'##::::'##:::'#####:::'########: VIVA LA REVOLUCION! CERDO DEL CAPITALISTA!!
  ##:::: ##::'##.. ##:: ##.....:: ===========================================
  ##:::: ##:'##:::: ##: ##::::::: THE HELOTS OF ECSTASY PRESS RELEASE #431 !!
  #########: ##:::: ##: ######::: ZIEGO VUANTAR SHALL BE MUCH VICTORIOUS!  !!
  ##.... ##: ##:::: ##: ##...:::: ===========================================
  ##:::: ##:. ##:: ##:: ##:::::::        "Illicit Substances and a         !!
  ##:::: ##::. #####::: ########:            Carefree Lifestyle"           !!
 ..:::::..::::.....::::........:: by -> Quarex                     1/15/99 !!
 !!========================================================================!!

      So there I sat, in the midst of a group of mid to late teenagers,
 all of them drinking vodka and alternately smoking pot and cigarettes.
 I, naturally, am abstaining, since my purpose in life is the Guy Who
 Never Does Anything "Bad."  In my perpetual abstinence from all things 
 fun, I have noticed a great deal of things.  Most of them are just
 anti-drinking/smoking/etc. dogma.  Yes, this is the kind nobody wants to 
 hear, since its only general purpose is to lead into a war of words which 
 escalates into either disinterest or ad hominem attacks.  So,
 naturally, nobody should be subjected to this. However, somewhere along
 the line, I started actually putting together a legitimate argument
 against all this kind of crap.

      When one of my friends first told me that he hated the taste of
 coffee when he first tried it, and yet forced himself to drink it until
 he was used to the taste anyway, I could only wonder why.  Why the fuck
 would anyone want to do something that he/she hated, only for the
 purpose of being able to do it without hating it later?

      Then, it occurred to me that this is a pattern seen in almost every
 aspect of life, be it working your way through school, working your way
 into a subculture, or just working.  People pretty much never like doing
 anything, if you take a look at everything.  I have learned that things
 which I took for granted as being pure unadulturated hedonism, like sex,
 drugs, and drinking, are not necessarily any different than coffee.
 I talked to that same friend who forced himself to like coffee about beer
 once, and sure enough, he had loathed beer when he first started drinking
 it, yet eventually convinced himself to enjoy the taste.  Similarly, a
 girl I knew to be a complete sex fiend also explained that she started
 out disliking sex, yet kept doing it beacuse she felt like she was
 supposed to do it.  Why?  Why bother?  Is life not enough fucking
 bullshit already?  Do you really need to add more things you do not
 really want to be doing to your life?

      Of course, just getting used to something in itself also might not
 be such a bad thing on its own, maybe you feel that through triumphing
 over adversity, you make yourself a better person.  However, how many
 people do I know who smoke a pack a day who abhorred smoking when they
 first tried it?  Way more than I wish I knew.  Going from a position of
 loathing to a position of addiction is just fucked up.  If you do not dig
 something when you first try it, why not just try something else?  I
 mean, would I be drinking five glasses of milk a day if I had not fuckin'
 loved that shit since day 1?  Hell no!  I want my life to be as care-free
 as I can make it, and adjusting my tastes to get used to something that
 sucks sure as hell does not fit into my idea of a care-free life.

      Now, before you go pointing out that you personally have always
 loved drugs, alcohol, sex, or whatever, I realize that this does not
 apply to everyone.  If you have sex once and decide it is the greatest
 thing ever, hey, that is an excellent thing for you to be doing.  If you
 have sex and feel like your soul has been broken into a thousand pieces
 as a result, maybe you should try abstaining for a while, or maybe
 forever.  I could use some company aside from celibate religious
 figures, after all.  The same obviously applies to anything.

      And always remember to metaphorically apply the most absolutely
 true statement ever uttered by an animated character that Jon Lovitz
 voiced: "If the movie stinks, just don't go!"

 !!========================================================================!!
 !! (c) !LA HOE REVOLUCION PRESS!   HOE #431, WRITTEN BY: QUAREX - 1/15/99 !!