Very few alcoholics think they have a problem. My brother didn’t, and it almost killed him. He is crippled in one arm because of it, but he still drinks with his good hand. He “doesn’t have a problem” with alcohol, just ask him.
When you guzzle a fifth every other day, you have a problem.
I won;t argue with that.
When a fifth lasts two to four weeks (sometimes even longer) do you think the person has a problem?
Who makes the call, wrench?
If I told you I drank a pint of booze every morning between 6 and 7, went to work by 8AM, was productive throughout the day until 6PM, went home, made dinner and went to sleep by 10PM; who decides I’m an alcoholic?
How many “normal Joe” types come “home from the factory/docks” every day, grab a couple of beers and vegetate in front of the TV until dinner...are these guys alcoholics or just normal Americans?
Yes, we have an alcohol problem but it stems more from the pietistic temperance idea than from real medical knowledge.