Couldn't agree more. I've been asked countless times why I don't drink, especially in the first year of university, and it always seemed odd to me that people even needed an answer. I'm not talking about people just making conversation or asking out of curiosity, but a vocal minority seem to make some sort of character judgement based on your sobriety if they're not satisfied by your response.
>I've been asked countless times why I don't drink [...] and it always seemed odd to me that people even needed an answer. [...] a vocal minority seem to make some sort of character judgement based on your sobriety if they're not satisfied by your response.
Whenever some asks me that, I just confidently tell them I'm pregnant while caressing my belly (I'm a dude), then everyone bursts into laughter, then we change topic.
Learning to divert useless criticism from trolls with humor and confidence, instead of feeling offended and starting an argument to defend my lifestyle choices, is one of the most valuable life skills I learned and has gotten me into places beyond my social status.
To be literal about it, it's because drinking is the default position, in the UK. The average person drinks. I'm an American and no stranger to drinking, but even for me, living there (in the late 2000s) there seemed to be a greater assumption amongst the people around me (with the huge exception of the many Muslim people) that everyone drank.
I'm not a big drinker at all (probably less than 4 alcoholic drinks a year), but I don't think sobriety is the default or even really the norm for most civilizations/societies. Alcohol especially is a social lubricant which is useful for meeting new people when you're younger and other countries drink beer and wine as a bigger part of their culture/tradition/socialization--but they also tend to drink less excessively than Americans. It's also a way for people to celebrate and blow off steam at the end of the week. I think alcohol has always had a huge place in society and I don't think sobriety is the default for most people--even if I don't personally enjoy it that much.
Or rather, because their tax revenue is suffering: "Taxes on alcohol accounted for 1.7% of Japan’s tax revenue in 2020, down from 3% in 2011 and 5% in 1980." [0]