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Sometimes one of the biggest problems we have is proper response to drunks. After many years as shore patrol in some of the meanest ports in the wrld I could write a book on it. For those unfamilar shore patrol is paired in teams with a brassard on one arm and a white duty belt with a club. And the mostes I ever weighed was 155 lbs.

I will relate a story or two and give some general practices in dealing with drunks.

Blackie was a ship fitter (welder) aboard ship that was about 6 foot 8 and a solid 350 lbs. He was the most docile gentleman I ever knew We partied together many times in various countries and at a certain point he would say sing me some (@$%&#!) kickin Ollie. I would break out with wild side of life or cattle call His eyes would roll and we would giggle and have the best fun in the world.. We were in Barcelona or somewhere in spain and we were on early shore patrol (still daylight) Around a corner all hell was breaking loose a paddy wagon was rocking and cops were being thrown out as fast as hey went back in.  I thought oh god not this already. A cop motioned us over I peered inside looking for a fire breathing dragon. It was Blackie When he saw me he stopped and came over to the door. What the hells goin on? A cop who spoke english told me that he was sitting at an outside table drinking beer A salvation army band was parading down the street and he stepped out in front of them held out his big arms and threatened them The cop said we had to do something!!! Blackie piped up and he said "Alls Is doin was askin them if they knew alexanders ragtime band" with a stupid grin on his face. I started laughing so hard I was crying...Pretty soon everybody was laughing and I told them I would take him back to the ship. Thet said ok they didnt want to deal with that anymore.

We have dealt with crowds of drunk hard core vets fresh back from nam and I watch the cops in this country that dont have a clue how to deal with crowds All they know is force and pepper spray or hoses.

Rule 1 You dont get in a drunks face  and challenge him and start spouting rules I dont care how right you are or what authority you have. You approach him on his level
 ex We were heavy at it one night and Frank a big indian like Blackie was obviously at the cutoff stage. It could have turned into one hell of a riot. I was getting ready to approach him when another patron who was fairly well sober went over put his arm around him smiled and said Wats up Frank You know u are drunker than a skunk? Frank said ya...Ok Im gonna ask Donna not to serve you anymore We want to see you tomorrow. Yur not driving are you? Is she driving and looked at his wife He said Oh god shes just as drunk as you are. Give me your keys......After a few mutters frank pulled his keys out and surrendered them Somebody gave them a ride home.
Franj wasnt the type to get wasted all the time and guess what the bar had one of the best bouncers it ever had. And Im not talking about force.

Rule2. Never raise your voice or argue...Smile and calmly state what the rules are and what the consequenses are if not followed. If I am hosting and if anybody is harrassing me or my help I will stop the music and converse with the trouble maker with the announce mic. This makes everybody there aware what is going on and provides witnesses if it snowballs. Its not being a hard (@$%&#!) its knowing when to say no. And I havde never had a confrontation with anybody that the next week they grinned and said hi Ollie and maybe go through the same bs again

Rule 3 Establish a relationship with staff and regulars and have an understanding of what should go down ...If somebody is half drunk they have no business getting involved in a hastle unless they are capable of just holding back somebody in an all out brawl

Rule 4 Be aware of whats going on constantly. I do not condone dealing at a bar where I am hosting. A karaoke crowd is normally not a trouble crowd and trouble makers should be routed out before they trash a bar. This includes giving a bar a bad rep.. I am actually surprised at the has this ever happened to you thread ... At our bars it wouldnt develop into maybes or next day theories. Drugging is serious matter and an experienced staff would suspect, save the the glasses and swizzle sticks for later analyisis. The whole therory didnt add up with my gut instincts.

Rule 5 If you drink never never ever drink to the point where you cant adhere to the rules above.
A good relationship with the bartender will help immensely along these lines....

Another long post and if you are still reading it means you realize the importance of this subject... I welcome any additions comments or further ideas as it is a very complex problem at times but can be solved  :D

I knew a sucurity guy that almost never raised a hand to strike someone. He could be your best friend in a minute, with all of the sincerety you could ask for. He was very good at his job.

Things never get out of hand there.

Yeah but that was at Dairy Queen!

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Who loves ya baby?

Another story to add to the above . first I have to preface these posts are not a lost child trying to find self they are meant as entertainment. For I am an entertainer first if someone can glean some knowledge or if I can provide some tidbit of wisdom that helps than i am satisfied I am a story teller and have realized that the best stories are real life Wat you think these tv shows are about now? So this story is meant to be interesting yet offer a bit of philosophy and wisdom.


As a young sailor aboard a flag ship in the med I was introduced to cultures that reflected the birth of tribes as we know them today. My first impressions although false were movies and clips about europe and what their cultures were about. I forget the movie but it was about a gi that befriended the orphans in Italy.

The first time we pulled into Naples I was approached by orphans Hey joe got a nickle? Chikelettas ? Want to buy a Barretta? They were street smart kids that could pop your cigs out of a jumper pocket and dissapear in a heartbeat. First thing I done was show them love with the look in my eyes I would empty my pockets with lira change and share. One time a farmer was coming into town with a load of watermellons. Kids were following us.. I asked the old man que costa por the whole load About $40 dollars the load was ours. This was in a residential district. The farmer provided a knife to cut the mellons. Next thing we knew ther was 40 dozen kids sitting on the curb laughing and estin watermellon. Senoritas came out of their houses and provided buckets for the rinds. It was an experience and one of the biggest foreign relation endeavors ever.

Page 2...We were in Naples on shore patrol The bars if you entered would give you a cup of coffeee or a shot... When I first started when on shore patrol I was playing a role...Chest heaved out and frightened... One night after about 3 shots of tequila a couple of my kids came ruuning up...Venga to ythe mercado quick. They led us to a sight that I will never forget A sailor in drress whites lay in a pool of red blood cut from stem to stern.. In a few seconds my high and all my military first training in first aid training cxame to mind Just prior I had noticed a british shore patrol cruising so i told my partner go to the corner and start screaming...I assesed the situation and appllied hand pressure in the critical areas Next I knew was british coremen with gurneys We saved him....

From then on if I was on shore patrol it was not a role and I didnt do shots I knew what my mission was.. Every since then I know the cops that are playing a role and those that are there to protect and I know the real posters on this forum and the phonies

Your rules sound like you have been watching "roadhouse" way too much.

I dont even know what roadhouse is. Perhaps its because I was too busy experirncing real life..

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Handling "drunks", should be a course that all in the bar business must take.  It's not easy.

(at least while they are conscious)

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I've handled some drunks in my past. I must admit that I was very picky about which drunks I handled. I just realized they were all women, go figure.

True,  But I was trying to go with the flow, and discuss the disadvantages of drunks  LOL.  It's different now-adays Chuck,  Today I'd be afraid of "date rape". God, I'm glad I'm no longer a younger guy trying to sow my wild oats at the bar scene today... Too much stuff going on.. Aids, Date rape, such things didn't exist 25 years ago in most locations.  A guy could have good dirty fun, and stay clean ~

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Frankly I would uch rather deal with a drunk guy than a drunk girl.  Most guys know when to stop, most women do not.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

We went in a cop shop one time There was an elevator going to the cells above There was a hell of a racket going on in the elevator The door opened and a cop came flying out It shut then opened again and another cop came flying out. WE got over closer to see what was going on It opened and this little gal about 5 foot 2 was pounding this cop in the corner They finally cuffed her and took her away.  To their credit everybody was laughing and ribbing the ones involved..

Who wants a woman that knows when to stop ?  If she can't hang for at least the full two minutes.  What's the point ?


Nah,  I've known a few women that've gotten downright violent and physically abusive after the second drink.  It's as if they just suddenly go off the deep end. Alcohol is dangerous when combined with certain people, I've been hit on all parts of the head with kitchen items, This one girl used to get some strange kick out've that old 2nd grade joke where each time you are about to sit down, somebody pulls the chair out from under you.  This other girl just became plain hateful.. Weirdest thing,  they were all Irish women  :shock:

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

If God had meant for drunks to be handled, he would have put handles on 'em.

That's what the adults used to tell me about my special purpose.  Adults lie !



Back to the topic.  It's VERY difficult to handle drunks.  Alcohol being a hypnotic depressant causes some very strange things to happen with brain chemistry.  I'm by no means a religious person,  in fact I've never read the bible,  but "spirits" and "demon alcohol" seems appropriate.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Some alcohol has a stronger affect on certain people too. As a depressant, we know it affects the way a person thinks, some kinds more than others. Someone mentioned some in a thread recently. I'm very sensitive to these types. They cause my heart to race to about 120 beats per minute, my blood pressure goes up and my thinking is very obscured. I have panick attacks when this stuff is in my system. It can be found in a lot of food too. I'm not talking about the alcohol itself but something else in the drink. Softdrinks have it to, in abundance. I'm referring to free glutamates.

Free glutamates are normally bonded to proteins. In the process of fermentation, some are separated and sometimes some seem to be created as well. The human brain can only tolerate a certain amount of glutamine because it is a neurotransmitter. Too much of any neurotransmitter is dangerous. This can be derived from Corn, potatoes, whey protein and soy. It is often referred to as MSG but only in its purest form. When used as a flavor enhancer, it can be called anything from natural flavors to modified food starch to isolated whey or soy protein. It also increases appetite and can even make you crave more of it. I had withdrawals from it and lost 25 pounds in two weeks when I cut it out of my diet. I also quit having as many panick attacks and mania.

The US government is under the impression that these do not cross the blood brain barrier, but many other governments are saying these days that they do. If they do they do it through the hypothalamus. This wreaks havoc in the brain because of their presence alone. It also causes damage to the hypothalamus which controls behavior in ways like self control and basic wants and what we can also confuse with needs. They might even be responsible for much of the selfish or violent and just plain crazy behavior we are seeing more and more of these days. It is also very dangerous to asthmatics as it can cause an extreme asthma attack. The FDA decided this was OK since they say it only affects a very small percentage of our population. I doubt this.

In the early to mid 90s, the FDA allowed food makers to change the way this was listed on labels. Suddenly, it was heaped into foods to make them taste better. It is LSD for the tongue.

This can be seen in people who are not what we call happy drunks. You know the type. They can be the kindest people when sober but their drink of choice can often make them irrational and even violent. It also causes or increases paranoia which is not good for a person who is already agitated and is quickly losing their self control. Certain genetic factors make some more susceptible than others to this. I don't wish to mention what they are because it will offend many people in this PC world we live in. Let's just say that I have at least two of these in my ancestry.

There are few types of alcohol I can drink any more. I would give it up altogether if needed but I don't. I can drink a few brands of cheaply made "American" beer and not as much as I used to.

You can ask Isis, Phatrat or Texas GiGi about how my behavior has improved since my trip to the hospital emergency room in February.

This is getting to be too long and there is too much to write about. Sticking to the subject, I think I made my point about what can cause some drunks to be how they are after as few as two drinks.

If this post has caused any unanswered questions, PM me. I can explain further or just answer questions about it. There is research being done overseas that the US does not recognize.

Much of the info in the last post is considered to be just unfounded theories or even plain paranoia. I will tell you I am still a little paranoid about it.

I know that was a long post but it is something that has affected me greatly. I try to keep my posts much shorter usually.

He did.

They're called:

* Fingers
* Eyes
* nose
* mouth
* skin
* pressure points
* arms
* legs
* elbow and other joints
* any other extremities I haven't mentioned.

Pain compliance works, when you know what you're talking about.

The human body is only designed to move in certain directions, and it's body parts have the same basic rule. You bend that rule a bit, you can handle most anybody.

This thread started out good enough, and I appreciated the philosophy it started with. But like with anything good on here, a few people had to spread their wealth of zeal to turn it into another garbage thread.

Some people DO come here to learn and glean some information. And not everything falls into the TECH forum.

You've got a point here.

your post about TYPES of alcohol and how the various types affect people was WELL founded.