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I think it's a bit of a cop-out. Most people, believe it or not, take drugs for the thrill of it and peer pressure. I feel sympathy maybe because of this society which glorifies drug use.
It sounds like neither one of us know why others turn to drugs and we're both just spouting off generalizations. For all we know, people could be taking drugs for both the reasons stated. As far as peer pressure goes though, I know people who have tried hard core drugs just once under peer pressure and the experience was so horrible that they never did it again.
As for why people tend to praise the dead, well what good will speaking ill about them do, seriously?
The people who have spoken on behalf of this kid knew her better than neither of us ever will. She OD'd from drugs, but does that automatically mean there was absolutely nothing good about her at all?
Haven't you heard...internet forums are frequented by perfect people who have lived flawless lives? They've always done the right thing, even when they were teenagers they somehow made enlightened decisions, and never made any mistakes. Which in turn, grants them the right to judge others for poor choices they may have made.
You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Coolhand68 again.
That is not the question from the original poster, the question is: How much sympathy do YOU have for her?
My answer, none, it was her choice to take an illegal substance and the result of that choice is that she died. End of story, her body, her choice, her death. I do have sympathy for those in her family and circle of friends who have been left behind to deal with loss and grief but I have no sympathy for her.
Well,let's twist it around.
What if she became obese and died from an obesity related illness?
Would you still say you don't have sympathy for her when she chose to overeat?
Her body,her choice right?
I think some like to cherry pick who they feel sympathy for,esp when it comes to drugs and alcohol.
Maybe it's a bit unsympathetic of me, but it annoys me that whenever someone dies they always say what a great kid he/she was, how they were such an angel. It's the whole attitude that she was cruelly 'taken' that annoys me a bit. At the end of the day she took a risk and paid with her life. It's a tragedy. In the case of taking an OVERDOSE, she wasn't the victim at all. The victim of her own whatever, maybe.
Maybe she was the victim...as I typed above,how do you know what she was going through?
What if she was getting abused at home?
I think it's a bit of a cop-out. Most people, believe it or not, take drugs for the thrill of it and peer pressure. I feel sympathy maybe because of this society which glorifies drug use.
^^^ I agree with this. Most people have never been molested in their lives and they turn to drugs and alcohol for recreation and to relieve boredom.
So are you thinking that the majority of people attending raves have been molested or abused?
As to the original question, well having sympathy is like any other emotion. When we feel it, each case is different and so of course there are varying degrees of intensity of how we are struck by the situation. So my answer would be that I would be feeling much less sympathy for anyone at all dying from ecstasy (or crack) rather than them dying from a completely random occurrence (crushed by a tree in a windstorm).
And if it was that teenage girl's first time ever taking ecstasy, I would feel more badly for her than if she went to raves frequently with her friends.
And yes, if someone is diabetic due to being morbidly obese because of their overeating or drinking too much soda, I really don't have any sympathy at all for their medical issues. Just last night, I worked with a really obese black woman and every time she was thirsty, she helped herself to a juice from the juice machine despite that the liquid dispensed was really concentrated and sweet (so that she commented on it) and didn't take my suggestion of some adding water to her cup. That woman should have been drinking plain water instead.
I am also not going to feel sympathetic towards a drunk driver who kills themselves, any crack or heroin addict, or cigarette smoker with lung cancer, or alcoholic who needs a new liver, or a slacker/lazy person who gets fired or laid off and can't find another job. Life doesn't owe you anything. It's all about cause and effect. You knowing ingest a substance that is known to be bad for your body, and bad things will happen to you.
BTW there are so many reasons why drugs like ecstasy, crack and heroin are illegal substances. And it's no secret that those drugs are really bad for you and addictive. It's no secret that alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking is bad for you and that nicotine is addictive. It's no secret that overeating leads to obesity and that too much sugar leads to diabetes.
Life is too short, and we each have only one life to live... why can't everyone cherish their own lives and live them with commonsense??? It's not rocket science people!!!
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^ Good post miu. That's what I'm getting at. I think it's hypocritical for anyone to say, 'I have no sympathy' for say, a lifelong smoker or an obese person who gets diabetes but then be totally sympathetic for some innocent, angelic 15 year old girl who just 'made one mistake.' I just hate it when people automatically have more sympathy for an attractive, popular teenage girl rather than some old ugly person nobody cares about...Like you say, however, if it was just one time, and she was pressured, I still would have more sympathy for her. But if she was a regular, I don't see the difference. I guess every life lost is a tragedy in a way, but in a way we all live and die, we're all victims of circumstances but we do have at least some choice. One of the cases I'm thinking of is of a 15 year old girl in England who had a much more than higher fatal level of ecstasy in her system. So she must've been poppin' a lot of them. I'm sorry for her family and friends, but people who kill themselves from reckless stupidity...depending on the circumstances I'd have more sympathy for someone who killed themselves.
As for drug addicts, I think it depends on the situation. To be honest, I don't buy the idea that most drug abusers have had such a hard life.etc. Sure, some do, but many just start out taking drugs for the hit it gives them and keep going regardless of the consequences. I think of drug addicts who cheat, steal or even murder, mothers abusing drugs who neglect or abuse their children, how drugs not only ruin their own lives but affect other people's lives. Hard drugs are ugly, and I don't think much of drug peddlers, but don't act like it's a one way street. Don't act like teens are so innocent, victims of the big bad pusherman. Supply and demand are a two way street. You wanna live a foolishly hedonistic lifestyle, be aware of the circumstances, don't act like it was such a tragedy and you were so innocent.
^ Good post miu. That's what I'm getting at. I think it's hypocritical for anyone to say, 'I have no sympathy' for say, a lifelong smoker or an obese person who gets diabetes but then be totally sympathetic for some innocent, angelic 15 year old girl who just 'made one mistake.' I just hate it when people automatically have more sympathy for an attractive, popular teenage girl rather than some old ugly person nobody cares about...Like you say, however, if it was just one time, and she was pressured, I still would have more sympathy for her. But if she was a regular, I don't see the difference. I guess every life lost is a tragedy in a way, but in a way we all live and die, we're all victims of circumstances but we do have at least some choice. One of the cases I'm thinking of is of a 15 year old girl in England who had a much more than higher fatal level of ecstasy in her system. So she must've been poppin' a lot of them. I'm sorry for her family and friends, but people who kill themselves from reckless stupidity...depending on the circumstances I'd have more sympathy for someone who killed themselves.
As for drug addicts, I think it depends on the situation. To be honest, I don't buy the idea that most drug abusers have had such a hard life.etc. Sure, some do, but many just start out taking drugs for the hit it gives them and keep going regardless of the consequences. I think of drug addicts who cheat, steal or even murder, mothers abusing drugs who neglect or abuse their children, how drugs not only ruin their own lives but affect other people's lives. Hard drugs are ugly, and I don't think much of drug peddlers, but don't act like it's a one way street. Don't act like teens are so innocent, victims of the big bad pusherman. Supply and demand are a two way street. You wanna live a foolishly hedonistic lifestyle, be aware of the circumstances, don't act like it was such a tragedy and you were so innocent.
I think people may be harsher toward an adult who smoked for 30 years and got cancer because... 30 years? People generally expect adults to be wiser than 15yo kids.
I feel for anyone who loses a loved one. We cannot presume to know the minds of others. Particularly people who aren't around anymore to defend themselves.
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I don't think anyone does or doesn't deserve more or less sympathy as if there was a right or wrong way or right or wrong answer on whether you should feel sorry for someone.
But a smoker dies of cancer vs a 2 year old dies of cancer?
Yeah. Not even the same universe. Not for me. Sad all around. But someone purposefully inflicting harm on themselves and then paying the consequences vs a little child who knows nothing of the world but pain and fear...not the same league at all.
We're discussing sympathy for those who died based on the "choices" they made in life, so I don't see where the death of a 2 year old comes into play in this discussion?
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