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Comment by chollida1 | Hacker News Reader

> Alcohol-centric social interaction is another form of exclusion.

I get that, it also happens to be a very popular form of socializing with many people.

To be fair to your point, you can replace alcohol-centric, with bowling, concerts, sporting events, lunch and every single other form of socializing and you can say its a form of exclusion as I can guarantee that no matter what form of socializing you pick I can find someone who it makes uncomfortable.

Honestly sometimes I think the pendulum has swung too far back the other way to inclusion that we are actually exuding people by trying to be all thing to all people and not offending people.

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I think the point is to recognize that some people, like the person you are replying to, my have an issue with drinking as a social activity. Not that you shouldn't have that as an option, but you should be aware if someone in the group is made uncomfortable by that.

Speaking to your point though, I have a friend who - no joke - hates bowling. Like, he gets violently angry when we suggested going bowling and said he'd rather sit in the car by himself if we went. Some people...

> Speaking to your point though, I have a friend who - no joke - hates bowling. Like, he gets violently angry when we

> suggested going bowling and said he'd rather sit in the car by himself if we went. Some people...

I'm one of those people.

> Speaking to your point though, I have a friend who - no joke - hates bowling. Like, he gets violently angry when we suggested going bowling and said he'd rather sit in the car by himself if we went. Some people...

What a shitlord. You should have gone bowling and let him sit in the car like an angry 5 year old. If he can't "take one for the team" and at least just have a beer and talk while everyone else bowls, fuck him.

The problem with alcohol is that it is nigh-omnipresent and in many places it is so integrated into the culture that yes, you are automatically excluded if you don't drink. This is different from bowling night because you probably don't bowl AT work, and you probably don't bowl at every single outside-of-work socialization.

Inclusion suggests exclusion. You can't have one without the other. Thus, social interactions always do both.

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