.Dearest readers, it's Holidays and drinking season and, while I don't drink (have fitness and health goals that are super strict), I couldn't help but look negatively at a recent Globe and Mail article about holiday drinking that's titled "Why people don't drink: It's none of your business." In this shorter post, I would like to go over what the article is about and why I think it's offensive and useless. By the way, the article can be read here.
In the article, the author does state Canadian are major drinkers as an average one of us drinks about 50 percent above the average global level. Nevertheless, the author goes through many reasons why some people still don't drink, and calls it offensive that people are curious about why some of us don't drink. Finally, he invites everyone to abstain from asking. Hmm.
This article, in my experienced view, makes no sense whatsoever. First of all, the statistics that Canadians drink so much more than the global average are flawed if said average includes countries where alcohol is banned! Seriously, did the author even check his source on that one? Of course we'd be far above the average if the average includes countries like Saudi Arabia eh?
The second point I would like to make is that, if we do in fact drink a lot as a nation, it is completely normal we are curious about why some people don't because in a drinker country that's unusual. Being free to ask means we are exercising our freedom of speech; satisfying our curiosity without pushing non-drinkers to change their mind is included in there too. So, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. After all, wouldn't people in a non-drinking country like Saudi Arabia be equally curious as to why someone drinks there? Case in point, isn't it?
The third point I would like to make is that yes, we all have the right to our privacy regarding many aspects of our lives. However, if we are deliberately secretive by refusing to answer even the most innocuous questions, people will fill in the blanks, and that usually doesn't bode well at all. It is better to just answer a question sometimes, than to let people answer it for you.
There we go, dearest readers- three reasons why I think this article shouldn't have been published, or at least not by Globe and Mail. What do you think?
In the article, the author does state Canadian are major drinkers as an average one of us drinks about 50 percent above the average global level. Nevertheless, the author goes through many reasons why some people still don't drink, and calls it offensive that people are curious about why some of us don't drink. Finally, he invites everyone to abstain from asking. Hmm.
This article, in my experienced view, makes no sense whatsoever. First of all, the statistics that Canadians drink so much more than the global average are flawed if said average includes countries where alcohol is banned! Seriously, did the author even check his source on that one? Of course we'd be far above the average if the average includes countries like Saudi Arabia eh?
The second point I would like to make is that, if we do in fact drink a lot as a nation, it is completely normal we are curious about why some people don't because in a drinker country that's unusual. Being free to ask means we are exercising our freedom of speech; satisfying our curiosity without pushing non-drinkers to change their mind is included in there too. So, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. After all, wouldn't people in a non-drinking country like Saudi Arabia be equally curious as to why someone drinks there? Case in point, isn't it?
The third point I would like to make is that yes, we all have the right to our privacy regarding many aspects of our lives. However, if we are deliberately secretive by refusing to answer even the most innocuous questions, people will fill in the blanks, and that usually doesn't bode well at all. It is better to just answer a question sometimes, than to let people answer it for you.
There we go, dearest readers- three reasons why I think this article shouldn't have been published, or at least not by Globe and Mail. What do you think?