Buying Booze For Minors

Socially acceptable? Or alternate reality?

Published on October 18, 2007 By Tova7 In Current Events

I heard a recovering alcoholic/drug addict complaining about school nurses yesterday.

He has a “young teenage” daughter who is having problems getting Tylenol from the school nurse for hangovers

Was he complaining about the underage drinking?

Nope.

Know why?

BECAUSE HE BUYS IT FOR HER!!!!

He says, “I’m a realist. Teens are gonna drink. I’d rather she do it in the safety of my home than out on the street.”

Even though he is a recovering alcoholic, even though it is illegal, even though he is a practicing Mormon and won’t even drink coffee himself now, even though he is a national talk radio show host and has a show on CNN, he still says the issue isn’t that he buys booze for his kid, but that the school refuses to give her Tylenol for a hangover.

Am I in an alternate reality?

This whole thing aired on his talk radio show yesterday, which I caught in the van as I often do. You can sign up and listen for yourself at Glennbeck.com.

I kept waiting for the punch line.

There wasn’t one.

The whole “they are gonna do it anyway, better do it at home” argument is mind boggling.

If you go on a diet. What is one of the first things you do for success? GET RID OF ALL THE JUNK FOOD IN THE HOUSE.

I drank as a teen, but not half as much as I wanted too. It wasn’t always easy to get booze. I needed someone to buy it for me. I didn’t want to waste my hard earned minimum wage money on it. And it was never CONVENIENT. Plus, I didn’t want to get grounded for drinking because it was not allowed in the group home or when I lived with my aunt.

Granted, those little road blocks didn’t keep me from drinking completely, but doing it took effort and time and money. It took risk. Risking punishment, risking losing my money to an unscrupulous booze buyer, risk of getting caught by the police, and for kids with loving parents, risk of their disappointment. Not things all teens are willing to do for a drink.

Mr. Beck has essentially removed all the little built in road blocks. He buys it. He brings it home. He lets her do it. He even complains (on national radio no less) when other adults won’t cater to her hangovers.

WHAT?

Does this seem nuts to anyone else?

Will my kids drink as teens?

Probably, but not because I condone it.

They will know its breaking the family rules, is punishable, won’t be intentionally funded by me, is illegal, and if they want to do it…they have to figure out how. I am not going to show them. They'll have to risk it all on their own.

Perhaps in taking those risks, they will learn some lessons which make them believe it’s not worth it. Or maybe just looking at the risks will be deterrent.

Mr. Beck traveled the road of alcoholism and drug addiction. Now he is paving the way for his daughter and not with DNA….with accessibility, with condoning it, with enabling her to do something self destructive, with removing every risk associated with drinking as a teen.

Wow.

Just. Wow.

Comments (Page 1)

Zoologist03

on Oct 18, 2007

Ah, the future alcoholics of America.

~Zoo

Jythier

on Oct 18, 2007

I see it as the same thing as the birth control/condoms in schools. It's just eliminating the built in road blocks that's supposed to keep them from thinking it's right to do whatever they're doing.

Tova7

on Oct 18, 2007

I see it as the same thing as the birth control/condoms in schools. It's just eliminating the built in road blocks that's supposed to keep them from thinking it's right to do whatever they're doing.

I don't see it as the same. Condoms aren't illegal, every kid can go to the store and buy them. It would be the same if schools started hosting orgies, or over night sex education classes though.

Scientific evidence suggests that even modest alcohol consumption in late childhood and adolescence can result in permanent brain damage.

WWW Link

Not only is it illegal, but Mr Beck is helping his daughter hurt herself in what will likely have lifelong consequences physically and mentally.

Jythier

on Oct 18, 2007

Well, she can grow up and be the ditzy party girl in college. Don't worry, they have special-ed programs.

Ooo, over night sex ed classes? They could've had that in my school, and I still wouldn't have gotten any.

Okay, so maybe it's not the same, but it has the similarity I was trying to speak to - eliminating roadblocks. Money is a roadblock, after all.

Buying booze for anyone is stupid, unless you're in a bar trying to impress a girl. Let people buy their own stuff. And if you're buying alcohol for a minor, you could go to jail. You're not doing them a favor, either, you're just making them stupider.

The argument that a person is going to drink anyway is dumb. One, the kind of drinking they really want to do probably doesn't involve you, and is social with their friends. Are you buying their friends booze too? Two, she'll probably still go out and drink, because there will be a party she'll just HAVE to attend. Three, if everybody refused to buy for minors and the stores refused to sell to minors, they would have no way to get beer. You ARE the reason why she would drink anyway.

And what the hell are you doing letting her drink enough to have a hangover in the morning? On a school night? Really imparting to her the importance of school, right? In college, if she gets in (she might not get brain damaged, and then she might have problems) she'll remember that having a hangover in class was okay, so why even bother to stop drinking during class? Why go to class at all?

Dr Guy

on Oct 18, 2007

Getting into Mr Beck, eh?

In this state, a parent can allow their child to drink in their home. I think the law was passed so that parents serving wine at meals or such were not subject to arrest.

That being said, I dont have a problem allowing mine to have an occassional glass of wine at special meals. Or even a can of beer on special occassions (the latter after they are well into their teens like 17 or so), but I dont buy hard liquor for them or allow them to drink it. Nor would I. being French, we have always had wine at certain meals, even when we were younger (watered down). But that is as far as I go.

Tova7

on Oct 18, 2007

Well he does have some standards..heh..he says he doesn't buy her Jack Daniels after all...Just wine coolers, beer, things like that.

It's all the same if you drink enough...drunk is drunk...hung over is hung over.

Ooo, over night sex ed classes? They could've had that in my school, and I still wouldn't have gotten any.

I'd have skipped that class. I was so not ready for sex in hs and knew it.

And what the hell are you doing letting her drink enough to have a hangover in the morning? On a school night? Really imparting to her the importance of school, right? In college, if she gets in (she might not get brain damaged, and then she might have problems) she'll remember that having a hangover in class was okay, so why even bother to stop drinking during class? Why go to class at all?

It seems his older daughter, a senior in college? is a guess what? Alcoholic.

SHOCKING.

Tova7

on Oct 18, 2007

Ah, the future alcoholics of America

Dr Guy

on Oct 18, 2007

I will not speak for Mr. Beck, but a glass of wine at a meal, or a can of beer after taking out a tree in the yard is not going to get anyone drunk.

Jythier

on Oct 18, 2007

Would one get a hangover from a beer after taking out a tree in the yard?

Jythier

on Oct 18, 2007

Either he's retarded, or she's drinking outside the house too. So I guess his super plan isn't working.

Tova7

on Oct 18, 2007

Her father allowing her to drink to excess is just retarded.

I agree.

I wouldn't have an issue with it if like others mentioned, it was wine or something like that, kinda special occasions. But nope, Mr Beck buys it and she drinks as much as she wants as often as she wants....which is leading to hangovers at school.

I am sure if she is drinking at home, she is drinking with friends outside the home. Why wouldn't she? Who wants to sit around and get drunk with their STRAIGHT dad?

Woo hoo what a good time.

Not.

Tova7

on Oct 18, 2007

Her father allowing her to drink to excess is just retarded.

I agree.

I am sure if she is drinking at home, she is drinking with friends outside the home. Why wouldn't she? Who wants to sit around and get drunk with their STRAIGHT dad?

Woo hoo what a good time.

Not.

Tova7

on Oct 18, 2007

he can certainly provide her with Tylenol.

Yeah, but if she is caught taking Tylenol (self medicating) at school she will be expelled. Not allowed to take ANYTHING unless given by the nurse, even prescriptions have to be taken to the nurse so she can "administer" them.

Zoologist03

on Oct 18, 2007

if schools started hosting orgies, or over night sex education classes though.

Hmm, well college might be a nice place for these.

~Zoo

Gideon MacLeish

on Oct 18, 2007

My wife is from Wisconsin, where underage drinkers are allowed to drink under supervision of their parents. For the most part, it works.

But I'm with the consensus here in that if she is drinking enough to have a hangover, there is a definite problem!

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