National crackdown on out-of-control drinking ignites heated discussion
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27945976/ 

After reviewing this article, I'd like to hear your opinions on this topic

Regards,
Steve

dude. what is your fascination with australia? the australian gov? the australian dollar?

give it up. this is a vw forum.

I was a binge drinker getting blind drunk every friday and saturday night for ten years. Only fight I ever got into was when I stepped in to stop some dick beating his girl. None of my mates got into fights either. Never heard of anyone being "glassed". Its not the alcohol thats doing it, its the general decline in society. We cant afford to lock people up for misdemeanors so they get away with shit and move on to bigger things.

Reckon i agree with most of whats been posted on this one, it's not the grog, it's the attitude of people generally, when I was young(er) if there was a bit of a blue and a bloke got put on his arse then that was it, it was finished, but now once the other bloke is down they put the boot in and it's often aimed at the head. Girls hardly ever got into a physical fight, bit of name calling and such but never throwing punches, more often than not they would just give a smart arse reply and walk on. No one seems to be able to do that these days, if an insult is thrown then it's almost mandatort to throw a punch. As far as taxes on premixed is concerned I can't see that having any effect, if you can afford (or intend to) spent $50 or whatever on alcohol then it will usualy go on what ever it takes to get the desired effect, be that blind motherless drunk or just socialising with a few friends, it's all about attitude if you ask me, or even if you didn't ask me.

tell me if I'm wrong, but the big change in alcohol has been the availability of spirits. twenty or more years ago, spirits were more expensive and less advertised. if you went out and got hammered it used to be on beer. Now people are using spirits which gets you hammered quicker. Other thing is, some spirits, like rum for instance, have a nasty effect on people.

now most people here know what I do for a crust, but let me say, I'm not anti-grog. I really enjoy a beer. I had two vodka mixers last night. what worries me is, people need to hammered to have a good time.

also, it seems like these days, you only choose not to drink if you are a reformed alcoholic. words like 'moderation' and 'abstainance' are just not used anymore.

The taxes on RTD's has not had the desired effect on young ppl drinking. It has changed the culture, which the experts were told would happen. The kids now get their hands on bottles of spirits and gett drunk faster. I spoke with 500 Y12 kids the other day and the comment was we get pissed faster as they don't know what they are dinking in terms of alcohol content. The most common thing used in drink spiking in Alcohol not drugs. At least the RTD's could be managed by the kids. Even though they can't legally possess and consume intoxicating liquor. Also the problem has a lot to do with parents. A lot of kids get alcohol from their parents. With regard to the fights a lot of the voilence is caused the way these kids are growing up. You get fights these days over the ever dreaded "DEATH STARE". I have spoken to some kids about that one and still can't get my head around it other than there is great desire for "Respect" man. I deserve it and if you don't give it then I wil destroy you. There is also the old ,"I've got my mates back". There is also the question of consequences for offences. A lot of young people get away with behaviour that used to attract a big foot in the pants and clip over the ears becasue there is a lack of confidence in the Legislation used to deal with young people committing offences. Right through society. The short answer is that parents need to take back control but if your kids are over 11 years of age its too late. Kids are growing up with the thought that their behaviour is acceptable because the majority of people stay silent when they do something wrong and sometimes that is as bad as actually committing the offence yourself. We have always had alcohol in the lives of young aussie kids but they haven't been told were the boundaries are and consequences and that is slowly changing one school at time.

One of my favorite drinks back 20 years ago was vodka & orange, west coast coolers & sub zero's. So not much has changed and we use to go to the gun fighters rest in town and have all weird sorts of cocktails yum yum. I use to bing drink its just what you do. Never got into a fight and I don't think I ever saw a fight when I use to go out. Nothing like in the article.

my drinking in teens and early 20's wasnt beer. It was southern, smirnoff, beam, kahluah, that coconut one that I cant remember the name of... If the band wasnt playing I was in the cocktail bar. Word of warning kiddies, beware the cocktail bar. I met my wife there, 17 years on I am still paying for that mistake

It has nothing to do with the alcohol content. I don't drink beer (call me crazy) becuase I can't stand the taste. This means that I am usually drinking all the high content drinks like Smirnoff Double Blacks (7.0%) etc. I do know when to stop, I have never been in a fight in my life and I have never drank and drive. I am not trying to say I'm a saint, but I have friends that only drink beer and they are usually the ones passed out, TRYING and get into fights, or drinking and driving. The new legislation on alcopops is just another stupid law aimed at the usual scape goats, teenagers. If you don't want your kids getting trouble, set a good example.

Personally I think that the biggest reason that these kids are the way they are is cos they get spoon fed too much by their parents.
They can't afford to move out of home till their late 20's if their lucky. They leave/finish school and go on to uni for however many years. Full time work for these kids starts when???? Parents suppliment their incomes (or lack of) cos they don't have jobs, motivation, experience or care enough to work. Yup. You have to work kids to get somewhere. Start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up and get paid accordingly. Don't like the boss. Start your own business. (Im a gen x'er btw:spin.
This is just a generalisation but unfortunatly too many parents (of my generation) haven't got any balls to instil some discipline and set boundaries. I am not a parent myself however, my sister inlaw has a nephew who is completely disrespectful to their parents in the most discusting and foul manner that would never have been tolerated by either my parents or my parents inlaw. (The niece is a lovely little bundle of joy) These lovely little cherubs are great kids and behave impecabily when they are around me and my wife cos they know I don't take their shit and will give them a smack if they cross the line towards me and my wife.
Society is going down hill and I blame parents of my generation for being soft cocks on their kids and giving in to their every whim cos they need this to get by. Toughen up. Get over it. Life is hard. Get harder.
I'm getting off my soapbox now to watch some Dr Phil and have some dinner.
- Adam

Pete Wood,

you make perfect sense