A survey proves the majority of people are fed up with being pressured to have alcohol with colleagues. For the sake of women and families, corporate culture needs to change.

Duncan Bartlett, for JAPAN Forward

In the past when I used to go to bars, I sometimes heard a ghastly slur leveled against sensible, sober people.

I would be told: “Son, never trust a man who doesn’t drink.”

This warning was usually voiced by strange men, who slurred their words and winked knowingly as they enticed me to clink their glasses in a toast.

I must admit I found the phrase attractive. It left the impression that getting inebriated is a noble act and a legitimate way of tearing down the barriers of pretense which hide our true souls.

It turns out that the aphorism was originally coined by James Crumley, who held visiting professorships at half a dozen American universities during the 1970s and 1980s.

It originally appeared in a detective book by Crumley in which a character says:

“Son, never trust a man who doesn’t drink because he’s probably a self-righteous sort, a man who thinks he knows right from wrong all the time. Some of them are good men, but in the name of goodness, they cause most of the suffering in the world. They’re the judges, the meddlers. And, son, never trust a man who drinks but refuses to get drunk. They’re usually afraid of something deep down inside, either that they’re a coward or a fool or mean and violent.”

Drink and Drugs

The author of these words did cocaine six days a week and drank a bottle of whiskey every day, according to his friend and fellow writer Thomas McGuane. He also married five times, had many children and suffered years of ill health before an early death.

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