Upset people because you DONT drink alcohol

Dub_D

because you're a party pooper!!


just kidding

ohnoetry

I've only gotten upset at people who don't drink when they've made it a point to act holier than thou and judge me for drinking. Like, seriously? cool, you don't drink, but I do and I'm no less of a person because of it.

Honestly, whatever other people do is their business, as long as everyone can still enjoy themselves, who cares?

WinnerVictorious

i outgrew drinking. since my mid-20's, i've hardly ever had a drink. it's the kind of thing you do in HS/college when getting drunk, acting stupid, and waking up with a hangover is a kind of rite of passage, but i really don't see the appeal as an adult. even social drinking seems unappealing to me. i don't need a beer to watch football. i don't need a glass of wine to enjoy a nice dinner. so i don't really understand adults who need it. i suppose if somebody gave me grief for not drinking, i'd probably laugh out loud and say i didn't need booze to enjoy life. it's never happened though. probably because i don't go to bars anymore. ever.

Cliffslosinit

It gives the drunks a clear conscious if everybody is drinking.
That way they don't look like a lush by themselves!!
#Truestory

neverstray

I started driving to meet friends, then I explain to them that I'm driving so I'm not going to drink. They understand, and anyone who is a friend sure as hell wouldn't let you drink and drive.

I'm glad your friends are awesome. I'm a bit older than you. My friends are dipsh*ts. They drink and drive all the time, and some of them smoke weed too, and jusmp in their car after a few drinks at the bar, and a few tokes by their car before taking off. Ridiculous. These are grown adults.

The reason I brought age into is because in my age group, we grew up without these rules. I remember being so drunk I would have to go outside the next morning and see if I dove home. yep, there was my car parked across the lawn. There was a minor fine for driving drunk, but it wasn't a big deal. that came later. For those of us that grew up that way, many feel like they can handle it. I know it crosses the spectrum, I'm not saying that. But, what I do see is more younger people make arrangements and figure out transportaion if they know they are going to be drinking. Many of my friends, just drive in and drive out with no consideration for the fact that they will be drinking. It's like a non-issue.

for me, I just moved to a place where there are lots of bars around me. great place to live for an alcoholic, eh? No, it's nice. There are restaurants and stuff too. I avoid bars mostly now. I'm so afraid of slipping. Sometimes I want a beer so bad.

quitter1973

As a just now recovering alkie- I think the bias is because deep down they don't feel great about themselves and it bothers them that its so easy for you to not to by choice.

kenazfehu

I never get that.

lousoulbody

Perplexed as the situation is, I really grew tired of the questions and badgering, there were times in my life i didn't drink because i didn't want to, not because of dieting. I found the best excuse for these persistant pains in the butt was to tell them i was on medication, seriously it stopped the comments questions and bullying in its tracks. I guess drinking is such a social activity the general public views the non- drinker as anti-social, sad but very true. If we were not social we wouldn't be out there having fun with friends that want to drink.

Matiara

It doesn't happen anymore, but it happened a lot when I was younger. It amazed me how upset some friends and acquaintances would get when I would say that I don't drink. I wasn't self righteous about it, I would just say, "No, thank you. I don't drink." They would do everything in their power to try to convince me that I just needed to try it and that it was "fun". It bothers me a whole lot less now than it did back then. As I got older, I determined that I didn't need to justify any of my decisions to other people and they could just go bite someone's ankle if it bothered them.

And I have plenty of fun in my life without consuming alcohol. If someone absolutely can't have fun without drinking, I think there's a problem there.

Unless you count the sips of beer my aunt thought it was funny to give me when I was six years old, I have never consumed alcohol. There's not big, complicated reason for it. I just don't want to and I don't find alcohol tempting in the least. Even if it was tempting, there are several alcoholics in my family, I take pain meds daily that can't be mixed with alcohol, and I am devout in my faith, which frowns upon drinking, so I just wouldn't.

Recently, I had a server at an Italian restaurant give me a blank expression followed by a look of shock when I turned down having a glass of wine with my meal. Then she said, "Are you sure?" What was it to her?

foxro

Like going to church and not praying...you draw suspicion from others when you are in an establishment and not participating in the common group behaviour that is expected or considered normal within the establishment. This can be amplified when you advertise or flaunt your adversity to the established behaviour. Group behaviour is just that, often becoming prejudice and discrimintation. It really is a shame but alot of folks are set in their ways.

dorianaldyn

I really don't think it's because you not drinking makes them question their own behavoir. I think it goes a bit deeper. Regardless of your religious beliefs, us humans are meant to be in groups. I can already see it in my preschooler - the meanest thing she can say to a friend is "you can't come to my party" - they already know at age 3 that the biggest social weapon is exclusion. We eat together, we drink together. When you decline a drink, in a way, you're rejecting the group. When you go against the grain, when you actively seek to do something different from the rest of the group, questions are going to be raised. 'Why doesn't she want to drink?' 'Why doesn't she want to participate in what the rest of us are doing?' Granted, some of our most brilliant people are the ones that go against the grain, so I say keep up the good work, stand up for yourself and don't let their comments affect you.

Have you ever looked at someone and couldn't tell if they were male or female? And from that point on, all you could do was to carefully study the person until you could figure it out and put your mind at ease? They say the first thing we do when we look at someone is determine his/her sex. It's just a core behavior. I also think the need for social interaction, the need to feel acceptance within a group is core to being human.

WinnerVictorious

It doesn't happen anymore, but it happened a lot when I was younger. It amazed me how upset some friends and acquaintances would get when I would say that I don't drink. I wasn't self righteous about it, I would just say, "No, thank you. I don't drink." They would do everything in their power to try to convince me that I just needed to try it and that it was "fun". It bothers me a whole lot less now than it did back then. As I got older, I determined that I didn't need to justify any of my decisions to other people and they could just go bite someone's ankle if it bothered them.

And I have plenty of fun in my life without consuming alcohol. If someone absolutely can't have fun without drinking, I think there's a problem there.

Unless you count the sips of beer my aunt thought it was funny to give me when I was six years old, I have never consumed alcohol. There's not big, complicated reason for it. I just don't want to and I don't find alcohol tempting in the least. Even if it was tempting, there are several alcoholics in my family, I take pain meds daily that can't be mixed with alcohol, and I am devout in my faith, which frowns upon drinking, so I just wouldn't.

Recently, I had a server at an Italian restaurant give me a blank expression followed by a look of shock when I turned down having a glass of wine with my meal. Then she said, "Are you sure?" What was it to her?

it's her job to sell as much as possible and she gets tipped on both food and drinks. i wouldn't hold it against her. she was just trying to do what she's supposed to do. i always tip well. i did that job (waiter/bartender) when i was in college. i know how crappy it can be some nights.

ardisia32

Though I was never a heavy-drinker, I quit drinking in my early 20s, because of a bad experience. A couple of my friends at the time were quite hostile and sceptical when I made the decision. I think that actually encouraged me to continue my commitment. If they'd left me alone, I may eventually have started drinking again (in moderation of course). Now, some 20+ years later, my current friends are happy to always have a DD available, and just see it as another of my "quirks". I'm not preachy or judgmental about it -- I have great fun with my friends & family whether they are drinking or not, because it's about the company, not the activity.

LButterfly201

I hate this! I don't drink alcohol and i'm 20. It's my choice not to have any. i don't mind others drinking, but i do get sarky comments. It's annoying having to justify yourself constantly. I just run with being the designated driver...always :P

avibachar

I'm not much of a drinker myself, but I'm sure it was a combination of many things. Perhaps you should have asked them why they cared so much instead of a forum which likely will not answer your question.

I never understood why people here can never be direct with issues concerning their friends.

Well said!! It bothers me to no end when people ask my opinion about an interaction with their friends/co-workers and when I ask for more details in inevitably comes up that they didn't even discuss with the people actually involved. Confrontation is not a bad word!

jessicae1aine

I don't drink, at all.

I live in a community where drinking is the major pastime, because there's not much else to do here.

I get **** about this ALL the time. Sorry, but I have better things to spend my money/calories on.

hiker359

It is because they have an instant ice breaker and common task and alcohol makes you feel good and so you want other people to feel good too.

Love this answer!

Something like this always makes me think of a person hunched over a toilet in the throngs of digestive pyrotechnics. How good does *that* feel? Granted, I understand one drink usually won't get you to that point; but still.

Then again, my experiences with people around me drinking have been few and far between, but on the whole, just telling them I don't drink when asked has never caused an issue. And somebody had to be the designated driver, so that made it much less of an issue.

annwyatt69

Well, no offense, but people get stupid when they drink and often lose their sense of morality. I was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes when I was 15, so I never drank alcohol. Funny that when people were drinking, they always assumed that I was too. Difference was I could see the changes in people when they drank and I didn't like it. I am on medications and have had a surgery that forbids me to drink and probably would not do it anyway. I think alcohol in society has no value and most people who drink it have no idea when to quit.

wiltl

When it is asked of me, I just say "i don't want to"
I don't need to explain my decisions to anyone

This, exactly. My good friends leave it at that. Anyone else that pushes doesn't know me well enough for me to go into details nor do I owe them one. I may add that I'm driving, which usually ends it and is generally the truth. Beyond that, my internal five year old just says "I don't want to because I don't".

Heather_Rider

Why do people get upset when you choose NOT to drink alcohol. This has perplexed me forever and I would like to know the answer from the 'upset' people. Dont get me wrong I enjoy beer and wine. But last night I was at a sports bar with some people and I only drank diet coke because I was watching my calories which I will do quite often, 3 of the people with me made a comment about my not drinking. I mean, what is the big deal. I have never once cared if someone drinks or not but since I started this fitness journey over a year ago, people will often made snide or friendly comments to me. Oh and God forbid if you answer them that you are 'dieting', you will get a hail storm of comments, I just said I had a stomach ache (which was true also).

How odd!

Im an alcoholic, and i never had issues with people who chose not to drink. Maybe because I knows what it can do to people? IDK... But Kudos to you for not drinking, no matter WHAT the reason.. its not their business anyway! Tell them to stuff it! :laugh: