Many people gave their lives to defeat racial prejudice. How any people have to die to overcome alcoholic prejudice?
This is how alcoholic prejudice causes carnage through drink driving:
- Alcoholic prejudice facilitates binge drinking
- Binge drinking causes drink driving
- Drink driving causes carnage
So, alcoholic prejudice ultimately causes carnage.
Drink Driving and Alcoholic Prejudice
Drink driving carnage will decrease only when the prejudices against being alcoholic are smashed....
Alcoholism is a disease. Alcoholics who continue to drink are very sick people.
Even Alcoholics are Prejudiced!
I know because I am a recovered alcoholic. I was in denial of my disease and didn't want to be labelled alcoholic because of the prejudice that exists.
In fact I was terrified of being labelled an alcoholic as this story demonstrates: At one of my very first meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous I was invited to a cafe for a coffee/chat after the meeting. As we arrived at the cafe I spotted my one of my drinking buddy's wife already there at the cafe. I also noticed that one of the AA members was carrying the book Alcoholics Anonymous. It had "Alcoholic Anonymous" boldy emblazoned across its spine. "What if my friend's wife saw me associating with someone in Alcoholics Anonymous?", I thought, "Surely she'd draw the conclusion that I too was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and so an alcoholic". She was also a terrible gossip. So, I simply fled.
As my recovery progresses I am increasingly comfortable sharing with people I know, and people I meet, that I am in recovery. Undoubtedly my own recovery would have started sooner, and been faster, if I hadn't had to first overcome the fear of the stigma of being labelled "alcoholic."
Alcoholics vs. Malignant cancer
Untreated alcoholism is a progressive and potentially fatal malady.
Malignant cancer is a progressive and potentially fatal if left untreated.
Why is there no prejucide against people with cancer? Why is there such a stigma against having the disease of alcoholism? Why is so much money spent on trying to find a cure for cancer, and so little on reducing the stigma of alcoholism so that people are less fearful about being treated for their alcoholism?
Alcoholics vs. Diabetics
When the prejudice is gone, and being an alcoholic is on a par with being a diabetic, then more people will accept that they have the disease...and the road toll will come down. ....
Binge Drinking and Drink Driving
As Tim Wilson described on Campbell Live the disease means that taking one drink leads to a craving for more, and so triggers the binge which often includes drink driving.
Acceptance is the first step towards recovery from alcoholism. Avoiding the first drink means the craving triggered by putting alcohol in the system isn't triggered. So simple!...
I bet Tim Wilson wishes that he knew that before he made himself into a tetraplegic.
Smash Alcoholic Prejudice
Reduce The Drink Driving Carnage
Thank you Tim, and the Campbell Live team, for helping to smash the prejudice against alcoholics. You will save many more lives through revealing the truth than all the adverts that focus on antisocial behaviour. Anti-social behaviour is a symtom of the disease of alcoholism.
That sort of behaviour only happens after an alcoholic puts that first drink into his/her system.
Acceptance is the key -- acceptance that the first drink triggers the craving for more alcohol; acceptance of alcoholics as sick people; acceptance of alcoholism as a treatable disease.
Save lives
SMASH THE PREJUDICE ABOUT ALCOHOLICS, CREATE ACCEPTANCE, AND SAVE LIVES.
Well done you guys!