The industrial origins of Scottish excess | Lesley Riddoch | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

19:30 industrial origins of Scottish excess 0 Comments

The industrial origins of Scottish excess | Lesley Riddoch | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "According to a Glasgow University health study I am one of the 97.5% of Scots whose behaviour damages my health. OK – it could be a lot worse. As a teetotal non-smoker and regular cyclist with a reasonable diet, my only crime against myself is carrying a few too many pounds.
The problem with the drinking, smoking, overeating, underexercising and bad-diet culture is its wretched ubiquity. Outside of leafy suburbs, 'odd' minorities who like vegetables, like walking and don't like alcohol in vast quantities are easily characterised as freaks. And Glasgow University's survey seems to bear that out. If 4 million Sun readers can't be wrong, how right do 4 million Scots feel about eating, drinking and smoking themselves into a standstill? Behaviour which has become that common has morphed into identity.
It's not that Scots tend to drink. It's that you have to drink to be Scottish. OK – there's Billy Connolly. But then – the identity police would argue – he's been 'down the road' too long to count. You have to be prepared to self harm to be Scottish. You must regard moderation with suspicion and balance with contempt. Nowhere is this written, and yet almost everywhere this is the unwritten law. The Celtic outlook believes more is more. If one G&T is good, 10 will be 10 times better. Pacing yourself, alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks, not getting drunk at all – these are all unpatriotic behaviours associated with 'jumped up' folk who think their life path, career and tomorrow are worth putting first."