It started simply enough, with a post on twitter asking people to have non-alcoholic drinks available at their social gatherings.
After we posted this on facebook, we didn’t give it much thought. It seemed like a harmless idea, but one that people might appreciate.
There are lots of reasons people might choose to not drink– at one point, or forever. People shouldn’t feel like they need to explain why they’re not drinking. They shouldn’t have to list off a health resume or discuss their issues. They can be just not in the mood.
These people– just because they aren’t drinking alcohol– still can and should enjoy themselves! Alcohol should not be a requirement for any kind of social gathering, and maybe instead of making folks feel uncomfortable about it, we should just make sure that there’s something for everyone. It’s not that hard of a concept.
Except apparently, it’s a terribly hard concept for some people
Within about 12 hours of our post, comments started appearing that were highly critical of the OP, and a lot of them were from folks who weren’t fans of our page.
80-90% of the negative commenters were male, many with strange names that made them sound like alt accounts. Bad actors use burner accounts because if one gets banned, they can easily create new alt accounts and continue on spreading dis- and misinformation in their wakes.
Now, a week later, the post has been seen by 1.8 million facebook users and shared almost 16k times, and the comments keep rolling in.
There are multiple different attacks against the post, but here are the general categories:
You all should stop being such special snowflakes
Ah yes, the dudebros telling us we are wrong for having feelings, wrong for expressing them, and we should get over it. Which is funny, because these people are so upset about someone else having an honest feeling or opinion, these dudes get up in their own feels and spend their time patrolling the internet, pecking out the words with their dongs.
You do what I tell you
These coercive motherfuckers give off fumes of pickup artists, incels, and domestic violence perpetrators. They willfully abuse ideas about consent, and they’re BIG MAD about being called out on it.
BREWSKIIIIIIIS
Folks who cannot fathom going to a public or private place and not having alcohol be the main event. And honestly, given these responses, you might want to drink around these people because the stupid, it burns.
Please. For the love. Just don’t be one of these assholes.
Why spend this time reading about these people, many of whom you would never want to meet? Because it’s important to know that THIS IS A THING and that when other folks use these tactics to make you feel uncomfortable about your choices, it’s about THEM, not you.
These are the kinds of red flags you should look out for. People who push boundaries like this will never have your best interests in mind. If they get mad about the mere thought that you might enjoy some juice or seltzer water, you must ask yourself: What is their interest in getting me drunk?
In conclusion, enjoy drinking or don’t enjoy drinking– it’s your choice. Respect other people’s choices about what they decide to eat or drink. You can hate them for voting for the Turnip, or many other decisions they may make that cause real harm to you and others. And buy some goddamned juice.