Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe made the announcement this week that there will be a ban on alcohol being purchased and consumed on site at bars and restaurants throughout the state that goes into effect at 5PM on Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, and ends at 8AM on Thursday, Thanksgiving morning. Gov. Wolfe and his officials say this is an effort to stop the spread of Coronavirus. Wednesday night is a traditionally known popular night for drinking and this move by the Pennsylvania government is a move to stop intoxicated people from not following COVID guidelines, which can contribute to increased COVID cases.
Gov. Wolfe had this to say about the alcohol ban: "It turns out that the biggest day for drinking is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. When people get together in that situation, it leads to an increase in the exchange of fluids, that leads to an increase in infection."
Pennsylvania residents, what do you make of this? Are you upset there is now a restriction for you on going out and consuming alcohol at our favorite restaurant the night before Thanksgiving? What if it is a tradition for you and your spouse to have a nice casual dinner out the night before Thanksgiving (before things get hectic for the holiday) where you usually indulge in a glass of wine, but now you can't do that? At least out publicly...I guess that's out the window this year. On one hand I would be completely annoyed if I lived in Pennsylvania. Who are you to tell me I can't have alcohol because you think I will behave unwisely? You don't know my tolerance and mature behavior so that definitely is an overreach in my opinion. On the other hand I read this and immediately think the Governor is acting on behalf of college students who usually come home to their childhood friends and go out drinking before Thanksgiving; that's what this is about and with that, I can see his point. No offense, but younger college students are a bit more lackadaisical when it comes to behavior surrounding drinking. Maybe I'm stereotyping them and painting a picture of them that is unfair and assumptive but more times than not, college students get wild when drinking and in particular on the night before Thanksgiving so I can honestly see where the Governor is coming from as much as it annoys me. I don't like it, I would not want a ban and I'm in the mindset thinking others are just like me who can act responsibly and have a drink or two and still follow the guidelines but apparently that is not the case so here we have the Governor and his officials left with making that decision and looking like the bad guy. I empathize because it's certainly not an easy decision to make. I can tell you what some of these residents of Pennsylvania are going to do though, they are just going to stock up at the liquor store today or tomorrow and have a party on Wednesday night at a private residence where they all still hang and drink so this ban will not stop them from engaging in the same type of behavior; it just will not be in public. It may cut down on public COVID spreads at restaurants and bars but it won't cut down overall because people will be gathering in private no matter what your ban is and ultimately that can still lead to COVID spikes among the population.
Overall, it sucks there has to be a ban but putting myself in the Governor's shoes, I can see where he is coming from with trying to stop the public spread. What do you make of this alcohol ban; smart or an overreach?
-Producer Lightning