… or how the alcohol industry constructs “culture” (read: incidents to use alcohol).
There are several one hour long Late Night Talk Shows in the USA headlined by comedians who open their shows with a series of one-line jokes (one-liners).
On May 4, 2012, the day before one of the American alcohol industries “made-up holidays,” Cinco de Mayo – the 5th of May, these were a few of the jokes:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno “Tomorrow’s Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo, of course, celebrates the victory of the Mexican army over the French. You know, if you have to use defeating the French military as a reason to spend the day drinking, you’re probably an alcoholic already.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! “I would like to wish each of you a happy Cinco de Mayo. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since the last time I threw up in a sombrero.”
“Cinco de Mayo commemorates a victory of the Mexican War. And nothing fills the Mexican community with pride like white people drinking upside-down margaritas at Chili’s (a national chain of restaurants)”.
If it weren’t for the Irish (St. Patrick’s Day) and the Mexicans (Cinco de Mayo), between the Super Bowl (in February) and the 4th of July we would have no reason to get drunk.
This suggests that the alcohol industry seems to be doing well in the promotion of some of its made-up “holidays.”
