Alcohol or Alcoholics???

It might be bewildering for many who read the title of my post. Well one of my friends who read my previous posts made an interesting and in fact debatable point today saying that you may hate alcohol and for that matter you may even hate an alcoholic but you cannot hate alcoholics. What he was trying to say was that.....

well well before that there is something very freakishly coincidental that occurred today. I was watching TV and randomly choose Z Studio. It was screening the movie "When a man loves a woman". For me love is something which Shakespeare corrupted or the world adulterated. It is much more complicated and intricate than its being depicted largely in today's world. Surely that is completely a different discussion. Nonetheless since the name of the movie sounded attractive I continued to stick on to that channel. Few minutes later did I realize that it was about a couple with two girls and the mother(played by Meg Ryan) was an alcoholic. Though I have not explicitly slept over the whole concept of alcohol, it kept flashing in my mind. And so I decide to write and come here and then am puzzled to check my friend's offline messages trying to elaborate on his point.Okay now that you guys have the background I will get back to where I left.

So what my friend was trying to say was that being an alcoholic is something that may be referred to as a character or to a habit. One cannot hate a person because of his habits but has every right if it is pertaining to the character. So far so good! Sounds fair enough. And then I told him that what I meant was when the habits become too demanding and sneak into the sphere of your character and are in a position to determine a person's integrity. I have seen how alcohol has turned boys into beasts, sons into morons who beat up their mothers, husbands into wives-harassing animals, girls into prostitutes, mothers into unstable and imbalanced parents, fathers into adulterers... So my point is can there be one real good reason for a person to consume alcohol?? Is it to show of the social status, pride or prestige as it is termed as social drinking in today's world?? Or is it to strip of the real character behind the plastic face we see?? Or is it to bring on guts and an emotional high spirit?? Or is it to beat another emotion of miserable and disheartening past?? Or is it just for the sake of besotting or so called habit??

It is not about good or bad. It is about right and wrong. It is about permissible and beneficial. I really wonder if there is any one out there who cares about what I am saying..It might a be dumb meaningless absurd chatter but I think giving it a thought is worth it. Apparently there seems to be more bad than good because of alcohol.. If not why would there be so much of deliberation on restricting alcoholic sales?? Why do people drink secretly?? Why do people buy at the cost of starving their families?? Why is it repeatedly warned that is it destined to degrade your health?? Young folks and teenagers say they have it for fun or may be for that "thrill". But we all know how many people have been victimized because of drunken driving, because of the time pass activity turning into a habitual ritual, lives being torn apart and careers having tumbled down.

What else can I say?? It is left to an individual. We all are rational thinkers and are not blind followers of customs, traditions and more importantly those silly stupid practices. If I am right then stop for a moment and contemplate on what you just read. I may not have convinced you fully because that is not my intention. There is nothing that I would want from you but you should want from yourselves. Having the guts to say no to a crowd who think boozing is an emblem of status is what I call character. Walking away by saying no to a bunch of rovers at the cost of losing your identity is what I call integrity. Living in reality and looking at the problems of life in the face is what I call courage. Standing upright and being yourself rather than pretending to be a hero to cover the coward in you is what I call personality!

p.s To clarify about my previous post..I hate and condemn the alcoholic in a person but not the person himself!