The issue of alcohol on the beach is not a case of good versus evil, although some would like you to believe that. People who want to enjoy an adult beverage on the beach are not the “bad guys,” just as people who refrain from drinking are not the “good guys.”
It is a matter of taste. It is much like the choice between surfing and swimming at the beach. We, as citizens of San Diego, must share the beach and allow each person to enjoy it in their own way.
How silly would it be to ban surfing from the beach. There are designated “surf” and “swim” zones. Surfers and swimmers happily co-exist. We can’t cater to someone who wants to swim “everywhere” on the beach, as the beach does not belong to any one individual. When there is a reckless surfer, the lifeguard steps in and removes the “reckless” surfer.
When there is a “reckless” drinker on the beach, the cops do much the same. That is how the system is set up to work. We remove the few “bad seeds” so that everyone can enjoy the beach.
Further, while a product such as a cigarette can be harmful to others even if used by the most responsible individual, this is not the case with alcohol.
A responsible person enjoying a beer on the beach is not negatively affecting anyone around him or her. We shouldn’t ban the product when the product is not the problem.
The problem is the few people who abuse the product. Removing these individuals is one of the reasons police patrol the beach. While I do not support any ban, I could understand a ban on the three big holidays to limit the amount of people who are out of control.
These are usually people that are not from the neighborhood and people who lack respect for the local beach.
I just can’t see the logic in an outright ban that would prohibit me from going down to an empty beach during the off-season to enjoy a beer and watch the sunset.