So sad...thoughts and prayers for Whitney & her family. I got to see her in concert in the 80's one of the best I've ever attended. What a voice!

It was lip synched.

It wasn't like she did a Milli Vanilli. She lipped synced to her own recording. She still sang the song, which to me, is one of the best renditions of the Star Spangled Banner, I've ever heard, period.

She made the same mistake over and over and over and over.

 

Kind of like my mom, who's been smoking cigarettes since she was about 13. She's got 50+ years of mistakes under her belt.

Kind of like my mom, who's been smoking cigarettes since she was about 13. She's got 50+ years of mistakes under her belt.

 

 

That's a big time reach right here, Jim. You know what he is saying.

It could be argued that cocaine vs cigarettes is a bit of a reach too...

Some people will, that's life. There are also cases in which people overcome their addictions and go on to achieve great things. I'm just not the type of person who is going to dismiss ones life simply because they had a drug addiction. To me that is simply a fault just like everyone has their own faults. I am no one to judge how others live their life I can only control my own.

 

 

That's you. You can't expect everyone to have the exact same feelings about Whitney Houston that you do. What makes her different than other addicts is that she self destructed in our faces for all of us to witness and despite numerous pleas from her loved ones she never got herself right. Many addicts do recover and kick their drug habits. Because they choose to. I chose to quit smoking cigarettes because I chose to try to live my life as long as I can so I can watch my kids and grandkids grow old. I chose to never do cocaine because I have an addictive personality and things would have gotten ugly. I chose to quit smoking weed because things were getting out of hand. We know the repercussions of the decisions we make. Whitney seemingly chose to ignore those repercussions and now she's dead. I pray for the loved ones she left behind because of her selfish decisions. If that is me judging her then so be it. She didn't have to go out the way she did. I can't act like poor Whitney had problems. She chose that lifestyle.

That's you. You can't expect everyone to have the exact same feelings about Whitney Houston that you do. What makes her different than other addicts is that she self destructed in our faces for all of us to witness and despite numerous pleas from her loved ones she never got herself right. Many addicts do recover and kick their drug habits. Because they choose to. I chose to quit smoking cigarettes because I chose to try to live my life as long as I can so I can watch my kids and grandkids grow old. I chose to never do cocaine because I have an addictive personality and things would have gotten ugly. I chose to quit smoking weed because things were getting out of hand. We know the repercussions of the decisions we make. Whitney seemingly chose to ignore those repercussions and now she's dead. I pray for the loved ones she left behind because of her selfish decisions. If that is me judging her then so be it. She didn't have to go out the way she did. I can't act like poor Whitney had problems. She chose that lifestyle.

 

If she was a rapper, athlete, or average Joe people would be calling her a thug or druggie and think nothing of it but because it's her everyone is quick to defend her and throw out excuses. Obviously addiction is a horrible disease but you can beat it if you are willing and want to. Right on the money PP!

That's you. You can't expect everyone to have the exact same feelings about Whitney Houston that you do. What makes her different than other addicts is that she self destructed in our faces for all of us to witness and despite numerous pleas from her loved ones she never got herself right. Many addicts do recover and kick their drug habits. Because they choose to. I chose to quit smoking cigarettes because I chose to try to live my life as long as I can so I can watch my kids and grandkids grow old. I chose to never do cocaine because I have an addictive personality and things would have gotten ugly. I chose to quit smoking weed because things were getting out of hand. We know the repercussions of the decisions we make. Whitney seemingly chose to ignore those repercussions and now she's dead. I pray for the loved ones she left behind because of her selfish decisions. If that is me judging her then so be it. She didn't have to go out the way she did. I can't act like poor Whitney had problems. She chose that lifestyle.

Well said.

If she was a rapper, athlete, or average Joe off the street people would just say she was a junkie or druggie and think nothing of it.

Agree 100%

That's you. You can't expect everyone to have the exact same feelings about Whitney Houston that you do. What makes her different than other addicts is that she self destructed in our faces for all of us to witness and despite numerous pleas from her loved ones she never got herself right. Many addicts do recover and kick their drug habits. Because they choose to. I chose to quit smoking cigarettes because I chose to try to live my life as long as I can so I can watch my kids and grandkids grow old. I chose to never do cocaine because I have an addictive personality and things would have gotten ugly. I chose to quit smoking weed because things were getting out of hand. We know the repercussions of the decisions we make. Whitney seemingly chose to ignore those repercussions and now she's dead. I pray for the loved ones she left behind because of her selfish decisions. If that is me judging her then so be it. She didn't have to go out the way she did. I can't act like poor Whitney had problems. She chose that lifestyle.

 

This.

That's a big time reach right here, Jim. You know what he is saying.

 

Right, but my point was just because someone struggles to overcome their addictions doesn't mean they are disposable.

Right, but my point was just because someone struggles to overcome their addictions doesn't mean they are disposable.

 

Nobody is saying that people who can't overcome nicotine addiction is disposable. I have yet to see anyone allude to that.

Nobody is saying that people who can't overcome nicotine addiction is disposable. I have yet to see anyone allude to that.

 

Right, but a nicotine addiction is still just that — an addiction — and as a society it's wrong for us to "grade" what type of addiction is worthy of our sympathy and what type is cause for disposal.

Right, but a nicotine addiction is still just that — an addiction — and as a society it's wrong for us to "grade" what type of addiction is worthy of our sympathy and what type is cause for disposal.

 

 

Maybe, but that's life. I am going to look at 20 year cocaine addict in an entirely different light than a 40 year nicotine addict.

Right, but my point was just because someone struggles to overcome their addictions doesn't mean they are disposable.

 

Exactly.

 

That's what kind of disappoints me about most of our society when it comes to how they look at serious drug addicts. Seems as if people view drug addicts as less than them and use their struggles as a way to make themselves look better. Once most people realize one has fallen under addiction their whole opinion automatically changes, it's like they go from being an actual person with feelings and emotions to somebody who is less than that, scum basically (or at least that's how people act). No life is disposable regardless of their sin on earth. We are all the same regardless of fault, just because some choose to struggle with different lifestyles doesn't mean they have less value than someone who is gone missing in a missing persons case or something like that. What people who haven't been there (addicted) don't realize is addiction is like a disease, much like HIV, much like cancer, much like any other serious disease, it kills people. It is also a disease that lasts a lifetime. People struggle to overcome it, some do not win the battle. No one wants to be an addict, but once your gone your gone. I don't feel the need to treat someone like they are less than a person just because they have fell to this lifestyle, sadly society does not view most addicts the same way. A death is always tragic regardless of circumstance.