Potheads and alcoholics at con

[klepto]

Defcon is full of potheads and alcoholics..........but why does it seem like the smokers/potheads are more courteous than the alchies?

If I go to a room at Defcon, everyone is passing out cigarettes and blunts, but hoard the alcohol like a teenager and her n*sync cd....

Sociologists, please answer.

[Deviant Ollam]

asking why pot smokers are more mellow, kind, and generous than heavy drinkers at defcon is like asking why dogs sniff things more than cats do when you take them outside.

it's not where they are that makes the situation the way it is... it's who they are which tends to dictate their behavior no matter what the situation is. in general, i've always found the herb scene to be more mellow and easy-going than parties focused on alcohol.

interestingly, with each defcon i've attended my consumption of mind-imparing substances has progressed steadily toward the "more liquor / less weed" side of the equasion. personally, i think that's because i've grown so involved in many aspects of defcon and come to know so many people that i can't dedicate the time it takes to really get the most out of being high (at least how i am when i am elevated... if i'm going to do something, i like to do it for all it's worth. when it comes to blowing tea, that equates to being righeously stoned and lounging for a while with music or laughter. sleep often ensues. i just don't have that luxury of time at defcon anymore.)

on a more sociological note, i think that alcohol consumption is almost a universal at defcon. there are some adamant non-drinkers who attend, but typically if you hold up a beer and say "who's thirsty!?" you'll have five hands grasping for it. for all the illegal drugs at defcon, the participating crowds are less sizable and are somewhat more covert about it a lot of the time. if people know you're down with a particular substance there's a safe bet that you're more of a rarity in the room. they can make the offer for you to step inside their head without worrying about a queue forming at the end of their joint.

but, most of all, i think it boils down to the general atmosphere each substance's community tends to develop... or the fact that alcohol consumption isn't really a community at all and more of a survival of the fittest free for all. personally, however, i've never been at a party at defcon where there wasn't a surplus of assorted boozeahol. all of the people i know tend to have the philosophy of "purchase early and purchase in bulk... there's always poolcon for the leftovers on sunday night" so any time we setup a spot to kick back there's just an assload of alcohol being handed out like candy on haloween.

i wonder what things will be like at con this year, what with the new hotel. gambling casino, much less outdoor space, seems to lend itself a lot less to casual smoking than the AP did. guess we'll all just see.

[klepto]

I'm talking about BEFORE consumption of said substances, potheads are indeed more mellow and whatnot, but even so, they SHARE their shit?

People drink to have fun and laugh their asses off, of course there are gonna be people who want to start shit and fight people......but for the most part, you have people laughing at dumb shit and people laughing for no reason at all other than they are intoxicated.

[mfreeck]

Defcon is full of potheads and alcoholics..........but why does it seem like the smokers/potheads are more courteous than the alchies?

Deviant's got it right in part, about it being the culture of the drug. Would you ask the same thing if it were between potheads and tweakers?
He also may have been right about a smaller community vs a larger community within the con environment. Drinking is default, so you'll get all types doing it.

It's also about the mindframe of the drinkers. Drinking is often associated, especially in a context like Defcon as "getting wild and crazy and having a good time." Note that "good time" is used rather loosely, and often "wild and crazy" gets more emphasis than "good time" does. Folks are removed from their native environment, which may have had some natural controls on their behaviour, such as authority figures and not wanting to piss favoured people off. But if they get drunk and piss off some random person at con -- hey, they don't have to see them again and it'll make a GREAT story about how wild and crazy (and obnoxious) they got. There is less peer pressure on them to behave nicely to those around them, and in fact some small encouragement to generate good war stories for later.

Fortunately, the goons are there to prevent the rude drunks from turning worse than rude and ruining somebody else's con. Bless 'em. Everyone bring an extra piece of meat to the bbq to adopt out to the goons who keep things running smoothly, despite 4,000 drunk people running around trying to generate "wild and crazy" stories for their buddies back home.

[Second]

Reminds me of a song by The Streets.

[Kai]

hmmm, not sure which parties you're going too, but MANY of them seem to have open bars.

At the same time, I am always buying drinks for people at the bars around the con, and spend a good bit of dough on room liquor. That being said, I guess I wouldn't have noticed people "hording" their liquor.

Besides, you'll make friends with more people if YOU are offering liquor, not asking everyone for some of theirs.

[bascule]

Reminds me of a song by The Streets.

That song rules

[Second]

That song rules

Haha, both of their/his CDs are awesome.

[bascule]

And anyway, the big distinction missing here is that the potheads will most likely be drinking, and the combination thereof will lead them to states of inebreation the mere alcoholics cannot even begin to comprehend...

[[Syntax]]

Same here, I've never seen much a problem with people "hoarding" alcohol. Every year the ammount offered to me seems to increase. Probably because the number of people I know increases.

More often I've seen people run out of alcohol because they had an open bar.

[LosT]

Hey, Siviak is always sharing his special drink...then there is Che passing out his stuff....I've never seen people hoarding drinks...quite the opposite...

LosT

[Deviant Ollam]

Hey, Siviak is always sharing his special drink...then there is Che passing out his stuff....I've never seen people hoarding drinks...quite the opposite.

heh, who was the guy who had the large yellow bug-spray canister filled with some concoction of liquory goodness? i remember him pumping it up with pressure and dispensing cocktails to whomever wanted one... right into their mouth. come to think of it, DefCon has to be the place where i've seen more creative ways of consuming alcohol than anywhere else.

[renderman]

I personally enjoyed the DC719 35 foot beer bong:

http://www.renderlab.net/gallery/Defcon12/100_2132

I've never seen people hording booze. I've seen some people keep an eye on it to keep it from walking, but are quite content to share it.

I know I usually give away alot more than I drink and I never worry about it. Last year I had bought way more than Grey and I could drink so I called people and the next thing I know the room is full of very happy people bringing *more* booze (counterproductive to the original idea, but what the hell)

Remember that it goes both ways. Dont' go expecting everything for free, however whatever you give away will likely come back to you in loads

[noid]

I am inclined to agree with folks here. If you are around people who are hoarding their boozohol, then you are hanging out with the wrong people. I have no problems finding a drink at defcon, and its not even because of my 'goon' status either. People are genuinely free with their stuff. The only time I have ever had trouble procuring booze at Defcon was trying to find a *can* of beer for the BCCC last year, and that was not because people were being stingy it was because its generally hard to find a can of beer as everyone drinks bottled booze. As far as other drugs go, I seem to be in the opposite situation. I know theres potheads running around, but I dont see anyone smoking (which is a good thing, my crew and I arent the vice squad, but we will tell you to put it out or take it elsewhere as you are jeapordizing the convention if the real vice squad decided to make an issue of it).

[Deviant Ollam]

I personally enjoyed the DC719 35 foot beer bong

is that who brought that? it was the one that was operated from the second story of one of the buildings, right? very nice. i think i remember someone giving me the business end of it while i was floating in the pool.