Of Whingers and Bingers

While lamenting the dearth of wine in Jakarta, I have been saving money every month by not being able to visit the duty free bottle shops anymore. I also think Indonesia is better off for not having embraced alcohol. This substance is devastating aboriginal communities in Australia, causing nationwide health problems and contributing to domestic and social violence. I read The Sydney Morning Herald most days and the press that alcohol is getting at the local, state and national level is not good. It seems as if Australia simply can't handle its alcohol. While Indonesia has many problems, widespread alcohol abuse is not one of them.

The key question for Australia is whether the problem is getting worse or whether it's just getting more publicity or more attention from health professionals. There is of course a problem but there always has been, ever since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. The hard drinking culture of Ireland and England was exported along with all the other Anglo-Celtic baggage. Rum was actually used as currency in the early days of the colony. When I was growing up in Australia, the pub was an exclusively male domain and opening hours were strictly regulated. Pubs didn't open on Sundays. Things have changed a lot since then. Women finally won access to pubs, the opening hours lengthened and the availability of cheap alcohol proliferated.

One things for sure. My body is less resilient than it used to be to the effects of ethanol. Fortunately, living in Indonesia means that the opportunities for drinking are limited and the cultural pressure to drink (outside of the expatriate community) is zero. However, I'm shortly off to Oz for ten days or so and I'm certainly looking forward to an occasional glass or three of some fine wines. Of course, I'll be careful not to binge drink because the Great Helmsman himself has warned against that. I am a whinger but not a binger. In fact Annabel Crabb writes in the SMH that "binge drinking is such a popular issue at the moment that it has generated a brand new noun" as in "I'm just here for a spot of binge" or "Another glass of binge?".