"When drunks act obnoxious, is that their true personality coming out?"

Yes, and No.

Alcohol lowers inhibitions, which often makes them say or do things they normally wouldn't be brave or stupid enough to say or do. That's how drunk people end up sharing their dirty little secrets like professing their undying love for the neighbour and admitting they like to masturbate to pictures of The Little Mermaid or Hercules. I'm not sure what purpose admitting you think Hercules would be an awesome kisser serves, but sometimes a drunken confession of undying love thought to be unrequited has evolved into a permanent and lasting relationship, when both parties admit mutual attraction.

Alcohol gives courage to release the repressed inner wild-child and do crazy spontaneous things a boring person would never imagine doing while sober, like dressing up in the opposite gender's clothing, taking a complete stranger home from the bar for sex, and indulging the desire to pee on fire hydrants and synagogues like a dog. For a control freak like me, after a few close calls including dangerous things like climbing up onto a roof and humiliating things like admitting to a male co-worker old enough to be my father that I had a crush on him, this false sense of "courage" is terrifying, and one of the main reasons I've never really gotten into drinking.

Alcohol is great for magnifying the Little Things. We all know you love your friends, but why do you tell them profusely when you are drunk? And yes, children and spouses can drive us to the brink of insanity, but why is it you would only dare to hit them when you are drunk? Ever notice how many drunk people release pent-up rage while they are drunk? Their work and relationship and financial frustrations go from molehills to mountains in 0.3 seconds, and they take it out verbally or physically on whomever happens to be closest. This is the sign of someone who obviously needs some better coping mechanisms to release that steam in a controlled, meaningful, and productive manner.

Alcohol can be good for sex because (particularly women) are too busy thinking about achieving orgasm and going pee to worry if her ass looks fat. This works to the benefit of both men and women, though ideally they are in a committed relationship. Unfortunately, they are usually people who met in a bar. (See above.)

Sobriety offers people the ability to be socially functional in a meaningful way. The neighbour is married, and it's improper for you to profess your undying love. No one really needs to know you think Ariel is hot. Peeing on hydrants and synagogues is weird and disrespectful. A sober person is acutely aware of these things. However, a sober person may very successfully be in denial about the person they love or about how upsetting their job is.

Because lack of inhibition is also lack of self-control, while the things they say or do while in a drunken stupor may effectively reveal elements of their deepest feelings, desires, or insecurities, they are revealed in a manner which is inappropriate, hurtful, and forgotten in the morning.

I like to see everyone tipsy at least once, just to see how they handle themselves with their dirty little secrets bubbling to the surface for everyone to see. If their dirtiest dirty little secret is that they "hate niggers" I'm afraid I want nothing to do with them. But if their dirtiest dirty little secret is just that Little Mermaid thing, I'm willing to look past that...

Comments

Babzy said…
I love this blog. I like your idea of seeing a person drunk at least once, better yet twice or thrice. You could see if there was a pattern.

Drunks scare me but then everything does. Next time I'm in the presence of a drunk I'm going to observe them closely before running away.

Thank you, Hope, for taking the time to give your opinion. Did I say I love this blog?
Hope Walls said…
You may have mentioned it once or twice, Babzy. Thank you, and cheers!

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