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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/13/my-friends-should-know-better-theres-no-pride-in-alcoholism
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| My friends should know better: there's no pride in alcoholism | My friends should know better: there's no pride in alcoholism |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| As inevitably as rumours of Beyonce’s divorce leading to sell-out shows on her tour with Jay Z, on a Friday night my social media feeds will begin to fill, without fail, with the refrain “I’m such an alcoholic lol”. | As inevitably as rumours of Beyonce’s divorce leading to sell-out shows on her tour with Jay Z, on a Friday night my social media feeds will begin to fill, without fail, with the refrain “I’m such an alcoholic lol”. |
| It’s a trend that has moved from my high school yard to my social media feed and though I always hoped my peer group would outgrow the stupid notion that being an alcoholic was cool, I still read the same posts and the same offhand remarks on a weekly basis. After a quick scroll through my Facebook this weekend, I compiled the following: | It’s a trend that has moved from my high school yard to my social media feed and though I always hoped my peer group would outgrow the stupid notion that being an alcoholic was cool, I still read the same posts and the same offhand remarks on a weekly basis. After a quick scroll through my Facebook this weekend, I compiled the following: |
| “Alcoholism must run in our genes [name redacted]” from a 30 year old to her sister after a big night. | “Alcoholism must run in our genes [name redacted]” from a 30 year old to her sister after a big night. |
| “Hair of the dog #alcoholic” with a photo of a beer from a 23 year old. | “Hair of the dog #alcoholic” with a photo of a beer from a 23 year old. |
| “Just a bunch of alcos” another snap, from another 20-something at a beer garden. | “Just a bunch of alcos” another snap, from another 20-something at a beer garden. |
| It used to make me angry, a knot of rage in my stomach. “You’re an idiot” I would type in the comment box, deleting it before I could press send (though Facebook still knows I typed that!). These days, it makes me sad, too. | It used to make me angry, a knot of rage in my stomach. “You’re an idiot” I would type in the comment box, deleting it before I could press send (though Facebook still knows I typed that!). These days, it makes me sad, too. |
| I know we have a booze-soaked culture (of which I’m an enthusiastic participant at times), but I can’t shake my anger at people proclaiming they’re an alcoholic like it’s cool, something to aspire to. It’s not. It’s an illness and a sad, frustrating existence lined with a hundred heartbreaks. | I know we have a booze-soaked culture (of which I’m an enthusiastic participant at times), but I can’t shake my anger at people proclaiming they’re an alcoholic like it’s cool, something to aspire to. It’s not. It’s an illness and a sad, frustrating existence lined with a hundred heartbreaks. |
| I thought maybe it was my own petty grievance, the one thing I would consider mounting a high horse for. Share your recreational drug stories, your sexy anonymous escapades, your tales of teenage shoplifting, your vaguely criminal tax return. I don’t mind. I won’t judge. But don’t you dare flippantly call yourself alcoholic. | I thought maybe it was my own petty grievance, the one thing I would consider mounting a high horse for. Share your recreational drug stories, your sexy anonymous escapades, your tales of teenage shoplifting, your vaguely criminal tax return. I don’t mind. I won’t judge. But don’t you dare flippantly call yourself alcoholic. |
| But an unscientific survey of my friends (I couldn’t find any scientific ones) found a chorus of the same complaint. “It’s how I know which one of my Facebook friends not to casually invite to drinks,” one of my mates observed when I asked if she noticed people jokingly referring to themselves as alcoholics. Another friend went on a 10 minute rant while polishing off a jug about how it’s an illness and people don’t seem to understand it. They too had observed the “I’m an alcoholic lol” phenomenon. | But an unscientific survey of my friends (I couldn’t find any scientific ones) found a chorus of the same complaint. “It’s how I know which one of my Facebook friends not to casually invite to drinks,” one of my mates observed when I asked if she noticed people jokingly referring to themselves as alcoholics. Another friend went on a 10 minute rant while polishing off a jug about how it’s an illness and people don’t seem to understand it. They too had observed the “I’m an alcoholic lol” phenomenon. |
| Either through wilful ignorance or genuine obliviousness, some people can’t begin to imagine how unglamorous the world of an alcoholic can be. And yet, you do not have to go far to find the evidence. | Either through wilful ignorance or genuine obliviousness, some people can’t begin to imagine how unglamorous the world of an alcoholic can be. And yet, you do not have to go far to find the evidence. |
| Before he left us Robin Williams gave a small, but harsh, glimpse of it when he told the Guardian a few years ago about his relapse into alcoholism after 20 years of sobriety. | Before he left us Robin Williams gave a small, but harsh, glimpse of it when he told the Guardian a few years ago about his relapse into alcoholism after 20 years of sobriety. |
| I was in a small town where it’s not the edge of the world, but you can see it from there, and then I thought: drinking. I just thought, hey, maybe drinking will help. Because I felt alone and afraid. It was that thing of working so much, and going fuck, maybe that will help. And it was the worst thing in the world. | I was in a small town where it’s not the edge of the world, but you can see it from there, and then I thought: drinking. I just thought, hey, maybe drinking will help. Because I felt alone and afraid. It was that thing of working so much, and going fuck, maybe that will help. And it was the worst thing in the world. |
| Stephen King also drew on his experiences as an alcoholic before he got clean in the 1980s when writing the sequel to The Shining. | Stephen King also drew on his experiences as an alcoholic before he got clean in the 1980s when writing the sequel to The Shining. |
| The scene King put in to illustrate an alcoholic’s world was Danny waking up next to a one night stand, stealing her money and leaving her infant son wandering about with a full nappy, reaching for drugs on the coffee table. “And I think every alcoholic has a story comparable to that. Something where you actually hit rock bottom,” he told the Guardian. | The scene King put in to illustrate an alcoholic’s world was Danny waking up next to a one night stand, stealing her money and leaving her infant son wandering about with a full nappy, reaching for drugs on the coffee table. “And I think every alcoholic has a story comparable to that. Something where you actually hit rock bottom,” he told the Guardian. |
| I don’t have anything as dramatic. Of course, in a novel, you’re looking for something that’s really harsh. Harshly lit. For me, when I look back, the thing that I remember is being at one of my son’s Little League games with a can of beer in a paper bag, and the coach coming over to me and saying, ‘If that’s an alcoholic beverage, you’re going to have to leave.’ That was where I said to myself, ‘That’s something I’ll never be able to tell anybody else. I’ll keep that one to myself.’ I drew on that memory. | I don’t have anything as dramatic. Of course, in a novel, you’re looking for something that’s really harsh. Harshly lit. For me, when I look back, the thing that I remember is being at one of my son’s Little League games with a can of beer in a paper bag, and the coach coming over to me and saying, ‘If that’s an alcoholic beverage, you’re going to have to leave.’ That was where I said to myself, ‘That’s something I’ll never be able to tell anybody else. I’ll keep that one to myself.’ I drew on that memory. |
| There is an infinite amount of tales about alcoholism out there, but no alcoholic wakes up the next morning feeling proud of the night before. So why are people proud to call themselves alcoholics? |