Thursday, April 9 2009
Doing What Works
Red wine does not go with gasoline
Interesting news from Decanter: Allegrini winery gives away wine to designated drivers. It works like this: in restaurants the designated driver who does not imbibe gets a bottle of Allegrini's Palazzo del Torre wine to take home and enjoy at another time.
The upsides are all there. First, rather than having someone go against human nature and deny gratification, they're asking people to delay that gratification. Not a bad start at getting someone to do what you want. Second, it pumps up restaurant sales of the wine, and gets people to try it at home–and how can you not feel good about a free bottle of wine that reinforces your sense of civic duty and personal virtue? Third, it might actually work because unlike most anti drink-and-drive movements, it's not about punishing and prohibiting alcohol use, it's about moving it to an appropriate time and place.
It's about time someone did the right thing. Driving while impaired is indefensible and I'm very pleased with how far we've come in my corner of the world to change attitudes toward it. Thirty-five years ago it was common to hear, 'Wow, did I ever get smashed last night! I can't even remember driving home.' Today that would elicit immense disapproval, as evidence of anti-social and irresponsible behavour. Good for us!
But unfortunately part of the anti drink-and-drive movement has been co-opted by neo-prohibitionists who want to prevent all drinking at all times, while simultaneously increasing their sphere of political influence. By lying about statistics (such as counting an accident where a sober driver strikes a drunken pedestrian as a 'drunk driving' incident) they work to skew opinion against all alcohol use, and are apparently so opposed to any alcohol they'd rather have highway deaths than teen drinking.
Boys will be . . . wretched, actually.
I'm of a mind that we need to educate more than prohibit. Growing up in small-town British Columbia I and all my peers took our cues and our behaviours with regards to alcohol use from older people and images in movies and TV. I grew up wanting to smoke Rothman's and drink Rye like my dad (can't stand cigarettes and never got a taste for Rye, go figure) and because I was denied any contact with, information about, or context of use for alcohol as a boy, I was all too eager to experiment with it in company of other teens when I had the opportunity. I can't help but think that I might have made more appropriate choices as a young man if I'd been educated about and introduced to alcohol in a controlled and appropriate setting before I became a teen dissolving his inhibitions in a puddle of alcohol, hormones and stupid.I don't pretend to have all the answers. I don't even have children of my own to teach about alcohol use. But I do understand a bit about human beings and drinking: much better to reward instances of socially acceptable behaviour than to try to punish an entire society for seeking pleasure in daily life. Good on Allegrini for taking a bold step.
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