Are we really No. 2?
I never really paid much attention to that story about Grand Forks' No. 2 ranking for binge drinking. But with attention focused on drinking at City Hall lately, I went and checked to see where we now stand. Didn't find what I wanted but I did notice that the data researchers used were from 1997 and 1999.Now, I know that we do have more than a few beers around here but didn't anybody think that we had good reason back in 1997? Or even in 1999 when we were paying flood debt and flood insurance (and still do)?
So, maybe we're not really No. 2.
No. 10 is still bad but I don't think this much attention would've been brought to the issue without that No. 2 ranking.
Oh, the search engine also popped up a study on college binge drinking. What it says is a) students who go to college in binge drinking states end up binge drinking themselves and b) law that limit high volume sales of alcohol:
These laws include statutes that mandate registering kegs, make it illegal to drive with blood alcohol levels of .08 percent or higher, and place restrictions on happy hours, open containers, beer sold in pitchers, and billboards and other types of alcohol advertising.After vainly scouring the Web for this report, which the moron press release above said would be fully available, I finally tried the state's Odin library network. If you want to see it, click here. From the menu, select Databases, then eLibrary, then eLibrary again. Enter your barcode and password, probably your last name, and do a search for "State sets the rate."
posted by Tu-Uyen at 10:34 PM
4 Comments:
"Now, I know that we do have more than a few beers around here but didn't anybody think that we had good reason back in 1997? Or even in 1999 when we were paying flood debt and flood insurance (and still do)?"
Yes Sir! Nothing helps flood debt like a few brewskis!
And what about the Brac stuff, I heading to Happy Harry's right now.
Oh, and it was cold in the winter, so I'm sure it was ok have a couple too many then.
Oh yea, my boss yelled at me, my dog pooped on the floor, my newspaper is up for sale...
Get real, be willing to accept the problem, or put your head back in the sand. In any case, stop minimizing.
Number 2,10 or 100, do you think that it's not a real problem?.
I don't think the post is suggesting drinking is not a problem. This is more of a status issue. Grand Forks may have a lesser reputation among those that matter because of the data being presented as fact.
And who matters, you may ask? Prospective residents, students, investors, etc. Another victim is our own self-worth. Now, maybe this impression will have positive results, forcing us to face an issue that has long plagued us.
It is an issue, but it doesn't mean we're ignoring it to discuss other aspects of its existence.
Anonymous, see my latest post, "No wait, we are No. 2," for a reply.
Wait, I missed your criticism, Anonymous.
Let me address it: There's no excuse for abusing alcohol but I think it's understandable in situations of high stress.
The point is that, in normal years, we might not have been No. 2, but the post-flood years were tough. Any community that went through something of that magnitude would have reacted the same
So, given that the flood is behind us, perhaps that No. 2 ranking was an anomaly rather than the norm. A new study might find that we aren't that bad.
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