Drugs are rampant in the music and entertainment industry. Too many turn a blind eye to it, or enable it.
Yep, it'd be nice if you heard this headline a litter more often;
"Hollywood actor sent home to deal with addiction issues, filming will be postponed".
Unfortunately for celebrities, in Hollywood they aren't people, they're assets. Assets that earn lots of other people money, so everything stays quiet.
I feel a little bad about it - but my sympathy kind of went out the window when I read that he was found with a needle in his arm.
It'd be like weighing 600 lbs and found dead with a straw in your mouth to a bacon and trans fat smoothie. What the %$#$ did you think was going to happen.
Last edited by ranchlandsselling; 02-02-2014 at 09:14 PM.
I feel a little bad about it - but my sympathy kind of went out the window when I read that he was found with a needle in his arm.
It'd be like weighing 600 lbs and found dead with a straw in your mouth to a bacon and trans fat smoothie. What the %$#$ did you think was going to happen.
Never heard of drug addiction, eh?
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At the risk of derailing the thread, ~95% of drug addicts start as non drug addicts who voluntarily choose to use a substance know to be addictive and toxic to your life. I acknowledge that once you're addicted, it's hell to kick for even the strongest willed people, but the fact that it usually starts voluntarily negates a lot of the sympathy from me.
Apparently Hoffman was clean for 23 years. I guarantee no one forced him to restart using.
At the risk of derailing the thread, ~95% of drug addicts start as non drug addicts who voluntarily choose to use a substance know to be addictive and toxic to your life. I acknowledge that once you're addicted, it's hell to kick for even the strongest willed people, but the fact that it usually starts voluntarily negates a lot of the sympathy from me.
Apparently Hoffman was clean for 23 years. I guarantee no one forced him to restart using.
No, that's fine, there's lots of people like you out there. I was just referring more specifically to ranchlandselling's post, as he made it sound like Philip was sitting around going "hmm, what should I do today? Hey, maybe I'll stick this needle in my arm and see what happens", when it was clearly a relapse in a serious drug addiction.
Also, there's tons of reasons for drug addictions, and you never really know where, how or why someone started, so it's always a little annoying when you see comments like yours. But like you said, probably not the right thread.
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Addiction is a health issue - it is a part of a disease. You can't lose sympathy for a guy who has battled addiction for significant portions of his adult life. Our society often treats addicts as criminals or bad people...they are usually just people who are dealing with pain, mental health and/or family issues and have made a serious mistake. Treating those people who are dealing with addiction as rejects or criminals only exacerbates the issue.
Addicts are our co-workers, brothers, sisters, parents, children, or even ourselves. Addiction doesn't take someone's humanity away. We all face our battles as human beings.
In Hoffman's case, this could have been the first time he has used heroin since he entered rehab. He could have misjudged his tolerance for the drug since he hadn't used in a while which could have caused his OD. We don't know.
Hoffman was a tremendous talent. His ability to become someone else was uncanny and he simply seemed to absorb into his characters. It is so sad to see that he lost his battle with his demons.
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Let's not bother with that game, your attempt to one line me for a generally fair comment with an outlandish hyperbole and my attempt to explain what simply boils down to:
He's a smart, wealthy father of 3 at the age of 46. Should have known better and likely did but couldn't beat it when others in much worse shape than him have. Could I do it, I don't know, but at this point in my life I haven't gotten messed up on drugs when I've at many times had the opportunity.
No, that's fine, there's lots of people like you out there. I was just referring more specifically to ranchlandselling's post, as he made it sound like Philip was sitting around going "hmm, what should I do today? Hey, maybe I'll stick this needle in my arm and see what happens", when it was clearly a relapse in a serious drug addiction.
Also, there's tons of reasons for drug addictions, and you never really know where, how or why someone started, so it's always a little annoying when you see comments like yours. But like you said, probably not the right thread.
Actually I didn't make it sound like that at all, that's entirely how you managed to interpret it. You've actually "quoted" a whole sentence that doesn't even remotely come close to what I said. When I first saw the thread I thought "oh no, that's horrible" and in my post I even qualified my statement by mentioning that I actually feel bad for how I'm now taking the death. But c'mon, you're (decreased) picking the one drug (opiates) that humans actually have receptors for in their brain stem and injecting it en mass into your veins for the sole purpose of getting totally stoned. Coke/weed/acid/booze all can have equally horrible long term consequences, but none have the uncanny ability to instantly end you with such ease. You inject and slip into coma... bye... That's it, no more...
Addiction is a health issue - it is a part of a disease. You can't lose sympathy for a guy who has battled addiction for significant portions of his adult life. Our society often treats addicts as criminals or bad people...they are usually just people who are dealing with pain, mental health and/or family issues and have made a serious mistake. Treating those people who are dealing with addiction as rejects or criminals only exacerbates the issue.
Addicts are our co-workers, brothers, sisters, parents, children, or even ourselves. Addiction doesn't take someone's humanity away. We all face our battles as human beings.
Blah blah blah.
Say something new. So tired of reading this drivel every time someone offs themselves on drugs. No one is suggesting the plight of the drug addict isn't one of the most awful things imaginable. Nor that it's incredibly impressive when someone recovers or makes a go of their lives. I know because I've got plenty of friends that have been drug addicts or booze addicts and some have gotten better, others haven't and some have perished. The ones that have perished had mental health issues that were prevalent prior to drug use. But one way or another we each have to take responsibility for how we choose to live.
I didn't know him, I don't know his family, I never will, as such I'm not going to spend much time feeling sorry for the person. I will however think that it's sad that he's no longer around given what a good actor he was and that I enjoyed his movies. I can also be empathetic towards ones family/friends without thinking of the individual. But there's plenty of more sad stories out there that warrant attention more so than some movie star that had a better run at life than 99% of the word population and "maybe" didn't make it because he partied a bit too much and it turned into a habit.
We'll see if more comes out that suggests I should feel otherwise. But don't patronize me with the "you can't do such and such" when I clearly can. Perhaps it should read "I can't take your comments at face value but I can start preaching from my high horse about what I think you should and should not do". Especially since at no point did I say anyone was a bad person or that anyone was "like a criminal".
RIP to him and condolences to his family. Great actor and really carried the scenes he was in in multiple movies. That said, my image of him is tarnished to some extent now that I know he was addicted to drugs and led that sort of lifestyle. As someone put it earlier, he was probably a strong Hollywood asset, and I can only imagine the pressure that Hollywood puts on these people and what they're exposed to. That said, too many great actors fall this way and it's a real shame to see.
I saw him live in Death of a Salesman in 2012 and he was enigmatic, artistic and captured to exhibit so much more than the original script. It was a stunning display of acting which I will never forget.
Addiction is a health issue - it is a part of a disease. You can't lose sympathy for a guy who has battled addiction for significant portions of his adult life. Our society often treats addicts as criminals or bad people...they are usually just people who are dealing with pain, mental health and/or family issues and have made a serious mistake. Treating those people who are dealing with addiction as rejects or criminals only exacerbates the issue.
Not that I want to get involved in this argument but a lot of the drug addicts and alcoholics I know and grew up with simply like to get high/drunk. For them it's a lifestyle choice. I don't believe every addict is that because of family issues or some bad moment in the past. It's simply a lifestyle for a lot of people.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 02-03-2014 at 07:19 AM.
He was an actor's actor. Deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Daniel Day Lewis. I'll miss his work. One of those reports you hope was a hoax. Damn.
I don't understand why poor people don't just be rich. Why do bad hockey players be bad and not good? The most important thing to do with something like this is to place blame. I am totally at a loss at what to think about something until I place blame somewhere.
I also think it has to do with the fear people have with their own mortality- being able to place blame brings people comfort, as it suggests that the person brought the death on themselves and therefore eliminates the randomness of it all... ie. "that could never happen to me"
So, seems like he may locked himself away to go on a binge as some addicts do and it went wrong. Not all addicts are everyday users, some are binge users.
