# White folks and alcholism **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 9, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620 "2018-07-09T23:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/41 "2018-07-10T05:04:26Z")
> [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > Nah, bruh. I was expecting someone with a science background to talk about GABA receptors, to talk about the pigments in the eye, to talk about how these could be related, to talk about how, if anything, can alcohol interact with any of these things. I had hoped that someone could read the article (I do not have access) and fight my ignorance. The only person who kind of scratched the surface was **DSeid**. I agree with the poster that this is preliminary work. You (and others) are free to rebut all you like. I’ll read your views, consider them, but unless you’re going to give me some science, I’m not gonna respond. Thanks. Then your thread probably would have been better in General Questions, without all the controversial baggage. But you mentioned this stuff in Great Debates, so you’re kinda expected to debate those topics you brought up. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/42 "2018-07-10T05:48:34Z")
> [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > I realize now that this topic is way, way, way above the paygrade of the posters here. Wait a minute! We get paid for posting? I remember when we had to pay to post. Now we’re the ones getting paid? Why was I not informed of this? Boy, someone’s gonna owe me for 12 years of posting. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/43 "2018-07-10T06:20:09Z")
I can’t wait for the OP’s next post about how melanin gives you superpowers and psychic abilities, and how white folks are mutant albinos. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/44 "2018-07-10T06:37:37Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/45 "2018-07-10T07:17:05Z")
> [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > Nah, bruh. I was expecting someone with a science background to talk about GABA receptors, to talk about the pigments in the eye, to talk about how these could be related, to talk about how, if anything, can alcohol interact with any of these things. I had hoped that someone could read the article (I do not have access) and fight my ignorance. The only person who kind of scratched the surface was **DSeid**. I agree with the poster that this is preliminary work. You (and others) are free to rebut all you like. I’ll read your views, consider them, but unless you’re going to give me some science, I’m not gonna respond. Thanks. I think it is entirely possible that certain human populations may share genes which can express themselves in undesirable ways under certain environmental conditions. Those populations may even share very distinctive outward appearance such as eye, hair or skin colour. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/46 "2018-07-10T07:19:11Z")
> **[Urban Dictionary: p-hacking](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=p-hacking)** > > Exploiting –perhaps unconsciously - researcher degrees of freedom until p\<.05. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/47 "2018-07-10T07:26:12Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > My Rand McNally is out of date. It doesn’t identify these “white folk states”. [Wrong guidebook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book). 😉 in case that wasn’t obvious. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/48 "2018-07-10T07:39:43Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Not that many people have blue eyes. I bet there’s more black americans than blue eyed americans. [At most 17%](https://www.colorcombos.com/blog/eye-color-trends-in-the-united-states) have blue eyes (this used to be as high as 50% in 1900, 35%, as recently as 1950 - “[white genocide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_genocide_conspiracy_theory)” is taking longer than ignorance fighting, apparently.). That article isn’t dated, but the use of “turn of the century” makes me think it’s at least a decade old, so I imagine it’s less than 17% now. 12.7% of Americans are African-American, plus whatever other Black Americans there are. Miller gave numbers for Whites but their numbers ignore the number of AAs and Asian-Americans with blue eyes - not a high percentage, but should be counted. I think it’s close, but I’d still bet there’s more blue-eyed Americans than Black ones. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/49 "2018-07-10T10:45:22Z")
> [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > (Before ya’ll trip, I am not suggesting white folks are all alcoholics. Thanks) You’re implying Crystal Gayle became an alcoholic. ---
**Author:** ![Huey\_Freeman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/huey_freeman/32/251_2.png) [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/50 "2018-07-10T11:42:55Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > **Yes, the OP is actually quite correct that grain distillation is relatively recent - more several hundred years than a few hundred, but close enough.** > > However I don’t think that strength of spirits is necessarily all that relevant in terms of intoxication and violence. Alexander the Great did just fine as a homicidal maniac( literally killing his own officers in a drunken rage )with primarily wine at his disposal. So did a billion other ancient alcoholics - the Middle Ages was practically a primer on why drunken teenagers shouldn’t be in charge of anything. Spirits just allows you to get drunk quicker. > > A genetic predisposition of blue-eyed people to alcoholism would be interesting, and certainly alcohol as a disinhibitor is responsible for amplifying all sorts of stupid behavior. However any impact on racist violence would have to be pretty infinitesimal statistically. If it were a real impact the OP should rejoice 🙂 - the proportion of blue-eyed caucasians born in the United States has been dropping steadily for decades. From ~57% in 1900 to ~17% in 2002. (emphasis mine) Could you repeat this again but a bit louder? I have a strong suspicion they’ll believe you over me. Otherwise, thanks for your post. I appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/51 "2018-07-10T12:07:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > You’re implying Crystal Gayle became an alcoholic. But the cause there was infidelity, not racism. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/52 "2018-07-10T12:14:03Z")
Man, I need a drink! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/53 "2018-07-10T12:25:20Z")
Prohibition actually succeeded in markedly cutting down on drinking (and “alcholism”) in America. Its biggest failure was not being able to withstand the demand for municipal revenue from booze taxes, once the Depression hit. Otherwise it probably would’ve lasted considerably longer, despite the sizable and noisy minority who hated it, and the boost it gave to organized crime. ---
**Author:** ![Bonzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/838e76/32.png) [@Bonzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonzi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/54 "2018-07-10T12:29:11Z")
Maybe it’s because of sunlight sensitivity? OR, maybe it’s because many WASPS live in Wisconsin (cold and boring… what else is there to do)? In any event. they probably don’t drink Colt 45 ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/55 "2018-07-10T12:37:11Z")
> [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > This is some scary ass, uncomfortable shit. You have some white folk states like Wisconsin where you can have your[8th or 9th DUI](https://www.stangllaw.com/blog/new-laws-for-7th-offense-8th-offense-and-9th-offense-owi-in-wisconsin-how-to-defend-your-case) and still get a vehicle. [**How do Wisconsin Penalties Differ from other States?**](https://www.nglawyers.com/blog/2014/01/are-wisconsin-drunk-driving-laws-more-lenient-than-other-states.shtml) > [@](#): > > Whether Wisconsin drunk driving penalties are less harsh than other states is really a matter or opinion. For example, Wisconsin first time OWI offenders have their licenses suspended for six months (generally). Other states do not require a license suspension for first time offenders. > > Many assume that the high number of OWI offenses must be due to the laws that govern drunk driving penalties. But this is mistaking correlation for causation. Your post contains several distorted facts and some outright nonsense. Oh, and writing the author only verifies that he, in fact, said something, not that what he said was necessarily true. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/56 "2018-07-10T13:05:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > There’s about 246,000,000 white people in America. About one in three have blue eyes, which is about 82,000,000. There’s about 75,000,000 African Americans. So, not quite. Both of the latter two numbers are very inflated. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/57 "2018-07-10T13:14:58Z")
“The spice Melange It’s so cinnamon-sweet I put it on 'most everything I eat It’s addictive too And don’t it make my brown eyes blue…” -Tom Smith ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/58 "2018-07-10T13:21:17Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yes, the OP is actually quite correct that grain distillation is relatively recent - more several hundred years than a few hundred, but close enough. I guess it depends on how you define several hundred but there is lots of evidence of distillation in Egypt in the second century CE and they were a beer drinking culture so it is probable that grain distillation is coming up on 2000 years. Depending on how you define grain the Chinese developed distillation during right around 0 CE but they were distilling rice wines which you may not choose to count. There was a long lag between wine and beer development and seed spirits but unless you’re being incredibly generous with several hundred the OP is just wrong about spirits. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/59 "2018-07-10T13:54:16Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Man, I need a drink! Do you have blue eyes? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/60 "2018-07-10T15:55:55Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > I guess it depends on how you define several hundred but there is lots of evidence of distillation in Egypt in the second century CE and they were a beer drinking culture so it is probable that grain distillation is coming up on 2000 years. As noted above that’s simple _fermentation_ which is as old as the hills, not distillation which is a distinct method of producing spirits. It’s a bit murky, but _widespread_ distillation of alcohol in Europe and Asia doesn’t seem to reach back earlier than the 12th century and depending on your definition of widespread we may be talking more like the 14th-15th. See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor#True_distillation). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620.md?page=4)