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I agree with the thread starter.
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Who doesn't see the allure in alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs?
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Steve Youngblood
Member
I'd say that most of those people aren't being serious. I don't think anyone is trying to convey the idea that, in order to live life to the fullest, you have to have some sort of mind-altering drug of choice that you partake in often. However, there have been people (myself included) stating that it is somewhat close-minded to sit around and say "I don't see the point of it" when you haven't experienced it for yourself. Picking the biggest moron out of the group and saying "I don't want to be THAT guy" isn't a valid reason not to try something. You can consume in moderation and not turn into the guy who is laying in a pool of his own vomit while other drunk people draw stuff on him. I just don't see the aversion to trying something even once. If you have tried it before, and didn't like it, then more power to you for not doing it again. But if you've never gotten drunk and/or high, and you're throwing out reasons like "I don't need to drink to have fun," or "I'd rather be sober and laugh at the antics of all the other drunken idiots," then I'll say that I used to think the exact same way. Then I drank one night, and found that alcohol was not as evil as I had once thought it to be. Maybe you would agree with that sentiment if you gave it a shot, or maybe you wouldn't, but at least you'd be speaking from experience.Naked Shuriken said:
nitewulf said:
Well whatdayaknow? I actually am in college (freshman at Ohio State University, the largest single campus in the United States) and have done all kinds of things with my drunk/high friends...while opting not to participate in the "having fun prerequisite" of getting drunk/high. Roughly 90% of my friends drink, 99% smoke cigarettes, and maybe only 30% do drugs.
It's not as if I'm talking out of my ass. I'm with them. I see what goes on. And I still stand by what I said earlier.
videogamer
Banned
MIMIC said:
How strict are the smoking laws in Ohio? I rarely ever come upon a smoker, and when someone lights up, I'm not afraid to cover my face with my shirt and run away from them.
OP: Yeah, I'm also kind of a health freak too. But that's not why I don't do drugs or alcohol. They don't seem to provide any benefit that is worth the costs; thus, I don't seek them out. Since I turned 21, I have eaten a piece of chocolate filled with Irish cream (free btw). I wasn't sure if it was made with alcohol or what at the time, but gosh that stuff is nasty. Tell me why people drink this stuff... it's horrible.
iced lightning
Member
drugs make you pretty hardcore actually. d:<8(|)
Fresh Prince
Banned
By the reasoning of GAF I have found out that
A) All poeple who indulge in 'drugs' (also meaning alcohol etc) use are macho manly men who enjoy the loving of a fine woman and having fun with their mates. These are the hardcore men that make America strong, not the pussies of the world like the wine sipping French. However only because they use drugs to cover up their social anxieties and inner hurt they live with in their sensitive souls. The also use alcohol to use cover up that they have a small penis.
B) All people who decide not to indulge in 'drugs' are smarter, wiser and more independant from the 'herd' and who do not need alcohol to loosen their tounge. They will own you from a moral and intellectual standpoint everytime. However they are all Japanophiles loners who play videogames on a Friday night and only come to parties when they are dragged to one. Then they sit in a corner pretending they are better than everyone by judging them and wishing they can get a piece of ass and wondering why they shouldn't kill themself.
A) All poeple who indulge in 'drugs' (also meaning alcohol etc) use are macho manly men who enjoy the loving of a fine woman and having fun with their mates. These are the hardcore men that make America strong, not the pussies of the world like the wine sipping French. However only because they use drugs to cover up their social anxieties and inner hurt they live with in their sensitive souls. The also use alcohol to use cover up that they have a small penis.
B) All people who decide not to indulge in 'drugs' are smarter, wiser and more independant from the 'herd' and who do not need alcohol to loosen their tounge. They will own you from a moral and intellectual standpoint everytime. However they are all Japanophiles loners who play videogames on a Friday night and only come to parties when they are dragged to one. Then they sit in a corner pretending they are better than everyone by judging them and wishing they can get a piece of ass and wondering why they shouldn't kill themself.
McLesterolBeast
Member
To completely abstain from alcohol and marijuana use (at least in canada), you either have to be irrationally "safe" (see: pusssy), or be reacting out of the recognition that you have an extremely compulsive personality and would not be able to control yourself. (or you've got parents that'll reem you, a health condition that wont allow you, or similar issues)
Knowing how negligable the risks (both legal and medical) are to the typical sane and competent person, the potential payoff of trying the two substances in question are high enough to justify _trying_ them. All of the medical literature supports the notion that neither substance poses any true risk to your health for the typical person from a one time use. Determining how much you'd want to use, which could conceivably be zero, depends on how much pleasure you derive from the use of them. Clearly, given the reported pleasure that others get from the two substances, the expectation you should have is that it _would_ be physically pleasurable.
Highly improbable disutility coupled with highly probable utility, of a greater magnitude (arguably, but irrelevant even if not). A rational individual would choose to at least try if given the opportunity. The only thing that would stop you is if you were irrationally risk averse, which could roughly translate to "pussy", or if they were not widely available.
With that in mind, i rarely drink and have smoked all of two joints in my life.
*note: legal risks may be greater where you live, but for the vast majority of the western world, the legal risk is a non-factor
Knowing how negligable the risks (both legal and medical) are to the typical sane and competent person, the potential payoff of trying the two substances in question are high enough to justify _trying_ them. All of the medical literature supports the notion that neither substance poses any true risk to your health for the typical person from a one time use. Determining how much you'd want to use, which could conceivably be zero, depends on how much pleasure you derive from the use of them. Clearly, given the reported pleasure that others get from the two substances, the expectation you should have is that it _would_ be physically pleasurable.
Highly improbable disutility coupled with highly probable utility, of a greater magnitude (arguably, but irrelevant even if not). A rational individual would choose to at least try if given the opportunity. The only thing that would stop you is if you were irrationally risk averse, which could roughly translate to "pussy", or if they were not widely available.
With that in mind, i rarely drink and have smoked all of two joints in my life.
*note: legal risks may be greater where you live, but for the vast majority of the western world, the legal risk is a non-factor
Fresh Prince
Banned
And take over MAF? Never!!Socreges said:
that's a fairly rational analysis, but i really think it's a very personal issue, and not so simply deconstructible as "the only reason not to is this or this". people can have religious motivations, for example, and i think it's appropriate to respect those.
HOWEVER, the flip side of this is that people who choose to, on a social level, are certainly not wanton harlots, or agents of the devil. they're normal people who chose some other path, one which may even work better for them than yours does for you. as long as they tend to do it in privacy, it's their issue and not yours. drinking, for example, is not the same thing as drinking... and driving.
so, in conclusion, everyone here should shut the fuck up. let the thread die already.
HOWEVER, the flip side of this is that people who choose to, on a social level, are certainly not wanton harlots, or agents of the devil. they're normal people who chose some other path, one which may even work better for them than yours does for you. as long as they tend to do it in privacy, it's their issue and not yours. drinking, for example, is not the same thing as drinking... and driving.
so, in conclusion, everyone here should shut the fuck up. let the thread die already.
McLesterolBeast
Member
I can 'respect' their beliefs and still recognize it as irrational. Rationality isn't the only trait worthy of praise. The prospect of any given religion isn't irrational, but for one to accept a particular religion as absolute knowledge requires a leap of faith; that leap being over a requisite gap in logic. That is tantamount to irrationality, and so long as it is those beliefs that "inspire" one to reject an otherwise rational opportunity, i would regard that person as irrational with respect to their choices in that particular instance.
McLesterolBeast
Member
I'll actually concede that the rationality with respect to the decision to abstain depends largely on how probable you view the "truth" of a given religion to be and how severe you perceive the punishment for breaking the rules to be. Assigning relevant probabilities to religions to evaluate the rationality behind a decision becomes a paradox, of sorts, when you consider that the notion of an eternal hell would produce an infinite value for disutility to act in a way that could, even if extremely unlikely, send you there. You could then speculate of an infinite number of actions that could potentially send you to hell, all of which would require you to abstain from in order to act rationally if there was even the faintest possibility of an eternal hell.
But I don't smoke because I hate smoking in general. The smell is just.. urrrgh.
I don't condemn drinking. I don't mind [trying] to drink to the point of buzz. But drinking stupid quantities of sickening goon so you feel good for a couple of hours until it wears off is lame.
I've always been curious about what RaymondCarver mentioned, how weed makes things 'more magical' or 'better' in terms of music and just random tasks. Wouldn't this just make 'normal' tasks seem boring and mundane without it, and lead the weak of will to become mentally addicted to the substance?
I don't condemn drinking. I don't mind [trying] to drink to the point of buzz. But drinking stupid quantities of sickening goon so you feel good for a couple of hours until it wears off is lame.
I've always been curious about what RaymondCarver mentioned, how weed makes things 'more magical' or 'better' in terms of music and just random tasks. Wouldn't this just make 'normal' tasks seem boring and mundane without it, and lead the weak of will to become mentally addicted to the substance?
McLesterolBeast
Member
It's not exclusively the weak of mind that would become "mentally addicted", and for those who know they have a compulsive personality, it's best to stear clear. It's also those who have little else to live for that would find themselves using it compulsively. If your prospects in life were limited to a factory job and a minger of a wife, that "mental addiction" might start to sound more appealing. So long as there is potential in life to get somewhere that grants you greater happiness than a generic high, there is reason to moderate the toking.
Pimpwerx said:
Pimpwerx said:It's not necessarily a good thing to just accept what you're told. I'll say that the PSAs send a good message in telling people to stay drug-free, but most of what they show is exaggerated or just plain wrong. People who say it does damage to your body probably also drink coffee or soda or eat eggs and other food high in cholesterol or sit in the sun too long and so forth. Lots of things are worse for you than even coke. I don't drink coffee. Yesterday I had my first cup in months. Caffeine is such a shitty drug, but lots of people drink coffee by the gallon and then turn their nose up at coke. It's not enough to know that something's bad for you, you should always know why and how. But that's where personal preference comes in. Not everyone does drugs. I still have a hard time admitting some of my habits to people I know b/c I know that eventhough they may smoke pot ocassionally or whatever, telling them you snort lines won't exactly go over well, or telling them you roll or whatever. But if I'd never done any of this stuff, I'd have missed out on a lot. At least now I'm a bit more experienced, for what that's worth. Now if I'm ever on Jeopardy, and there's a question about what happens to the back of your throat when high on coke, I'll know the answer.Yes Alex, I'll take The Rapists for $200. PEACE.
There you have it, folks. Proof that drug use causes incoherent rambling and shitty spelling/grammar/paragraph structure.
Nathan
Everybody go buy some weed from Target:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5605447-5327004?asin=0823916839
(link will probably be dead within 24 hours)
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5605447-5327004?asin=0823916839
(link will probably be dead within 24 hours)
Through high school I was pretty much in the "I don't need to drink to have fun" camp. I'm 19 now (2 years of uni) and I now know that that's absolute bullshit; it's the same as saying "I don't need videogames to have fun". They're just different types of fun. And as other people have said, if you haven't tried it yourself then you can't really have an opinion, sorry. I used to have fun playing Final Fantasy on a Saturday night, and often still do, but variety in life is good.
I don't like wild parties or nightclubs or anything and never will, but getting drunk with some good, funny mates is one of the most enjoyable things to do. I've never tried any (other) drugs and don't feel the need to; none of my social circle are into them. I might try marijuana if the circumstances arise, but nothing damaging because I do care about my health.
I don't like wild parties or nightclubs or anything and never will, but getting drunk with some good, funny mates is one of the most enjoyable things to do. I've never tried any (other) drugs and don't feel the need to; none of my social circle are into them. I might try marijuana if the circumstances arise, but nothing damaging because I do care about my health.
Synbios459
Banned
I'd first like to say I've never done any drugs, ciggarates, or alcohol. Having said that what do you guys think about the fathers that come home drunk everyday and beat his kids, or won't work and provide for his family because he cares more about getting stoned? Sure while you're intoxicated you may be having the time of your life, but I've seen many cases where people do things that they regret. I just don't see how it's worth risking doing harm to others for your own personal pleasure.
I still don't understand why people seem to think that it's impossible to have fun without getting intoxicated, doing drugs etc. Sure I may have never tried them before, but I have lots of fun without having to do those, and I don't see why I'd risk it just for temporary pleasure.
I still don't understand why people seem to think that it's impossible to have fun without getting intoxicated, doing drugs etc. Sure I may have never tried them before, but I have lots of fun without having to do those, and I don't see why I'd risk it just for temporary pleasure.
Those are extreme cases of people with problems who shouldn't be near alcohol in the first place. Most people don't get violent when drunk; I get more friendly.Synbios459 said:
Who's saying it's impossible to have fun without alcohol? It's just a different way of having fun. Why can't you people understand that?
Synbios459
Banned
BTW, I also find it funny that no one seems to care for the simple fact that (atleast in America) most of the drugs that you guys are talking about are ILLEGAL! Does it not bother you that you are breaking the law!?
Synbios459
Banned
On a similar note I would like to say how rediculous it is that Alcohol, Ciggarates, and Tobacco are a-ok, yet some less harmful drugs (i.e Marijuana) are considered "Evil!!11!!".
Synbios459 said:
The only illegal substance I use is weed, and it's not life threatening or harmful to anyone else but my lungs, so I see no reason why I should feel sympathy for the law. Other than that, I do drink under the age of 21, but we always have designated drivers so it's coo.
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
I find plenty of allure in da boozin.
dskillzhtown
keep your strippers out of my American football
Miguel said:
That's why you don't call me anymore...
Man, way to jumpstart my interest in this thread. :lolSynbios459 said:
First of all, any father who beats his kid when drunk or starves his family to get burnt is a douchebag, it's got nothing to do with the drugs, but that person. More people smoke weed than we are lead to believe. Again, just today someone behind me was smoking a blunt in their car with the sunroof open. I took the smell and looked around and saw her ashing out the window. Most people function just fine with all sorts of stuff. You don't see a point in the risk, but people like me don't see a point in not taking risks. Only got one shot at life, and IMO, the chemistry is sound with most drugs, so it's a matter of preparing yourself and having a good source.
Anyway, I've done the clean and sober thing for many years. Maybe I'll return to that someday, but I doubt it. Weed's not going away, I might have to get a good vaporizer though. I really don't do anything enough to harm my health or form a habit, so I rock with just about anything. You don't need drugs to enjoy life, but I'd like to think I have a lot more fun with drugs/alcohol. In general, drugs make things better for the user. Better than being sober. It may be hard to understand, but it is what it is. PEACE.
EDIT: In response to the illegal drug thing, it's the allure of breaking the law. Drug laws are bullshit. Who hasn't broken a law?
McLesterolBeast said:
I'm not sure that the reduction of human behaviour into a strict binary polarity of rationality v irrationality is entirely sensible. Human beings are more complicated than that.
Moreover, your conception of the perceived payoff is merely an assertion. It is not clear at all that substances of these kinds are pleasurable (let alone always pleasurable), and the reporting of their effects is mixed.
I myself am no 'prude' (as some might see it), but I think you're oversimplifying the issue somewhat.
Synbios459 said:
And when you posted this, did you think about the guys using the internet to run nigerian ministry scams, or the guys hawking penis growth pills, or blah blah?
Probably not, since their behavior has nothing to do with yours. I've said before that I'd rather be drunk alone than with a random group of strangers, since there's *always* some idiot that wants an excuse to act out (with a group of good friends is always preferred, though). And yes, people who have a family history of alcoholism have a very good reason to avoid drinking. Other than that, there's no reason why a responsible person can't drink (or take the "lighter" drugs") without their lives falling to pieces.
Synbios459 said:
I've actually never heard a person say this.
Buggy Loop said:
:lol
wow, that was my junior year of college in a nutshell. One of the guys I knew was either stoned as fuck and playing co-op contra or sober and playing tetris.
Lara said:
I think his point is that, given the negligable risks of participating in such activities, the possibility that an individual can experience pleasure should derive any rational person to at least try them. Refusal to, at the very least, experience their affects would only derive from someone having a sever condition preventing it (parental / medical) or an irrational fear of new experiences (i.e. "being a pussy"). Just clarifying.
aku:jiki said:
Exactly. That's my point. Reducing behaviour to a simple pleasure/risk calculation as a means of determining what is rational or not (or 'good' or not) misses the point.
There are wider questions here which need to be considered.
What is rationality? Why is it good (or not good)?
Hume suggests that rationality is the ability to calculate, but morality, which is the judgment of what is 'good', depends on passion rather than reason/rationality (though reason/calculation can be involved).
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