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

sponger

I've lost two close friends to heroin and, in my opinion, their deaths were horrible tragedies. I don't look at it from the perspective of whether or not their deaths were preventable. Instead, it's more of a matter of whether or not the loss is measurable.

Both of these individuals, in my opinion, were extraordinary human beings who got mixed up in the very human activity of opioid abuse. They were no doubt missed sorely by those who knew them.

On the other hand, there are people in this world who society could easily do without. And sometimes it seems like the luck they've been afforded is that of which they are not the least bit deserving. That is what I would define as being tragic.

redsdisease

Foxwell wrote:

...Chet Baker's...

Chet Baker fell out of a window. (I'm too much of a nerd to not point that out.)

GreenTeaDisease

I definitely see your point and I think your argument is very well stated. I've often wondered the same thing. I think the more literal "tragedy" involved isn't the death but the addiction in the first place, because nobody plans to get addicted, there is some underlying "tragic" phenomenon taking place.

for some reason this reminds me of the aversion I have to saying "congratulations" to someone when they get married or get pregnant, because they haven't really *done* anything. Yesterday my coworker told me he got into grad school and "congratulations" flew off my tongue, but I always have to force it when some kind engagement or pregnancy. But you have to say it because that's how "we" refer to these things. I don't know why your post made me think of this, it's only loosely related .

macgyver06

if one person can be considered a tragedy..what do you call an entire boat of people going down?

redrock

Of course it's sad. Any unexpected death is sad and a 'tragedy', whether self-inflicted or an accident. Self-inflicted is even sadder because there must have been pain within to bring this on (whether it is an overdose - the addiction being self-inflicted - or a suicide.

boxwine_in_hell

macgyver06 wrote:

if one person can be considered a tragedy..what do you call an entire boat of people going down?

A boat tragedy?

sponger

boxwine_in_hell wrote:

A boat tragedy?

lmao.

Scratchin a Letter

Parents lost their son... daughter lost a father... of course it is a tragedy.

know1

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.

chopitdown

macgyver06 wrote:

if one person can be considered a tragedy..what do you call an entire boat of people going down?

the titanic

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?????????