It happened in my proximity last night. It has been a while since I have witnessed this and as someone that has achieved legendary levels of drunkenness and still kept it together I gotta say that I think the inability to hold yourself together when drinking too much is a very horrible characteristic.
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I had just stopped by a noodle shop and figured i would have a couple before heading home. I don't normally drink very much anymore but I do enjoy a couple drinks and a chat with the fellas at this golf-oriented bar. When I sat down the people were welcoming and I met a couple new people. We had some laughs and talked about all manor of things. I ended up jotting down some new films to see and overall it was a wonderful hour or so...except for one person....
Harry, was damn near legless by the time I even go there around 9pm, he had a Jack Daniels and a beer that he kept refilling pretty rapidly. I think what set him off was when I refused a shot that he bought for me. I turned it down politely but I genuinely do not want shots anymore. I didn't try to make him feel bad but I politely told him "I don't drink straight spirits, but I appreciate it pal"
I wish he had just done this instead
From that point forward, he would interject on nearly any topic to try to get under my skin. It doesn't matter what the conversation was about, he became antagonistic towards me about anything. It didn't matter if it was "who was the star of Seabiscuit?" (actual question at our table) or "i wish I had studied something different in college" (we experienced great diversity in conversation) he would always attack anything I said or say something like "that's bullshit and you know it!" even after the thing I had just said was an opinion, my opinion about my own life and it couldn't possibly be wrong.
I was laughing at first but after a while it got to be something I was no longer willing to tolerate, so I just asked Harry "what the fuck is your problem man? you've been on my case for the last 30 minutes..." And he went on to say "because you are an asshole blah blah blah"
The thing is, everyone else at the table were having a nice conversation and we were laughing a lot. Harry was the only one who was getting upset and aggressive. Harry was also intentionally blowing smoke at me and the others who don't smoke in the area, he was ordering people around and generally just being a nuisance.
I am in relatively good shape and train in boxing several times a week. So at one point I calmly told Harry that "you are getting really close to getting punched Harry, by me..." Thankfully, Harry stormed out of the bar shouting "Fuck you, fuck you, asshole!" and then got in his car to drive home in that state..... Consequently, I think that when someone drives when they know they are drunk as hell says a lot about them as a person.
Immediately after Harry left, several of the other people that still remained came over to inform me that Harry routinely does this and has been permanently banned from multiple establishments because of this. He is not banned from this one because he spends a lot of money there - which as a former business owner is something I can relate to, unfortunately.
I have been in exactly one bar fight in my life and that guy mistook me for someone else. I am not someone who quickly turns to violence but am pretty capable of handling it if it comes my way. I have never been a violent person and will normally seek a political solution to almost any altercation. The main reason being that when you punch someone in the head it hurts your hands too and you almost never feel better about the situation afterwards, even if you win.
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I will likely just avoid Harry in the future, but seeing as how it is well-known that he behaves like this, predictably, on a regular basis - I kind of pity him. I would imagine he is a pretty lonely dude and i don't wish that on anyone. I can't understand people who end up in a cycle of the same bad stuff happening to them over and over and not doing anything to change it... Harry is caught in exactly that sort of loop and it is tragic because I can tell he isn't ever going to change.