# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/61 "2018-07-10T16:03:52Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Man, I need a drink! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1iAYhQsQhSY/maxresdefault.jpg "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - S.O.B. (Official)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY) ---
**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, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/62 "2018-07-10T16:15:28Z")
> [@txjim](#): > > Do you have blue eyes? Why, yes, yes I do. And I am white. ---
**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, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/63 "2018-07-10T16:16:32Z")
[quote=“Gatopescado, post:61, topic:817620”] [/QUOTE] Nice! ---
**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, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/64 "2018-07-10T16:20:43Z")
Drinking is highly under-rated. Just sayin’. … ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/65 "2018-07-10T16:47:08Z")
> [@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. …And you posted _this_?! > [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > I think this post belongs in general questions but I’m pretty sure white folks gonna trip so here it is. If a moderator disagrees, please put in general questions folder (I prefer it there). Anyway, while putting together a bunch of cites for a post in the [BBQ Pit](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=858382), it dawned me that many (though not all) of these instances of racism occur when white folks consume alcohol. I punched in a few words in Google and found this fascinating, peer-reviewed paper that shows a link between [blue eyes and alcoholism](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25921801)([Here](https://globalnews.ca/news/2090085/new-study-points-to-link-between-blue-eyes-alcoholism/) is a news article for us layman). I know. 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. That’s nuts, but it isn’t nuts if blue-eyed folks in a blue-eyed State have a predisposition alcoholism. Could this be why prohibition failed so violently? Harriet Tubman didn’t do what Al Capone did (and slavery was much, much worse than prohibition). Historically, this makes sense, right? Alcohol is made of grains. White folks have only been consuming distilled grains for a few hundred years. This is a wild-ass guess, of course. Could someone please parse the paper? No arm-chair biologists, please. I’m already one. > > (Before ya’ll trip, I am not suggesting white folks are all alcoholics. Thanks) So to start, a handful of racist incidents occurred under the influence of alcohol. Then you found a paper that found that people with blue eyes are slightly more likely to become alcoholics. And then you jumped from there to… …I don’t even know how to describe that mess. Prohibition failed because demand for drugs is largely inelastic and laws prohibiting a drug anyone can brew up in their bathtub from common food ingredients are pretty much completely impossible to enforce in any meaningful way. Meanwhile it was a huge boon to organized crime and it became clear (although not nearly quickly enough) that these laws were a colossal failure. Not because of white people desperately needing their booze, or whatever it is you’re vaguely implying. :rolleyes: And the comparisons to slavery are just complete nonsense. Like… what are you even talking about? ---
**Author:** ![backsidejohnny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/backsidejohnny/32/280_2.png) [@backsidejohnny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/backsidejohnny)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/66 "2018-07-10T17:29:43Z")
> [@Huey\_Freeman](#): > > (emphasis mine) > > Nah, I’m straight. Feel free to move along. Thanks. So you’re straight. What does that have to do with your OP, **Roderick Femm’s** post or anything else? ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/67 "2018-07-10T17:34:10Z")
As every one seems to have missed this, blue eyes and light colored skin arrived in Europe 1000’s of years apart and they are not related at all. In fact blue eyes existed for at least 5000 years before the steppe pastoralists invaded bringing lighter skin shades. > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. The entire rise of agriculture is probably closely tied to beer making, > **[1600-year-old evidence of beer brewing in Sweden](https://sciencenordic.com/archaeology-forskningno-society--culture/1600-year-old-evidence-of-beer-brewing-in-sweden/1456988)** > > And there’s every reason to believe that people in the Nordic countries have been brewing beer much longer than that. But remember that our “races” are also social constructs that are poorly defined and not backed by any real biological basis. Our concept of race is a cultural phenomenon, with very real implications for those who do not have the prefered admixtures. When making any claim that uses ‘race’ as a justifier that doesn’t depend primarily on cultural and socioeconomic causes you will have a very high standard of evidence to meet as there is no biological basis for our concept of ‘race’. (once again the effects are real, just like money which is also a social construct). ---
**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, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/68 "2018-07-10T17:39:51Z")
A sushi restaurant we like is BYOB. Once our waiter commented on the wine we were drinking (a pretty label or something). I offered him a taste, but he declined, saying, “No thank you. Chinese people do not drink wine”. It was kind of strange for him to speak for an entire people, but who was I to argue. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/69 "2018-07-10T17:58:52Z")
That is strange. Especially if he was Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/70 "2018-07-10T18:01:41Z")
My Go-To sushi guys are Mexican. ---
**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, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/71 "2018-07-10T18:22:37Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > That is strange. Especially if he was Japanese. 😃 It’s a sushi place owned and operated by Chinese peeps. Sushi Boat for two, with soup and salad $60. BYOB with no corkage fee. WooHoooo!!! ETA: sorry about the hijack, I’m drunk. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/72 "2018-07-10T18:36:46Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > That is strange. Especially if he was Japanese. Most of the Japanese eating places around where I live are owned/run by Koreans. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/73 "2018-07-10T18:52:46Z")
If a Korean restaurant serves ribs and calls itself Seoul Food, is that cultural appropriation? Even they don’t have a liquor license? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/74 "2018-07-10T18:55:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A sushi restaurant we like is BYOB. Once our waiter commented on the wine we were drinking (a pretty label or something). I offered him a taste, but he declined, saying, “No thank you. Chinese people do not drink wine”. > > It was kind of strange for him to speak for an entire people, but who was I to argue. I used to work with a youth group, and the kids were predominantly Chinese-American. One of the kids aged into a leadership role, and when we adults were out and were enjoying adult beverages, he always declined. He said he was “allergic” to alcohol, and that most Asians were, as well. I never investigated, but I suppose there may be some percentage of the Asian population that cannot handle alcohol. Your waiter is maybe also “allergic” and may assume his issues are more universal than they actually are. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/75 "2018-07-10T19:09:25Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I used to work with a youth group, and the kids were predominantly Chinese-American. One of the kids aged into a leadership role, and when we adults were out and were enjoying adult beverages, he always declined. He said he was “allergic” to alcohol, and that most Asians were, as well. I never investigated, but I suppose there may be some percentage of the Asian population that cannot handle alcohol. Your waiter is maybe also “allergic” and may assume his issues are more universal than they actually are. I think he is making up that “most Asians are, as well”. That makes no sense. Ever been drinking with people from Japan? Some of them can really drink you under the table, if you’re not careful. ---
**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, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/76 "2018-07-10T19:30:34Z")
> [@gtyj](#): > > I think he is making up that “most Asians are, as well”. That makes no sense. Ever been drinking with people from Japan? Some of them can really drink you under the table, if you’re not careful. It’s actually a [real thing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction) with East Asian populations primarily( it seems to have originated in Chinese populations ). It is just not universal and the impact varies depending on the exact genetics. My Chinese sister-in-law can’t have more than a drink or two without flushing bright red and she always sticks to small amounts of relatively weak plum wine to avoid any further adverse effects. One of her half-Caucasian daughters is similarly vulnerable to booze( though a bit less so ). ---
**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, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/77 "2018-07-10T19:45:02Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > 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). No actually, I’m talking about distillation. Simple fermentation has been proven in China in 7000 BCE. They started distilling around 0 CE I’m away from my books right now so I’ll just link to a [wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_alcoholic_drinks) article. I really don’t know where you are getting your info from. Most alchemists were preforming simple distillation throughout the dark ages and like i said earlier there were published treisties on water distillation around 200 CE. The creation of distilled spirits isn’t complicated I’m not sure why you think it took so long. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/78 "2018-07-10T19:51:59Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Yeah, but that’s fermented, not distilled. Distillation allows a concentration of alcohol that can’t be achieved by fermentation. There’s a reason why prohibitionists railed against demon rum, not demon lager. > > That said, I’m having some trouble following along, possibly due to the multiple gimlets I’ve drunk, with my brown eyes and red hair. There are distilled liquors that don’t come from grains. Brandy is distilled from wine, rum comes from sugar cane, and vodka can be distilled from potatoes (and some other non-grain sources). ---
**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, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/79 "2018-07-10T20:10:44Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > They started distilling around 0 CE I’m away from my books right now so I’ll just link to a [wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_alcoholic_drinks) article. If you find them I’d be curious. But the above cite does not back you up. I’ve seen no cites yet that claim _true distillation_ of alcoholic beverages had been firmly established prior to the 12th century in China. Here’s the wiki on [alcohol in China](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_drinks_in_China#History) ( actually on double-checking the exact same cite is used in your wider wiki article ): _Distillation may have been practiced in China as early as the later Han but the earliest evidence so far discovered has been dated to the Jin and Southern Song._ > [@](#): > > Most alchemists were preforming simple distillation throughout the dark ages and like i said earlier there were published treisties on water distillation around 200 CE. The creation of distilled spirits isn’t complicated I’m not sure why you think it took so long. We’re talking here about the widespread distribution and consumption of distilled _alcoholic beverages_. Not when distillation as a technique was first discovered. ---
**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, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620/80 "2018-07-10T20:18:08Z")
Too late to edit: I should reiterate that this is just our normal SDMB pedantry on both our parts, because I don’t think that there is anything especially profoundly different about distilled spirits. Wine will get you just as drunk, you don’t need whiskey. I had just been noting above that the OP was approximately correct on the that one minor point. Certainly in Europe, land of the blue-eyes caucasians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620.md?page=5)