Have You Weighed In On Underage Drinking?
Votes are split are split among Patch users on whether underage drinking parties are a problem in Montgomery County.
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Montgomery County Patch readers are split on the issue of underage drinking and how alcohol laws should be enforced—or not.
In an article last week, which discussed what appears to be a growing trend of underage drinking parties hosted by parents, we asked users what they thought of the problem.
Our poll asking if users thought parent-hosted underage alcohol parties were a problem in the area was split nearly 50/50. Forty-seven percent of responders said they knew of at least one parent-hosted underage drinking party, while 48 percent of responders said they weren't aware of such parties being a problem.
In the comments, parents, grandparents, teachers and Patch editors weighed in with their opinions. Most agreed that the issue is a flawed system, not necessarily underage drinking itself.
"A better question might be - 'is the highest drinking age in the developed world a problem?' said one user.
Another, Eric S., responded that "Teens are going to drink. Period."
"I do believe alcohol abuse will occur in some way shape or form, regardless of what we do as a society," said Jeff Hawkins. "I think here in the U.S. we have do have a cultural issue with alcohol that tends to heighten the excitement for teens to experiment with it or experience it."
Some Patch users were outraged at the way the criminal justice system handles underage drinking, especially after viewing what some considered an overly-agressive party bust on WUSA9.
"I believe that police enforcement against these private parties is way too heavy handed, repressive, and getting completely out of hand. If this level of enforcement is the end result of the way the laws are written, I believe the laws should be changed," said user Native.
Whether or not a law prohibiting drinking for some ages is right or wrong, several users were concerned that parents were teaching kids that breaking the law is okay.
"It is not appropriate to teach kids that breaking the law is okay by parents having drunken teenage parties," Will said.
"Those kids don't stand a chance when they are learning not only parental approval to illegally consume alcohol but also learning 'flee tactics' from law enforcement," said Sharon Adams.
Underage drinking and what society should or should not do about it is obviously a hot topic for Montgomery County. Have you weighed in with your opinion?
Is it right to send a kid off to war when he or she is still considered too young to drink a beer?
Jim Burnetti
10:22 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Drinking laws should be enforced. But... If someone is old enough to fight and die for their country, to sign contracts, and to get married, they ought to be able to have a legal drink at their own wedding before going to fight for their country. The drinking age should be 18. I taught my son responsibility from an early age. He was an adult at 18, capable of making rational decisions.
Sharon Adams
10:44 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
Jim, not all parents take the time to teach their children responsibility from early age. We certainly see that from kids hanging out on the streets at all hours whether drinking or not drinking! Kudos to you & those who do teach and set example. But, maybe instead of lowering the drinking age, we should finally raise the age of recruits and stop sending 'mere boys' to fight a man's (and General's) war.
Katie Griffith
11:14 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
That's an interesting take, Sharon! I've never heard anyone suggest raising the age for enlisting in the army. But would you also then raise the age for teenagers to legally become adults? From 18 to 21?
Sharon Adams
12:35 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Now that you asked, Katie.... Yes! Whoever set the bar that 18 was 'adulthood'!?? I'll need to 'research' that one, for sure! 18 year olds have no idea who they are let alone what they want. And why and where did they 'learn' that alcohol consumption is somehow some 'right of passage! And raising the age of enlistment.... Quite an enticement for some young boys who are offered their GED & college education free from Uncle Sam (lifting burden from their parents who can't afford the luxury of sending their 'child' to college) if they are willing to have limb blown off, return with severe brain injury (young brains that weren't given the change to 'mature/form' to begin with) & even death. Have you heard of very many, if any, Generals who 'haven't' returned safe & sound, to live out their lives to ripe old age with possibly a cognac in hand & absolutely a tremendous, lucrative pension. Hummm! Let's enourage these young boys to skip the binge drinking, get a college education & diploma in hand on 'home turf'. Then congratulate them on 'responsible entrance into manhood/right of passage'. Sorry, Katie, I transgressed but I will still need to research WHO came up with the age of 18 as the 'magical age of adulthood'! LOL!
Sharon Adams
12:46 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Still researching the Master Mind behind proclaiming age 18 as 'manhood'. But did come across this related to the underage drinking problem in the County.
What are the arguments for the 21 year-old drinking age?
"It saves lives by preventing alcohol-related traffic fatalities for 18-20 year olds and the rest of the population
Since the developing adolescent brain is affected differently by alcohol than the adult brain, the 21 year-old drinking age protects adolescents and young adults from the its potentially negative consequences.
The earlier one starts to drink, the more likely he or she will experience alcohol dependence and related problems later in life."
Sharon Adams
12:58 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
I am gonna end on this final comment to attempt to add some minute humor (sad humor) to what is indeed a very serious issue & problem...teenage drinking. From the news I watched when raid took place, it was fathers in their 40's who were verbally abusive to the police (doing their jobs) & the same male adult parents berating/outright yelling @ their kids for NOT running from the police. So, maybe we should raise the 'age of adulthood' for males to 'over 45 years of age'. Hummm!
Stephen Kelley
2:12 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
No branch of the military will permit someone without at least a GED to enlist. Even with a GED, it is not certain a person would be accepted for enlistment.
I joined the Marine Corps when I was 17, with my parents' permission. Even being in a war at age 23, it was the best move I could have made. But even before I was in Operation Desert Storm, I knew that I had grown up a lot faster than my peers who went straight to college and attended underage drinking parties most weekends of their college lives. The bottom line is that attending college doesn't necessarily make one more mature than one who enlists in the military. I would argue it is just the opposite.
Sharon Adams
6:28 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
To clarify, Stephen, statement was really never made that college makes 'all' more mature or responsible. It just gives those young boys a bit more time & sense of direction (they may be at the time lacking) to decide what they really want to do. You were one of the rare & fortunate ones who, as you commented, "knew that I had grown up a lot faster than my peers". You might have been & (sound as though you) are one of those fortunate ones who was blessed with 'involved parents' who guided you long before you reached age 17. Too many don't have that 'Guiding Light' or encouragement. So, to compensate for 'uninvolved or absent parents, those 'very young boys' make very 'rash' decisions. Some sadly make decision just to get away from home. I also commend you on your service to your Country and to me personally in Operation Desert Storm. Thank you!
Sharon Adams
2:24 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
http://www.wisegeek.com/at-what-age-is-someone-considered-a-legal-adult-in-the-us.htm
Excerpt from article: "For many parents the term legal adult does not mean their children possess certain adult characteristics. For example, being an adult implies being able to make mature decisions, participate in civic matters, have self-control, and be responsible. Some 18-year-olds simply lack these characteristics and need further time to develop them. It concerns some parents that an 18-year-old can make life-altering decisions, like marrying early or joining the military, which may not have been made with significant forethought."
Dataslave
3:27 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Look your crusades against 18 year olds seems to stem from your fear of not being able to control every aspect of your children's lives, and as your children grow older you fear not just for their safety, but you also fear that when you're an empty nester, will you know who you are without them? There should never be a law where 21 is the legal age of majority, Be happy that it's not 13, If we were amish it would be.
Eric S.
4:16 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Personally, I like how Canada does it -- you're an adult at 19. You can drink, smoke, vote, join the military, etc. Not sure on the other can of worms that is age of consent for sex, but everything is full adulthood at one age. Of course, to my knowledge they also aren't prudish about drinking in the first place, like our Puritan culture.
As a note, many parents of teens could drink when they were 18, depending on when and where they grew up. The main reasons that drinking legally at 21 is considered such a right of passage is that it's one of the last milestones to legal adulthood. Combine that with weird and conflicting attitudes about alcohol to begin with (drinking too much is just bad, mmmkay vs. alcohol = party if you believe the commercials) and it makes more sense. Teens see years of marketing showing them something they can't have and how great it makes everything, and are never really taught moderation[0].
So yeah, either just make it a single age of majority for everything, or get rid of the abuse of the Interstate Commerce Clause that is this whole federal drinking age.
[0] I'm referring to popular culture never really teaching moderation. Parents are free to teach whatever they want. But really, we're not a glass of wine with dinner kind of culture.
Darryl Snider
6:59 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
This country has its hang ups. This is normal behavior in most European countries where there is euther no alcohol age or it is not enforced. What is enforced is responsible behavior. No drunk driving or public intoxication etc. Hell in Russia beer isn't even considered to be an alcholic beverage. In Ireland if you can get your money up on the bar you will be served regardless of age. So lets focus on behavior not on a random age. Lets be a free people in all things as long as we do not harm others.
Sharon Adams
10:35 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Unfortunately, Darryl, we can focus all we want on behavior but we can't control the behavior of othersit! And "as long as we do no harm to others".... Seems to be on ALL our wish lists but we continue to see 'shrines' erected all over the county where young teens, underage drinkers, have lost their lives in accidents attributed to speed & alcohol.
Frank
7:47 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
All of the "accident shrines" you've seen are for under-21 drunk drivers, Sharon Adams?
Cathy Drzyzgula
4:15 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I think the biggest problem is young people are likely to have unsupervised access to alcoholic beverages before they drink any with supervision. It makes no sense to me to send 18 year old kids off into the world, be it college, the military or working on their own and expect them to wait 3 years to try alcohol, and then use it responsibly without any guidance from older adults.
I would propose a graduated system where parents/guardians could supervise the introduction of alcoholic beverages (responsibly of course) while they still had some influence on the matter. I would never want some other kid's parents to provide alcohol to my underage child, and would never do that myself.
Dataslave
3:32 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thats what they do in most of europe, Take away the "forbidden fruitiness" of it all and they well be less likely to go out of their way to obtain it, it'll be like a very expensive drink instead of "YEAH MAN LESTS GO GET SHIT FACED OUT OF MOMMY AND DADDY'S ALCOHOL CABINET."
Sharon Adams
10:17 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57379064/reporter-on-underage-drinking-expose-backlash/?tag=morningLeadStoriesAreaMain;thisMorningLeadHero
Sharon Adams
10:26 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Eye opening excerpts from article: "One of the most memorable things, was at an underage drinking party that was busted by police, one of the parents showed up to collect his son and he said right in front of police, 'Why didn't you run?'"
"At first I was frightened and then I became angry," McCarren said. "It felt like an orchestrated Facebook and Twitter campaign of hate. People put my home address on the internet. There were calls for revenge and retaliation against my family. I'm now in about my 27th year as a reporter and I have never seen anything like this. It seems like these suburban, affluent kids have simply never been told 'no.' They have an inflated sense of entitlement. They feel entitled to cell phones, computers, cars, and in this case, they appear to feel entitled to doing something illegal, which is drink underage of 21."
"Personally, as a reporter...I felt like I could not cover one more carload of drunk kids wrapped around a tree and interview one more set of grieving parents without trying to do something with this extraordinary reach of the media to affect positive change."
Sharon Adams
10:47 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
We can all have as many diverse opinions imaginable. We will not always agree but we should always respect the differences. At least folks are taking the time to talk about this issue. But, whether we agree or not on what constitutues or should constitute the 'legal drinking age', there is an almost more disturbing underlying issue here...where parents don't take their disagreement aside to speak with officers in private but rather stand there and demonstrate anger & defiance against law enforcement in front of their children. What is that teaching their children! Seems to be one more 'learned-from-parental example destructive/negative behavior' of how NOT to resolve differences or disagreements!
Jeff Hawkins
11:09 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sharon:
You are correct.
It reminds of that GEICO commercial where the Grandfather ends up holding his Grandson who is wearing a dog-collar :)
Sharon Adams
12:03 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I love GEICO commercials, Jeff! But can't recall that one. Will have to seach on YouTube. Have a great day!
Jeff Hawkins
12:17 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sharon,
My bad............it was a DIRECT TV ad
Sharon Adams
5:56 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Jeff, 'you' bad all right! LOL!
Sharon Adams
5:56 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/190992/373/Underage-And-Intoxicated