Alcohol Near Water

Photo Credit: Online pic.

Drinking near water, be it a river, the sea or swimming pool is suicide. That is pure common sense, before it is diluted by hot spirits from Scotland, rum from Cuba, grapes from the Napa Valley U.S.A. or beer from Germany.

When someone dies, we are quick to blame City Hall for the river or swimming pool. City Hall did not make the river, nature did. Pools have rules and regulations about safety, but we flaunt them.  In fact, when tragedy strikes, we sue. I haven’t come across any family admitting that our daughter, son or brother was at fault e.g. drinking near water.

What is disappointing is ignorance about advertising. Example. I approach an advertising agency with a new product I want to sell. They devise a marketing plan. I’m blinded by colours on their laptops and I accept it. It is an advertising campaign about people drinking on a boat and near rivers. Impaired driving. That is what it is. Alcohol drowns common sense a bit, and more bottles a lot. It’s summer, the sun is shining and we are having fun. Someone drowns and we think he’s acting up, making us laugh. He dies.

We hold different positions in government or the private sector where we ‘sell’ something. If we are decision-makers in a bottling company, we must be vigilant about ads that would put our target audience in danger. Someone might argue that it’s common sense. Don’t get drunk near water.

You don’t have anybody to blame but yourself, ‘for being cool.’

Nonqaba waka Msimang

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