Rant of the week: the sober superiority complex

Get off your high horse.

Rosie Brennan
19th March 2024
Pixabay@Republica
Drinking culture in uni, and Britain as a whole, is a huge phenomenon. A cheeky pub golf, bottomless brunch or three-day bender in the same week is so normalised; I'm not surprised sober people can sometimes have the biggest superiority complex ever.

First things first, I am not saying this about all people who choose to be sober. Do whatever you want. Everyone has a different relationship with alcohol for various reasons. This is specifically about a very niche group of people- people who believe they are the actual Messiah for waking up at 7 AM on a Saturday morning rather than 1 PM next to a full plate of burnt cheesy chips.

People who believe they are the actual Messiah for waking up at 7 AM on a Saturday morning

I must have seen thousands of TikToks with what is usually a middle-aged man telling me, "I WOKE UP AT 5 AM, HIKED UP 8 MOUNTAINS, JOURNALLED FOR 12 HOURS, DIED, REINCARNATED MYSELF AND ATE 30 HARD BOILED EGGS FOR PROTIEN BEFORE YOU EVEN GOT UP".

My immediate response when I see these things being said is just, "ok?".

Genuinely, what do you want people to say to that? Well done, you; you woke up and did things, compared to me, who didn't. Here's a medal for waking up at 5 AM for no reason, Gareth.

Here's a medal for waking up at 5 AM for no reason, Gareth.

Sometimes, I think it's a defence mechanism. There are some drinkers who view sober people as boring old grandmas who don't know how to have fun, so it makes sense that some sober people would snap back with a weird flex about how many weights they managed to lift before 6 AM that day.

But you do not need to drink to have fun, and you do not need to be a sober person to be productive. Just find a balance (or don't, do whatever you want- I can't talk as someone who's thrown up outside Munchies God knows how many times).

You do not need to drink to have fun, and you do not need to be a sober person to be productive

Whether you want to be in bed by 9 PM with a cup of tea watching One Day (again) or absolutely feral at 2 AM on a Monday night, having dance battles with strangers, have fun doing it and let other people live.

The choice of whether or not to drink alcohol does not need to define your entire personality, so what's the point in judging others for their choice?

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