There is a lad fighting for his life and you come out with that rubbish

I recall some aresnut with a ludicrous rosette on the back of his flat cap kicking off because there was no room in the South on the day in question. He arrived well passed kick off and ed to high heaven. He looked like trouble and his actions supported it. No place in SL for the likes of him, irrespective of daft cap.

Hear hear.

I can't wait for the clearly deluded Magic Piano to present with seven stigmatas at your A&E ward Slim. Put him in line with the other wits.

We await your civil action claim for defamation with baited breath. Seriously, jog on.

Personal insults

- very intelligent and adding to an overall enjoyable debate with two very different opinions being expressed, which is after all the very basis of free speech & debate.

Good point & I understand about freedom of choice and being able to take risks in personal life & activities, but of those activities you list they generally are a [ipersonal[/i risk. Alcohol misuse & abuse provides a risk not only to the person involved (and they take that risk on their own head...), but to innocent bystanders who have not necessarily signed up to that risk. In your job more than mine you will see the impact on those innocent bystanders & surely you have some sympathy towards them & their lives potentially changing as a result of some drunken behavoiur from someone unable to control their actions due to alcohol?

You could argue that car driving undertakes a similar risk to people other than the one undertaking it & I agree - however the laws are there again to control the misuse of cars when unable to drive them safely. Maybe they are enforced more stringently than antisocial behaviour as a result of drinking; maybe it is that being lairish after a few pints is more socially acceptable than driving over the limit; I don't know the answer but I do know that when I am out with my family in town or at a match why should I & they be made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe because of the actions of people who have not had their alcohol intake controlled & limited to a safe amount?

What [ihave[/i you got against Magic P's faith?

Fear of the unknown & ununderstood usually causes such reactions... That and coming up against an argument contrary to their own.

Any update on how the man is? Fingers crossed, he is making a full recovery.

Good post Slim. I spent 30 years (until March this year) dealing with drunken idiots who can't handle their ale. However that doesn't stop me having a few jars before a game, or spending the best part of 2 days drinking (and freezing) at Murrayfield. I found in my Police service that those who drink and want to fight would want to fight whether they had a drink or not. I worked numerous Middlesbrough v Leeds football matches where it was obvious that there were groups of supporters who just wanted to fight and that's what they were there for. The only way to get round this is good old fashioned hard policing and to get the perpetrators locked up and banned from RL.