03/19/2004: "One Drunk, Two Drunk, Mean Drunk, Blue Drunk"

I think there are basically four types of people.

A. The Happy Drunk - These people are actually more fun to be around when they're intoxicated then where they're sober. I am an example of this type, as is my friend David (sorry David, but you are A LOT of fun when you're drunk).

B. The Blue Drunk - These people get really sad and reflective when they're drinking. They're like the ex-boy(girl)friend that calls you up three years later, out of the blue, drunk off their ass to tell you that you were the love of their life. They get all emotional and touchy feely and say lots of things you just know they're going to regret the next day. Or you might go out for a night of dancing, only to find them later crying in a bathroom stall. Not the greatest, but still ok.

C. The Mean Drunk - These are the people I try to avoid. When they first start to get drunk they may be either a happy or a blue drunk, but after some magic number of beers or shots or whatever, they turn mean. They are the ones that pick fights in bars, or decide to share your most humiliating life event with a room full of people. I'm not naming any names, but, you know who you are!

D. The Sober Asshole. Strangely, I trust the non-drinker even less than the mean drunk. (Unless they aren't drinking because of some medical reason, like they're a recovering alcoholic or a designated driver etc.) but if they just don't drink because they're a health fanatic or religious or something...that I just don't get. No one who likes to party enjoys getting trashed around a teetottler.

What got me thinking about this was a workshop I went to today on Culture. It was by this guy, Father Dr. Michael Oleksa. As you may know, I'm pretty anti-religious, so for me to say this man is an outstanding speaker is really saying something. He talked about culture not as a part of our ethicity, but as part of the story of our lives. The reality from which we view the world, the set of rules by which we play the game of life. At one point, he wanted us to think of how we would respond to someone who asked us "what is your culture?"

Anyway, I started thinking about cultural differences that exist because of one's economic background (in my case, working class) our gender (female) our ethnicity (white North American with Irish/English ancestory) and religion (catholic growing up but none now thanks) and the part of society we most closely identify ourselves with, (in my case, drunken creative types).

I wonder at how, as we get older and can get outside of ourselves enough to see how our standpoint might be viewed by the rest of the world, the more we question the truths arrived at by "our" reality tinted glasses.

Ah hell, I don't really know what I'm going on about. Just ignore me.