I should clarify something I said... I typically use 'you' in the general sense, referring to people and not to a particular person. I wasn't calling JM a dipshit shitdisturber - I mean, if the shoe fits, fair enough, but I'm not here to call people names, and certainly my intent was not to hurt feelings.
So, now that I'm clear about where I'm coming from, in response to 'who are you to judge'... Most of us have learned these lessons from experience and as such we're here to pass on advice so that JM doesn't fuck things up like we (or someone we know) may have at one point or another. Despite our cautions, JM is still free to do whatever he likes, so whatever, its not like our judgements make a difference anything -- I also admire the condescending undertones of 'who are you to judge', because it implies that a judgement has been made in turn on those judges, which I'm sure isn't hypocritical at all.
I don't know how many people claimed to be innocent of doing stupid things, but I feel fairly comfortable in saying that it wasn't very many. People saying 'don't drink whiskey if it makes you angry, makes you break shit, and makes you a threat to yourself and others' is hardly some sort of deprecation of JM; if anything, it's damn fine advice. If I said 'guys, I got really fucked up on vodka one time and beat up my girlfriend' (not true, just hypothetical) the lesson to be extracted from that is: don't get so drunk that you hurt people, especially those close to you, because when you sober up you'll find that you have hurt yourself as well and the damage may be irreversable. If someone doesn't want to abide by that lesson, then let them learn it themselves, but they'll get no sympathy from me when, suprise suprise, it turns out that they would have been better off listening to people who knew what they were talking about.
So what if JM or anyone else likes to drink whiskey, they should be entitled to it. So what nothing. If you drink and know that you're going to be obnoxious when you do so, the smart thing is to not drink. Nobody is going to drink and get behind the wheel, or drink and burn someones house down, or push somebody down who just happens to hit their head on a rock and get knocked out cold (and, as with all head injuries, risk serious brain damage) and then get away with telling the courts 'well, I like drinking whiskey and even though I knew it would make me into an asshat, you have no right to judge me'.
Sure, it'd be nice if none of us were accountable for our actions becase of some half-baked idea that there's no difference between right and wrong, but that's not reality. As such, people have a huge responsibility to make sure that someone who thinks its funny and/or has no intention to stop doing things that might harm that someone or others either a) is dissuaded from doing those things anymore, or b) understands the consequences of continuing to do those things.
Sure, you're absolutely right that its their business, sure, its their choice, their responsibility, and everyone else should just butt out -- but, that said, if people can prevent this person from making a horrible mistake that might ruin their life, but why shouldn't they at least try to say something? Oh, cause its not their business? The well-being of others is everybody's business. I'd rather be forewarned that something might go wrong, so I know how to avoid it, than be completely ignorant and end up doing something I regret for the rest of my life.
But whatever. It's not like the arguments from either side have been free of inconsistencies and condescention... and while I should take other people to task here as well, I don't have the time right now. I'll be back.
part at the end.
Drinking a type of alcohol that you know can make you angry can be dangerous. I think some of us are just trying to throw a little concern out there because we don't want him to end up doing something regrettable. Personally, I'm not trying to be harsh or judgemental...I'm just showing concern.
