[zelphirkalt]

That is a weird comparison. No one is forcing you to drink alcohol, but you might be forced to drive to the office. One is avoidable, the other one is not. Or if you want to be even more precise: One is easily avoidable and the other might cost you your job.

[chucksta]

No one is forcing you to drive to work either. Many people in don't even have a license, yet make it to work each day. You even said it, "might be forced" meaning there are possibilities in which you aren't.

[avgcorrection]

Cue we get into the weeds bickering over the analogy for the rest of the thread.

[pnt12]

If you live outside the city, you basically are. In my home town, transportation is limited, eg a bus in the morning and one in the afternoon, both which can be late, and the stops are kilometers apart and the sidewalks are shitty. So when I'm there, I take my car everywhere, as does everyone else.

But when I lived in a big city, the opposite happened: parking was expensive and the traffic sucked, so I always took the bus and subway.

Let's not make blank statements about transportation, as it differs so much from one place from another.

[soperj]

Still aren't forced to drive. Walk, bike, catch an earlier bus etc.

[chucksta]

No one is forcing you to work either

[thebean11]

How is that relevant? If you want change it to "no amount of driving to the bowling alley is safe".

[zelphirkalt]

I have seen many people use such comparisions, which do not match up, to justify unhealthy behavior for themselves, shutting themselves out from proper reasoning. That is how it is relevant. I am saying: Do not fool yourself using such arguments.

Also the comparison you now brought up is again not a good argument: It doesn't matter, whether there are unnecessary rides. The argument is, that there are mandatory ones for people, while there is no mandatory thing that forces you to drink alcohol. Or at least there should not be and in reality there are probably very few.

[thebean11]

Sure there are mandatory rides, but the argument doesn't hinge on those..you can consider only nonessential rides, and drinking. Both are totally optional, what is your issue with that comparison?

[zelphirkalt]

I have no issue with the comparison of nonessential rides. I want to note though, that the original argument was plainly about "pulling out of your driveway".

So if one does nonessential rides only, then yes, the comparison might work. I think that is quite a special case of a situation though, which I cannot simply interpret into what the original argument said. I mean, I am not here to interpret a working version into something, that in its generality does not work as a comparison. I rather read things as they are written and try not to add things.

We could speculate about how many people use a car mostly to be able to get to the location of work or how many people use a car for essential reasons. We are getting further away from the actual matter of discussion though, which is drinking alcohol and that not being requried at all.

[thebean11]

> So if one does nonessential rides only, then yes, the comparison might work.

I disagree. Just like alcohol can be eliminated from your diet, nonessential rides can be eliminated without eliminated essential ones. It doesn't matter what you mostly use a car for, it's totally irrelevant.

[lmm]

Driving is absolutely avoidable. Being willing to drive might help you get a better job - but so might being willing to drink.

(Far more importantly, drinking is actually enjoyable, whereas commute-style driving is a chore. Considering a job to be somehow more important than a social occasion is putting the cart before the horse)