That's what Nicholas Kristof is advocating. His argument is based on Budweiser's catering to the alcoholic bent of Indians living in the Pine Ridge Reservation in Nebraska. Alcohol is banned on the reservation. But outside the reservation is a very tiny town, Whiteclay; perhaps there are 10 people living there. But these 10 are able to sell more than 4,000,000 cans of beer and malt liquor a year. Most of the liquor is made by Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser.
Alcohol has devastated the reservation. "Life expectancy is about the same as
in Afghanistan. As many as two-thirds of adults there may be
alcoholics, and one-quarter of children are born suffering from fetal
alcohol spectrum disorders."
The tribe says that more than 90 percent of arrests by the tribal police
are alcohol-related, along with 90 percent of arrests of juveniles.
Children often begin drinking in their early teens.
I am not in favor of prohibition, but clearly Anheuser-Busch is willing to sacrifice a community for a buck.
No comments:
Post a Comment