libertopia

The beer of Urban Outdoorsmen

I was engaged in a fun but frivolous discussion over at JMPP about the drinking habits of homeless folk, when my new friend Ragnar (a renovator of historical homes in Seattle) suggested I read this.

The irony here is hilarious. It turns out that a bum's beer of choice was originally intended for high-end consumption!?!? I thought that this paragraph was especially priceless:

"Gettleman Brewing of Milwaukee appealed to tweed-jacketed faculty members with its University Club, complete with a faux college crest on the can. The brewers of Gaybree Malt Liquor in Norfolk, Virginia, said it "tastes, looks, sparkles like champagne." Century Brewing's Sparkling Grenáy touted its "superb wine-like character" and sported a coat of arms with tiny winged lions and four medallions."

Am I just one of those heartless SOBs that has never struggled and has no idea what it's like suffer? Not exactly. My derision is not aimed at one for whom hard times have fallen unexpectedly. No, that’s pretty much true for the majority of working class folks. I am however, calling a spade a spade; one for whom homelessness and unemployment is tolerated at length by consuming malt liquor in vast quantities. The only people I despise more are those that coddle and make excuses for such inadequacies. We live in the greatest civilization in history. Not everyone will be wealthy, but absent physical or mental disability, one should NOT make a career of panhandling.

I’m not as much anti-bum as I am pro-personal responsibility. If one chooses to be a vagrant, it’s none of anyone’s business…unless and until that one seeks to impose upon society or another individual.

Any and all excoriation of me should be directed to the comment section.

posted by Robert @ Wednesday, March 16, 2005