Addicts = People

What have Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse got in common? And no I’m not asking you to skim the surface of your brain and find the ‘obvious’ ‘members of the 27 club’ option. Please, dig a little deeper than that. In fact you’ll probably need to dig a lot deeper as the press very rarely ever speaks about the reason I’m looking for. Any ideas yet? They were all Junkies? Nope, not quite the answer I was looking for either.

The answer I was looking for is this: They were all people society branded as nothings. People who the media clung to in their darkest moments, not because it helped the sufferer, but because it helped keep the journalists pay cheques coming. People society pushed aside as worthless when they were the people who instead needed help most. I’m not sure the majority will ever see or even attempt to understand this side of the story. And what’s worse is they’re less likely to do so when the deceased was a celebrity.

I struggle to understand what goes through the minds of most. Does becoming famous these days automatically remove you from filing under the term ‘human being’? Last time I checked that wasn’t the case. So why should a celebrity death, if caused by alcohol or heroin, be deemed lesser than the death of someone who hasn’t been ‘blessed’ with fame? Fame doesn’t buy you a life of happiness and sanity. It’s sugar coated. Often sold to the less stable minded as an ultimate goal, a goal of happiness and fulfilment. The reality of it is sort of similar to a box of chocolates. When first opened you’re spoilt for choice but after you quickly scoff the contents you’re always left with the same end product. A box. An empty shell. Just because someone has made the ‘choice’ to become famous, which by the way often isn’t completely the case, doesn’t mean they’re now in a realm above the rest of our race. So now ask yourself this question, ‘What stable minded person would want ultimate fame?’ I doubt after thinking through everything that word represents you’d still want to jump on the celebrity bandwagon. So why do we have such high expectations of how these people should deal with addiction compared to the norm? If money can’t buy you happiness, it’s not going to be able to buy you sanity or the ability to think straight? If you’ve hit a low and can’t see a way out surely money will ultimately be your downfall, not your saviour. If you look at it that way celebrity addicts should actually be treated and viewed with the same eyes as others.

'The Scheme'

Take a look at ‘The Scheme’ for instance. These people who need the most support and help just get kicked to the kerb and deemed useless. Really they’ve little or no chance of changing their lives because society makes it nearly impossible for them to do so. Many of them turn to drugs because they’re so depressed and there is ‘nothing better for them to do’. The ‘go out and do something about it card’ can be played all you like but the bottom line is that for these people it’s probably going to do jack shit. Not because they’re not trying but because society doesn’t want to listen. Any of this sound familiar? If not I’d be willing to bet a tenner you’ve not actually read any of the article posted above. Although on the opposite ends of the scale money wise I think both circles are extremely similar. I don’t believe the celebrity lifestyle allows for a happier life. I’d almost be inclined to say the opposite. However, my point is this: Both circles are lonely and very difficult to get out of.

You could say that we’re unable to help these people, celebrity or not and I’d partially agree with you. We as a whole are unable to make anybody do anything. We can’t demand they go to rehab until ‘better’ and we certainly can’t do any of the leg work for them, but surely when we see a person in desperate need we can stop making circus shows out of them purely for our own entertainment. Selling a story about a persons downfall will always make more money but reading about how much of a mess, waste of space and shit head you are on a daily basis isn’t really going to help with self esteem and therefore really isn’t going to conclude with someone desperately trying to get clean. It’s a little disturbing to think that the human race is one of the only species – if not the only species – who’d rather see another fall in order to make oneself feel better about ones own situation. Doing so doesn’t physically affect our lives but it drastically and negatively affects another’s. So surely even we can see that parading those in most need of shelter isn’t helping anyone. Yet unfortunately it seems we just don’t, and let’s be honest here, probably won’t ever give a shit.

In the case of Amy Winehouse, and many others like her, there’s another factor in the equation, that factor being self-harm. What the media treat as a tasty piece of gossip and the majority treat as an act of an attention seeking nobody, is actually often a genuine cry for help. They are often left to suffer in silence due to the fact they’re led to believe their wellbeing/ existence isn’t at all cared for. Now, if you’re deluded enough to believe addicts are in it for the extreme high and happiness it brings them, the ultimate fucking party, then surely the addition of self-harm into the mix should spark some confusion, and ultimately a change in opinion? Why would somebody so high on life feel the need to attempt to self-destruct? Is there a possibility that the drugs are and were always part of the self-destruction process?

In today’s society addicts are viewed as people who should be shoved to the side, and eventually forgotten about. They’ve made their choice in life and should be left alone to pay the price. I think that the fact the masses believe this to be the case should prove society to be more of a demon than the drugs themselves. Drug problems will not be solved by pushing them under the carpet, and continuing to hide a real, often painful issue in plain sight isn’t going to improve matters. Until we realise this fact nothing will be bettered and addiction will continue to be a dilemma. During our lifetime we will all encounter highs and lows and have entirely different ways of dealing with them, celebrity or not. Whether the addict is rich, poor or famous, at the end of the day we’re all human.