A very famous and talented actor died this week.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was discovered on the floor of his bathroom with a needle in his arm and a lot of heroin nearby.
His body was found when he failed to pick up his three kids from their mother.
Five days later the media continue to pick at the story like flies on a carcass while hailing Hoffman as one of the greatest actors of his time, a wonderful man and father. Our cultural loss is apparently immeasurable.
Avoidable death is always tragic. Beyond that, I don’t know what to think.
I understand that addiction is an insidious disease that claims many innocent victims. On the other hand, this guy left three young children to grow up without their father.
I had a treasured friend I’ll call Harvey who killed himself a few years ago. He put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. His son found him a couple of days later.
I still love Harvey and but I also hate his guts for what he did.
As the media fawns over Philip Seymour Hoffman I find myself curiously unmoved. And, I’ve just decided that’s okay. There are some things I just can’t figure out.
Someone close to me committed suicide and it hurts every day. I want to stay angry, as you are about your friend, but I can’t. It hurts because I miss him, but more because I think he must have been in so much pain to do such a thing, and none of us knew.
My brother shot himself, and no knew he owned a guy. Neighbors kids, friends, dying from over overdoses, jumping off buildings. These last few years have been heck on people, and it is too much. It is interesting, my brother always felt guilty for having money and job, while everyone around him was losing theirs. Instead of helping those people out; which he could because he had a lot of it, he spent it on stupid things, then because he did that he would feel guilt again. It was a terrible cycle. I believe this is why he did it.
I guess because lots of us struggle to stay alive or retain a certain level of health, I find myself angry at those who choose to check out. In these days and times there are plenty of warnings about not doing drugs, or smoking, etc. because of the damage and death they cause. It’s all over the news about how hard the struggle is to quit abusing your body, you don’t have to be a genius to see the warning there. Plenty of evidence about the pain of loved ones caused by those who don’t heed the warnings. Why start, when it’s evident that it’s a pit you might not dig yourself out of? Do you think your pain is worse than anyone else’s? Do you think the high is worth ruining your life and the lives of those around you? Yeah, I’m sorry you messed around and killed yourself. But I’m sorrier for those who cared for you.
Thanks, what bothers me most, is that we seem to think that celebrity makes this more tragic, it does not. It is a stark reminder that demons know nothing about wealth or fame and only know troubled souls. I am certain that many of his close friends knew his problem, what did they do to help him, I wonder? There isn’t anything more selfish than suicide.