Wowsers’ Warnings Wave a Wet Blanket Over Alcohol Sales During the Crisis
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Wowsers and control freaks are crawling out from behind the couch like never before, during this coronavirus global pandemic. The idea of being able to censor and limit the behaviour of human beings en masse appeals to certain sections of our society. The latest hobby horse is the reported increase in alcohol sales in Australia during this COVID-19 crisis. The ABC reported that health advocates are urging the government to crack down on alcohol sales. So called experts are bobbing up like bath toys in a full tub with suggested policies for limiting the sales of alcohol across the board. Brandishing the risk to vulnerable members of the community from alcohol fuelled domestic violence, these talking heads want strict controls on the quantity of booze sold to individual customers during this crisis. These wowsers’ warnings wave a wet blanket over alcohol sales during the crisis and we should all beware.
Many of the Netflix Offerings Only Watchable With a Skinful
Social distancing policies have grounded many of us in cities and towns across Australia. We are locked down in our homes. Loads of us are suddenly out of work and pondering an uncertain economic future. Will we have a job when this scourge has settled down? Will we still have a viable business to pay the bills? Obviously, a considerable percentage of the population are turning to drink to cope with the crisis. And many of the offerings on Netflix are only watchable with a skinful. It is an understandable response to an unprecedented situation. Ultimately, getting drunk is not a sustainable strategy for dealing with this global pandemic but citizens should be allowed to come to this understanding themselves. Wowsers, who have had the Australian cultural predilection for boozing in their disapproving sights for years, are seizing the opportunity to grab some airtime on networks looking for any and every scrap of coronavirus content.
Blanket Rules Are Not the Solution
Prohibition has been a pipe dream for these tight-lipped folks for eons. Perhaps today is the day that the self-righteous will march down Pitt Street, if gatherings of more than two people were not an illegal crowd in public that is? Now, I must declare that I am a teetotaller, a committed non-drinker of alcohol and a reformed boozer to boot. My name is _______ and I am an alcoholic. Hi _________. However, I abhor do-gooders foisting their censorious controls upon the general public. Blanket rules are not the solution to problems effecting smaller sections of society. Tag abusers, if you like, and limit their purchases of alcohol but do not burden the entire community with your suffocating wet blanket. Why must the great majority always bear the burden for the minority of fuck ups?
People will come around to the right way of doing things without a host of new laws to force them to do so. It is wise to remember that instigating new laws and legislation is much easier than repealing these laws later on. The digital age has already seen the emergence of a far more controlled civilisation in the 21C. So, let us not pile further knee jerk reactions upon a world surveilled by social media and spy agencies.These wowsers’ warnings wave a wet blanket over alcohol sales during the crisis and we should all beware of any actions hastily taken on this score.
Update in WA – Premier Mark McGowan has limited the amount of alcohol that West Australians can purchase from their bottleshops, 3 bottles of wine per person; 1 carton of beer or premixed drinks; 1 litre of spirits; or 1 litre of fortified wine. Customers can purchase within 2 of these categories listed above.
©Robert Hamilton
