Re: So my brother got fired for drinking on the job
Your brother may not like the idea of his family being informed of his drinking problem and it being the reason for him losing his job........but I feel it needs to be done.
The reason I say this is because your brother might assume that he has successfully fooled people into thinking that he was simply "laid off".....and that might encourage him to use the SAME EXACT excuse again next time. It's only allowing him to get away with lying, which is also wrong.
Also, his family needs to become fully aware of his drinking problem. God forbid, he gets into a drunk driving accident in the future.....can you imagine the SHOCK his family will experience....if they had no prior idea about his addiction. And what if being in a drunken state leads him to hurt someone else? There are too many possibilities/awful scenarios that can result from his addiction....it would be foolish to let this continue without informing the rest of the family.
Also, do you know why you're brother is drinking? I know this woman who lost her son to alcohol addiction. She's been to the support groups and has quite a bit of knowledge on the subject. I asked her once why people drink? And she said it's because deep down they are not happy. I think that makes sense. People who drink to become more "social" do it because they are are not happy/confident enough to embrace their personalities and find other means of socialization. People who drink to "fit in" are not secure with themselves as individuals. People who drink because they want to forget problems are obviously not happy in their fully conscious lives.
^I'm not saying that unhappiness is the DEFINITE one and only reason for drinking. It could even be as simple as your brother liking the taste of alcohol. Although others will argue that alcohol is an acquired taste and is not a beverage most people find delicious at first taste.
^Find out WHY he's drinking.....because his reason will be the root of the problem. But please tell your family. He has a wife and two children that depend on him. You owe it to them. Best wishes.
I think you should just be honest. Tell your family that he had left his email open and you accidentally caught a glimpse of some alarming sentences. And in a state of panic and concern for your brother you couldn't help but read something that was SITTING OUT in the open to begin with. You have nothing to feel guilty about. It's not like you purposely hacked into his email account to access private information about him. It's really your brother's fault for being so careless. His emails being exposed is like a blessing in disguise....and opportunity for the family to become more aware. Just tell them the truth. Your brother might be mad because he's in denial about his addiction and doesn't want to let it go. But the rational thinking members of your family will appreciate your honesty about how you found out about his getting fired.