Members Brother Mango Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080819/ap_on_re_us/college_presidents_drinking_age http://www.amethystinitiative.org/ How 'bout it? Lower the drinking age back to 18?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I don't want to lower the drinking age, but let's be realistic. It's so easy for 18 year olds to get booze that it might as well be legal. I drank more between the ages of 16 and 20 than I have in the 9 years since...C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Death Hands Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 The collegiate guy that opposes? His name is SHALALA. Never trust a name like that. I know more party monsters between the ages of eighteen and nineteen than I do of 20+. Alcohol flows freely in those circles, definitely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I know more party monsters between the ages of eighteen and nineteen than I do of 20+. Alcohol flows freely in those circles, definitely. It's more of a novelty at that age. By the time you turn 21, it becomes mundane to drink like that, and if you start going out to bars, insanely more expensive. That's not to say that I didn't get super wasted and party hard after I was of age, I just didn't do it 5 nights a week anymore. The issue is always going to be with responsibility and how young adults handle themselves and alcohol. There are plenty of perfectly responsible 18 year olds, but they're generally the exception. A lot of doctors argue that the brain is still developing at that age, as well... C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I don't care about any of the comments in this thread or either of those links. This is my beef. The government says it's perfectly ok for them to ship an 18 year old off to die defending the country, but says they're not mature enough to handle having a beer before they leave. I have a serious, SERIOUS, SERIOUS {censored}ing problem with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members justinbass Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 Drunk driving deaths went down dramatically in the 18-21 age group when the drinking age was moved to 21. just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Death Hands Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 Dude, if you're in the army and {censored} at eighteen, I guarantee you you're getting drink, and I'm sure the goodbye beer happens, too. Regulations are made for the bad, and they restrict the good. That's how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fannedfretbass Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 drunk driving deaths went down dramatically when they started taking peoples licenses away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 {censored}ing problem with that. I can't speak for all military bases, but all of the people I personally know who went to the military out of high school were allowed to drink while on base, regardless of age. In that situation, your argument no longer holds up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 drunk driving deaths went down dramatically when they started taking peoples licenses away. /sigh My quote in your signature isn't very amusing to me anymore... /goes back to drinking vodka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I can't speak for all military bases, but all of the people I personally know who went to the military out of high school were allowed to drink while on base, regardless of age. In that situation, your argument no longer holds up. I'm a military brat and half of my friends are military, I am quite aware that they actually DO drink. But that is more the MP being cool and knowing what's up. The OP is about government regulation, as is my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Svi Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I just read about this, and I still don't know what I think about it. I don't know if kids get all jacked up on booze because they legally can't, or because they're just being kids. Will lowering the drinking age to 18 really solve a problem? Probably not. Maybe we should take a hint from Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I'm a military brat and half of my friends are military, I am quite aware that they actually DO drink. But that is more the MP being cool and knowing what's up. The OP is about government regulation, as is my point. I was told that it was legal for them to be drinking on base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xOriginalNinjax Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I really don't understand the whole problem. Other than immaturity and peer pressure. I've NEVER had a problem saying no to drinking. Ever. I'm 20, and less than 4 months from 21, and have yet to ever have any more than a sip of wine at Easter or Thanksgiving. I'm told I can't until I'm 21. Ok. If we're lowering the drinking age to 18, let's up the license age to 21! Haha. Seriously. You don't see people bringing up the age of driving as a problem very much anymore. Pretty sure that's in the same boat. And honestly, if kids couldn't drive till later (or had MUCH longer and monitored driving "learning periods"), there would be fewer wrecks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigMac5 Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 {censored}ing problem with that.Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I was told that it was legal for them to be drinking on base. Oh really? Hmm. I'll have to ask some people about that, but I know of several people being busted on base for underage drinking. From what I've seen, that take it pretty seriously, should you be caught in any official capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigMac5 Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I was told that it was legal for them to be drinking on base.I seriously doubt that, unless the base was in a foreign country with a lower drinking age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I seriously doubt that, unless the base was in a foreign country with a lower drinking age. Again, this is entirely heresay. I have no clue of the actual rules because they have never applied to me (I can't enlist due to asthma and arthritis). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L-1329 Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 And honestly, if kids couldn't drive till later (or had MUCH longer and monitored driving "learning periods"), there would be fewer wrecks... Amen. That would have certainly kept a lot of people I knew, including a teenage L-1329, from damn near killing themselves when they finally get behind the wheel. The drinking age, and driving age, should both either be lowered WAY down, or way up. Nothing worse than a simultaneous new experience and new found freedom for a teenager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted August 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I was in the Navy and I don't remember 19yr olds being able to drink on the base, but couldn't go drink in town at a bar on the other side of the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Trauma_Luna Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 18 agers already buy beer and cigarrettes in USA, i have bought beer and cigarrettes there, and im 19, i just showed my Mexican ID (which you can get at 18), and thats it, my cousin who lives in Arizona, is 17 yrs old and he is drunk everytime, my opinion is, approved or not, teenagers always find a way to get beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted August 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 Are the 2 sides of this issue talking to each other? One side seems to be saying that the higher drinking age only made a new class of criminals. Now there's a binge-drinking problem, and other unhealthy, unnecessary things that 18 to 20yr olds are doing. The other side points to a reduction in drunk driving deaths. They aren't talking about the same things. If we want to lower drunk driving deaths, auto-makers should be required to make tanks for us all to drive. We can smash into each other, roll down the sides of hills, catch on fire, and drive into a lake, and there won't be any harm. Would MADD then support a drinking age of 12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Detox Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I was caught in the middle (hypothetically) when the legal drinking age went from 18 back to 21. I'd been legally drinking from 18-20, and then had to wait 9 months to be legal again in 1979. That never posed any sort of problem to me in being able to acquire the stuff. I don't remember too much from those years, but I suppose there was some reason or other for the drinking age being raised back to 21. Never bothered to research it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 18 agers already buy beer and cigarrettes in USA, i have bought beer and cigarrettes there, and im 19, i just showed my Mexican ID (which you can get at 18), and thats it, my cousin who lives in Arizona, is 17 yrs old and he is drunk everytime, my opinion is, approved or not, teenagers always find a way to get beer. People find a way to get black tar heroin, let's just go ahead and legalize it. I don't want to turn this into a debate on legalizing drugs, but I am just making the point that just because someone gets it, it doesn't necessarily make it a valid point. But yes, 18 y/o's will get beer anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted August 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 I was caught in the middle (hypothetically) when the legal drinking age went from 18 back to 21. I'd been legally drinking from 18-20, and then had to wait 9 months to be legal again in 1979. That never posed any sort of problem to me in being able to acquire the stuff.I don't remember too much from those years, but I suppose there was some reason or other for the drinking age being raised back to 21. Never bothered to research it. The issue was over so-called "blood borders" like the line between Wisconsin and Illinois. The 19yr olds from IL could go to WI and drink legally. Thus, the boundary was a supposed blood border because of the drunk Illinois 18 - 20 yr olds who were driving back from WI and killing people. The Federal government still allows states to choose their own drinking age, but if it's not 21, the state can't get Federal highway funds. Was this something that our legislators chose? I doubt it. Organizations like MADD can easily make a legislator look "anti-babies" by saying, "here's a photo of a baby who was killed by a drunk driver. If you don't support a drinking age of 21, you're complicit in the death of this baby who never got the chance to go to school or get married." What's a legislator left to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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