Why the Morbid Shame about "Cheers"???

The TV show Cheers, set in Boston, MA, was one of the most popular TV shows in U.S. history, both during its main run, and later as syndicated re-runs.

But personally, I turned out not to be a drinker. I no longer believe that casual drinking really exists - there's no such thing as "casual drinking" in my opinion. Or, it's much more insidious than some would have us believe.

Drinking accelerates time: I eventually found that "casual drinking" on one day always turns into "the next day" sooner than expected. Even one little drink puts a large hole in my entire day; so there's no such thing as a "casual drink". It's a myth.

I thought years ago that by now, I would be a regular drinker. All my life, I thought that some day, I'll be a regular drinker.

But when I tried to actually drink alcohol regularly, I just felt worse every day. For me, there was no silver lining from being a regular drinker. My stomach soon felt like it was coming down with ulcers. My digestion quickly got worse and worse. My teeth began to deterioate. My insomnia became worse from drinking, not better, over time. I seemed to be aging more rapidly from drinking alcohol. My memory started getting worse from alcohol. I didn't like to exercise after drinking. I didn't like to do anything after drinking. The only thing that occurred was that the next day came much more quickly.

In fact, I felt closer to death every time I drank. I didn't feel happy. I didn't feel more cheerful. I didn't feel closer to my friends. I didn't feel anything good about it. Now, I think drinking sucks. Sorry.

Now, let's substitute weed for alcohol. Since 1992, I have wanted there to be marijuana cafes in the USA and elsewhere outside Holland that would be similar to bars for drinking alcohol. But instead of alcohol being served and consumed, marijuana would be served and consumed. I personally am not seeking a combination of the two.

They have pot cafes in Leiden, the Netherlands, and many other cities in that country. I'm not going to mention the most obvious city for this activity since so many have tried to corrupt the experience in that particular place due to one well known fatal flaw in that place. The fatal flaw is not caused by weed, but by prostitution. The previous link is to a fantasy-comedy episode of the TV show, Cheers, about how that bar became a hot-bed of prostitution and human trafficking (excuse the pun).

The whole point of legal weed in Europe is to have a Cheers like place, free of crime and prostitution, where people can be congenial and friendly without alcohol. That's actually how it is in Amsterdam for most people.

But some don't get it. Some think that prostitution is all that happens in Amsterdam. That's not true. I've never seen prostitution take place in weed coffee shops even once in my entire life. There are parallel realities everywhere you care to look. So it never occurred to me that so many would continue to relate weed coffee shops with prostitution, though there really is no profound link between the two. Even in 2020.

Note that as far as I know, Amsterdam is the only place in Holland where the two intersect, and that intersection, in my opinion, is solely coincidental and solely geographical. There is no functional relationship between the prostitution activity in Amsterdam, and the weed cafes. Evidence of this fact is that Amsterdam is the only city in Holland where the two coincidentally intersect.

Even if there is a geographical intersection between prostitution and weed cafes in Amsterdam, one would find that same correspondence in all the rest of Holland as well. But that is not the case. It's a geographical relationship in only central Amsterdam, not a functional relationship.

The Linguistic Divide: the Dutch Language Barrier: what's really amazing and very rarely discussed about Amsterdam is how Dutch mainstream-working people are the usual clientel in most of the weed-coffee-shops, outside and even inside the touristy Centrum. This group does not care about the tourist trade, in general, and where Dutch rather than English is primarily spoken. Not many foreigners speak Dutch, so tourists shy away from such places in and outside of the Centrum, both. Such "Dutch dominated" places might be right next door to the places that do cater to foreign tourists. One major example is Rusland coffee shop which is slightly more liberal to English speakers while being mainly for Dutch speakers really.

NOTE: the mostly English-speaking tourists who keep track of the different pot-shops which cater to tourists, do not give the Dutch dominated places high marks in terms of reviews! But don't let that fool you! This is mainly due to not being English-friendly.

So just as the economy related to "wiet" in the year 2020 is at a major peak in Holland, the fact that Englishmen and English speakers are threatening Dutch hegemony and domination of the pot-shop scene even in Amsterdam, is what is at the core of the current conflict in Holland concerning weed, and coffee shops. What's bizarre is that the city council and mayor of Amsterdam have consistently only agreed to shut down all tourism to the pot-shops, when the best solution would be to open more shops, especially for Dutch-only speakers.

NOTE: my experience in Holland is that the persons least likely to speak English are the police and all government employees. Individually and apart from large groups (more than four), I would spend more time along the fringes of the Dutch pot-shop scene, and see for myself what is really happening. The opening of pot shops for natives in Luxumbourg and elsewhere should take the pressure off of Holland. But be aware of a standard sort of nationalism dominated by Dutchmen in Holland.

Note that the Royal Palace in Amsterdam is as geographically closely related to prostitution as some of the weed cafes. But no one is proposing to tear down or shut down the Royal Palace, are they?

But it is a fact that Dam Square, on which the Royal Palace sits, is defined roughly as one corner of the Red Light District of Amsterdam. I say, "roughly", as Dam Square is not actually a square. That point defining the "red light district" on the Dam, would be the corner of "Dam", and Warmoesstraat.

What did you expect???? The argument about prostitution is really a red-herring anyway. It's actually about Dutch nationalism just as the situation in Venice is really about Italian nationalism. I'm not against Dutch or Italian nationalism, it's a normal and predictable reality. A lot of people in Amsterdam forget they're in a foreign country sometimes. Try a visit to some of the other places in Holland, but don't speak English loudly. Try to speak Dutch a bit. And travel in very small groups - perhaps 3 people or fewer would be best.