Alcoholic Bastards

I have no idea who George Best is. I am, however, getting sick of people using the label 'alcoholic' in much the same way they'd use the words 'complete bastard'. Yeah, it sucks that he didn't take advantage of the second opportunity that was given to him with the liver replacement, and maybe, whoever George Best is, he could have tried harder. From what I understand, he had a family and a good deal to live for – every reason to fight. Maybe he could have tried harder.

But alcoholism is a disease, and to be honest, I have very little patience with anybody that says otherwise. Science says it's a disease, and unless you're a religious nut that still insists that it's turtles all the way down (in which case you're excused) you're not allowed to ignore science. So when you're calling someone an alcoholic, try not to make it sound like they're dirty in some way. They're ill. Some may be complete bastards as well as being alcoholics, but the two are not necessarily tied together in any way. The fact that a person's a bastard makes them so; the fact that they're an alcoholic just makes them ill.

Here goes.

I'm not an alcoholic. A few I've lived with would tell you otherwise. If I knew I had a rough day coming up I would have more than a shot of vodka with breakfast, and when the morning inevitably went disastrously I would come home and drink myself silly over lunch. My binges would never last more than 3-4 days, and I never developed a physical dependence. I did end up with a bit of an inconvenient tolerance and I was not fully in control. But alcoholism was not my problem, it was only ever a symptom of other problems, and when it got to the point that I felt I needed an alternative I found one with relative ease. It was equally as unhealthy and solved possibly even less than the alcohol, but at least I am now able to drink socially.

Not an alcoholic. But it scares me that I took those few steps along that path, or parallel to that path, and it was, as others have said before me, an unimaginable hell. Alcoholism isn't even a recognised diagnosis anymore. I've been writing about it like it is, but the problems relating to alcohol are really far more complicated than that. Correspondingly, it should be more complicated than just pinning a label to someone, but that's what I'm seeing everywhere George Best is getting mentioned.

Sexist remarks, racist remarks, homophobic remarks - we all get up in arms. Prejudiced, ignorant, and abusive remarks about alcoholics – and I'm left to worry that I'm the only one sitting here feeling uncomfortable.

Please, no more Asshole just wasted another liver.

Rather, Damn, alcoholism just got another one. Poor bastard.