Addiction Doesn’t Discriminate? Wrong
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An interesting take on the issue, even if you don’t completely agree.
The phrase “addiction doesn’t care” is not meant to remind us that addiction casts a long shadow — everyone knows that. Rather, it is supposed to suggest that any individual, no matter who, is vulnerable to the ravages of drugs and alcohol.The same rhetoric has been applied to other problems, including child abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism — even suicide. Don’t stigmatize the afflicted, it cautions; you could be next. Be kind, don’t judge.
The democratization of addiction may be an appealing message, but it does not reflect reality. Teenagers with drug problems are not like those who never develop them. Adults whose problems persist for decades manifest different traits from those who get clean. …
Essay - Addiction Doesn’t Discriminate? Wrong - NYTimes.com
3 Comments
E2001
September 2nd, 2008
at 5:23am
To all those people who speak of others in terms of “afflictions”, “syndromes” and “case studies”; I can only hope that someday, someone returns the favor.
Wow! Those terms have very specific meanings, necessary to accurately express medical and scientific thought. How else would you have a scientist speak — imprecisely? Sounds like a resentment. Have you called your sponsor today?
E2001
September 2nd, 2008
at 5:43am
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a scientific study? How many people are still trying not to fall off the wagon 20 years later, because they made the mistake of accepting the label: “alcoholic”? You’re DAMN RIGHT I’m resentful! I quit smoking and drinking quite a while ago; and I did it without any help from science. Lucky, too; because they would have put me in programs I would never escaped from. Psychology, and it’s associated studies, are NOT something I put any faith in!
E2001
September 2nd, 2008
at 5:54am
Oh, BTW… I point out that it’s not a comfortable position to be on the receiving end, and you automatically assume that I’m a drunk? Go F-U-C-K Yourself!