You're right, we should have a RIP thread for every addict who overdoses. Who volunteers to scan the obituaries daily?

My brother is an addict, heroine. We come from a priveledged family, given every opportunity in the world but he chose that path. Will he die of an overdoes someday? Very likely. I expect as much public outpouring of emotion and media coverage when that happens, ok?

the thread started off as RIP Whitney Houston, but turned into Rip Whitney Houston.  interesting.

She was no better than any other person that makes the decision to use drugs.


I call it as I see it. She was just one more drug addled fool who deserves no more mention than the crack head on the corner.


No I don't feel a thing for them. THEY made the decision to go down that path.

Whoah.

Anger and hate can become addictions in their own right. Be careful, seriously.

It's not anger and hate.

More like disgust over all the media hype. I find all the hoopla more irritating than anything else.


Thankfully after a short while this constant barrage will cease and we'll go to the next "star" that burns out in public.



WINNING!


Get my gist?

I totally get your gist. I'm disgusted by media hype as well. But I find it odd to deal with disgust over media hype by calling Houston a crackwhore and crackhead. It's displaced anger. You don't have to love Houston or even like her but cynically piling does nothing but add to the hype.

And by the way, you don't need to be a star to burn out in public. If you burn out bright enough of fall hard enough, that can make you a star!

I'm planning MY burn out so I can get some publicity and be a star....

Got to happen in the next few year though, since I am getting a bit long in the tooth... :-)


"He passed on after crashing his Hoveround after he overdosed on two gallons of Ripple. Film at Eleven"

I have not called her any names but also question whether she deserves the sympathy that has been bestowed upon her. When the music died in a plain crash it was a tragedy worthy of being remembered in a song. But she smoked out her own life. As a number of posters have written in this thread they chose to get help and have successfully wrestled with the monkey on their back.

What makes Whitney special? That she wasted the sublime talent the Lord invested in her? The memory of that supreme talent? Or that she was famous, her life played out in tabloids, and her her emotional issues were never properly treated? She had the resources to deal with her illness but not the desire. I am supposed to weep for someone who mixed barbiturates with alcohol and passed out in the bath? I'd rather celebrate Gman who found the strength to deal with his demon than celebrate the falling star who did not. There are so many others without her advantages who deserve our sympathies.

When Fins and I find common ground it worth noting.

Whitney isn't unlike many stars who come along, get caught up in the hype of stardom, and die an early death. Being in the limelight isn't something the average person can deal with so when you are thrusted into the position of fame most are more likely to fail then to have a successful lifelong experience. You have to possess the perfect combination of intelligence, arrogance, ignorance, creativity, competitiveness, and so many other qualities. I think people get anger at the situation for two reasons: 1. Because of their personal experiences that people like Ed have had. Growing up with addicts who are willing to ruin every relationship because of their additiction can cause them to be a little jaded. 2. Because they feel like Whitney waisted her God given talents. People think that somehow if they were in the position they wouldn't have screwed it up. Like winning the lottery and not blowing the money in 5 years.

She should get some credit for what she did do. She provided millions of people an outlet by listening to her music and allowing them to escape and forget about their problems. I'm indifferent because I didn't listen to her music or didn't know her. There are a lot of people who followed her career because they enjoyed her music or enjoyed the train wreck. Like Judge Mathis says, "Well, did you do crack? Yes? Then you are crackhead!"

Duly noted buddy.

Nobody is asking you guys to fall all over yourselves giving her accolades or sympathy. That's really not that important. Some of the accolades given her are a little over the top. She was a really good singer, no doubt. And she had issues with addiction.

But your disapproval of her is noted.

I have no anger over the issue. But you are correct, I have no empathy for people that don't care enough about themselves to get help

That is exactly why I posted this thread. I wasn't giving Whitney a pat on the back for her chemical dependency issues. I don't know about many of the OP's but my family is in the music business. I played and sang for many years and took my passion for music with me into the CI biz in '78 when I was 13. Back in the 2 channel days, the killer female vocal closed the deal on the speakers and receiver/amp, preamp sale. Whitney Houston was one of those "big" voices that that my clients listened to when they got home from a crappy day and wanted to escape from the stress of the work day. It was Whitney who took her own final "escape"...

Very well said my good man. I think the two biggest issues with drugs (particularly hard drugs) are that:

1. No-one expects to get addicted to them.

2. They work

A good friend of mine has been a casual drug user for 25 years (mainly coke and ice) and has never gotten addicted to them. He and i discuss this periodically and he knows that i will never enable or support this. His belief is that if you take drugs to enhance a good time you are already having then they will do exactly that, because they work. This is when he takes them, only when he is partying with friends (other than me). When the party is over he no longer wants the drug.

Likewise, he says if you take them because you are feeling down or want to forget your problem, they also work. The problem with taking them for these reasons is that they only work for a short period of time. So if you want to keep forgetting or feeling better then you need to keep taking them, thus leading to becoming addicted to them.

Just adding some food for thought. Maybe spare a thought as to what miserable existence may have led to the dependency in the first place. Also before you disparage all addicts for not digging themselves out of a hole, consider their state of mind once they have reached rock bottom. Clearly they are not the sane rational people they would need to be to make such a conscious decision in the face of their raging addiction.

She was black? Didnt cross my mind. Has nothing to do with anything and shouldnt even be a part of the any discussion. WTF? She is getting the attention because she was a SUPER star like no other in history, IMO. NO ONE could sing like her.

Amy Whinehouse didnt get the attention not because of the color of her skin but because she was no where near the star that Whitney was or ever would or even COULD be. Whitney was in a class by herself. Alone. And their in lies the problem, Alone, at least in her mind. I cant imagine the pressure and daily routine of stardom. YOU cant say how you would act, behave and what choices if your life in that fast lane since you were a teenager. YOU just dont KNOW for sure until your there. Armchair quarterbacks, always around huh?

Do I have sympathy for her? Absolutely. It saddens me such talent went down the wrong path and there lies my empathy and sorrow. Shame on those that cant even give a little sympathy to a lost one, regardless of their lifestyle or choices. YOU dont know if you would have made the same choice or not no matter how strong you THINK you are.

Didnt she ALMOST have it all? Her choices kept her from it but thats no reason to spew such hatred. That saddens me as well.

I neither approve nor disapprove, Ryan. In fact, I have no feelings. I am simply not going to romanticise the life of an addict. Her talent vanished long ago which is sad. I was never a fan. I never owned a record she made and I've only watched her films on cable. You cannot help someone who does not want to be helped, even if so many enable them because their talent means dollar signs.

I find more emotional solace in Ed overcoming his personal history or in Gman's successful recovery.I do not have an addictive personality nor do I possess an addictive gene. I do not pretend to understand why one chooses drugs, why one needs to self-medicate ( which studies show many addicts are often guilty ). I do not pretend to know how difficult addiction is to overcome. Despite years of trying I could never overcome writer's block. It is one reason I own only an ABD in American History. I understand how hard it is to change behavior, even if I do not have personal experience with dependency. I do intimately understand the chaos addictive people wreak on those who love them. This tragedy occurred long before her death when she allowed herself to squander her talent. Len Bias was a tragedy. That was one night's celebration. Many artists suffer from mental illness, depression and anxiety. The road can be a harsh mistress, as the miles drone on and you have to summon up energy you do not have for that night's show. Much of this emotional outpouring seems gratuitous and were she alive something she'd manipulate in order to get her next fix.Unlike Marilyn or Judy Garland I think she was the diva who exploited others rather than the artist whose talent was exploited. She was her own victim not one victimized by her handlers.