1. Who cares what his intents on driving were? Such intent is not at issue here. Do you want to pre-arrest people for being in a situation where a person could possibly be hurt? It appears to me as though your sympathy is bullshit, because he could have hurt someone. I don't think that's a fair approach.
The legal issue is the beating. My sympathy (or anyone's) is an emotional reaction which is on an individual level. I don't have sympathy for someone who gets rip-roaring drunk and then intends to drive home afterward (as I too drive through that neighborhood). I do have sympathy that he got the crap kicked out of him while unconscious which is completely out of line, over-the-top, and needs to be punished.
2. How can you recommend immediate alcohol treatment for someone you knew nothing of until the original post yesterday. All any reader knows for sure is that he got drunk and was involved in an altercation. It's way premature to recommend counseling of any type. Get off yo high horse.
Let me describe my high horse.
My high horse has my uncle's dead body on it. My high horse has my father and I dragging him out of bars at 1AM, bailing him out of jail, seeing the wounds from another bar fight (swollen shut black eyes, broken nose, one broken arm). My high horse has him struggling with a lifetime of this behavior, followed by legal and medical problems...but get treatment?: "Hell no!"
My high horse has us finding him choked to death (from his own vomit) on his couch at the age of 46. Too old to do that drinkin' and fighting shit. My high horse has me seeing my father cry for the only time ever. My high horse carries its burden.
<sigh>
But you know what? Screw it. I take it all back, SM, on the recommendation of jimavolt (and now I see, holland). Your son simply had an asshole beat him up. No problems with alcohol. No problems with being a "chippy" or belligerent drunk. No problems whatsoever. Premature on my part to show concern that he may need more than just his bones healed...that maybe this "life lesson" should inspire him to cut down or eliminate alcohol from his life. Chalk this event up to "life experience" (jimavolt's summary). Chalk my response up to "I just want people beaten because they may drive home drunk" (holland's summary). Yeah, that's exactly what I meant, holland <rolls eyes>.
I'm apparently way too judgmental and biased due to my own experience with a beautiful person, whom I loved growing up, becoming a belligerent drunk when he drank and the heartache, heartbreak, and ulcer-inducing worry, fear, and devastation it caused. Not that you'd know anything about that because there is nothing here to indicate any of that.
It's all my fault for posting. I'm the asshole. Thanks for (not) listening.
Enjoy your holidays and a speedy recovery to the young man.