Yes, that's one of the problems other countries can't understand. Most American cities don't have public transportation, which is why the teens are driving cars to and from parties. It's not harmless teen fun when so many people in the community were being killed by drunk drivers.
It is so hard to find an adult who will buy teens underaged alcohol because they can be found legally responsible when something goes wrong, and go to jail or be sued by victims and lose everything they own. Even the parents of the party-thrower can be held responsible, even if the parents aren't home. The non-profit MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) probably had the biggest impact on these laws, though the original founder left the group when they shifted focus to neo-prohibitionism. Wikipedia has a great entry on MADD.
Many things in America would be different if we had public transportation. Whenever you can't understand a cultural difference, ask yourself that first.Then ask yourself if the generalization can be made to 323 million people living in 3.8 million square miles.
And never believe anything you see in movies. They aren't documentaries. Use your better education and media literacy skills to read our entertainment as the propaganda that it is. If you still think our fictional media represents Americans, you should check out the studies from USC Annenberg and San Diego State ever year that have statistics on how many different types of Americans are never represented in our media, from trans, over 60, or disabled to all our ethnicities. Their studies also show how often a white heterosexual male is the lead character who makes all the decisions, that when there is a Latino actress she will be sexualized, that women only ever make up 30% of the background extras even though they are 51% of the population, only 20% of female characters are portrayed as having jobs, etc. Even when characters in novels are non-white, Hollywood casts a white actor (called whitewashing), using the excuse that Euorpeans and Asians won't see a Hollywood movie unless the lead is a white male. So yes, they blame you, the global market, for our lack of diversity and accurate representation. And then horrifyingly...you believe these movies?
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cpoet
8 years ago
I'm glad the question of driving made it into this conversation about underage drinking--the two issues are inseparable.
I've spent a lot of time in other countries and the penalties for drunk driving are immediate, severe and non-negotiable. I have no explanation to offer when my friends from overseas are stunned that someone in the US is still driving around with a suspended license, on probation for multiple DWI convictions.
So many people I know (outside the US) grew up accepting that you simply do NOT drink and drive. There's always a designated sober driver, or arrangements are made to spend the night at the house where you're drinking. Cabs are lined up outside the bars at closing time and literally every single person will walk out the door and get in a taxi to be taken home.
So, yeah, absolutely, there's nothing wrong with teenagers having a few beers. I can even see that removing the "forbidden" stigma would have an overall positive effect. It's the driving with impaired judgment and the weaving all over the highway that are the true problem.
Maybe the solution starts with public transportation or more likely it's adjusting a legal system that administers a slap on the wrist probationary period while people rack up one drunk driving conviction after another--until there's a vehicular manslaughter charge and things finally get serious. In Norway, I believe the first time you're caught driving after drinking--not "drunk," just drinking--you lose your license for several months, a percentage of your annual salary and you're required to enter a program. In other words, IT'S A BIG DEAL. (As a sidenote, I think "Click it or ticket" made more people buckle up than appeals to common sense or personal safety.)
Basically we need a change in the national "hive mentality" and that's just so crazy hard to achieve.
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