I'm not trying to imply that it can't be an incredibly dangerous, destructive thing. I should have left the "heart attack and die" part of my burger scenario out, actually, because my point was that alcohol CAN be an enjoyable thing for many people that do not have a problem with it. It is a drug, it can be dangerous, or it can be a relaxing thing to have with your dinner while chatting with friends. No, you don't need it, yes, it tastes good, and so on.

In your case, you've seen a lot of the "destructive in the hands of the wrong people" part, and I'm TRULY truly sorry for that. I myself am jaded towards overt public sexuality (saturating in the media, strip clubs, sexuality at the drive-thru coffee stand, etc) because I've seen how devastating and destructive that can be for people who cannot control those things in their lives (and their family members, and so on), plus the sex objects themselves and what that usually indicates in their lives. I don't know if I think that a strip club could ever be 'healthy' for anyone, but I don't advocate for their demise because I understand that I have a bias in my life, and there is a lot more to it than what I could ever understand with my limited points of view (just because I'm only one person with only my experiences, yadda yadda...)

If nothing else, this is how I relate to you. Not that I haven't seen alcohol be a factor in lots of negative ways (hell, I watched an old friend die last year because of alcoholism, it was AWFUL), but I view it as WAY more of a social problem then anything to do with the actual alcohol. THAT's what needs to be addressed. Same thing with sexuality, drugs, and so on.