A young man has disappeared during a Milwaukee pub crawl, and while everyone hopes a high-profile search brings him home safe and sound, I note that East side Ald. Nic Kovac is said to be preparing a Common Council resolution that could lead to a ban on risky drink-a-thons.
That would be a big step for Milwaukee given the ubiquity of the tavern culture in the city on even fuller display over the St. Patrick's Day/weekend/week/NCAA Tournament binge - - but a pub crawl death in 2010 within walking distance of where the currently-missing man was last seen on Water St. didn't exactly get the ball rolling.
Wisconsin already leads the nation in binge drinking, drunk driving and other alcohol abuse statistics.
Why continue to allow events that drive up the most tragic of these numbers?
Let's keep our eye on the responsible parties. Why would the community continue to license bars that participate in these drunk fests? East Side Milwaukee neighborhood associations are going on record that they will oppose liquor licenses for these establishments. Complaints in an Open Letter on Destructive Drinking signed by the associations a year ago didn't have much effect.
ReplyDeleteGood point.
ReplyDeleteNic is my alderman, too, and he has my support on this.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, Mr. Maierle. Maybe you have had an effect, if too late for too many young people. In addition to the fatality (we still can hope that there is only one), there have been injuries and other impacts on young people that ought not be countenanced for the sake of greed.
Irresponsible tavern owners were curbed with laws requiring responsibility to not overserve customers in the 1870s, across the country and in this state, and it's time to learn from the lessons of the past.