21st birthday
Tara Parker-Pope's April 8, 2008, NY Times article
Drinking to Extremes to Celebrate 21 received 128 comments from bloggers who discussed their opinions on youth culture thinking it is normal to participate in the ritual to drink 21 to celebrate your 21st birthday. The online article includes a picture of Jesse Drews who died on his March birthday from a drinking binge and an all-too familiar story that listed the facts about youth drinking to extremes. Many of us binge drink or know of friends who binge drink on weekends because the week is difficult and we want to forget everything and get "wasted." Some students go so far as to start their weekend partying on Thirsty Thursdays, which signify a tradition that influences a drinking culture with bar drink specials and "no cover for female" nights. Parker-Pope said that people need to understand the meaning of blood alcohol content and how alcohol affects each person differently; just because all your friends persuade you to drink more because you're celebrating the completion of finals week, if you suspect you've had too much, stop, then maybe society will consider us adults instead of "kids." We can die for our country so why not use alcohol responsibly and know when to stop? How far do we have to go until there is no point of return?
Check out the article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/drinking-to-extremes-to-celebrate-21/!
I agree that this is an all too common thing. But is there a way to get a message across to prevent binge drinking? I'll admit that on my 21st birthday my friends made me a shot book and I made my way to the Wheel to take my 21 shots (fortunately wheel shots are not "real" bar shots) I think the article has some valid points - and obviously we hear lots of stories about college students participating in binge drinking that leads to their death due to alcohol poisoning. Unfortunately, I don't know a way that will really convince teenagers and college students to stay away from the "trend" of partying and binge drinking
"if you suspect you’ve had too much, stop, then maybe society will consider us adults instead of “kids.†We can die for our country so why not use alcohol responsibly and know when to stop? How far do we have to go until there is no point of return?"
I disagree with this statement. First of all, I don't understand what you mean by adults and "kids." Legally, we are adults. If older generations view us as "kids" it is not based solely on irresponsible use of alcohol. If it is based COMPLETELY on that, then that is based on news reports about certain incidents that get out of hand. These will never change, there are always going to be those who perpetuate the idea that all college students binge drink. So even if everyone at the bars tonight stops when they've "had enough," it isn't going to change any opinions of college drinking.
Secondly, we can die for our country three years before we can have a sip of alcohol. Dying for our country has nothing to do with drinking. If anything, it is unfortunate that the government sees us as responsible adults at 18, able to hold almost every legal responsibility our parents hold, except the ability to drink. We can vote for who leads this country. We can go to war when that leader deems it necessary. We can live on our own without a legal guardian. But beer? We're not ready for that yet.
Thirdly, you might replace the term "we" with "some people." Not everyone takes 21 shots on their birthday. Not everyone throws up on a consistent basis from drinking. The term "we" not only encompasses our entire generation as "problematic drinkers" it includes you, too.
Lastly, what do you mean by "How far do we have to go until there is no point of return?" Is this insinuating that we are on a path that might ultimately result in the extinction of the human race via alcohol poisoning? When people go to the bars for their 21st and take 21 shots, it's not hardly the danger that it is made out to be. If someone sat at home with a real shot glass and a bottle of liquor and took 21 shots, that would be another thing entirely. When you're at the bars, the shot glasses are half the size of a shot, if that, and rarely contain pure liquor. Most of the time these "shots" are spread out over 5+ hours too. When people say 21 shots, it is rarely put into context, removing any credibility from the claim.
Thank you, Chris Nelson, for your harsh criticism. I was wanting to get exactly what you have given me with your comment!
A lot of our society generalizes, including the media, which in this article focuses on college students' binge drinking "problem," which may or may not even be a problem at all.
Glad you got all that off your chest! I like your critical thinking skills.