Drunken Frustration

Written by Youth Alliance Member Pippa Huddleston

I walked into my new local Countdown one Saturday afternoon. It had been a classic lazy summer day, so I thought I’d top it off with a cold cider. I had my box of Somersby and was at a self check-out machine with my ID out, ready to go. The supervising staff member was a young guy – probably a similar age to me. I waved him over to approve my alcohol purchase – a standard procedure that completely ruined my day.

You know when bouncers and the like question drunken people about their day to gauge their level of intoxication? I received the same interrogation.

“How are you doing today? Been having a bit of fun? Yea I can see you have been”.

Me, being stone cold sober, stared at him somewhat incredulously as he chuckled at what he viewed as a vague, drunken girl buying more alcohol to fuel her day drinking.

He then proceeded to tell me that I “passed…just” and that he would “give it to me”.

Now, I understand that my CP can appear to present typical drunken movements – slurred speech, off-kilter walk, concentration over small tasks such as removing my ID from my wallet. I get that. What really pissed me off, and made me feel absolutely rotten, was that this guy obviously thought I was stupid enough to stumble drunk into Countdown to buy cider. The fact that I let him make me feel that way exacerbated my frustration.

You would think that after 6 years of having this reaction when I try to buy alcohol, I would’ve come up with a fantastic comeback. Instead, I let people get away with insulting my intelligence, am I am sick of it! If anyone has any witty remarks they use to combat this, please let me know!