@fcktheworld587 @SrRochardBunson @BinroHeretic hello, chiming in on this as a former Wisconsinite which is so deep into drinking culture it's hard to explain rationally -- nobody believes it, they have to experience it themselves.

I love beer. Almost any style (pass on browns, tho). I've been privileged to participate (as both vendor and lucky patron) in some of the largest and most exclusive beer festivals in the world.

I love whiskey... and whisky.

The culture drove me away. It just got to be too much.

It's not normal for every other billboard to be about alcohol.

It's not normal for every gas station and coffee shop to be selling hard liquor.

It's not normal for you to be drinking *at* work (ISP/datacenter)

It's not normal for you to be drinking with coworkers or customers 4 nights a week. (I started keeping a log of this, and it was ... eye-opening)

Every family gathering: drinking. Every meetup with friends: drinking.

Church events? Drinking.

It's just... normal. But it's awful.


So I just stopped, cold turkey. Part of it was I have some IBS issues and alcohol would really exacerbate it, so it was exhausting. And I had to keep explaining to friends and family I didn't want to drink anymore. For years they kept asking about it...

So that's over. Gut is in a better place these days. I *can* drink a beer with friends and not get sick over it anyway, but I so dread the next day anyway because alcohol always makes you feel like shit regardless.

Weed has none of that, so I'd much rather smoke/vape/edibles. And I do. Life is so much better.

If you don't want to drink because you think it sucks, just don't. Tell them no. If they don't want to be your friends anymore they're not friends worth having.