hug people more frequently, wobble a little when I walked, and maybe flirt a bit more overtly than I normally did. I didn't get so wasted that I felt compelled to do something stupid or dangerous like drive, start a fight, climb something really tall, or commit acts of vandalism. I recognize, however, that many teens aren't so careful when they drink (or do drugs, which I never tried), and yes, that can be problematic.
In any event, I'm not sure where Nick is getting the idea that kids are less rebellious these days -- I certainly don't think that's the case. And I hope the "no-limits, insanely stupid and dangerous, borderline criminal" type of rebellion isn't what he's advocating, 'cause... yeah, I'd have a tough time getting behind that.
I, for example, won't deny that I did a bit of drinking when I was underage (though I could probably count the number of times I did it on one hand). There may have been a couple of instances where I had a little bit more than I should have, but generally I made sure I drank no more than enough to give me a pleasant buzz; all it really made me do was smile a lot, hug people more frequently, wobble a little when I walked, and maybe flirt a bit more overtly than I normally did. I didn't get so wasted that I felt compelled to do something stupid or dangerous like drive, start a fight, climb something really tall, or commit acts of vandalism. I recognize, however, that many teens aren't so careful when they drink (or do drugs, which I never tried), and yes, that can be problematic.
In any event, I'm not sure where Nick is getting the idea that kids are less rebellious these days -- I certainly don't think that's the case. And I hope the "no-limits, insanely stupid and dangerous, borderline criminal" type of rebellion isn't what he's advocating, 'cause... yeah, I'd have a tough time getting behind that.
I must have missed the part where we were talking about teenagers getting wasted and driving tractor trailers. Would that change the "level" of behavior? I won't speak for anyone else, but I wasn't talking about "safety" at all. I was talking about a kid rebelling against his or her parents occasionally. That could be one beer or it could be twenty. But let's not automatically assume that drinking leads to manslaughter.
Now I've no idea what you're talking about. Drinking was brought up and I posted about how it was dangerous for teens and then people started to say how it was a good way for teens to rebel. Small White Car and I shot that down and now I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say.
You've been drinking with the wrong people.
You've been drinking with the wrong people.
I don't drink.
^Then you shouldn't speak of things you know nothing about. 
This is the statement that I was replying to in the first place.
This is the statement that I was replying to in the first place.
I have no idea what sort of discussion was going on before that. I agreed with this so I said so. Perhaps that clarifies matters.
^Then you shouldn't speak of things you know nothing about.
Sadly, I know all too much about it.
And I pointed out earlier how that was nonsense. Teen drinking is not asserting independence nor is it being a rebel.
^my apologies if I touched on a sore spot.
My sister is a teen and has a severe alcohol problem. It's not just her, though, it seems to be this whole damn area. My parents now have to watch her every move and have put her into a counseling program. I'm all for teens rebelling, I did it myself but drinking just ain't the way to go about it.
Edit: Mind you, I'm not trying to shut down discussion here by saying this story but rather to show where I'm coming from.
^now I feel bad for being a smart ass. That's one of the bad things about talking to people online. Most of the time you don't know what their personal stories are and because of that you end up saying something hurtful or offensive. If I'd known the things you were dealing with I wouldn't have pressed the issue. I hope that everything works out for your sister.
Well, no. I said make up your own mind. By the time you're a teenager, you can hopefully know from common sense that crossing the street without looking is something you want to do in life and your parents don't have to tell you.
A couple things. People in history never drank at age 14 before? You mean there was never a freshman who went to a high school party back when the drinking age was 18? Drunk driving is completely unrelated. Some people are good at self-policing, others are not. That has nothing to do with age Although I guess you could take it to the nonsensical extreme and say that it would be OK to drink before you get your license (which is being raised to 17 or 18 in many states) since then you couldn't drink and drive.
Once again, you continue to misrepresent my point. I never said do the opposite of what your parents tell you. I said make up your own mind. I'm sorry that you have personal connections to this, but I'd argue the situation would be the same in any point in history. It's just that, today, we highlight it as a major concern and the police are much quicker to enforce it. I don't think alcoholism among teenagers is worse than it's ever been. Honestly, I really do hope the situation with your sister gets better. If it's destroying her life, I hope she realizes that and takes positive steps to fix it.
But I don't think alcohol itself is a problem and I think the 21 drinking age has had negative consequences because people have had to treat it as this secret thing that's taboo. People can learn to use alcohol responsibly and the hammering into heads of people the evils of alcohol isn't really a positive thing in combating problems with the drug.
What do you have against parents? Doesn't their opinion matter? Why should kids not do what their parents tell them?
One shouldn't blindly follow anyone, simple as that.
I could go into a long explanation about the following of tradition and how that was changed with the age of enlightenment and how doing things differently than what your parents did is what led to progress, but that's a bit too much. The simple answer is the one above.
I could go into a long explanation about the following of tradition and how that was changed with the age of enlightenment and how doing things differently than what your parents did is what led to progress, but that's a bit too much. The simple answer is the one above.
Except one's parents. They've earned the right.
Because in the US they are not given the opportunity to learn about how alcohol effects them in a safe and controlled environment. We make it into OMG alcohol! and shunt it off into the darkness where they look at it as a form of rebellion, so of course they over do it.
When I was in high school, we had some friends from England; their parents provided a safe place for us to party and they supervised the whole thing, not allowing people to leave if impaired and allowing us to learn how to handle drinking. No one ever got alcohol poisoning, no one ever drove drunk and got in an accident, and no one ever got in trouble.
Oh, what utter screaming bullshit.
Parents teach their children horrible things all the time, from bigotry and violence to ignorance of reality to greed and small-mindedness to hatred of self. No one should ever, EVER blindly do or think what anyone tells them to because regardless of if they raised you, rule you, or sign your paycheck they might be wrong. If you want to live exactly the life your parents tell you to, then great, but I pity you because you're living their life, not your's.
I do sometimes wish I had known someone like you in my life sooner! This is a lesson I'm still learning, ever so slowly. I wish I had started the process sooner.
I think this is the problem for some. Well, for me at least. Teenagers DON'T know what's best for them. Sure, with something like crossing the street it's more clear cut. But teen's brains have not fully developed the center of reasoning and logic. Combine that with alcohol's ability to take away reasoning, plus the group mentality/peer pressure you get at some parties, and you have teens that just don't have the ability to police themselves on this matter. I actually do think that the drinking age should be lowered so that it is not seen as some rebellious thing. Because then they could drink in front of adults who would guide them in knowing when enough is enough. But as the law is now, I can't support teen drinking at all, because they will try to do it in secret and usually end up going way overboard. They just don't have the reasoning skills to know when to stop.
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