A Thought to Process
Greg Storey posted something interesting that is getting a ton of comments. It’s an interesting mix of design issues vs. ethical considerations in the wake of 9/11.
All of this, and an interesting evening, got me thinking…
I had a young person come into the store last night who tried to buy beer without an ID. He’s a regular (he’s old enough to buy cigarettes), and I know he’s over 18 — but I don’t know that he’s 21, which is the legal age to buy beer in Ohio. No ID, no sale (it’s in this link, somewhere: people over the age of 16 in Ohio are required, by Ohio law, to carry a state-issued ID on your person at all times — in public). He went away angry, saying that “it’s going to be a long f’ing night!”
I had several other young people come in last night, some obviously hammered, to buy cigarettes and hot dogs and such, and I had to card each one of them, and to most of them, it was a big deal. Often, when they don’t have their ID, or if they aren’t old enough (then they won’t have their ID), they put up a fuss.
At times, it can be like pulling teeth.
One night, one kid, after being refused a sale, actually pulled down the magazine rack on his way out. He quickly became a guest at the local constabulatory’s graybar hotel.
All this makes me wonder what we, as a society, are doing wrong when so many of our young people think that the single, most important thing they can do when they come of age is to drink alcohol.
The emphasis is obviously on the wrong syllable here.
What does our society stress to make people want to escape reality so badly? Don’t read me wrong here: I’m not against alcohol consumption (God forbid — I’m drinking a beer as I write this, but enjoying it rather than drinking it to get slammed).
Perhaps we are not teaching our kids to respect themselves; we see it in these young people being rude, intolerant, loud, boisterous, expectant of instant respect and displaying generally repugnant behavior (I mean interpersonally — not the bad manners, yelling, public belching, over-exuberant flatulence and whatnot).
Before you fly off the handle about this: I’m not talking about every young person; many young people I encounter are quite polite, the products of good parenting. I am only talking about many young people I encounter while on my job, and my job includes selling alcohol.
In the case of the young man I had to turn away: he obviously should think about why it was so important to have alcohol last night, and why he needed it. Perhaps an A.A. meeting might help him find the answer(s) to this.
If not, it could be a long f’ing life…
