Acoholism in Urban Communities

Yesterday I saw a homeless man passed out on the street, with a half empty bottle of Hennessey spilling all him. This guy didn’t wake up for a few hours. The next time I saw him, he was at a septa train station, with the same clothes on and the same bottle of Hennessey in one hand and an empty cup in the other hand asking for change. This highly perturbed me, but the worst part was that neither he nor anyone else seemed to think there was anything wrong with it. This was literally on my mind all day, but I tried to ignore it and just went on to take care of my business for the day. Later that week, a buddy of mine and I were walking long Germantown Ave. near where I live, and I made a very enlightening discovery. I discovered that literally with in a half a mile radius, there are three places to buy and consume alcohol. I understand if we were in center city, or something of that nature, but we are in a run down, dilapidated residential area. Hoping it was just a coincidence, I went to some of the rural areas- the top of Germantown Ave, Willow Grove, and Bucks County- and I found that there aren’t nearly as many liquor stores in the residential communities. So, I came up with the conclusion that the liquor stores are strategically placed in the urban communities, designed to promote alcoholism amongst minorities.

            Studies show that 50% of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related. Growing up without a dad because, he could not control the drinking, then turned to physically abusing my mom. She was forced to leave. Likewise, how many fathers do you see lying on the streets passed out, no care in the world, no job and no desire to better themselves. On the contrary, alcohol is also seen as an anti-depressant. So now you have an addictive stress reliever, that’s easily accessible by a community of people who suffer from mental oppression. Most who suffer from alcoholism to the extreme usually begin to look for other ways to curve this appetite and need to feel inebriated in some way, form or fashion, that the in turn go on the other types of drugs, like marijuana, crack cocaine, or even heroine. Anything to ease the pain, of an otherwise painful reality, from which there seems no relief.

            Now, I guess from a business aspect, this may seem like a gold mine. You have a whole group of individuals who are searching for a way out (even if only mental) and willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Mostly the reason, that these places are in place, is because it’s good for business. If I were selling Girl Scout cookies in a place where, cookies were their ideal snack, I would make a fortune. It’s the same concept. Alcohol companies, make a large chunk of their profit from urban communities. In fact, some conspiracies would suggest, that the placement of alcohol in urban areas, is indeed strategic, designed to keep the minorities in that same place. Another simple reason that companies choose urban areas to set up shot for liquor stores, is because they know that no one in that area is going to contest having them there. If fact, most would actually welcome them to move into the community. If you invited me to a place where I knew I would make a fortune, but didn’t really have to do much work, I indeed would do the same thing. Move right on in.

            Though most people don’t really see a problem with alcoholism in urban communities, I have to differ. I would agree with most conseprisist, that alcoholism in urban areas is strategic. I could see if, when I went to the other areas, it was the same, but it wasn’t. Actually it was noticeable different. The rural communities were very community focused, and family oriented. Urban communities and the people in it, have enough to contend with in the day to struggle to get by, and it doesn’t help having a depressant, antidepressant polluting the neighborhoods. It’s truly an oxymoron. You take away the mind of the individual, and you can do anything to that person and the people around them that you want. What happens is, the person who cannot control himself then begins to act out and brings down the value of the neighborhood and makes people not feel safe in their own communities. It destroys families, breaks communities, and sets a negative example to the you in the area, making them feel that they really have no way out.