possibly the most tramatic call i've ever taken

[Sliceanddice]

personally i dont think you need to even mention your religion, i would have just said
"I don't drink."
"Why?!!"
"Because i dont drink"
and kept going til the end of time if necessary

[edible_hat]

personally i dont think you need to even mention your religion, i would have just said
"I don't drink."
"Why?!!"
"Because i dont drink"
and kept going til the end of time if necessary

Or take Steve Irwin's answer (according to stand-up comedian Adam Hills, who met him at a party once) - "I don't drink, it makes me a bit mad"

[IT Grunt]

I agree that religion didn't even need to be mentioned. Just a statement that you don't drink is sufficient, there's lots of reasons why people don't drink. True statement, I didn't have any kind of alcoholic drink until I was 28. My reason for it was because my dad didn't drink, and the reason he didn't drink was because my grandfather was an alcoholic. Knowing that the tendency runs in families, dad vowed never to put us through that hell, and he didn't.

Still, over time, curiousity got the best of me, and so I tried one. Found that I liked it, and expanded my horizons a bit. I still keep to a very strict limit. If I'm at a party or just enjoying a cold one at home, 1 mixed drink or 2 bottles of beer is my limit. (I'm a large framed guy, so it takes a bit before I start to feel it.) I enjoy the taste more than anything else, which is why I still drink when I get the opportunity.

At any rate, no one should expect an explanation as to why you don't drink. If they can't accept that you simply don't drink, they are an asshat, like the caller in the OP was.

[crazylegs]

The caller was a complete asshat, not only that a bigoted one as well.

What has shocked me is that your boss only gave you ten minutes to recuperate, I have been management and have had staff in tears after a customer ripped into them, Best Practice is that the member of staff takes as long as they need to get back into work.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I am not sure what offends me more, the badmouthing of your religion or the fact that he "expects" everyone to drink or else they are a loser.

Wow. Suck for everyone!

I am a drinker, but the best way to get tossed out of my house or out of a party I am hosting is to start hassling one of my other guests about what they are or are not drinking. I find that unbelievably offensive. "What kind of loser doesn't drink?" WTF???

[Fawn]

So stupid! I hate people that assume everyone should drink.

I've tried beer and liqour but I don't like it. So I've abstained from it. I'd rather drink pop/soda. In the rare occassion I'll have a small glass of wine for special occassions. I don't like being around drunk people either, I'd rather stay at home.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Or take Steve Irwin's answer
[snip]
"I don't drink, it makes me a bit mad"

Um, what's the worst he could do? Taunt a wild animal?

[HawaiianShirts]

I hear so many people talk about how far America has come in regards to race relations and religious tolerance and all that. Then I go out into American itself, to school, work, shopping, etc. We haven't really made much progress, as evidenced by stories like these.

I have one funny customer story that has to do with Mormons, though. I used to work in a call center taking calls for hundreds of different things. One guy called in on line for free information for some health care plan, and part of our conversation involved this while I was processing part of his request on particularly slow day for the computers...

Caller: Say, where are you anyway?
Me: The call center where I work is in Utah.
Caller: Utah, huh?
Me: Yep.
Caller: Lots o' Mormons out there?
Me: Of course.
Caller: Well, I don't want to talk religion with ya' or nothin', but can you do me a personal favor?
Me: Maybe. What is it?
Caller: Can you ask them to pray for me?
Me: Ask the Mormons to pray for you?
Caller: Yeah. Nothin' in particular. I just need all the prayin' I can get.
Me: ... Uh, sure. I think I can do that.
Caller: Really? Thanks, man. Hey, you're all right.

And then we finished his information request. Nice guy. I just found it funny that he would ask me, simply because I live in Utah, to ask the Mormons (and his tone implied that he thought I would be able to ask ALL of them) to pray for him.

[LizaMarie]

And then we finished his information request. Nice guy. I just found it funny that he would ask me, simply because I live in Utah, to ask the Mormons (and his tone implied that he thought I would be able to ask ALL of them) to pray for him.

That is really, really cute.

[Geek King]

I hear so many people talk about how far America has come in regards to race relations and religious tolerance and all that. Then I go out into American itself, to school, work, shopping, etc. We haven't really made much progress, as evidenced by stories like these.

Hawaiian, I can't even begin to tell you how far we have come compared to just fifty years ago. Go back and look at how John Smith viewed the Native Americans and tell me we haven't come a long way. Look into seperate-but-equal beyond what the schools teach. We tell these stories now because it is no longer the norm, because they are so over the top next to how the rest of society acts.



PS--My current roommate is a Mormon, and we've talked about his religion. The sect that believes in polygamy also believes that the family should be able to care fully for themselves, and all wives and the potential new wife must agree freely to the arrangment, before multiple wives can be taken.

[Emrld]

I personally have found that those who judge others over if they drink or not tend to be the ones that have issues with alcohool themselves. And 8 times out of 10 should remove alcohool from their life.
It bothers me when I go out or even hanging out with friends . . .I don't feel like having a drink for whatever reason . . . and one or more of the people feel that I need to be drinking with them. Unless I am able to say something . . .like I am on medication it will re-act to, or honestly have it be that I will be driving/ operating heavy machinery in a short time they won't let up on me drinking with them. It is almost like they need someone else to be doing the same thing they are for it to be ok . . . and they really want that glass or four of wine. (which if you have to have someone drink with you - ummm that is the red flag that says you shouldn't drink)
It really doesn't matter why Smileyeagle1021 choses not to drink . . .that is a personal choice that eveyone has to make for themselves. I do give you a standing ovation for making your choice and being proud of the decision and the reason.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

See, you shouldn't even feel you have to explain yourself. They should just respect your "no."

I had a wanker hassling the designated freaking drivers at a party I had over here. I said "One more word out of you and I will call a taxi and see you leave in it, you understand?"

That guy was not invited back. And you're right, it's people like this that have no business drinking in the first place because they have an issue with it.

GAAAAAH this is a huge pet peeve of mine!

[JustADude]

Ouch. That guy was just... urg. How farking ignorant can one asshole get?

As someone who has to answer "Complicated" whenever someone asks me what my religion is, I know the feeling of people giving you the look when you mention your beliefs to them, even when they bring the subject up to you. Just because I, personally, believe the responsible use of psycho-metabolic substances (alcohol, caffeine, peyote, etc) is perfectly fine doesn't mean I have the right to get judgmental if someone thinks differently, nor do they have the right to start ragging on me for mine.

[auntiem]

And then we finished his information request. Nice guy. I just found it funny that he would ask me, simply because I live in Utah, to ask the Mormons (and his tone implied that he thought I would be able to ask ALL of them) to pray for him.

I wonder what he asks if he gets a call center in India.

As for the OP - I don't understand why someone would go off about LDS like that, but probably in the future I'd just say "none of your buisness"

[Record Store Tough Guy]

Meh, chalk me up as in the "religion didn't need to be brought into it" camp. If you're not on site, that's a valid enough reason to not know where the bars would be. In fact, to me, that's an even more valid reason. Had it not been brought up, you would not have had to deal with his ignorance. It does not excuse his behavior, but it would have avoided it completely. The fact that Mormonism is one of the most misunderstood faiths in the US doesn't really help much either.