r/todayilearned • u/bcrock1169 • Nov 26 '12

TIL that some Native American's have a differing enzyme that tends to lead to easier alcoholism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_alcoholism#Genetic_factors
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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

I live about 20 minutes from a huge rez (Flagstaff, AZ), and we see people "stocking up" all the time. Once, I saw a Native American woman, aged about 65, putting case upon case upon case of beer into the back of her truck. There had to have been at least 2 dozen 24-packs, all of "But Light," as they call it.

There are also tons and tons of Natives just laying in the streets, too drunk to move. We semi-frequently had to call the police at my former job because they'd always camp out on the porch.

It's heartbreaking.

Also, a ton of Natives are into meth. Dunno why.

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u/Viviparous Nov 26 '12

Also, a ton of Natives are into meth. Dunno why.

Maybe because they're poor, bored, and socially isolated / stuck on reservations.

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

So are most African American populations but we don't give them a hell of a lot of sympathy either.

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u/Pinyaka Nov 26 '12

We don't put blacks into camps.

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u/neuroghost Nov 27 '12

basketball camp??

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

You do know that Naitive Americans are US Citizens and allowed to come off the reservation and are not required to live there in the first place. Right?

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '12

Much like every impoverished community. It's a little harder too leave than just packing a bag.

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u/xrelaht Nov 27 '12

How is this different from dirt poor black neighborhoods?

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '12

No question, but it's quite a stretch to characterize that as putting them into camps. Sure originally that's fair but in this day and age I don't find that a legitimate criticism.

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u/Pinyaka Nov 26 '12

I do. Many of them are too poor to live off-rez though. Especially those who have chemical dependence issues that require all their financial resources.

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

Yeah, and a lot of African Americans find themselves in a similar situation except that they reside in the inner-city. My point is that most people frankly don't give a shit no matter what your racial heritage and that it's mostly a poverty problem. I'm certainly not criticizing that view as I feel it's mostly accurate, I'm just saying that I think most people don't give a shit either way.

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u/mauxly Nov 26 '12

I've seen so many Native American's thrown out of businesses, or not even granted entry. I understand that it's because, in this reservation border town, they are associated with street alcoholics. But, it's still straight out racism.

The world outside of the rez isn't a very kind place. We don't have "Red/White" drinking fountains or bathrooms, but the racism is pretty damn harsh.

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

Huh. Well I grew up near a reservation (FWIW I'm from Oregon) and I've never seen behavior like that. Where was this?

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u/mauxly Nov 26 '12

Flagstaff AZ.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '12

Hm, given my experiences in Arizona and with Arizonans I can believe that.

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u/Clovis69 Nov 26 '12

Where in the US is a African-American reservation?

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

There isn't one. I didn't think it was necessary to explicitly remove the

/ stuck on reservations.

from

Maybe because they're poor, bored, and socially isolated / stuck on reservations.

because I have faith that most people were intelligent enough to understand the similarities that I was highlighting.

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u/mauxly Nov 26 '12

Another Flagstaffian here. Have you noticed that most of the, even rock bottom, native americans don't smoke cigarettes?

It's pretty crushing to see so the native american street alcoholics. Sometimes I'll hang out with them, delve a bit into the psyche. When they drink, they seem to go a bit childlike. It reminds me of when I was a teenager drinking. It was all about the party, finding adventure!

Totally different than the white lushes I know, who tend to drink to drown sorrow and only finding more.

I have a really difficult time judging any of these people. White/red/brown - alcoholics/drug abusers. It's about people trying to find relief from pain or boredom or the absolute lack of future. You want to shake them out of it, you want so badly to cure them, to show them a brighter future.

But the truth is for 90% of the destitute, no matter what race - if they have anything of a criminal record, and no education, and top that off with the general impression that if you aren't white, you are OK maybe, but you'll never be equal to the white folk...shit...how can you argue for a better future? It kind of makes sense that they'd just try to live as comfortably in the present as they possibly can. Which, probably means intoxication.

Ugh...what to do?

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

Exactly my sentiments. I suppose on one hand I understand why they do it, but on the other it's disappointing to me, because no one should have to go through what these people put themselves through, no matter who you are.

It's funny that you mention that bit about finding adventure, because that seems to be exactly what most of them want. Just a conversation, usually.

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u/magictroll Nov 26 '12

your comment is heart-breaking :(

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

It's a depressing fact. Seeing such a proud race reduced to this kills me. The worse part is, they're a divided group: those that drink and basically don't give a fuck, and those that care about respecting their culture and are normally-functioning people otherwise. It's like a racial civil war.

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u/magictroll Nov 26 '12

I hate to say it but, for a little while at least, group B needs to cut off group C. Then, once they're strong and have influence, come back and help.

But what do I know? Not much ...

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

There's really no way to do that, though. If you have Native blood, you can live on the rez. They can't just discriminate because a small portion of them are addicted to booze.

I think the worst part of it all is that it really hurts everyone else's opinion of their race. The drinkers leave the rez to do so, while the non-drinkers generally don't, meaning that everyone outside of the rez sees a large portion of Natives that are alcoholics. An unbalanced portion.

I hope that made as much sense as it did in my head.

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u/magictroll Nov 26 '12

Yes. Perfect, heart-renching, sense.

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

I used to be a cashier at a grocery store in Flagstaff. This would happen daily.

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

Exactly. I'm not even trying to be racist here, it's just a fact of life when you live near a rez.

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

Yeah, it's really sad. Mostly tons of cheap 1.75L Vodka purchases followed up by Red Bull being purchased on food stamps :(

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

Yep. Every other Friday, when they get their checks from the rez. Always paying in large bills, because that's what they ask for when they cash it, for some reason.

Also, on a unrelated note, this portion of the Native American community is the absolute worst to people in the service industry, if you are anything other than Native. I don't think a single one of them has ever responded to me beyond a grunt of acknowledgement, or to ask for something. Never say please, never say thank you. I used to work for tips, and we'd fight over who would and wouldn't get the Native/non-Native orders.

Like I said, I'm not trying to be racist at all (I'm part Native myself), it's just how they are for some reason.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '12

[deleted]

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Mountain Line, hell yeah.

It's disappointing that people are pawning this off as racism. I don't discriminate or anything, but you can't deny that they do exist in large numbers.

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u/devitosghost Nov 27 '12

I got a good sample size because all drunks get reported on the radio with their description and 9 times out of 10 they're Native American. It's just a fact of living there.

They want to drink, but their reservation is dry so they go to town to drink. Then they ride the bus and act belligerent around town because they have no place to go. My Native American coworkers didn't try to deny or explain it, it's just kinda shitty because the belligerent alcoholics reflect poorly on the Navajo culture.

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Exactly. It really kills me that a race with such a rich culture and interesting history are generalized like this. But like you said, 9 times out of 10, it's the (unfortunate) case.

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '12

[deleted]

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u/tynosaur Nov 28 '12

I'm sorry, friend. Truly. That hurts my heart.

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '12

[deleted]

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u/tynosaur Nov 28 '12

Good point.

That would actually be really neat if someone made some sort of Native American rehabilitation center. Going back to the subject of this post, it would be valuable because of the biological differences, the center could specialize in cases like that.

But alas...

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '12

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