This is kind of a throwaway comment that Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson, 19, made to a paparazzo who asked him a question outside an L.A. restaurant. It’s getting a lot of press though and for good reason. When asked if the US drinking age should be lowered, Josh thought for a moment and said that the age to go to war is 18 and that the age to drink should be 18 as well. Why don’t we just raise the age to join the military?
The Huffington Post, which we’re quoting below, points out that Josh’s costar Alexander Ludwig, also just 19, was recently seen coming out of a club, which is what prompted this question:
We’re sure you were just dying to know what “The Hunger Games” star Josh Hutcherson’s thoughts are on the legal drinking age in the United States.
Hutcherson’s 19-year-old “Hunger Games” co-star Alexander Ludwig prompted an investigation by the California Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control into Hollywood bar the Sayers Club, after the underage actor was spotted leaving the 21+ hot spot on Tuesday night.
Naturally, when TMZ spotted Hutcherson, also 19, leaving an LA restaurant last night, they wanted to know his opinion on the legal drinking age.
“I think the age to go to war is 18, so I think the drinking age should be 18 as well,” he told the website as he was trying to find a taxi.
[From The Huffington Post]
I lived in Switzerland and Germany for years. The drinking age for beer and wine in Germany is 16 and the drinking age for hard liquor is 18. The driving age is 18. I think a lower drinking age sort-of works in some European countries because of cultural factors along with the fact that kids are drinking before they can drive. (And it’s much harder and more involved to get a driver’s license, at least in Germany.) Plus they often don’t need to drive to get around due to the way the communities are set up and the fact that public transportation is readily available. That’s not the case in the US and if you legally let kids drink here at a younger age (even though they’re doing it already) it could be a recipe for disaster. I don’t have a strong opinion on it, though, as it seems perfectly reasonable for kids to drink in their late teens in Germany. I’m not saying that there aren’t issues with alcohol and teens in Europe, there definitely are. So I’m not sure it would work here to lower the drinking age. Can you tell I’m a mom?
Also, how dorky does Josh look in this little red cap? I just noticed that it says “Pabst Blue Ribbon.” It figures.
I am german and I find it ridiculous that people in the US can go to war with 18 and drive with 16, but when it comes to alcohol they are not mature enough?
I’m English and I agree with you! I think 16 is too young to drive and the licencing tests here are a joke in comparison to getting a licence in the UK! And 18 is definitely too young to be sent to war!!!
If you are old enough to die for your country, you should be mature enough to buy alcohol!
Having grown up on army bases-the 18 year old GI’s drink quite a bit. Plenty of people turn a blind eye to it as long as they aren’t doing anything stupid. When I was a kid in the 80’s, GI’s could also get drinks at certain drinks legally on base as long as they showed their ID.
But there’s a growing alcoholism problem in the military (for good reason) so it’s not like they aren’t drinking.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/army-alcoholics-soldiers-seek-treatment-alcohol-abuse/story?id=9863321#.T4glsYFnBrY
I grew up in El Paso TX and in Fort Bliss the drinking age for soldiers was always 18 until 2008 and it just made sense ya know? Juarez Mexico is across the border and when I still lived in EP it was safe to visit so everyone just went over there to drink on the weekends. There was a strip with different types of bars and dance clubs that catered specifically to all the American young people.
Me too. I spent a year in the US when I was 19 and it always freaked me out to see the twentyone yr old college kids drinking like there was no tomorrow. “At that age” I felt they should know how much to drink.
Yes that is true about war but here in US the kids here are not mature .. they were not brought up ( unless your parents were from Europe or have that heritage) to drink wine etc with dinner and not to excess … where you have it around and it’s not a big deal..
I find it that when kids turn 21 here they run out and drink to excess for a long time.. they are not grown up and to drive at 16 is crazy … they show no maturity to do either. Maybe it’s parenting, or the culture of US or both .. I was brought up with wine with dinner all my life as my parents are not from the US so I never went crazy when I turned 21… same with driving .. it was eh, I could drive or not.. I did but never went crazy.
My parents were more strict than others though… but my sisters friends who are in their early 20’s are .. just not mature enough to drink, drive or go to war inho — I wouldn’t want to count on anyone in that age range to back me up at war… they are either still tied to mom’s cord, or thrown out to the wolves and have no sense of the world, they have no sense at all really.
I’m American and I totally agree. If you’re old enough to vote, and fight, and die for your country, you’re old enough to have a beer in a bar.
I grew up in California where it’s always been 21. Arizona used to be 19 but they changed it, however, I always had Mexico.
Now that I’m old, I don’t care. I was raised by a Mexican mom and a Southern European dad – I was allowed to drink low alcohol wine with dinner since I was 10. I was drinking coffee and eating red hot chili peppers as long as I can remember. If I had a child, I wouldn’t host teen alcohol parties at my house but I would let my child taste wine. They are going to sneak into the liquor cabinet anyway.
On the flip side I got into my godfather’s beer when I was 3 or 4 and I still hate beer.
In all fairness, in the California I grew up in, the drinking at of 21 was really just a suggestion. I starting clubbing at 16, and by the time I was in college, I didn’t feel the need for the benders that my dormmates went on. (Although, I did go through a “second childhood” of sorts at 21)
My thought on the matter has always been, if you can join the military and die for our country at 18 then you should be able to drink a nice cold beer legally. If they don’t consider 18 years of age to be “mature” enough to handle alcohol then they sure as hell aren’t “mature” enough to carry around AK47s and killing people.
Either lower the drinking age or raise the join the military age. It’s bullsh-t.
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I want to raise the age for the military. Why send some 18 year old kid off to war? I wouldn’t mind if they lowered the drinking age, I don’t care either way but 18 is too young for war.
If you can serve in the army you should be able to drink.
Awwww, he’s adorable. I think he’ll be even more handsome as he gets older.
I don’t like short men. I bet he has to buy his clothes in children department. Another overrated guy from some movie franchise.
I totally agree. He’s almost dwarfy looking.
Good god, how I wish to be 19 again! I really have a crush on him 🙂
(I don’t care that he’s not really tall ;-))
LOL! I am crushing on him big time right now and I am 35 years old. But he is so adorable and I think he can act. His height is not a problem for me. As long as someone is confident I can handle it. Tom Cruise is not confident and that is why everyone makes fun of him. I am sure he will do something to disappoint me soon like be caught smoking, trashed out at a bar, or dating someone not good enough for him but for now he is a breath of fresh air. One of my step-daughters is almost 16, gorgeous and only 4’11” so they would be perfect together.
I don’t care about the height thing either. Peter Dinklage anyone?
Right now though I’m not crushing on Josh. I like him well enough just no crush.
Me too! But I also have gotten to a point (30 years old) where I’m completely unable to tell anyone’s actual age, so he seems not too far away from me, lol!
There’s basically three groups of people: children, “my age” bracket (20 – 55), and then older people.
TG, yeah, I hope he can handle the talk about his height. It’s so much more appealing saying “F*** you, I’m not tall, whatever” than wearing these ridiculous shoes like Tom C.
Yes, by the end of the movie, I had put him on my “celebrities I would do” list, definitely.
I don’t know why it is that Americans can’t handle drinking at younger ages; obviously other countries are doing something right that we in the U.S. do not.
Having two kids nearing their teens, I’m all over the board on this. On one hand, underage drinking is so rampant that I wonder if lowering the age would take away some of the “forbidden pleasure” aspect to it? Although I know that alone would not be enough, we’d have to effect a more of a cultural shift, letting kids know that drinking is something to be enjoyed in moderation, ideally with a leisurely meal…not something to be consumed in mass quantities as fast as possible.
I think the driving age should be upped to 18, weird that we let kids get behind the wheel of potentially deadly vehicles at such a young age when their brains are still very much developing.
In any case, there is still so much brain development that goes on in the teens and early twenties that it is scary to think of all the things that can and do go wrong with the volatile mix of driving, drinking, drugs and all the things that that age group does. Not to mention the wildly variable maturity levels at that age.
I wonder, it the legal age was lowered and you started drinking at home, with your family, if you’d take a more moderate approach to it. Here in Ontario the legal age is 19, which coincides with, or is after, the age a lot of students move in to university dorms. I just think it can be dangerous to be living independently and playing with alcohol for the first time. Better to know your limits before you’re on your own.
When I was a teen,my parents would let me have a beer or a cooler. Never to the point where I was falling down drunk or anything, BUT they did let me drink. And I think it worked for me. I never felt like I was missing out. I am 22 and I only have only had 2 hangovers in my life. I’m not some crazy drinker. Now I usually have a drink at a restaurant or a get-together. But it’s usually no more than 2.
That’s what I’ve done with my now-16 year old. She doesn’t find drinking fascinating, I think because a) we’ve talked at length about the pitfalls and b) she gets to enjoy her Easter mimosas and the occasional glass of wine on special occasions, at her discretion but without shame. This last Easter she had about a mimosa & a half and as she put it “enjoyed herself but didn’t feel like I needed any more.” She’s learning to moderate, and it’s not a forbidden pleasure. So far so good.
I’m not too far away from you on this. I actually think the drinking age should be lowered to 18 and the driving age raised to 20 or 21. Kids, even good usually responsible kids, can be real dipshits when it comes to driving and I think maybe a little more maturity and responsibility under their belts may make them more aware drivers. I also think a lot of binge drinking may be prevented if you lower the drinking age (for the same reasons everyone else here is mentioning)
The driving age should not be upped to 18. They’re trying this in Georgia. You can get a provisional license at 16 but can’t drive alone (without an adult) until 18.
So you have hordes of kids heading off to college or just fresh out on their own for the first time with no experience driving alone, and no or little experience drinking. Put the two together and WHAM! driving accidents are skyrocketing. It’s too much at once.
I’m all for raising the age to join the military to 21. It’s dreadful that we send 18 year old “teens” into war.
Edit: If you wanna get hammered and you’re underage you will find a (illegal) way…
Ditto esmom’s last point. Plus the earlier people start drinking their chances of becoming an alcoholic increase.
My particular Canadian province has the drinking age set at 18, and I don’t think that kids here are any more out of control than their American counterparts. If someone underage wants to drink, they’ll find a way to drink (just not in a bar/club) – I had absolutely no problems finding someone older to buy me alcohol, and I imagine it’s the same for a lot of kids.
I agree, I grew up in BC, Canada where the legal age is 19, and we used to drive to Alberta where the legal age is 18, to drink. I live in Alberta now and sell wine. Many of my co-workers are 18 and 19 and many already have Level 3 International Sommelier Guild certification and are working on WSET, the European certification for working in wine. So why are they talking about Germany? Canada is the States biggest trading partner. Learn something about us.
I don’t get all the love for this guy on ONTD he’s a stocky little thing with a really weird face. But then I suppose he IS PEETA to some people. Terrible underbite but these photos are the best of him I have seen.
and yes the drinking age in America is unnecessarily high and the driving age too low
Yep. It’s because he’s Peeta. That’s all. I don’t see the appeal for this one. I suppose he’s cute…in a little brother type of way.
His appeal, for me, comes from his acting. He has a pretty impressive career for someone so young. He has played many endearing roles (Bridge to Terabithia and Little Manhattan are two that come to mind) and has proven that he can act. There is something both touching and compelling about his face and his acting ability. He may not be the hottest thing in some people’s books but he can definitely act.
watch LIttle Manhattan and maybe you’ll feel a little love for him
At 18 you’re legally considered an adult, can vote and enlist, probably should be allowed to drink too.
I like the idea of raising the driving age though. Most teen drivers are a nightmare.
thanx for mentioning VOTING! (i think you were the first) … In other news, he just looks like any-kid from any-school USA, and he def looks like he was on the wrestling team – YUK!
In Canada, its 19.
But I think its pretty fair. At 18 you can join the Army…as well as gamble, smoke, buy porn and Drive. So why not drinking as well? You’re legally adult by then.
The drinking age is actually 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. Each province sets their own drinking age.
I’ve never thought about raising the driving age, but that’s not a bad idea. Personally, the legal age of 21 in the US isn’t stopping kids from drinking, it just forces them to do it under the radar, which in my opinion makes it even more likely that they will then try to drive themselves home since they fear the repercussions of letting someone responsible know that they are too drunk to drive.
Having grown up back and forth between places where the drinking age was 18 and 21, drinking at 18 meant that I had experience with what my limits were when I was younger and in a safe place so that when I got to university, I was more responsible. I knew plenty of kids who drank anyways in the US even though they were underage, but it always seemed far more dangerous than when my friends and I went to a bar down the street from our parents house back in Canada.
In my province it’s 19, but most kids start earlier. Honestly, it’s hard to prevent it once you go off to university. I don’t see the point of waiting until 21 – it’s so arbitrary.
Here in the states at least when I was his age, it was “18 to party and 21 to drink”. Some clubs would let you in but no drinks served if you’re not 21. So at that time I thought we can serve in the army, drive, pay taxes on a measly paycheck but can have a drink? So I thought the same thing Josh has but no one listened cos I’ m not famous.
In my hometown there was only one dance club that was 18 and over and if you weren’t 21 they’d just mark an X on your hand so what we used to do was go straight to the restrooms and Purell the X right off then drink.
In Australia the age is 18, but the problems with teen alcohol binge drinking occur everywhere, however the issues in Australia relate to liquor licensing more so than the legal age. Here people can drink 24/7 in some clubs and bars and over the years, as the liquor licensing hours have changed, so have the drinking habits.
Interesting. I was imagining or led to believe that underage and binge drinking was mostly an American phenomenon. Guess not. I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.
Meh…
We’re not bringing up our kids right if they are not responsible enough to drink when they’re 18.
If you’re mature enough to join the arm, drive or get married, you’re certainly old enough to drink.
Alexander Ludwig is Canadian, from BC I believe. But could he get charged in the US for underage drinking?
If he was found drinking under age while in the US, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be charged, all other things being equal. That he isn’t a US citizen doesn’t matter. If I go to another country as a US citizen and break a local law, I’d fully expect to be charged.
Haven’t studies shown that lowering the age would also likely lower the risks of binge drinking and other aspects? I think alcohol poisoning was one?
I don’t know about that study but I did read not too long ago that studies found that having the legal age to drink at 21 proved less (I don’t remember the accurate #) car accidents involving alcohol occur. I can’t imagine the thought of them lowering the age limit. All these inebriated 18 year olds, Lord help us!
Didn’t read about that one, but it’d be interesting to see where that study was taking place.
The one study I recall reading was one MADD used to raise drinking age to 21 in every state. They go on about how 50% of the fatal car accidents with “underaged” drivers involved alcohol – what they leave out when they speak of this is that the underaged driver was not necessarily the one who had been drinking.
Actually you could drink at 18 or 19 years old in the majority of the States, till the 1980’s.
In Texas you had to be 19.
But the MADD crusade was really behind moving the drinking age up to 21. And in 1986… Texas raised it to 21 from 19 years old.
The Federal Government forced the issue with the States. With MADD lobbying for it… that the Federal Government would cut off Highway funds if the States did not move the age up.
The reason I can recall all this.
Was I turned 19 in 1986. A month after Texas law change the legal age of drinking to 21. I was pissed.
And was in my second year of College.
So that prompted practically everyone I knew to flee to Louisiana to party. We went every year for News Year’s Eve. Where the legal drinking age was 18.
And Louisiana fought hard to keep it that low… but finally lost the battle.
So yes, I also agree all these years later. That the whole legal drinking age of 21 is dumb.
I still think 19 is a better age. You are out of high school. Hopefully.
Most people are either in college or living as an adult paying your own bills.
So why not be able to buy beer?
I think it should be 19 seeing as most 18 year olds are still in high school.
I agree. I would raise the age of driving to 18 and the age of drinking to 19.
The frontal lobes of the teenage brain don’t get become fully connected by neural activity and myelin until the age of 21. That means that they literally think differently than an adult. Which is why they are such risk takers.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468
Ooh, I had heard age 25. I tend to obsess over this stuff, worrying in advance about my tweens. Thanks for the link.
That is definitely a valid point. But to be fair, it also means that their brains are more adaptable and capable of compensating for any damage that may have occurred from accidents or drinking.
I’m not trying to condone teenage drug use or risky behaviour, just trying to reassure the parents of teenagers that it’s not all terrifying danger! 🙂
That’s another difference between the US and Canada. I could be wrong, but in my experience, the cut-off to start school in the US tends to be September 1 whereas in Canada it’s more often January 1. (As in, kids born in October would start a year later in the US and would turn 18 in grade 12, but still only be 17 when they graduated in Canada).
Anyways, having grown up primarily where I was legal to drink at 18 (which for me personally happened about a month before I graduated high school), it was actually good to be legal to drink when you were still living at home and had to answer to your parents.
Our “prom” was something called a “safe grad”, where they rent out a community center or something for the whole night and the kids who are 18 (about half of the students in June) get a wristband and could buy alcohol at the dance, but we had all been signed in and were only allowed to leave when our parent or appointed guardian signed us in to their custody and took us home. The event went until 6am, so we could stay out all night and drink with our friends, but parents and administration knew that there were supervisors and medical staff on hand and we absolutely could not drive ourselves home drunk. It was a pretty great system.
This is purely anecdotal evidence, but when I was growing up in Canada I didn’t personally know anyone who had a drunk-driving accident, yet my childhood friend in Nevada had at 2 or 3 kids at her high school die in drunk-driving accidents every year. My observations certainly don’t prove anything, but I think there are advantages to having a (reasonably) lower drinking age, though I’m sure there are a lot of other cultural factors. I’d be curious to see recent studies done on the impact of various drinking ages.
The drinking age was lowered to 18 before, and raised again because it didn’t work out so well….
In the 60s/70s, the drinking age in most US states was lowered to 18 due to the same argument about the draft. If you were old enough to be drafted to fight in Vietnam, you were old enough to get a drink. However, drunk driving fatalities went way up — and the statistics showed that is was predominantly because of teen-aged drinking. Because the federal goverment has no say in the drinking age for each state, they pressured the states into raising the drinking age again by threatening to withhold federal funds for highways until a state raised the drinking age back to 21.
I went to college in Minnesota, which changed the drinking age in @1986. It was one of the last states to re-raise the drinking age.(Unfortunately, I was born in November and missed the grandfather clause by 2 months, so almost all my friends in college could have a beer after finals, and I couldn’t :-/.)
IMHO, they should raise the age to enter the military, but I don’t think that is going to happen for a variety of reasons.
I’m an American turned Canadian.
I think the US should lower it for sure. I don’t see the detrimental impacts that people claim will happen if it is lowered. It works out fine in Canada to have it be 18 or 19(varies by province).
The US lets you buy cigs at 18 and go to war. The only thing you can’t do is kick back and have drinks.
My mom bought for us when we were 16, on the condition that we only drink in the house. And would not be allowed to go out after drinking. Taught us how to drink responsibly.
Liv – I couldn’t reply to your message but so far he seems fine with his height. Have you seen the press photos for The Hunger Games premieres? Both Jennefer Lawrance and Gale (don’t know his real name) are way taller than him and he is smiling and confident in all photos. It may be that he isn’t powerful enough to demand JLaw wear flats or put him on a box or something but for now I am inclined to think he won’t let others get him down. And JLaw is only 5’7″ but in 5″ heels that can be towering. I noticed Josh does wear those boots with a slight heel on them but I am fine with that. Just please don’t let him go tom cruising and he will be okay. He is from Kentucky and I think had a grounded upbringing so that should help. Had to give a shout out to my home state! And he is a big supporter of Straight But Not Narrow campaign.
Jennifer Lawrence is taller than himin those photos…because she is wearing heels. She’s much closer to his actual height.
I know she is about his height both of their IMBD’s list them as 5’7″ but obviously in heels she will be much taller. I am inclined to think that he isn’t really 5’7″ since it seems the men always lie about their height same as women lie about their weight and age. I don’t know if women lie about their height too so I would assume his is at least 1 inch shorter than 5’7″ but who knows and it doesn’t matter to me. I made the point that I am fine if a guy is short so long as he is confident and so far Josh seems to be. I don’t know why I am being Josh’s champion I don’t think he needs me on his team so no more comments from me on this stream. I guess I was really impressed with his performance in THG and have seen him as a kid in other movies and he was good. Now that doesn’t mean I can’t comment about him on a new article though! He is my crush of the moment but like I said above I am sure he will ruin it soon enough, he has already been photographed in skinny jeans and a sleeveless shirt which is bad enough for me but wasn’t enough to end it for me. Just please don’t get caught with a cigarette in hand. I just lose respect for celebs who smoke. It just seems so stupid.
Aa grounded upbringing? That worked for Spears and Cyrus, not. I checked his imbd page because he looked familiar. My kids are 12 and 14 so I see all the kids movies.
He was in Zathura and Bridge to Terrabithia, and has worked steadily since he was young. He is definitely a child star. He was in Polar Express as well as many others.
The drinking age should be lowered, my girl gets to taste wine and champagne. She’s even had a few sips of my beer at restaurants in Europe. She sees people drunk all the time from living everywhere and premieres and sees how stupid the young adults on tour look when they binge. I’m not worried, she’s a smart girl. She won’t be getting to drive at 16 though.
I would never consider Britney or Miley as having a grounded upbringing. Both of them come from famewhoring/money hungry families. I mean look at Britney, even now her dad is propping her up so that she can contiue being a cash machine to so many. And Miley, well her dad was in the business long before she came along. And yes Josh has worked half his life and I do not know his parents but I think if the parents are not interested in the biz and not trying to ride their kids coattails they stand a better chance. So far Emma Watson seems to be doing okay and her family were not part of show business nor interested in it. He said on Jay Leno that he always liked acting and when he was 9 years old he called an agent in Ohio and they asked to speak to his parents. Who knows if he was telling the truth, but that is his story. So there is still hope for Josh!
I just meant growing up outside LA doesn’t mean a good upbringing.
I thought he looked familiar, that is why I looked him up. I’ve sat through most of his kid’s movies. I didn’t place him at all.
That we’ve never heard of his name bodes well for him. I’m seeing the movie next week, can’t wait.
I can’t think of him as cute at all though now that I remember him as a little kid.
Here in Italy the age for voting/driving/smoking/drinking is 18 years old BUT many people start drinking and smoking at a young age (it doesn’t help that commerciants don’t care, I could buy my grandfather some cigs at 7 years old without problems), so by the time you are of age, you are used to it. Plus, many people are used to drink wine at every meal since very young.
The best thing would be an age for everything.
in Mexico the drinking age is 18 and still the kids are very f*cked up, so yeah… And Josh was with Francia Raisa (i don’t know who she is lol) and in case they are daiting well i don’t like her she looks kinda cheap
Kids and yes 18 and 19 year olds are still just kids shouldn’t be drinking or going to war. You shouldn’t be sending teenagers off to war to die. I mean even if you let them join the military and start to train and educate them at 18 nobody should be deployed or drafted until they are at least 21 years old. They aren’t magically going to be mature and responsible at 21 but they will be more so than they are when they are finishing high school. I have a 18 almost 19 year old and she is still just a baby to me in so many ways. I can’t stand the thought of her or any of her friends being deployed and being killed or possibly messed up for the rest of they’re lives it’s just too awful.
He is so right. By creating frustration towards alcohol, excesses come. American students make such a big deal about drinking while us Europeans we don’t give a damn about it because it is everywhere already.
sorry meant to comment on Con’s
OMG. why do I find this guy so freaking hot? He’s too short, too young, too…Peeta. But I would do bad, bad things to him! Am I on my own on this? Can’t even focus on the ‘underage drinking’ debate..
Okay, just broke my promise from earlier not to comment any more about Josh but Con just said all the things I have been thinking (see my posts above). No you are not alone and me either. Drinking? Who cares. This guy is too hot to focus. I do like his acting though. And the funny thing is Peeta is underage so at least Josh is legal!
He’s ridiculously adorable. And not too short, I think he’s perfect! He’s my new secret boyfriend. Hee hee!
It’s his confidence that doesn’t spill over into cockiness or arrogance. He’s short, but he looks happy and owns his height. He’s young, but always very intelligent in interviews. And now he’s shown his passion and talent in an adult(ish) role. As in, a movie I actually watched.
He’s really funny looking in pictures, but after seeing videos I can say that I would do dirty things to him. I love a smart, confident, level headed guy.
The military will NEVER raise the age at which kids are drafted or enlisted. They want those babies desperately because they can be so easily molded at that age into anything the military wants them to be. The oldsters, yes, even 21 year olds have already begun to form their personalities and are harder to train.
you DO realize that a majority of the kids who sign up, WANT to enlist, or WANT to get their college paid for right? It’s not rocket science what is going on in the middle east, so they DO understand what the hell is going on in our world. Some of you act like kids are brain dead at 18.
My family is Mexican American and we’re from a border town so I think I had my first beer when I was 15ish? Idk, mexicans have keggers for 1yr olds bday parties so maybe we aren’t the best example but all my cousins and my siblings and I have drank since welll before we were 21 and none of us have had any DUIs and I’d say we all have healthy drinking habits. Plus, like half of us are in the Army.
Amazingly, I have no opinion about the drinking age. I tried to care for a few minutes because it seems important, but meh, I don’t care.
This boy has an adorable mouth. What’s the age limit to be considered a cougar?
I had this kind of upbringing:
Kids in the first world already have privilege an amenities flying out of their asses, but still they’re ‘oppressed’ because they have to (officially) wait a couple of years to commit vehicular homicide. How entitled can you get? Why does the world owe you the freedom to do everything under the sun when you feel like doing it? No waiting, no patience and for the overwhelming majority of teenagers, not military servicemen waiting to conscript you hiding in the shrubs. But who cares when you’re deciding to break an ‘unjust’ law. Soldiers only get guns, civilian kids are the real freedom fighters, right? Go ahead then, jaegger bomb for liberty. Bless you boys and break that law, you earned it. Caribbean mothers are a formidable force, which is something that a large segment of society outright rejects because the saw a picture of Bob Marley with a spliff so everyone does that, don’t you understand your people at all, why won’t you let me educate you?
In some things, the mores are pretty lax,(driving age), somewhat monitored (You’ll get a little tipple because it’s Christmas, but God help you if I see you drinking any day after this special occasion), or strict (you get caught at school with pot, you’re expelled. The end. Your own damned fault, get a life. Of course, the stuff that the Rastas get is way off the mainstream and their on the periphery of society. They aren’t really maligned, are but largely considered to be space-case spazzes). Parents are STRICT there. If Otto von B squared off with them, he be known less as The Iron Chancellor as the Lily Daffodil Moustachioed Weeper. Profoundly strict parenting–especially outside of the homeland. But if you survive the Spartan wrath a lot of these rites of passage (like getting bombed underage or the second you go to school) that are taken for granted and as practically civil rights don’t seem important.
My immigrant mothers is frequently amazed at:
A) The license given to kids by parents
B) What kids do with that
C) The lack of connection people seem to see in giving kids 99.9 per cent and the sense of greedy ownership that kids have over the rest of that pie that they didn’t even bake.
D) Why do you need copious amounts of booze so damned much? Especially if you’re a teenager? Go do your homework and at some later date, if I feel like it, we’ll have a little something while my eye is on you.
I generally agree with her, even if my position is somewhat more mollified than hers. Can’t drink when you’re this age? Drink at that age. This isn’t like someone preventing to vote for your entire life, it’s a drink. I hate that kids get sent to the war, but I also kind of hate it when drag other people’s sacrifices–weather by choice or through duress–as a reason to bolster their own indulgence advocacy arguments. I understand the point being made, but I also find it kind of crass when some lazy teenager uses the potential of conflict to transform himself into a noble soldier. Since we know full well hardly any of them will have the call of duty, it strikes me as cheap to use the danger and sacrifice of others as some kind of universal banner in a bid for liquor.
haha can’t believe he’s only 19… guess I’m older than him O.o
So how about, if you join the military, then you can use your military ID, and drink before you’re 21!
We would have the biggest army in the free world…
Gold!
While the majority of your body such as your lungs mature by the time you are 18, your brain doesn’t actually reach a fully developed point til it is 21.
Some laws in the U.S. actually exists in place to help you.
*Note I’m in the Army and I think it would be stupid to let 18 year olds drink.
I think its quite incredible you can go to university or college and not be legally allowed to drink over there!
If we changed the law, and allowed 18 year-olds to legally buy alcohol, what positive effect would that have on society?
I do not want to go to a bar and see high schoolers drinking.
sorry, I know everyone drinks before 21 (I did) but there is no way in hell I would want to be out in downtown SD and go inside and drink with some 18 year olds. Let it alone…it’s something to look forward to when you are 21…almost like a right of passage. When you are 16 you can drive, 18 you are legally an adult, and 21 you can go out drinking. Even though people are still immature at 21, there is a huge difference between an 18 year old and someone who is 21.