I don't know how widespread this problem is, but one of the things that bugs the shit out of me is what I'll call the "DUI culture" around here. What I mean by that is the mentality many people have that getting a DUI and/or driving drunk is perfectly normal. A friend of mine was dating a guy whose friends congratulated him when he got his first DUI, because he was finally "part of the club." They all had 2 or 3 DUIs, and they looked upon as some badge of honor. Every day we hear about professional athletes arrested for a DUI, and most people just shrug it off as some sort of "boys will be boys" thing. I'll often overhear random people in public talking about how they got "another DUI" like it's no big deal. One woman complained that the court installed a breathalyzer in her car that she had to blow into before it would start. Her complaint was that she got it after her third DUI, arguing that was too few. She felt you shouldn't have that until your fourth or fifth conviction.
People don't see it as dangerous. They don't think about what could happen, or why society punishes people for it. They just see it as "the man" being uptight. You'll even hear some people joke that it's fun or that they drive better when they're drunk. I don't fucking get it. I'm not saying that the first time a person gets a DUI they should be tarred and feathered. I just think people should take them more seriously, at least acknowledge that it's bad to drive drunk. It's not a fucking joke.[DOUBLEPOST=1342811148][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and while I was typing that I got an update on my SIL. All this is according to my dad, who got it from my mother, who heard it from my brother, so it's a bit like playing telephone. Basically the doctors don't know what started it all, but her symptoms are all related. She has some sort of chemical/electrical imbalance in her brain that's causing her to have seizures. This is coming completely out of the blue. She's 29 and has never had any kind of problem like this before. Apparently she's going to start some medication that will hopefully prevent any other seizures, but it won't fully take effect for another 2 weeks. So she can't drive or work during that time, and she has to be prepared for further problems until the medication can kick in.