B is for Bashing

“Phil stepped forward. “F#@* off! You aren’t allowed on my property.”

With both hands, David grabbed Phil by his shirtfront and swung him away from the door over the balcony railing. Then David leapt the railing as Phil rose to his feet. His fist crushed Phil’s nose and David heard a pop.”

-Loathe Your Neighbor ch. 16

 

Apparently, an expected, even anticipated part of a night out on the tiles, is a bashing. Get yourself drunk then look for a fight. Choose a spurious reason for your assault or simply knock the stuffing out of your victim for the heck of it. Now, before your protests deafen me, I am not saying that all people behave this way. Of course they don’t, and it is true to say that not even the majority of people behave this way. In fact, most people don’t go out and get drunk for fun. Many do. While there may be quite a few people doing the same thing at home, I am not walking down the dark road of domestic violence. I’m standing on the metaphorical corner, outside the pub, stating that there are enough people who think excessive drinking and bashing people go hand in glove, to make me nervous about late nights in the company of heavy drinkers. But wait, you cry, you are talking about the alleged link between alcohol and violence. Alleged? Read the stats. I wish I could stop, but there are also people living in our society who don’t require booze to fuel their violence. You might have one living next to you. What would it take for you to throw him over the balcony?

A Mocker and a Brawler

Had a few drinks this festive season? Had a few more than you should have on occasion? Wished you didn't have that much? Wished you hadn't have done what you did, or said what you said because you drank more than you should have? Think that everyone does it, so it's okay? Tired of all these questions?

Lindeman's used to advertise their wine with the slogan, 'the one purpose of wine is to bring happiness'. According to the Bible 'wine is a mocker and beer a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.'(Proverbs 20:1) From Noah, to the man passed out drunk in the gutter last night, the misuse of alcohol, the abuse of alcohol, has caused massive problems in society throughout the ages, by stealing the ability of individuals to control their words and actions.

One in five deaths in Australia, and 30% of road traffic deaths each year are alcohol related. One half of all assault hospitalisations and nearly 60% of victim reported crime are alcohol related.40% of people arrested by police blamed alcohol for their offences. Half the alcohol being consumed in Australia each year is being consumed at levels which exceed safe drinking guidelines, leading to thousands of deaths and injuries. 70% of the latter go unreported.

So wine, and alcohol of all varieties, brings happiness. Happiness is a worthy pursuit isn't it? Not if it's your only goal, and not if the use or especially the abuse of alcohol is the only way you can find it. Alcohol doesn't fix problems, in fact it often causes them, or makes them worse. If booze is your best medicine, then you are really sick. Alcohol is not a healer. Our heavy drinking culture is a festering sore which is infecting us all.

'Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Those who ,linger over wine, who go to samples of mixed bowls of wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. They hit me, you will say, but I am not hurt. They beat me but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?' (Proverbs 23:29-32, 35)

Schoolies Outrage Over the Top

In this nation of virtual alcoholics, the moral outrage spewing from the media about the behaviour of teenagers on the Gold Coast during 'schoolies' week is an absolute joke.

The event gets talked about and heavily publicized every year so naturally it prospers in the fertilizer of notoriety.It looks like such fun, doesn't it? Makes you wish you were a teenager again so you could spend a whole week drunk and dancing. Throw in the absence of parents and a bit of sex and you are in Heaven. No wonder non school leavers, go to schoolies as well. No wonder it's such a popular event. Thousands of teenagers just having fun.

I want to be a part of that fun. I want to get so drunk that I spend an hour vomiting. I want be smashed so the next day I can't remember what I did the night before. It will be great when someone tells me how I humiliated myself by not being able to stand up. At least they might be able to help me explain the injuries I sustained. I want to spend the night with some girl who is too intoxicated to remember the word 'no.' That would be awesome. I want the alcohol to take away my inhibitions so I can show everyone my penis, and then I can abuse the policemen who try to get me to pull my pants up. Yeah, I'd love to give the cops the finger and abuse them for trying to interfere with my fun.

I want to be so rotten that I fall over and hit my head on the footpath. If I bleed a lot, I'll get loads of sympathy and have a great story to tell in the accident and emergency department at the hospital.If I drink enough, I might even fall into a coma. How cool would that be? Better still, if I drown in alcohol and then go swimming, I could drown in the ocean. Unreal!

I'm not a wowser, and I do drink alcohol in moderation, but none of the above is what I would call a good time. I can actually enjoy myself without alcohol. That was my idea of a fun when I was 16 but Jesus rescued me from that dead end self destructive way of life when I was young. Who is going to rescue our young people before they make the biggest mistake of their lives, or die, or kill someone else? If you think I'm exaggerating, check out the statistics.

Or just laugh it off, and have another drink. That's the Australian way.

The Failed War on Drugs

Should illegal drugs be legalized, or at least decriminalized?

In New South Wales, Australia, the Pharmacy Guild funds a needle syringe exchange program for injecting drug users. It provides a free exchange service for users of heroin. The rationale for this program is two fold. Firstly, it is designed to ensure that as many used syringes as possible are disposed of safely, and secondly, it aims to help stop the spread of infectious diseases among users. This program is largely unknown outside the ranks of chemists and drug users. Heroin itself has a fairly low profile these days. It is not fashionable: either for drug users or for media reporters. It is however still an illegal substance and there are heavy penalties for possession, use, and especially for trafficking. The question is why. Why have illicit drugs been demonised?

Is it because they cause people to act in an anti social manner? Is it because they damage people's health? Is it because, people commit crimes under the influence of drugs? Is it because of the violence that is associated with them? The answer to all those questions is yes, but how does that differ from the negative effects of alcohol abuse?

I'll tell you how it differs. Alcohol is much much worse. Although a legal and socially acceptable drug, it is a violent, and indiscriminate killer. Alcohol abuse is a rampant disease in our society. It is an evil curse.

Why don't we just allow people to use whatever substances they want? Almost everyone has something they use to dull the pain of past hurts, the weight of current expectations or the darkness of hopeless futures. If nobody else gets hurt, what's wrong with that? Could all the time, money and effort expended on the war against illegal drugs be better spent?

I heard about his guy named Norm Stamper who was a cop for 34 years and served as Seattle's Chief of Police from 1994-2000. He has written a book called Breaking Rank. He believes the war on drugs in the United States has done exactly the opposite for the people. He says, "tens of thousands of otherwise innocent Americans incarcerated, many for 20 years, some for life; families ripped apart; drug traffickers and blameless bystanders shot dead on city streets; narcotics officers assassinated here and abroad, with prosecutors, judges, and elected officials in Latin America gunned down for their courageous stands against the cartels; and all those dollars spent on federal, state, and local cops, courts, prosecutors, prisons, probation, parole, and pee-in-the-bottle programs. Even federal aid to bribe distant nations to stop feeding our habit."

This is typical of a society which has lost the ability to wisely choose which battles to fight, and which ones to walk way from. The situation in Australia is not as bad as that in the U.S. but surely we don't want to follow their lead.