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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Do you think all of those guys are blameless? Hostages to some cognitive behavior dysfunction that they never had any chance to overcome? Is my choice to judge in some of these cases an obstacle to my understanding?
Personally, I don't see any contradiction in saying people need help, but they should also accept responsibility for their behavior.
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In a sense, yes - they are hostages, until they can fully admit it. In some cases it requires people to hit a very low rock bottom. In some cases that's still not enough. There are different levels of bottoms depending on the person.
Alcoholics/addicts generally have addictive thinking long before they get into and abuse any substance. Alcohol and drugs are just a symptom. There are very few people that get help that would consider themselves saints leading up to that point. There are people with far worse pasts than Mike that have recovered.
Alcoholics and addicts certainly aren't blameless, but it's a serious disease that is still largely misunderstood, which is evident in your comment. And I don't mean to offend by saying that, as you're certainly not alone, but it's just the reality.