While I manage my alcoholic intake because of my vertigo, there is nothing like a great beer at just the right time. On vacation, or on a hot summer day, especially after something active.
Right now, there are World Cup games all over the world, with several here, in Boston. And what happened in Boston? Some of the bars (temporarily) ran out of beer. (The news segment I saw put the blame squarely on the Scots, but I am not sure they are the sole reason Boston “ran out” of beer.)
Remember, up until very recently, we still had Blue Laws in Massachusetts. You could not buy alcohol—not even beer—on Sundays.
When did those Blue Laws start? In the 1600s. And clearly, we have not shed all of our cultural suspicions about alcohol. If we had, the various bars and pubs in downtown Boston might have planned better to avoid running out of beer for the various World Cup attendees.
I suspect most of us do not think about culture when we assess risks. But risks expose the various differences in our cultures.
How Risks Expose Culture
Part of culture is what we value. Many cultures value and therefore treat alcohol differently, ranging from:
- We never drink alcohol at all—and neither should anyone else.
- Drinking is fine, as long as you’re over some specific age, and your drinking is “socially” acceptable.
- Why would you put any restrictions on my drinking, especially if I’m not driving or somehow hurting you?
Massachusetts is firmly in the middle of these cultural norms. I suspect that many of the Boston bars have assumptions about the number of beers an “average” patron consumes. The problem is this: these World Cup visitors are on vacation. These visitors are enjoying themselves. And I suspect that for many of them, that means no restrictions on the number of beers they might drink.
Why did the bars not manage their risks? I suspect they had insufficient data about the number of World Cup visitors and who those lovely people would be. And worse, we always apply our cultural assumptions to what “reasonable” drinking might be.
Culture Colors All of Our Decisions and Actions
One of the things I love about the World Cup is the joy that everyone brings to all the games. It does not seem to matter who is playing—everyone seems to love watching the games. That’s a culture thing.
It’s also a culture thing when we impose our cultural biases, such as “reasonable” drinking, on other people. Especially visitors to our region.
I have been extremely fortunate in my career because I have traveled extensively. And almost everywhere I have been, many people drank (light) beer at lunch. (Unless they lived in a culture that shunned alcohol.) I didn’t drink because I was teaching or consulting. One of the best things about traveling is when other people challenge my thinking. (Which happened all the time.)
That meant while I didn’t care what other people did, I expected a lot of myself. For me, that meant no drinking alcohol until dinner.
My culture helped me make decisions that worked for me. And other people’s cultures helped them make decisions that work for them.
Even better, we can all learn from experience, even when that experience is different from our default culture. When we “run out of beer,” we reveal our cultural assumptions. Seeing them helps us make better decisions the next time.
Regardless of the state of the beer, I hope we all continue to enjoy the World Cup games.