The Tyranny of Addiction

Clancy Martin has an essay about being an alcoholic disguised as a cheeky guide to secret drinking, and it’s very sad. I related to the tone and the spirit of the piece — I’m not a secret drinker, but I’ve been a secret spender before. It was never Belvedere I hid, but bags of clothes, sure. (This old thing? I’ve had it for years.) This passage felt especially familiar:

“Every secret drink guzzled is, in essence, an act of defiance against the tyranny of others, or the tyranny of a partner, the tyranny of society, or even the tyranny of one’s own addiction: ‘Fuck you! I can have three long swallows and put you back down here behind the basement stairs, Mr. Belvedere. And good night!’ Or a better, more realistic idea, even if it’s a more modest statement: Buy the half-pint and just drain the whole damn thing.”

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