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> I dare say we never-drinkers know a lot more about the drinking life we miss out on than you drinkers know about the never-drinking life you miss out on. I d

> I dare say we never-drinkers know a lot more about the drinking life we miss out on than you drinkers know about the never-drinking life you miss out on. I dare say the opposite, as many drinkers routinely experience not drinking, while the opposite is by definition not true. I'm a drinker but I have sometimes spent several months without drinking, for various reasons. Including spending months at countries where I didn't drink at all and people I met wouldn't even know whether I usually drink or not. Honestly I have never saw those wonders of the "never-drinking life" that I'm supposed to be missing. It's the same (drinkers can meet friends during the day and outside of bars, too!) minus the activities that involve drinking.

ozim 3y ago
Upvote for this, because that is funny reading person who never drinks not realizing that normal people spend most of their lives being sober. -- disclaimer I refer to "normal" people who drink but are not addicted. Non drinking people are normal as well.
- vintermann 3y ago
  Of course I realize that. Just like I realize Christians don't spend every walking moment talking in tongues. Doesn't mean they understand the atheist life better than atheists understand theirs. Aside, this sort of "hilarious reply!" post isn't exactly nice when I'm right here is it.
vintermann 3y ago
You have tried being teporarily sober, but you have not truly seen alcohol culture from outside. I didn't say doing that would be wonderful, that was your own words. It's not fun to be the only atheist at a Pentecostal meeting either, but as I said: sometimes you choose what to do for other reasons than fitting in and having fun.
- nl 3y ago
  > You have tried being teporarily sober, but you have not truly seen alcohol culture from outside. I used not to be a drinker (not total teetotaler, but would never drink when out) well into my 30s. Now I do drink. I much prefer drinking. I do think that "alcohol culture" means different things to different people in different places and at different ages. To generalize massively, I don't think much of the stereotypical way way 19yos from the UK drink when in Ibiza. But I do enjoy 4 or 5 cocktails or whiskys in a good bar (which for me isn't one with loud music incidentally) with good company.
Hnrobert42 3y ago
Isn’t that like saying that able-bodied people know just as much about being a wheelchair user because able-bodied people also spend time sitting? The life of a teetotaler is not just your life minus the time you are drinking. Indeed, you explicitly make GP’s point when you say, “I never saw those wonders of the “never-drinking life” that I am supposed to be missing.” Now, I would not argue that being a teetotaler is wonderful. I don’t drink because my father was an alcoholic. I feel like I have missed out of vast swaths of life. To me, the experience varies from fine to quite isolating and painful (especially when I was younger and conformity mattered more). When I was younger, going to a bar and not drinking was like being a virgin late in life while everyone is talking about sex. Once you’ve had sex, you realize no one judges virgins. But as the virgin, you feel painfully alone. You know your friends’ awareness of your difference is harshing their mellow a bit. But in the end, it is absurd to argue with people on the internet over who knows more about life. That’s a conversation better over a beer. I guess.

ozim 3y ago

Upvote for this, because that is funny reading person who never drinks not realizing that normal people spend most of their lives being sober. -- disclaimer I refer to "normal" people who drink but are not addicted. Non drinking people are normal as well.

vintermann 3y ago
Of course I realize that. Just like I realize Christians don't spend every walking moment talking in tongues. Doesn't mean they understand the atheist life better than atheists understand theirs. Aside, this sort of "hilarious reply!" post isn't exactly nice when I'm right here is it.

vintermann 3y ago

You have tried being teporarily sober, but you have not truly seen alcohol culture from outside. I didn't say doing that would be wonderful, that was your own words. It's not fun to be the only atheist at a Pentecostal meeting either, but as I said: sometimes you choose what to do for other reasons than fitting in and having fun.

nl 3y ago
> You have tried being teporarily sober, but you have not truly seen alcohol culture from outside. I used not to be a drinker (not total teetotaler, but would never drink when out) well into my 30s. Now I do drink. I much prefer drinking. I do think that "alcohol culture" means different things to different people in different places and at different ages. To generalize massively, I don't think much of the stereotypical way way 19yos from the UK drink when in Ibiza. But I do enjoy 4 or 5 cocktails or whiskys in a good bar (which for me isn't one with loud music incidentally) with good company.

Hnrobert42 3y ago

Isn’t that like saying that able-bodied people know just as much about being a wheelchair user because able-bodied people also spend time sitting? The life of a teetotaler is not just your life minus the time you are drinking. Indeed, you explicitly make GP’s point when you say, “I never saw those wonders of the “never-drinking life” that I am supposed to be missing.” Now, I would not argue that being a teetotaler is wonderful. I don’t drink because my father was an alcoholic. I feel like I have missed out of vast swaths of life. To me, the experience varies from fine to quite isolating and painful (especially when I was younger and conformity mattered more). When I was younger, going to a bar and not drinking was like being a virgin late in life while everyone is talking about sex. Once you’ve had sex, you realize no one judges virgins. But as the virgin, you feel painfully alone. You know your friends’ awareness of your difference is harshing their mellow a bit. But in the end, it is absurd to argue with people on the internet over who knows more about life. That’s a conversation better over a beer. I guess.