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I can also relate to this article, it's a fairly accurate assessment of social/drinking culture in the UK at the time. Couple of points... "Alcohol makes many

I can also relate to this article, it's a fairly accurate assessment of social/drinking culture in the UK at the time. Couple of points... "Alcohol makes many of us unpleasant: verbally abusive, angry, destructive." That's a bit of a stretch. Yes you do get the 'angry drunk' phenomenon, but the number of drunken fights I've seen has been relatively small. I think this is different from place to place, there are cities where I know this is a bigger issue, but in general people tend to be more friendly when they're drunk. "This generational difference isn’t just anecdotal. Young people are drinking less frequently, and more of them are teetotal. We don’t know why: it could be financial hardship, an increase in the proportion that don’t drink for religious reasons, or increased time spent online." If I had to guess, I'd say it was the rise of importance in gym culture.

DanBC 11y ago
A lot of violence in the UK has links to alcohol. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences--2013-14/sty-facts-about-alcohol-related-violence.html http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/f...
- MLR 11y ago
  A lot of crime will be linked with alcohol, it's an inhibition lowering drink, and in my experience a 'mood amplifier' if you will. You get a 'violent' person drinking, you get an angry drunk who'll go looking for a fight, people drinking when they're in a bad mood or a bad place might be massively unpleasant that night. There are some people who just shouldn't drink and it's not an exaggeration to say that for them, "Alcohol makes [them] unpleasant: verbally abusive, angry, destructive.", but in most cases it's not that simple at all.
InclinedPlane 11y ago
Some people can be nice drunks, though they are rare. Studies have determined that the one consistent behavioral change from being drunk, across continents and cultures, is an increase in aggression.
- ZenoArrow 11y ago
  > "Some people can be nice drunks, though they are rare." If you think that you've been drinking in the wrong places, seriously. I'm from Bath, I started drinking in parks and pubs when I was about 15/16, and I drank a fair bit in my 20s (I'm in my 30s now). I can count on one hand the amount of alcohol-fueled fights I saw in all that time, and any other minor acts of aggression were also fairly infrequent. The vast majority of people I was with and met were nice drunks. That said, I have seen cities where police riot vans are out every Saturday night, so as I said, it varies a lot, the baggage that comes with drinking culture is not the same everywhere you go in the UK. Sometimes people are dedicated to getting smashed, others are on the pull, others just want to get lary, others are just using it to loosen themselves up, and what is common in one city is not necessarily common in another, it varies from drinking place to drinking place.
- MLR 11y ago
  This is just ridiculous, yeah you get some people who get a bit lairy and go out looking for a fight, but if anything most people are much more friendly and sociable when they've been drinking.
- wfo 11y ago
  This thread is full of people saying "every study in human history has shown drinking is associated with an increase in aggression" and normally thoughtful level-headed hackers saying "my limited non-representative experience doesn't sync with that, what you're saying is ridiculous and absurd and I refuse to believe it because it doesn't support my habits" I'd be interested to see what kind of violence it's associated with; I would guess certainly domestic violence is a big part.
- deelowe 11y ago
  I guess I'm an outlier. Except for 2 family members, everyone I associate with does not get aggressive at all when they drink. Some get chatty, some get tired, and I turn into the biggest goof in the world. I realize there are people who get aggressive when they drink, but it always seems to me like it's "that guy/girl" out of a crowd of people in the bar/club.
- 11y ago
arethuza 11y ago
"Yes you do get the 'angry drunk' phenomenon" If you want to find them it's pretty easy here in Scotland - go to the wrong place at the wrong time and its practically guaranteed. See: "radge"
- ZenoArrow 11y ago
  Good to know. Hadn't heard "radge" before, looked it up, get the idea. Looks like it's been kicking around for a bit too (at least since the 1920s)... http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/radge http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/radge
  - arethuza 11y ago
    Well, that's more of an Edinburgh term - in my own youth I'd have probably called them a "bampot". :-) [NB The absolute worst "radges" are usually wee guys - Begbie from trainspotting being a classic, and all too realistic, fictional example]
    - smcl 11y ago
      Context for who\what Begbie was for anyone not familiar with Trainspotting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc3E7UkIzt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc3E7UkIzt4 It's unlikely that you'd see something so violent as a guy chucking a pint glass into a crowd, but randomly targeted violence\aggression is not uncommon and having worked in a bar in Edinburgh I have served, chatted with and had altercations with various Begbies in my time.

DanBC 11y ago

A lot of violence in the UK has links to alcohol. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences--2013-14/sty-facts-about-alcohol-related-violence.html http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/f...

MLR 11y ago
A lot of crime will be linked with alcohol, it's an inhibition lowering drink, and in my experience a 'mood amplifier' if you will. You get a 'violent' person drinking, you get an angry drunk who'll go looking for a fight, people drinking when they're in a bad mood or a bad place might be massively unpleasant that night. There are some people who just shouldn't drink and it's not an exaggeration to say that for them, "Alcohol makes [them] unpleasant: verbally abusive, angry, destructive.", but in most cases it's not that simple at all.

InclinedPlane 11y ago

Some people can be nice drunks, though they are rare. Studies have determined that the one consistent behavioral change from being drunk, across continents and cultures, is an increase in aggression.

ZenoArrow 11y ago
> "Some people can be nice drunks, though they are rare." If you think that you've been drinking in the wrong places, seriously. I'm from Bath, I started drinking in parks and pubs when I was about 15/16, and I drank a fair bit in my 20s (I'm in my 30s now). I can count on one hand the amount of alcohol-fueled fights I saw in all that time, and any other minor acts of aggression were also fairly infrequent. The vast majority of people I was with and met were nice drunks. That said, I have seen cities where police riot vans are out every Saturday night, so as I said, it varies a lot, the baggage that comes with drinking culture is not the same everywhere you go in the UK. Sometimes people are dedicated to getting smashed, others are on the pull, others just want to get lary, others are just using it to loosen themselves up, and what is common in one city is not necessarily common in another, it varies from drinking place to drinking place.
MLR 11y ago
This is just ridiculous, yeah you get some people who get a bit lairy and go out looking for a fight, but if anything most people are much more friendly and sociable when they've been drinking.
wfo 11y ago
This thread is full of people saying "every study in human history has shown drinking is associated with an increase in aggression" and normally thoughtful level-headed hackers saying "my limited non-representative experience doesn't sync with that, what you're saying is ridiculous and absurd and I refuse to believe it because it doesn't support my habits" I'd be interested to see what kind of violence it's associated with; I would guess certainly domestic violence is a big part.
deelowe 11y ago
I guess I'm an outlier. Except for 2 family members, everyone I associate with does not get aggressive at all when they drink. Some get chatty, some get tired, and I turn into the biggest goof in the world. I realize there are people who get aggressive when they drink, but it always seems to me like it's "that guy/girl" out of a crowd of people in the bar/club.
11y ago

arethuza 11y ago

"Yes you do get the 'angry drunk' phenomenon" If you want to find them it's pretty easy here in Scotland - go to the wrong place at the wrong time and its practically guaranteed. See: "radge"

ZenoArrow 11y ago
Good to know. Hadn't heard "radge" before, looked it up, get the idea. Looks like it's been kicking around for a bit too (at least since the 1920s)... http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/radge http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/radge
- arethuza 11y ago
  Well, that's more of an Edinburgh term - in my own youth I'd have probably called them a "bampot". :-) [NB The absolute worst "radges" are usually wee guys - Begbie from trainspotting being a classic, and all too realistic, fictional example]
  - smcl 11y ago
    Context for who\what Begbie was for anyone not familiar with Trainspotting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc3E7UkIzt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc3E7UkIzt4 It's unlikely that you'd see something so violent as a guy chucking a pint glass into a crowd, but randomly targeted violence\aggression is not uncommon and having worked in a bar in Edinburgh I have served, chatted with and had altercations with various Begbies in my time.