3 ms·

I think drunk driving being an oil that keeps society lubricated cannot and should not be understated. Yes, drunk driving kills people and that's unacceptable.

I think drunk driving being an oil that keeps society lubricated cannot and should not be understated. Yes, drunk driving kills people and that's unacceptable. On the other hand, people going out to eat and drink with family, friends, and co-workers after work helps keep society functioning, and the police respect this reality because they don't arrest clearly-drunk patrons coming out of restaurants to drive back home.

brailsafe 3y ago
What is more depressing is how we can acknowledge that reality and continue to do absolutely nothing to mitigate it but punish it, in many cases. The more people practically need to drive, the more people will drunk drive and kill people, yet in so many cases we just sort of stop there and be like "welp, guess that's just nature" instead of building viable alternatives. However the other theoretical possibly is that if people didn't need to drive, they might end up drinking more.
Karrot_Kream 3y ago
This is such a deeply American take that I can't help but laugh out loud. It's like going to a developing nation and saying that, while emissions from two stroke scooters kills people there's no alternative to get your life things done.
- pierat 3y ago
  You can laugh out loud all you want, but there are mandatory parking minimums for bars across the USA. Yes, bars have parking lots, and a lot of spaces. The intent is to *drive* there, drink and maybe eat, and leave in some various state of drunkenness. Why else would the spacious parking lots be required?
- Dalewyn 3y ago
  It certainly isn't just America, though we're probably certainly the most infamous example. I was in France for business once in the countryside (southern France), and the host took everyone (me, their employees, etc.) out to lunch. Far as I could tell it was just an everyday thing. Anyway, we drove about an hour to a nearby village and practically partied for a few hours. Wine flowed like a river. Then we drove back and we all got back to our work. So not only were we drunk driving, we were drunk working. Even Americans usually don't drink that hard; the French earned my respect that day, they know how to have a good time. Also many times in Japan, I would invite a business client/supplier or a friend over for dinner at a sushi bar. It's not unusual for some to drive rather than take the train, and then of course go back home driving after having had lots of beer and sake. Whether any of us like it or not, drunk driving is an oil that lubricates society.
  - kbenson 3y ago
    > Even Americans usually don't drink that hard; the French earned my respect that day. Is drinking hard something so deserving of respect? Is working while impaired? To me this reads as "I like to fuck off and be irresponsible and man did these French guys show me how it's done!"
    - Dalewyn 3y ago
      Except they weren't irresponsible. We all drove back just fine, and we all went back to work just as competently as before like nothing happened. It takes skill and maturity to have a good time but not so much that it would impair subsequent duties. The French demonstrated to me they have that down to a much finer degree than most of us have in America, so they have my respect. This isn't to say Americans are immature, mind you. For every drunk driving incident you hear on the news, hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans drive home drunk without harming anyone for their entire lives. What I will admit is Americans would still refrain from drinking so much during lunch when we still have a work day left ahead of us, that's something we can take lessons from the French on. Life is short, so those who can have more happy hours without compromising their duties are the real winners.
      - djao 3y ago
        As someone who knows people who died in a crash with another drunk driver, it is hard for me to accept your view. Certainly, at a bare minimum, the penalties for drunk driving that results in fatality should be much harsher than they are now -- at that point there is hard empirical evidence that you cannot be trusted to have the "skill and maturity" necessary for driving -- but we can't even bring ourselves to do that, not even for repeat offenders. Eventually I am optimistic that autonomous driving will solve the problem entirely, at least for those who are responsible drivers. In an era of widely available self-driving cars, if you choose to drive drunk, then that is an active choice, and no amount of "social lubrication" can excuse such degenerate behavior.
        Dalewyn 3y ago
- pmarreck 3y ago
  If it's American to make counterarguments based on reason instead of ridicule, then hell, I'd much prefer to be an American than whatever the hell your judgmental buttocks is doing. And no, there is currently no substitute for a legal removal of your repression so that you can, say, get on with some shagging. I would love to see a study trying to determine what percentage of humans have only come into existence because of a bit of "social lubrication" For some people, alcohol is indeed "medicinal".
saagarjha 3y ago
drunk driving may kill a lot of people, but it also helps a lot of people get to work on time, so, it;s impossible to say if its bad or not,

brailsafe 3y ago

What is more depressing is how we can acknowledge that reality and continue to do absolutely nothing to mitigate it but punish it, in many cases. The more people practically need to drive, the more people will drunk drive and kill people, yet in so many cases we just sort of stop there and be like "welp, guess that's just nature" instead of building viable alternatives. However the other theoretical possibly is that if people didn't need to drive, they might end up drinking more.

Karrot_Kream 3y ago

This is such a deeply American take that I can't help but laugh out loud. It's like going to a developing nation and saying that, while emissions from two stroke scooters kills people there's no alternative to get your life things done.

pierat 3y ago
You can laugh out loud all you want, but there are mandatory parking minimums for bars across the USA. Yes, bars have parking lots, and a lot of spaces. The intent is to *drive* there, drink and maybe eat, and leave in some various state of drunkenness. Why else would the spacious parking lots be required?
Dalewyn 3y ago
It certainly isn't just America, though we're probably certainly the most infamous example. I was in France for business once in the countryside (southern France), and the host took everyone (me, their employees, etc.) out to lunch. Far as I could tell it was just an everyday thing. Anyway, we drove about an hour to a nearby village and practically partied for a few hours. Wine flowed like a river. Then we drove back and we all got back to our work. So not only were we drunk driving, we were drunk working. Even Americans usually don't drink that hard; the French earned my respect that day, they know how to have a good time. Also many times in Japan, I would invite a business client/supplier or a friend over for dinner at a sushi bar. It's not unusual for some to drive rather than take the train, and then of course go back home driving after having had lots of beer and sake. Whether any of us like it or not, drunk driving is an oil that lubricates society.
- kbenson 3y ago
  > Even Americans usually don't drink that hard; the French earned my respect that day. Is drinking hard something so deserving of respect? Is working while impaired? To me this reads as "I like to fuck off and be irresponsible and man did these French guys show me how it's done!"
  - Dalewyn 3y ago
    Except they weren't irresponsible. We all drove back just fine, and we all went back to work just as competently as before like nothing happened. It takes skill and maturity to have a good time but not so much that it would impair subsequent duties. The French demonstrated to me they have that down to a much finer degree than most of us have in America, so they have my respect. This isn't to say Americans are immature, mind you. For every drunk driving incident you hear on the news, hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans drive home drunk without harming anyone for their entire lives. What I will admit is Americans would still refrain from drinking so much during lunch when we still have a work day left ahead of us, that's something we can take lessons from the French on. Life is short, so those who can have more happy hours without compromising their duties are the real winners.
    - djao 3y ago
      As someone who knows people who died in a crash with another drunk driver, it is hard for me to accept your view. Certainly, at a bare minimum, the penalties for drunk driving that results in fatality should be much harsher than they are now -- at that point there is hard empirical evidence that you cannot be trusted to have the "skill and maturity" necessary for driving -- but we can't even bring ourselves to do that, not even for repeat offenders. Eventually I am optimistic that autonomous driving will solve the problem entirely, at least for those who are responsible drivers. In an era of widely available self-driving cars, if you choose to drive drunk, then that is an active choice, and no amount of "social lubrication" can excuse such degenerate behavior.
      - Dalewyn 3y ago
pmarreck 3y ago
If it's American to make counterarguments based on reason instead of ridicule, then hell, I'd much prefer to be an American than whatever the hell your judgmental buttocks is doing. And no, there is currently no substitute for a legal removal of your repression so that you can, say, get on with some shagging. I would love to see a study trying to determine what percentage of humans have only come into existence because of a bit of "social lubrication" For some people, alcohol is indeed "medicinal".

saagarjha 3y ago

drunk driving may kill a lot of people, but it also helps a lot of people get to work on time, so, it;s impossible to say if its bad or not,