pgh-goth-list Digest, Vol 34, Issue 20

[Chris Rapier]

On 6/22/06, Sc'Eric (dj.darkFIN) <darkfin6012 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I may or may not have pointed this out before here--I dont' remember.  But there's an awesome article on XY.com (a gay youth zine) that, in my mind, is dead-on in it's discussion of the downfall of the club-scene in relation to "underage/overage" dilemma.  Their angle is that the drinking age should be lowered, which you may or may not agree with.  But some of the extrapolations that the writer makes regarding club attendance and whatnot are interesting.

Interesting but insupportable in my view. I personally think the
'problem' is that going to a club, like anything else, comes in and
goes out of fashion depending on any number of issues. The club scene
of the 70s basically died an ignominous death and that can't be blamed
on anything as banal as the drinking age.

Also, all ages clubs might be great but damn if you can keep them
running in most places. Turns out that kids just don't want to spend
the money that requires. Also your characteriztaion of the people who
are drinking as somehow caring more about the booze than anything else
and the implication that the kids are better because they just wnat to
have fun for the sake of fun...

Well isn't that contradictory to the premise of the article? If the
kids actually care more about having fun then what does it matter what
the drinking age is? Why would lowering it help things any? If
anything, lowering it would be counter productive because it would put
evil temptation of lameness (aka beer) in front fo them at an even
earlier age and from there reduce their desire to have fun for the
sake of fun.

Also, the implied characterization of the article that people in
England don't get stupid sloppy drunk is laughable. Either they
weren't actually in England or they were too busy making pithy
observations to notice the all of the drunks.