Leila's blog

Wed, Oct 31, 2007

Alco-frolics

A petition to curb anti-social behaviour fuelled by alcohol has been launched in Aberystwyth. I support this because I know how hard life is when you live in the middle of a town surrounded by pubs. When I first moved to Ceredigion I lived in a small flat with my husband and our 1st born, then 6 months old. We lived next to a pub with a couple more round the corner. I was constantly being woken up at 2am by fights happening outside our window and was occasionally concerned for the safety of my son if someone were to be thrown against the window and break it with him sleeping nearby. So I sympathise with others in the now worse situation with 24 hour licensing. I am not convinced that penalising drinkers for bad behaviour will help much as I think the availability and relative cheapness of alcohol encourage excessive drinking. There is also the cultural aspect, whereby being drunk is seen to give, if not permission, at least an excuse for behaviour that would otherwise not be tolerated. If we are to take full responsibility for ourselves and expect others to do the same, society has to have a shift in thinking, towards saying that individuals are always responsible for their behaviour - drunk or sober.

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