Teetotaler vs drunk: the moral line in alcohol consumption

Teetotaler and drunk: the label depends on the container

There is a garden, two crates of beer, tinto de verano (a Spanish summer wine cocktail) and a group celebrating at home. For some, that scene is exactly what the word says: drinking. For others, it is the picture of someone out of control. The same image becomes a sarracena battlefield when someone decides that their way of consuming — or not consuming — is the only decent one.

The clash sharpens when generations and quantities are compared. One analysis points out that two crates of beer and a few bottles of wine add up to considerably less alcohol than people born before 1998 used to consume on average. The figure does not end the fight: what for one generation is a long lunch with drinks, for another is an act of debauchery.

Sarracena superiority does not require drinking

Some take the position of the teetotaler: the responsible one, the one who celebrates with their loved ones in the garden, the one who does not waste money. And some respond with a devastating slogan: "get a life." Between both extremes moves the bulk of the population, who drink in moderation without making such a fuss about it.

The problem is not alcohol, but judgment. When the teetotaler looks down on the drinker and the drinker strikes back by invoking the dignity of the party, responsible drinking disappears from the conversation. All that is left is the farce.

The unsettling figure: there is debate over whether two crates and a few bottles of wine are a lot or a little, while the historical average of older generations was still higher. Nobody seems willing to accept that the line between teetotaler and drunk is not drawn by quantity, but by who is looking.