I think it stems from people thinking that you NEED a drink to be able to function, rather than just wanting to relax and enjoy a couple of drinks. Every year, I go on an obligatory beach trip with my family, my dad and his wife are pretty conservative, and my two sisters and their husbands act conservative when they're around my dad. Somebody will always say something to me if I crack a beer at 10 or 11am like I am some huge alcoholic or something. I always just give them a smartass comment in return like, "gee, I sure hope this won't interfere with me sitting in the sand and sweating!" It's also funny to me how, in their minds, there's a big difference in drinking a beer at 11am vs noon. They also like to judge if we're all at a restaurant and I'm the only one who orders a drink/beer, like I'm "drinking alone." My wife's family, on the other hand - they're Colombian and don't give a shit what I do at any point in the day, so it's kind of a no-brainer why I spend more time with them..
There's so much stigma in that, too. Like the only reason you'd ever have alcohol is as a social lubricant. Sometimes after a long day at work, I have the house to myself and I want pizza -- and beer goes great with pizza.
I'll go one further: being drunk alone. Obviously if it's a frequent occurrence, then it's a big red flag of a substance abuse problem. But if I live a healthy, solid life, why is there anything wrong with me mixing up a strong drink or a few and getting nice and toasty by myself as I watch Planet Earth or try to write 'profound' drunken poetry? I do this probably a few times a year, and I make great company for drunken me!
I experienced something similar on my annual camping trip. We just spend the days floating on rafts and playing fetch in the lake with the dogs. It is such a care-free environment, and we'll be drinking beers all day. One year my brother came and brought his wife. She got upset when someone offered her a beer with breakfast. Then she saw us all having breakfast beers and started chastising us for drinking so early. None of us are alcoholics, we don't drink until the evenings in our regular lives, but bitch when we're camping and floating on an inflatable raft is my plans for the day, I'm gonna enjoy a breakfast beer.
My family is Christian conservatives so I never drink around them. Or do anything of the sort. I love my family, but in a lot of ways they don't know the real me, nor do I want them to. I can't imagine telling them I'm an atheist and don't but into any of their beliefs since like 9th grade...
To them, there is a time and a place for it. Sometimes I'll wake up at 5pm and have a beer with my food (read: breakfast), and somehow that's more acceptable than the guy who's been awake for three hours when he has a beer at 10pm
257
u/hatervision Jul 13 '15
I think it stems from people thinking that you NEED a drink to be able to function, rather than just wanting to relax and enjoy a couple of drinks. Every year, I go on an obligatory beach trip with my family, my dad and his wife are pretty conservative, and my two sisters and their husbands act conservative when they're around my dad. Somebody will always say something to me if I crack a beer at 10 or 11am like I am some huge alcoholic or something. I always just give them a smartass comment in return like, "gee, I sure hope this won't interfere with me sitting in the sand and sweating!" It's also funny to me how, in their minds, there's a big difference in drinking a beer at 11am vs noon. They also like to judge if we're all at a restaurant and I'm the only one who orders a drink/beer, like I'm "drinking alone." My wife's family, on the other hand - they're Colombian and don't give a shit what I do at any point in the day, so it's kind of a no-brainer why I spend more time with them..