I have recently become addicted
engrossed with the television show Bar Rescue.
I love watching them make something great out of something that has been
neglected. One of my favourite episodes
was where the owners were rebuked for serving customers who were already
clearly intoxicated and then allowing these people to leave without ensuring
they were safe. This particular episode
hit home this week as the court case for Leslie Kohlhase ended. While I can write a whole blog on the trial
and the outcome I choose not to comment on this as I know all parties involved
in the case and I don’t want my opinion to hurt people I care for. What I would like to address is underage
drinking.
In almost all the news reports
the age of Leslie was mentioned. I know
that her age, 19, has a 1 in it, but the one is not preceded by a 2 as in she
was not 21. The legal age for drinking
alcohol is 21 in Samoa. We are not Australia or NZ we are Samoa so
Samoan laws apply, not what happens overseas.
I know firsthand that there is a problem with underage people getting
into clubs and being served alcoholic beverages in Samoa. I know this because I see students I taught foundation
English to out at the clubs. Yes there
are signs saying you don’t serve people under 21, yes the police come and walk
around the night club at 12 when the club is supposed to close but how many of
the clubs have actually been penalized for serving underage patrons? How many Leslie Kohlhase’s will enter the
clubs this weekend and get completely smashed?
It is the responsibility of the
owners of bars, nightclubs and anywhere that serves alcohol to ensure that they
are not serving alcohol to underage patrons.
It is also the bar owner’s responsibility to ensure their patrons are
safe. In general regardless of age, you are not ensuring they are safe
by continuing to serve them alcohol once it is obvious they are already
intoxicated. Throwing them out on the
street when they can barely walk is also not ensuring their safety. Yes you can argue that once they have left
your premises they are no longer your responsibility. But how bad will you feel knowing that you
could have taken someone’s keys and put them in a taxi so they get home safely
rather than hearing the next day that they have been run over by a speeding car
and killed? You may not have a legal
obligation, but isn’t a moral obligation just as important?
It is the responsibility of the
Police to enforce this law by not just doing a walk by when the clubs close but
to do spot ID checks and following through with prosecuting locations that
violate this law. If the Police do not
feel that this law is a priority then the club and bar owners won’t feel it is
important either and we end up with our current situation where our youth act
as if they are above the law.
As a parent, I don’t understand
where the parents of these kids are.
Because legally they are still kids.
A parent’s sole responsibility is to ensure the safety and well being of
their children. How can you do this if
you are not there? You obviously know
they are out if you allowed them the use of your car and because they are most
likely not working you probably gave them money too and yet you feel it is
appropriate to allow them to go out and break the law by underage binge
drinking unsupervised? Yes I see that
your child is getting older and you feel that they can go out, just ensure that
they are out with you or an adult whom you trust to be responsible. In my opinion if you are going to allow your
child to participate in underage drinking, which is your right as long as it is
in line with the laws of your country, then do so in your home where you know
they will not endanger themselves or others.
Even when I was of age to go out clubbing my mother still came to pick
me up from a club because she wanted to make sure that I was safe. Yes your child may get embarrassed and may
not talk to you for an hour or so but which is better having them not talk to
you or no longer being able to hold them in your arms because they crashed
their car into a pole and died?
Parenting is the hardest job in the world it means you will have to say
no to your child, your child may not like you all the time but that is part of
being a good parent setting boundaries and enforcing them.
The current underage drinking situation
in Samoa is a result of our negligence, not just one person or organization but
everyone. Let’s work together to turn
the situation into something great so that we no longer put the lives of our
youth at risk.
