Anyone else just hate how drinking alcohol is a norm?

Ok, I’m going to take the opportunity to go on a rant here, because alcohol culture drives me INSANE...

Some key background: I’m not even old enough to drink. I’m an avid concertgoer. I’m around a city that consumes enough alcohol on a daily basis to fill all the oceans on earth. (The last point is not an actual statistic.)

It drives me absolutely nuts how accepted alcohol and excessive drinking are. I don’t drink, probably won’t even when I’m old enough to legally do so. I’ve had I don’t know how many concerts ruined because the people near me were hopelessly drunk before the opener was done. Ok, maybe not ruined, they were still great shows. But they would’ve been a lot more enjoyable without being distracted by the drunk girls in row K. It’s just. So. Annoying. At a recent show, by some miracle nobody in my immediate vicinity was drunk. But that didn’t mean they weren’t drinking. It honestly felt like I was the only person in a crowd of over 50,000-including the artist-without a beer. It was ridiculous to say the least. And as I walked to my car along with the 40,000 others who were going the same direction...yeah, some of them had had a bit too much. If I’m at an 18+ venue, I’m always very much in the minority. I prefer all ages venues, but it’s not like I get a say in where the artist plays.

I also work at music venues. The aftermath of a show with a heavy drinking crowd looks like a Budweiser factory exploded. The aftermath of a contemporary Christian show can still have an unholy quantity of beer cans. I don’t have the words to adequately describe the scene. And I assure you, the people picking up those beer cans (fortunately not me) do not get payed enough. At least pick up your own dang trash.

Oh, and did I mention music venue alcohol costs a car payment and half a yacht? Usually $9 for a beer, around $15 for mixed drinks, $12 for wine. $24 for a double glass of wine. Those are rough costs, I’ve seen it higher. That’s my grocery money for a week! And probably not even good wine. Three trips to the bar, two beers per trip...that’s over $50 JUST on alcohol. I rarely pay that much for my ticket. My $5 bottled water is a bargain by comparison. $50 ticket, $50 beer, $20 parking (or, hopefully in this scenario, Uber) is a lot of money! Now, my concert nights aren’t cheap, but honestly I’m still coming out ahead of what I just described. $50 ticket, $35 t shirt, $5 water, $5 some food item, $5 parking because I’m willing to walk two miles if it saves me that kind of money. Still less than the drinker, and I’ll actually remember the night.

I think that’s the end of the rant. I could probably go on, I’m just tired of typing. Thanks for the opportunity!

/r/CasualConversation Thread