JJ-Stating that his choice to abstain makes him stronger IS arrogant. I respect his choice- not his justification. To think that you are more worthy of respect than your peers who can drink responsibly and in moderation or rarely is hypercritical if not pompous. How can you not see this? Passing judgment on others to make you feel better about your own choices never did anyone any good. Let your actions speak for themselves.
As previously stated in another comment, Tynan doesn't seem to understand the difference between drinking and getting drunk. Enjoying a glass of wine with friends and getting plastered at a party just aren't the same. The motivations and consequences of these situations are completely different. But again, choosing not to do either of these things is fine too. Just don't think that the group of friends that sit around a table sipping Pepsi and playing say... Scattergories are automatically better than the ones drinking wine and playing Scattergories. It's just a different scene. Drinking doesn't have to mean playing with fire.
Also, everyone I've ever heard claim that they don't drink because they don't want to loose control had control issues. It's foolish to think that you're ever really completely in control. Every time you drive a car, you taking a gamble because you can't control other drivers. You may be able to control your own actions and emotions but you can't control the things that happen TO you. Going back to the difference between drinking and getting drunk, there's a tipping point between drinking and loosing control of your emotions. You don't ever have to drink to that point. To the 17 or 19yr-old kids who read his post and think it's great, I'm glad. They're too young to be able to toe the line of moderation anyway. And it's physically damaging to teens whose brains aren't even fully developed. There's a reason why there's a drinking age.
Darn, it's a reaI shame I don't have the "mental capacity" to understand nonsensical assertions. So sorry.