Is the death of a drug addict a "tragedy"?

chopitdown

every death is tragic for someone; it just happens when someone is famous there is more made of their death than someone who isnt' known. I don't think it's tragic on the level the media portrays and covers it.

boxwine_in_hell

chopitdown wrote:

the titanic

Good one.

boxwine_in_hell

know1 wrote:

Everybody dies of something. I don't really see tragedy in death since it will occur anyway. I see tragedy when it happens in life.

Remind me not to invite you to a party. Fucking Buzzkill!

Jeremy1012

Foxwell wrote:

I don't think it's that simple.

I hate to play the "Hitler card", but you said "anyone."

So here goes, Hitler dying in the prime of his life...not tragic.

And let me be proactive in saying that I'm not equating Hitler to Heath Ledger.

I'm just saying that not all deaths are tragic. In fact, you could argue that no death is tragic, if death is in fact the logical conclusion of life.

Are you, an ex-addict, really equating a person who slips into addiction to Hitler? An addict might have themself to blame but we can still mourn their death as a tragedy. They are not really on the same level of social pariah as Hitler. Be realistic.

All premature death by addiction is a tragedy because it is so easy to get caught up in it and not realise how quickly it will take hold. I don't think Heath Ledger was a drug addict but if he was, I think it's a tragedy. I know Layne Staley was an addict and I know it was his choice, as did he. I still think it's a tragedy, I still listen to Nutshell in remembrance every April 5th.

Dirtie_Frank

Not to sound heartless, but I did not really care Heath died. I feel bad for his daughter, friends and family, but not to the point that I need to know every little detail of his last moments. If anyone of us were to die in the same way noone, other than our families would give two shits. That is why I do not understand the reasoning behind all this stuff on the news. There are far more important issues to care about than someones accidental, or however it happened, death. There are soldiers dieing. There are homeless dieing, but who does the news care about a movie star. Sorry no tears will flow from my eyes. I hope Heath rests in peace and his familiy can move on. I just hope the media does too and quickly.

angryyoungman

MasterFramer wrote:

When anyone dies in the prime of thier life and career, by any means, its fucking tragic... why is that so confusing?

When a daughter has to go on without their father... fucking tragic

Friends and family have to go on without thier friend and kin... fucking tragic

Get it?

+1

macgyver06

just so everyone is aware...this is in fact a word...and when the word was thought up...had a definition to go along with it...and when correctly using the word tragedy... it usually applies to monumental disasters... and unless the person is of some significane to the world or a city or a country...its not tragic..

if your mom dies... its a loss and unfortunate


saying

my moms death was tragic and than saying
the sinking of the titanic was tragic.

makes you look....ummm not so smart... and in a society where dictionaries are available to you all...i find this as part in a society... VERY TRAGIC

angryyoungman

macgyver06 wrote:

just so everyone is aware...this is in fact a word...and when the word was thought up...had a definition to go along with it...and when correctly using the word tragedy... it usually applies to monumental disasters... and unless the person is of some significane to the world or a city or a country...its not tragic..

if your mom dies... its a loss and unfortunate


saying

my moms death was tragic and than saying
the sinking of the titanic was tragic.

makes you look....ummm not so smart... and in a society where dictionaries are available to you all...i find this as part in a society... VERY TRAGIC

ummm. . .romeo and juliet is considered a "tragedy". . .so that blows up that whole theory. . .and make you look not so smart

Anon

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

Not to sound heartless, but I did not really care Heath died. I feel bad for his daughter, friends and family, but not to the point that I need to know every little detail of his last moments. If anyone of us were to die in the same way noone, other than our families would give two shits. That is why I do not understand the reasoning behind all this stuff on the news. There are far more important issues to care about than someones accidental, or however it happened, death. There are soldiers dieing. There are homeless dieing, but who does the news care about a movie star. Sorry no tears will flow from my eyes. I hope Heath rests in peace and his familiy can move on. I just hope the media does too and quickly.

I don't think you sound heartless at all, but i do think that sometimes it doesn't hurt to look outside of the circle a bit to see why perhaps some people may be affected by his death. The only thing i will say is, he may have been a perfect stranger to most, but there are a lot of people who admired him and felt some sort of connection with him, especially those following the upcoming release of The Dark Knight. He was a brilliant actor, on the verge of really showing everyone how talented he was, he was too young to die and he leaves a young daughter behind. Yes that's very sad.

I live in the US, but until recently lived my whole life in Australia and Heath Ledger was much loved there. To us he wasn't just a movie star, he was genuinely seen as a likeable person, close to his family, a great ambassador for Australia, i mean he never seemed to be in the news for anything bad, always good. I'm also a huge Batman fan (aka nerd) and have been so keenly following his role as the Joker in the upcoming TDK Movie. Ledger's Joker looked absolutely amazing, i was looking forward to seeing from Ledger, how the Joker is supposed to be. Psychotic, demented, sadistic, murderous, evil. All with a creepy smile and laugh. I was one of the crazy people who woke up in the middle of the night to see the trailer at the exact time it was first shown. How sad that he will not be around to hear/see the accolades that he will surely receive from his role in this movie. Not because he has died, but because he was fucking brilliant.

I feel terribly sad for him, his family and for everyone else who, whether they met him or not, felt like they knew him and felt a connection with him.

i know there are wars going on, people dying, homeless people and disease everywhere. I'm also a paramedic and a lot of my time is spent helping people less fortunate that me. I guess my point is that i don't live in a fantasy world and spend all day worshipping movie stars, but that doesn't make his death any less painful to some people. To be honest, i agree with you about the media moving on. I'm sick to death of all the hype on the tv coverage going on about him. The True fans don't need all of that to remember him by.

He was the best Australian actor of his generation.
I am absolutely gutted.
Thank you and goodbye, mate...

writersu

Pj_Gurl wrote:

I don't think you sound heartless at all, but i do think that sometimes it doesn't hurt to look outside of the circle a bit to see why perhaps some people may be affected by his death. The only thing i will say is, he may have been a perfect stranger to most, but there are a lot of people who admired him and felt some sort of connection with him, especially those following the upcoming release of The Dark Knight. He was a brilliant actor, on the verge of really showing everyone how talented he was, he was too young to die and he leaves a young daughter behind. Yes that's very sad.

I live in the US, but until recently lived my whole life in Australia and Heath Ledger was much loved there. To us he wasn't just a movie star, he was genuinely seen as a likeable person, close to his family, a great ambassador for Australia, i mean he never seemed to be in the news for anything bad, always good. I'm also a huge Batman fan (aka nerd) and have been so keenly following his role as the Joker in the upcoming TDK Movie. Ledger's Joker looked absolutely amazing, i was looking forward to seeing from Ledger, how the Joker is supposed to be. Psychotic, demented, sadistic, murderous, evil. All with a creepy smile and laugh. I was one of the crazy people who woke up in the middle of the night to see the trailer at the exact time it was first shown. How sad that he will not be around to hear/see the accolades that he will surely receive from his role in this movie. Not because he has died, but because he was fucking brilliant.

I feel terribly sad for him, his family and for everyone else who, whether they met him or not, felt like they knew him and felt a connection with him.

i know there are wars going on, people dying, homeless people and disease everywhere. I'm also a paramedic and a lot of my time is spent helping people less fortunate that me. I guess my point is that i don't live in a fantasy world and spend all day worshipping movie stars, but that doesn't make his death any less painful to some people. To be honest, i agree with you about the media moving on. I'm sick to death of all the hype on the tv coverage going on about him. The True fans don't need all of that to remember him by.

He was the best Australian actor of his generation.
I am absolutely gutted.
Thank you and goodbye, mate...

so well said.........

life can be tragic, like you said and in the true sense of the word as the others have pointed out, in huge catastrophes and world events, losses, wars, you name it, but I wonder about another tragic part of us that is really unclear to me as to its attraction..........even I can get caught up in its spin......and that is why, when our own lives are already full enough, whether it be full of good or full of hard times, do we still find appeal in the whole frenzy of the media hype on these other things, like the death of a star or public figure? I mean, when AnnaNicole Smith died, I absolutely could not stop watching the coverage on it, the whole sad thing of her son dying first and then her little baby without a mom, and I didn't dislike AnnaNicole but I wasn't a fan either way. I just kept watching until finally the creepy video came out with her all messed up and her creepy boyfriend taping her while she was pregnant too. It was as if the devil himself was just luring us in this huge pit that I had decided was enough already of at that point. But, still I watched til then.........and I am sure I will get drawn in on another instance that interests me. But, why?????????

Flannel Shirt

tragedy

a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror
2 a: a disastrous event : calamity b: misfortune
3: tragic quality or element
disaster
2 entries found.

disaster

a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction; broadly : a sudden or great misfortune or failure <the party was a disaster>


The conflict is between the user (protagonist) and the superior force (drugs), and the sorrowful OR disastrous conclusion that elicits pity OR terror would be the death of the addict.

Now, from there you can get into the discussion over whether the drugs are really a superior force. For some, I definately believe drug addiction is a "superior force".

Sure its tragic. Someones children no longer have a parent. Someone no longer has a sister, brother, mother, father, uncle, friend, husband, wife, etc. If the fact that these people dont have a loved one around anymore doesnt elicit pity, I dont know what does.

To the families and friends of those close to the addict, its a tragedy. I can appreciate it as a tragedy from the outside looking in as well.

The answer = yes.

sweetpotato

they said today that it is believed that the death was an accident, not suicide, and that it was brought on by mixing two sleep aids. i don't know if that would constitute calling heath ledger a "drug addict". i have no idea why he needed sleep aids, but millions of people use the stuff for various reasons, and i don;t think they're all "drug addicts".

just my opinion.

Foxwell

Jeremy1012 wrote:

Are you, an ex-addict, really equating a person who slips into addiction to Hitler? An addict might have themself to blame but we can still mourn their death as a tragedy. They are not really on the same level of social pariah as Hitler. Be realistic.

I've already addressed this question.

I acknowledge that it was a mistake in rhetoric to mention Hitler and Heath in the same response. But, if you read carefully, you'll understand that what I meant was that not ALL "pre-mature" deaths are tragic.

Someone had argued that it is a tragedy when ANYONE dies before his time and in his prime. This person's definition of "tragedy", to me, seemed myopic.

My use of Hitler as an example was to present a case that would disprove his theory. Once I proved that a pre-mature death isn't necessarily tragic (Hitler died before his time, and we're a better world for it), I could go on to prove my point that an overdose isn't necessarily tragic.

Also, if you had read further into the thread, you would have seen that I acknowledged that I too was being myopic. I was reminded that the tragedy of drug addiction is found in the situation and not always in the individual.

I've learned much from this thread, not the least of which is that people lose their active reading skills when they see the name Hitler. Just because I mention Hitler and Mr. Ledger in the same post doesn't mean I'm making a comparison.

On a positive note, I've also learned that people have a great capacity for compassion and forgiveness...even for people they've never met. This gives me hope.

polaris

i haven't paid too much attention ... but i would look at the pills he was taking ... i don't think heath was a drug addict ...

pills get passed by the FDA these days without the proper testing - i wouldn't be surprised if there was some side effect not accounted for ...

aspoonfulweighsaton

Dying from a drug overdose is about as tragic as guys who die in Nascar or while jumping out of airplanes.

You know exactly what you're getting into and what the risks are, and if you think it's worth it and live to tell the story then good for you.

But if something happens and you die, it may be sad for those that care for you, but it's certainly not "tragic".

It's tragic when a father of a two-year old gets hit by a drunk driver while walking the family dog. Not so much when he wants to get high.

macgyver06

angryyoungman wrote:

ummm. . .romeo and juliet is considered a "tragedy". . .so that blows up that whole theory. . .and make you look not so smart

umm... you are wrong again... its a shakespearean tragedy. much diffent considering


ITS FICTION

angryyoungman

macgyver06 wrote:

umm... you are wrong again... its a shakespearean tragedy. much diffent considering


ITS FICTION

but still a tragedy, as you said. . .if romeo and juliet was non-fictional it would still be a tragedy which was the point. . .so actually you're wrong again