They would stop advertising alcohol on TV. It seems like there is at least one ad during every commercial break, even during the day. They should at least show it how it really is, people stumbling around in bars or wherever and then getting arrested on the way home. There should be a disclaimer like 'if you can't stop after just one drink, don't even start' All it takes is a couple of drinks to put you over the legal limit. As a matter of fact, bars should be illegal, they serve you alcohol and then let you leave or kick you out at closing. Most people I see leaving bars are driving.
I agree, and more, I feel alcohol simply should be illegal-period. If a new drug came out that was potentially addictive and eventually fatal to 10% of the population using it, it would not be out long! But alcohol is big business, and in this country, big business rules! What is good for people is not important if money can be made for huge corporations!
Yes, the commericals annoy me, you see all the "fun" people are having using alcohol and if you don't drink, you can't be cool or have fun! That is clearly implied-take the idiotic Bacardi ads I remember from last year, the Bailey's ads, Captain Morgan, it goes on and on...you don't see people having car wrecks, in detox, getting in fights, having blackouts, in jail, losing jobs, dying of cirrhosis, or even making idiots of themselves at parties. They don't show one-person "parties" where someone is so lonely, bored or down that they drink until they pass out. No, the commercials show only the fun or glamour.
Then they throw the obligatory "please enjoy our product responsibly" or "don't drink and drive"-yeah, they mean it, don't they? What hypocrisy! Yet our government allows this-advertising an addictive drug! How insensitive to everyone whose life has been harmed by alcohol! We were all so subdued after September 11th, stopped making nasty remarks about New York (I never made them, I'm from NY!), acted like it was a horrendous tragedy-and it was. But how many died there? How many die of alcohol-related causes each year? We just stand by and watch as TV tries to sell us a way to die! For some of us it's suicide, for some it's homicide or manslaughter, but the drug is deadly, and hurts too many for this irresponsible attitude. But I guess that's freedom for you...ha! It's greed, stupidity and a lack of caring!
"Corporate responsibility" is an oxymoron, and Enron isn't the only proof!
Hey michelle! When I first got sober, seemed the exact same way to me. Every other commercial was advertising booze, every TV show/movie I watched they were drinking, and a law had just been passed here to sell it on Sundays, so there were signs in front of every quick shop along the road "SUNDAY BEER SALES". It almost drove me nuts, but, it too passed. I don't notice it anymore, and even during the SuperBowl, I think sponsored by Budweiser, the commercials didn't even phase me.......
Love and hugs.
p.s. Here in SC, the bars are held liable.
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* We eventually realize that just as the pains of alcoholism had to come before sobriety, emotional turmoil comes before serenity. *
We did try making it illegal for some years, but it didn't work. The history of alcohol through the ages is that it does have some valid and healthy uses, unlike some other drugs. I don't like the commercials either, nor for smoking, nor for lot's of other things that people 'create a market' for with propaganda that tries to convince us how much we need it. I've seen such a change in families and individuals in my life time. We used to be brought up with Ben Franklin's sayings,,, "a penny saved is a penny earned",, and "a stitch in time saves nine",, but all these contradict today's 'planned obsolescence' and push for disposables and 'cash flow'. My solution? I unhooked my tv. But I have to say that there is some good stuff on, so I don't recommend that for everyone. To some people it is worth sorting through the casual sex and impulsive violence to get the good stuff from it. I think you're right that the people who put the average fair out are mainly out to make a buck off of us and don't care about our best interest at all. Sad to say, with my mom dead God is the one who really loves me. But happy to say that God really does love me,, and He loves you too, and we can get through it all, turning our lives over to God as we understand God.
amanda
-- Edited by amanda2u2 at 06:44, 2006-02-07
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do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
I had trouble dealing with the ads and the billboards when I first got sober...but they don't bother me anymore. I was a bartender for many years and I had to deal with the guilt I had from that occupation...but I also had to reconcile that I did not go out on the street and drag the customers in, and had to use my judgement when someone had had enough to drink.
It is a fact that they can't have tobacco ads on TV any longer...if enough people complained...they should be able to get the alcohol ads done away with also.I have to remember just because I'm an alcoholic not everyone in the world is...I'm just the lucky one...if I wasn't I would never have come in contact with the fellowship of AA or MIP.
Michelle, you are right, that is how it was for me, it started out fun, and turned into a nightmare. But, I have to remember that 90% of those who drink don't have our problem. We seem to be part of the lucky 10%!!! I, too, noticed the commercials when I first got sober, now I don't even see them. But, then, I tune out most commercials, they just don't apply to me so I don't see them.
As for making it illegal, that was a disastrous era of our history.
I am very upfront with new people I meet, I don't drink. Everyone, so far, has been understanding. I try not to judge others, I don't require that they don't drink. I simply try to live my life with what I can and can't do. Drinking is not an option for me. However, getting high on good company is definitely an option, and one I look for.
They say that a glass of red wine a day is good for you, and an aspirin a day is good for your heart, but I am allergic to aspirin and alcohal, so I can't. But that doesn't mean those aren't good for others. I try to remember that.
I wish for you that you feel good about not drinking and that you have a great life
Thanks all, it was just a frustrating night last night, couldn't sleep, all these alcohol commercials coming on, showing beautiful happy people having a good time. Quite the opposite from some of us. I'm not a happy drinker (was at first though) and it made me fat and unhealthy.
I just gotta remember when I need a dose of reality, just watch Cops or Wildest Police Videos. I actually saw someone I knew from high school here in Portland on an episode of Cops, and I was not even surprised.
Ok, time to get back to thinking happy thoughts again!
