Always struck me as odd. We would not encourage an alcoholism positivity movement.
Sure we would. James Bond movies? Frat parties?
To some extent American culture does glorify binge drinking, but I don't think the same is true of alcoholism. People brag about how much they drank at the party last night, but they feel shame about starting the morning with a few drinks.
I’d consider calling it “odd” to be an understatement. I always thought such extreme positions were a bizarre denial of the negative impacts that obesity can have on personal well-being and quality of life. Having said that, I only ever encountered such views on the Internet; never in real life.