I went out to a BBQ restaurant the other day & I was looking at their drink list & noticed a 'hobo' option for beer. I asked the waitress what this meant exactly & she proceeded to tell me I could have any one of those beers in a 40 oz format with a paper bag. Do we really judge people by what they drink this way? Because, honestly, it's more expensive to buy a $2 forty than it is to buy a $15 20 pack. I suppose there's a stigma associated with drinking from a 40 oz bottle but I've never understood that.
In a way I guess they are. If I walked into a bar and saw somebody drinking shots of brandy and pouring glasses of champagne, then you automatically think they're better off than the other guy sat in the booth with half a pint of strong cider. Even walking around a supermarket you tend to judge people by what's in their baskets, so I have no doubt, even subconsciously people judge others by what they drink. When I go out I usually drink lager and then at the end of the night I'll have a couple of jack Daniels. I wonder what people think about me?
No, why would people judge me if I would have to order some pineapple juice instead of some expensive bottle of champagne at the pub? As @pwarbi said, we might subconsciously judge people in our mind but I would honestly never laugh at a guy who gets juice instead of beer. It's their choice, why should I be concerned?
People judge people. That is our normative society for you. It doesn't matter what we're being judged with - food, drinks, clothes, accents, color, occupation - point is, we are being judged. I remember watching this show on Nat Geo (or was it Discovery?) where a psychological test was being conducted upon an unsuspecting crowd lounging in a boulevard area. An actor, dressed well in suit and a hat, was made to go collapse in broad daylight on the pavement. A host of people came to help him up. The same man, the next day, dressed shabbily to look like a beggar, was made to repeat the same action. Not a soul came to help him. We as people are constantly passing judgments at each other, even when we're not aware of it, perhaps even unwantingly. So then, judging someone by their choice of drink is pretty natural.. (Although it is disgusting, in truth).
That is weird. I'm sure that was just a gimmick to entice customer awareness or curiosity. My friends and I would never call anyone a hobo for drinking a 40 in a paper bag.
As @JoshPosh says, for a place to advertise an 'hobo' option is a little weired, I wonder how popular it is? I don't think I'd feel comfortable asking for it anyway! Going back to judging people though, I think wether we like it or not, it's something that everybody tends to do to varying degrees, and unfortunately, the fact that more people went to help the guy in the suit as opposed to the other one, doesn't surprise me at all.
Very true. So what if this is what I prefer? I remember I ordered pineapple juice once at a pub/bar instead of a beer. My guy friend said, "Woah, girl, you're going to get drunk with that." But that's just a joke and I'm fine with it.
I think there's stigma around pretty much anything we use because there are patterns that emerge where certain types of people use certain things and other types might not find it favorable to be associated with it. I think the name could be changed into something that's more tasteful but overall I don't think people should be offended.
I think we judge people but we don't realize it, so that can be bad. I personally don't think that a drink defines the personality of someone. It is a silly thing to believe that.
Stereotypes exist for a reason. People create an image based on what they most commonly observe in a given situation. You can't be mad at someone for assuming you're gay if you walk, talk, dress and act like one. I mean, you either could or could not be gay but you would certainly resemble one. If you really care about what other people think, you could easily prove them wrong. If you don't then that just means they'll remain ignorant and you'd be fine with it. The same goes for beer or whiskey.
I think people judge others for all manner of things these days, but I can't say that I have ever known of anyone being judged by the type of alcohol they drink. Sure, I've heard of the stereotypes that "oh, college kids will drink this" or "that's an expensive drink" but as for any negativity or prejudice I don't think I have ever encountered that. I think it's pretty sad that an establishment would refer to a drink as 'the hobo', but again I think it was more for a marketing ploy than it was to offend anyone. I've heard of many restaurants naming food dishes or drinks by names that may seem inappropriate - I read an article once about a dessert place that named one of their desserts 'The Diabetic' because of how full of sugar it was, and that caused a big outrage by some patrons. I think sometimes things are just done for shock value.
There's just this stereotype of the homeless, that they drink outdoors from bottles in brown paper bags, presumably because it's illegal to drink alcohol on the street. I'm assuming that this was just a cheap (and slightly tasteless) joke from the BBQ joint. PEople definitely get judged on what they drink though. There's this drink here in the UK called Lambrini and it's a sparkling perry. The stereotype is that it's only drunk by "loose women", whilst a lager called Stella Artois is nicknamed "wifebeater".
I don't think they were doing it to be mean or discriminatory to anyone - it was probably just for fun, and a gimmick to sell 40 oz beers. That's really not much different from walking around with a large iced mug of beer. Plus there may have been a functional aspect to it as well if the paper bag was absorbing the sweat from the bottle - eliminating the need for them to keep throwing down coasters for all your drinks. On a side note I'm pretty sure 40 oz's are cheaper than buying beer in small bottles. A bottle is like 11 oz, which comes out to 66 oz for a 6 pack. That would be one and a half 40s', or about $3 for 60 oz of beer, vs. about $5-$6 for a cheap 6 pack of some small bottled beer.
Well, it's not really what you drink, it's how much money you have in your pocket to spend. If you go to some fancy bar and ask for a Budweiser while everyone is having some expensive drink, it's normal for people to think you're broke. I remember when I was out of a job and used to go to some expensive bar sneaking in a drinking flask. I just asked for a glass of water with ice, went to the bathroom and came out blowing my head off with a glass full of whisky.
Sad to say, but yes, we do judge people based on what they drink. And most homeless people are typically drinking 40s out of a brown bag, as they typically do not have enough money to buy themselves a 6+ pack of beer. I myself may be a bit of a beer snob. If I see someone drinking a light beer vs. a craft beer, I think to myself that they have terrible taste in beer. There are stigmas associated with each of the liquors too. Vodka is for girls and whiskey is for men for example. It is always impressive to people when women drink whiskey, or a man could be considered not as manly for ordering a vodka drink.
Well, I know I don't judge people that way. Maybe someone pays too much attention to what you order but that is not a proper way to "define" a person. What I mean is that it's a very small thing and says little to nothing about his/her qualities. For example, I might order juice. So what?
That's insane that the bar actually did this. I don't think it's right to judge people that way. I've known people with degrees and corporate jobs who drank 40oz beers. It's a silly stigma that they most likely got from television and movies. I guess it's apparently worse to drink 1 bottle containing 40z of liquor rather than multiple bottles over and over.
I believe we judge people from what they drink more often than we thought. Sometimes, we also do it subconsciously. That goes both ways, there are people who judge you of being uncool, lame, etc. by not drinking alcohol when the situation seems appropriate and there are people who judge people who love to drink beer as a drunkard, irresponsible person, etc. I personally am guilty of that as well.
Of course there is a stigma, because there are lots of people that don't drink at all, like my family for example. Wine, brandy, etc. that were given to us as gifts just sit for many years collecting dust since we don't drink at all. Like what has been said, it's just normal human nature to judge. I think it will only start to be below the belt when we ridicule or mock or be mean to people openly or secretly because of those judgements.