just me wrote:keithb, a hearty congratulations! I partook of my first alcoholic beverage about three months ago...at the tender age of 34. I feel like I finally own myself....own my choices and actions. I no longer blindly follow the arbitrary rules made up by elderly white men.
I'll never know what kind of person I could have become, the potential I could have realized, had I taken my first sip on my 21st birthday. Without the influence of the LDS church I could have believed myself to be more than just a uterus waiting to give birth and raise babies. I could have finished college and had a lot of fun socializing at parties. I could have become independent.
That's another sad reality of Mormon culture: the level of control exerted over women in the church. I hear a lot of regret from other women I have have talked to who missed out on a lot of social and educational experiences in life because of conformance to the faith.
"Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, dumb-dumb-dumb-dumb-dumb" -South Park
I have a problem with people making comments that give the impression that being Mormon/TBM is the healthiest and safest and best way to live life. I just think it is so ridiculous that Mormons are scared into thinking that if they drink a sip of alcohol they will become a wife beater...or a prostitute or a rapist or a drug dealer or a murderer. It's the same black and white thinking. Everything is righteous OR evil. You are either good or bad. People who aren't members are wicked, prideful, scary, or whatever.
The FACT is that many Mormons are abusive or being abused by other Mormons. Sexual abuse is not absent from the membership of the LDS church. Physical abuse.....including wife beating...is not absent from the membership of the LDS church. Emotional, mental and spiritual abuse is not absent from the membership of the LDS church. Many temple recommend holding members of the church are abusers. They may not drink alcohol, but that doesn't stop the abuse.
Being a tee-totaler does not make you a good, happy healthy person. Being a heavy or moderate or occasional drinker does not make you a wicked, evil, abusive, degenerate person.
The reverse is also true.
In the end, for NOMs and exMos, it isn't really about the alcohol. It is about growing up and taking responsibility for ones own life and choices. It's liberating. It's scary. It is becoming independent.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
just me wrote:Being a heavy or moderate or occasional drinker does not make you a wicked, evil, abusive, degenerate person.
The reverse is also true.
In the end, for NOMs and exMos, it isn't really about the alcohol. It is about growing up and taking responsibility for ones own life and choices. It's liberating. It's scary. It is becoming independent.
You just didn't get it. Alcohol is a major reason for domestic violence. This is not my opinion but the World Health Organization's. For many societies, they would be much more healthier if the vast majority of the population did not drink alcohol. And that was my point.
There are many people today in AA hoping to break the habit of alcohol. Drinking is not fun for them.
I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world. Joseph Smith We are “to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all…” Joseph Smith
just me wrote:.... I'll never know what kind of person I could have become, the potential I could have realized, had I taken my first sip on my 21st birthday. Without the influence of the LDS church I could have believed myself to be more than just a uterus waiting to give birth and raise babies. I could have finished college and had a lot of fun socializing at parties. I could have become independent.
You still can. You probably are already involved in the process.
just me wrote:.... I'll never know what kind of person I could have become, the potential I could have realized, had I taken my first sip on my 21st birthday. Without the influence of the LDS church I could have believed myself to be more than just a uterus waiting to give birth and raise babies. I could have finished college and had a lot of fun socializing at parties. I could have become independent.
You still can. You probably are already involved in the process.
You made my day. Yep, I'm not dead so I get to break these chains and free myself.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
just me wrote:.... I'll never know what kind of person I could have become, the potential I could have realized, had I taken my first sip on my 21st birthday. Without the influence of the LDS church I could have believed myself to be more than just a uterus waiting to give birth and raise babies. I could have finished college and had a lot of fun socializing at parties. I could have become independent.
Morley wrote:You still can. You probably are already involved in the process.
just me wrote:You made my day. Yep, I'm not dead so I get to break these chains and free myself.
You're smart and self-reflective and resourceful. You have such a great adventure ahead of you: the journey is one of the most difficult and satisfying in the world. I'm sure that many here would agree.
just me wrote:keithb, a hearty congratulations! I partook of my first alcoholic beverage about three months ago...at the tender age of 34. I feel like I finally own myself....own my choices and actions. I no longer blindly follow the arbitrary rules made up by elderly white men.
I'll never know what kind of person I could have become, the potential I could have realized, had I taken my first sip on my 21st birthday. Without the influence of the LDS church I could have believed myself to be more than just a uterus waiting to give birth and raise babies. I could have finished college and had a lot of fun socializing at parties. I could have become independent.
just me wrote:.... I'll never know what kind of person I could have become, the potential I could have realized, had I taken my first sip on my 21st birthday. Without the influence of the LDS church I could have believed myself to be more than just a uterus waiting to give birth and raise babies. I could have finished college and had a lot of fun socializing at parties. I could have become independent.
Morley wrote: You still can. You probably are already involved in the process.
just me wrote: You made my day. Yep, I'm not dead so I get to break these chains and free myself.
'Free at last, free at last. Thank god almighty, I'm free at last' MLK
just me wrote:Being a heavy or moderate or occasional drinker does not make you a wicked, evil, abusive, degenerate person.
The reverse is also true.
In the end, for NOMs and exMos, it isn't really about the alcohol. It is about growing up and taking responsibility for ones own life and choices. It's liberating. It's scary. It is becoming independent.
You just didn't get it. Alcohol is a major reason for domestic violence. This is not my opinion but the World Health Organization's. For many societies, they would be much more healthier if the vast majority of the population did not drink alcohol. And that was my point.
There are many people today in AA hoping to break the habit of alcohol. Drinking is not fun for them.
Yeah and what is your excuse for your divorce and being addicted to PORN?
just me wrote: You made my day. Yep, I'm not dead so I get to break these chains and free myself.
I'm quite sure you've done more along these lines than you might think, too. You've got a great brain and a great sense of humor. You're also keeping you head up even though you've got a lot on your plate: I'm not just talking about Mormon things either, but all the business of everyday life.
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."