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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

MADD cranks it up

Saw in a press digest today where MADD CEO Chuck Hurley (what kind of "mother" are you, Chuck?) described the Amethyst Initiative as "a threat to public health and safety." Not the actual lowering of the LDA to 18, mind you: just talking about it.

As I've said before, this strikes me as outright un-American. It's a problem, these folks at Amethyst want to talk about new ideas for solving or ameliorating it...because clearly, what we're doing isn't working as well as it could.

I don't mean to belittle what's been done -- underage drinking is down, overall -- but the way we drink is the main issue here, and that's what MADD is completely missing. We can be better; there are other countries where it's better, just as there are countries where it's as bad or worse. But the 21 LDA is not helping...and that's one of the first things we need to look at.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe it all becomes clear if we consider MADD a prohibitionist organization. They're not just against teen drinking or people driving drunk, they're against drinking.

Anonymous said...

It seems strange that MADD would attack this when it was started by some well respected university presidents. If MADD was truely interested in helping educate the public about the danger of irresponsible comsumption, then it would be logical to start with professional educators. This just shows that MADD has a neoprohibitonist agenda.

Lew Bryson said...

The problem MADD has, along with most other New Dry groups -- of which they most definitely are one, no doubt -- is that they see any drinking as bad drinking. They believe that the only reason people drink...is to get drunk.

And I contend that this attitude from the people who have made themselves the voice of responsibility is part and parcel of the problem -- if not the core. I believe that the phrase alcohol is a drug is incredibly bad policy, bad semantics, and a bad idea: it encourages teenagers to think of alcohol only as a drug. That's sowing the wind.

David said...

The "proto-prohibitionist" group is still active as well, and is also blasting the Amethyst Initiative. I wrote about WCTU on my blog just yesterday.

These people warp Christianity for their own personal agenda. I doubt most folks who enjoy alcoholic beverages realize just how active the neo-prohibitionists are today.

Lew Bryson said...

Too true, David; and we didn't believe Prohibition was really going to happen, either. We're too damned busy having a good time and living our lives to organize. That's why the fanatics always win, that's why they take over any organization.

Scott said...

College students will forever drink irresponsibly, regardless of MADD.

Enough said

Scoats said...

So the usual us vs. them situation that our country always seems to be in, both with other countries and with our fellow citizens. Maybe someday more of us will just think us and we work together to find some sensible middle ground. Maybe.

Chuck Cowdery said...

MADD is a perfect example of what happens with groups of this sort. They start out with committed people, trying to solve a problem, and end up as a cynical, self-perpetuating fund-raising machine. Yes, MADD has become anti-drinking, and even anti a very reasonable group like Amethyst, because alcohol-bashing brings in the bucks. MADD is a complete fraud, even the founder thinks so. She quit the group a few years ago in disgust.

Lew Bryson said...

True, Chuck. MADD is campaigning for breathalyzer interlocks to be placed in every DUI arrestee's car (all their cars). And who's a major contributor to MADD? The company who makes the interlocks. Hardly coincidental.