The Bar Scene

If you ever get the chance to go to a fairly crowded bar (completely sober I may add) and just sit back to observe everything going on, it is quite a comedic experience. The effect of alcohol on people truly never ceases to amaze me. Now I have had my share of nights where there has been a little too much drinking involved, don't get me wrong. But thankfully those times have all been with close friends within our own homes. In the bar scene however this is not the case. You can take the most shy, quiet, reserved girl in the world, give her a few shots and bring her to a bar and suddenly she's on top of the bar, half naked, singing and dancing in front of everyone. Boys who wouldn't hurt a fly sober will find themselves in the middle of a fist fight after knocking a few back.

Being a bartender, I am able to see firsthand on a daily basis people's progression from one drink to the next. It is a fact that a person who has drank is able to do things that they would never do sober. Just the other night, I had this one guy come in and order a few beers with dinner. He was telling me how he was out of town for business and all about his serious girlfriend back home. About an hour later, a girl had come in after work and sat down next to him. She appeared very quiet and soft spoken and overall very shy and to herself. They got to talking and while talking had several drinks each. Their conversations got louder and louder and more strange as the night went on. Long story short, she ends up going back to his hotel with him. Had these two been sober, I am positive the night would have ended up very differently. With alcohol, especially heavy drinking, people's personalities do a complete 360. Girls will flirt, get on bars, remove clothes, hook-up with strangers, and tell any guy anything they want to hear. Guys can get angry and fight, or search out girls to "conquest" for the night. Overall, the drastic changes that alcohol brings out in people is amazing.

From this all, though, I question two different things. The first is why is a drug like alcohol legal when something like marijuana is not? Aside from it's severe health risks, it's ability to change people is alarming. And second, why is it that people continue to get trashed night after night, even after they've done something stupid the night before? It may sound a little strange coming from someone who serves the alcohol to people to make a living, but I just dont understand the point of people getting wasted.