There’s A Big Difference Between Social Drinkers & Alcoholics
I drink.
I party.
I go to bars, festivals, beer gardens, wine tasting rooms, sporting events and Jimmy Buffett concerts.
I get tipsy, buzzed, drunk and hammered.
But it’s hard for me – as well as most of what I call us “social drinkers” – to relate to what goes on in the minds of people who are dependent on alcohol. Like, apparently, Steve Sarkisian.
The End Of A ‘Dream Job’ At USC
The former USC football coach, who was fired after several drinking escapades and one drunken one, apparently was so dependent on drinks that he could not contain himself even after being sternly warned by his boss.
He had his so-called “dream job” and treated it not with reverence, but as if it were a big celebration. According to a player he was at a team meeting “lit up again.” He may have even been drunk – or at least buzzed – during one of the team’s games.
It’s hard for a “normal” person to relate to such behavior, even one who enjoys alcohol as much as myself. If I had a “dream job” I would not let my parting interfere with it.
Had I gone over the line once and was warned not to do it again – as Athletic Director Pat Haden indicated he did after Sarkisian was staggering and led off the stage at a preseason booster event – then I would not reach for the stuff.
This is why there’s a big difference in partiers and social drinkers – such as myself – and alcoholics, which apparently is Sarkisian.
We – and I – enjoy our cocktails as part of a bigger social scene. We like to hoist drinks, do “cheers” with others, be part of a party.
We do not need alcohol to function. In fact, when it comes time to function and focus on important things (like work) we don’t even think about taking a drink.
Sarkisian also apparently uses alcohol to hide problems (which never works, you just can’t ignore things in the hope they will go away) stemming from a divorce.
Hopefully he will get help and learn that he can never, ever, take another drink.
Fortunately, that’s a situation not in the future for us “social drinkers.”
Really profound stuff here. You clearly state the obvious. It’s kind of like me talking to cancer patients about how my vision of chemotherapy is different than their own. Yep, it’s different. It’s different because if I was to speak about it, I would only be guessing at what it’s like to have cancer. I’d be remarking with ignorance. That would make me a very sad person. Mr. Sarkisian can label himself an alcoholic. No one else has that “apparent” right. Unless they are ignorant.