IN VINO VERITAS--There is truth in Wine.

[kateyes]

The Mel Gibson incident brought this to mind. I have a relative who drinks more than she should (been there done that--I quit)--when she is drunk she can say quite hurtful personal things to those around her. The question that has come to my mind is whether these things are what she REALLY feels, and the drink gives her the "freedom" to say them. What do others think?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

The Mel Gibson incident brought this to mind. I have a relative who drinks more than she should (been there done that--I quit)--when she is drunk she can say quite hurtful personal things to those around her. The question that has come to my mind is whether these things are what she REALLY feels, and the drink gives her the "freedom" to say them. What do others think?

It could be that the alcohol impairs her judgment and she misjudges folks in her state or she is "free."

It's better to get drunk with folks who you trust or nobody at all.

 

[evearael]

Congratulations for quiting! It sounds as though she would be wise to do the same. I have to agree with AE... there isn't a way to know whether she was expressing privately held opinions or whether she was misjuding the person only while intoxicated.

 

[ladyhawke]

The Mel Gibson incident brought this to mind. I have a relative who drinks more than she should (been there done that--I quit)--when she is drunk she can say quite hurtful personal things to those around her. The question that has come to my mind is whether these things are what she REALLY feels, and the drink gives her the "freedom" to say them. What do others think?

Kateyes,i've been in the same postion more times than i care to think about,(speaking my mind when i've had to much)when i've been drunk its how i felt at the time, but on reflection it's just that the drink gives you the courage to speak out,but it confuses the issues and makes feelings stronger than what they really are,drink clouds your perspective on things,but makes your feelings more aggressive,so if there is a personal problem between two people its magnified.

 

[evearael]

Though that aggression and courage can be positive as well... I needed a good solid shove to escape the man who repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted me and pursue my knight in shining armor. I was certainly too scared out of my mind to do that before a couple shots of tequilla...

 

[kreeden]

I once was sitting with another guy , both of us stoned , when he stated " You know what I like about pot ? It helps me think ." At that point , I realized that we had been sitting there for three hours , talking about the same things , only saying it in different ways .... { I guess that I wasn't as stoned as he ... }

I think that is what happens , more then not . Drugs { alochal incuded } narrows our thinking down so that there aren't as many " gray areas " . We center on one line of thought because that is all that our brain can handle at the time .

I find that the same thing happens to me if I get into debates too heavily . I tend to loss my objectivity ...

But I think that I need to do more reseach on the subject .... perhaps after work ?

 

[ladyhawke]

Though that aggression and courage can be positive as well... I needed a good solid shove to escape the man who repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted me and pursue my knight in shining armor. I was certainly too scared out of my mind to do that before a couple shots of tequilla...

evearael;the rape stuff i luckily missed out on,but i know when i'd had a few it was the only time i could really stand up and fight back with my ex,i did leave him and have just come out of a court case for assault,but the i still suffer panic attacks and i have to see him regually,he only lives a mile away from me...so i know some of what you went throu...i'm glad you met your knight,i dont know you personally but you seem a very kind and endearing lady to me and i hope you have all the babies and a happy and fulling life from here on in. hugs KAREN X

 

[CaptainXeroid]

Alcohol does impair judgement a loosen inhibitions for most people, so I tend to think that it's a thought that crossed the person's sober mind but doesn't necessarily reflect the person's true beliefs.

Drinking to the point that you lose control is an event of extremely poor judgement, but if it becomes a regular occurance then it become evidence of someone lacking in character.

 

[kreeden]

but if it becomes a regular occurance then it become evidence of someone lacking in character.

I'm not sure if I would say that a person lacks character if they drink too much ? Winston Churchill lacked character ? Ernest Hemingway ? John A. Macdonald ? It's quite a long list you know ...

 

[Radio Frequency X]

The Mel Gibson incident brought this to mind. I have a relative who drinks more than she should (been there done that--I quit)--when she is drunk she can say quite hurtful personal things to those around her. The question that has come to my mind is whether these things are what she REALLY feels, and the drink gives her the "freedom" to say them. What do others think?

I've always believed that there is truth in wine. Remove a person's inhibitions and find out who they really are. For me, I've learned to be uninhibited and honest without drugs and alcohol. :beach:

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I've learned to be uninhibited and honest without drugs and alcohol. :beach:

Well good for you.:clap

Perhaps when you get drunk we'll find out how this is coming along.

 

[ladyhawke]

I've always believed that there is truth in wine. Remove a person's inhibitions and find out who they really are. For me, I've learned to be uninhibited and honest without drugs and alcohol. :beach:

I still think its an exagerated truth,the feelings and the words can be so much more hurtful than you actually feel when sober,its an uncontrolled truth which does'nt mean its as its said at the time.

 

[ALifetimeToWaitFor....]

I believe that your subconcious takes over when you are drunk or stoned. It is simply your state of mind before these activities that makes the situation. I always meditate before I drink or you know. For some reason these things make me "normal" I am able to communicate with a ferocity that I am able to otherwise and when i go back and read what I was saying it still makes sense it actually helps me remember which is probably counter-intuitive to common thought, but I triggers my long term memory, stored memories. My head completely clears up. Your true deep seeded emotions whether they be of love or hate come out. I don't need to write right now and have been clean for a couple of months.

 

[tcprowling]

alcohol does impair judgement and also lowers your inhabitions, so I have often wondered what when a person speaks harshly of others when under the influence, whether they are actually speaking about them selvesin other words they are seeing in oyhrts what they don't like about them selves. The one that gets me is when sober peole say " oops! i didn't mean to say that!"
My response usually is " no you probably didn't but you thought it!"

 

[lilithu]

The Mel Gibson incident brought this to mind. I have a relative who drinks more than she should (been there done that--I quit)--when she is drunk she can say quite hurtful personal things to those around her. The question that has come to my mind is whether these things are what she REALLY feels, and the drink gives her the "freedom" to say them. What do others think?

To answer your question, yes. Alcohol doesn't make you say or do anything that you don't already feel inside. If you normally have no anti-semitic thoughts, getting drunk is not going to all of the sudden put those thoughts in you. But if you do have those thoughts and normally think it wiser to keep such things unsaid, then alcohol may let such things slip out that you wouldn't normally say. Yes, alcohol impairs judgement, but what it impairs is your social filters, not your values. That's why I have little sympathy for the "I was drunk at the time." excuse, especially when it's a "repeat-offender." All the person is telling me is that this is a side that they normally feel socially compelled to filter but they use alcohol to bypass those conventions and cut loose. That's fine if it's a shy wallflower who needs to release his/her inhibitions in order to join the party. It's not fine when it's someone using alcohol as an excuse to verbally (and/or physically) abuse others. For some reason our society condones this.