2008 Woodie Awards
Failure to Communicate: Alcoholism - The new way to say you're sorry
Luke McIntyre
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Opinions
It's not that odd, to a person who even casually watches the nightly news, to see our brightest stars and celebrities fall to drug addiction. The stresses of Hollywood, sudden rise from nothing to rich and famous - certainly these people have as many reasons as they have dollars. These actors and musicians are rarely looked down on. They're getting help for a problem, and that's a good thing.
Twice recently we've seen national figures admit themselves to rehab: Mel Gibson after his drunken racist rant, and former congressman Mark Foley after his supposedly drunken messages to a young male Congressional page.
Let's contrast these two with two public figures that I have a much easier time stomaching. This past August, Robin Williams entered rehab for alcohol abuse. His publicist released the statement, "After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time." There was no traumatic public event leading up to his decision. No embarrassing mugshot, no horrific online conversations released to the press. Williams just made the smart decision, and I respect him all the more for it.
The same applies for fellow comedian, and one of my idols, George Carlin. At the end of 2004 Carlin moved himself into rehab because of alcohol and pain killer abuse.
The important difference here is the reasoning behind these men's decision to undergo treatment. On the one hand, we have two that made the decision themselves.
On the other we have an actor who only accepted treatment after he proved himself to be a public menace and a politician who, after facing a ruined career and FBI investigation, claimed he was drunk when sending the messages.
Gibson and Foley turned the substance they used to escape their problems into an excuse they used to escape their trouble. Neither of the two were interested in seeking treatment before being skewered in the media. They were hoping for the sympathetic reaction given to most who enter treatment for an alcohol addiction.
"Oh, it's not their fault. They're alcoholics."
Maybe it's that I disagree with the nature of the "disease," in that alcoholism is not a disease. You can't catch alcoholism. There are no germs you can get off of a toilet seat that make you crave a drink. It's an addiction, and no one gives you or allows you to maintain an addiction aside from yourself. If people caught leukemia from constantly injecting themselves with cancer juice then I wouldn't feel bad for them either.
Perhaps people can have mental states or family histories that make them more likely to become alcoholics, but it's no excuse. The simple fact that some people are aware of their supposed increased likelihood for addiction should actually make them less likely to become addicts. Why play with fire?
And being drunk is never an excuse for actions you regret taking. You drank the drinks. Take some responsibility.
My family, like many, is no exception. We have a drunk uncle or two, a few people no one really talks about. I've had personal experience with close family members going to rehab, conquering their demons, and coming back a better person for it. Make no mistake, admitting an addiction and overcoming it is not a weakness. Confessing your fault and having the strength to beat it takes nothing but courage, and I have the utmost respect for people that have done it.
But part of that process is taking responsibility for your actions. Rehab is not a refuge for embarrassed celebrities. The answer for an actor being charged with DUI - not for the first time, mind you - or a congressman supposedly so drunk he couldn't stop himself from sending sexual messages to a 16-year-old is not treatment; it's jail time.
Read more from Luke at his blog, lukemcintyre.blogspot.com.
Twice recently we've seen national figures admit themselves to rehab: Mel Gibson after his drunken racist rant, and former congressman Mark Foley after his supposedly drunken messages to a young male Congressional page.
Let's contrast these two with two public figures that I have a much easier time stomaching. This past August, Robin Williams entered rehab for alcohol abuse. His publicist released the statement, "After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time." There was no traumatic public event leading up to his decision. No embarrassing mugshot, no horrific online conversations released to the press. Williams just made the smart decision, and I respect him all the more for it.
The same applies for fellow comedian, and one of my idols, George Carlin. At the end of 2004 Carlin moved himself into rehab because of alcohol and pain killer abuse.
The important difference here is the reasoning behind these men's decision to undergo treatment. On the one hand, we have two that made the decision themselves.
On the other we have an actor who only accepted treatment after he proved himself to be a public menace and a politician who, after facing a ruined career and FBI investigation, claimed he was drunk when sending the messages.
Gibson and Foley turned the substance they used to escape their problems into an excuse they used to escape their trouble. Neither of the two were interested in seeking treatment before being skewered in the media. They were hoping for the sympathetic reaction given to most who enter treatment for an alcohol addiction.
"Oh, it's not their fault. They're alcoholics."
Maybe it's that I disagree with the nature of the "disease," in that alcoholism is not a disease. You can't catch alcoholism. There are no germs you can get off of a toilet seat that make you crave a drink. It's an addiction, and no one gives you or allows you to maintain an addiction aside from yourself. If people caught leukemia from constantly injecting themselves with cancer juice then I wouldn't feel bad for them either.
Perhaps people can have mental states or family histories that make them more likely to become alcoholics, but it's no excuse. The simple fact that some people are aware of their supposed increased likelihood for addiction should actually make them less likely to become addicts. Why play with fire?
And being drunk is never an excuse for actions you regret taking. You drank the drinks. Take some responsibility.
My family, like many, is no exception. We have a drunk uncle or two, a few people no one really talks about. I've had personal experience with close family members going to rehab, conquering their demons, and coming back a better person for it. Make no mistake, admitting an addiction and overcoming it is not a weakness. Confessing your fault and having the strength to beat it takes nothing but courage, and I have the utmost respect for people that have done it.
But part of that process is taking responsibility for your actions. Rehab is not a refuge for embarrassed celebrities. The answer for an actor being charged with DUI - not for the first time, mind you - or a congressman supposedly so drunk he couldn't stop himself from sending sexual messages to a 16-year-old is not treatment; it's jail time.
Read more from Luke at his blog, lukemcintyre.blogspot.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Kevin Murphy
posted 10/23/06 @ 5:11 PM EST
I find your views on alcoholism and addiction profoundly insensitive and grossly inaccurate. For someone who claims to have "personal experience" with a close family member and addiction, one would think that you would have a slightly more intelligent opinion. (Continued…)
Post a Comment