Choices Have Consequences
link Ashleigh Banfield: Philip Seymour Hoffmans Dealer Deserves To Go Away For Life.
Notwithstanding the outpouring of sympathy expressed at Hoffman’s untimely death by drug misadventure, the real tragedy that is missed by most pundits is that the guy chose to risk his life despite the consequences to his family. Well that was cold. But few are willing to say it. Hoffman had it all going for him; a small family, a good and lucrative career, respect and admiration by his peers. However like many afflicted artists before him, the lure of the altered state was too much to overcome. An admitted long time substance abuser, he was trapped in the real life role he couldn’t quit. Maybe he thought drug addiction only happened to others.
Hardly a year goes by without an incidence of yet another entertainer succumbing to misadventure by recreational drug use. But for every famous entertainer that is overwhelmed by drug tragedy, there are probably hundreds if not thousands of regular folk that suffer without the attendant publicity. Their families suffer in silence. It’s tragic. But it’s free choice. Hoffmann at least had the means to get help.
It’s fashionable these days to embrace the live and let live view of a truly libertarian society. People can do what they want and indulge in virtually anything without fear of public judgement from others. It’s like hedonism is the new black. Those that can afford it will indulge in things not accessible to those of more modest means. Recreational drugs seem to be at the top of the wish list judging by the clamor to liberalize pot laws in many states. Paradoxically, cigarette smokers continue to be socially marginalized whereas the acceptance of pot smoking grows. Smoke is smoke. What’s the difference? Cocaine and increasingly, heroin seem to be the choice of the chic set.
Just recently, an accomplished Calgary medical doctor named David Stather was killed while pursuing his hobby of BASE jumping when his winged suit’s parachute malfunctioned. This sucks of course. But at least the guy was free to do what he wanted and that activity satisfied his adrenaline craving. People die from parachute jumps, bungee cord leaps, mountain climbing, car racing, deep sea fishing, surfing, skiing and even the ridiculous ‘sport’ of longboarding. If you are of the libertarian mindset, as we all think we are, then people should be allowed to do whatever they want, no matter the incumbent risk. Just don’t blame others when things go awry.
Unless Hoffman (or anyone) was entirely clueless and naïve, he knew that narcotics were harmful and dangerous beyond any recreational amusement derived from its use. From the very first experience, to the next or the one after that, it must have occurred to him that heroin would be addictive. As the old saying goes, when wrestling with a gorilla, it stops when the gorilla feels like stopping. No doubt, like many, he probably fell into drug use because of peer pressure and fashion. While Ms. Banfield’s sentiments are expected, they are misplaced. She is right, the dealers do deserve to go away for life; they illegally sell dangerous substances. Hoffman however was free and able to do as he wished, there can be no guarantee that there wouldn’t be consequences. It’s like blaming the ground when someone falls from a tree. Blaming the drug dealers, however odious they are, is shifting the blame for Hoffman’s risky behaviour from himself, where it belongs, to them. Drug dealers are not boy scouts. It’s in vogue these days for people to claim personal rights but then to blame others for the consequences. It’s immaturity or it’s an a abundance of lawyers, or both.
Only so many figurative warning signs can be put up in life before it no longer remains a free society. People will gamble their life savings on red 22, or sell their homes for Bitcoins. Prudent? Maybe not, but there is no law (yet) that you have to make smart decisions. Of course it’s tragic when someone passes before their time. But it’s much more tragic for those that have no say in the matter. Hoffmann was not one of those.