From: Alex Le Heux <alexlh@xs4all.nl>
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 09:54:56 +0800
To: snow <snow@smoke.suba.com>
Subject: Re: Welfare Solution #389
In-Reply-To: <3.0.3.32.19970826220410.007e1cd0@mail.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970829034712.0079c260@mail.xs4all.nl>
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At 18:26 8/28/97 -0500, you wrote:
>On Tue, 26 Aug 1997, Alex Le Heux wrote:
>> I suppose you believe that a drug addict has no one to blame but 
>> himself, and that he should take _all_ of the blame. I don't. They 

>> certainly deserve some credit for the mess they're in, but not 
>> entirely. Bad luck has a lot to do with it as well. Just like 
getting 
>> blown off a cliff by the wind. You shouldn't have been there, you 
>> should have been strong enough not be blown off, etc....
>
>	No one chooses to have the wind blow. If a junkie can 
>demonstrate how he became hooked by force, or by accident (i.e. 
"someone
>slipped something in my drink over and over"/medical usage leading 
to 
>addiction), then I will not blame them as much. I know what it is 
like to 
>kick an addiction, and I can just imagine how much worse Herion, 
Coke, and 
>Speed are, but hey, it's your life, you own it, do what you have to. 

>
"Bad Luck" in this case means a bit more than simple thigs like 
"someone slipped me one at a party". Bad luck comes in many forms. 
Drugs aren't just a physical thing, they mess with your mind ass 
well. So among "someone slipped me one at a party" we should also 
count "I just got fired and my girlfriend broke up with me and 
everything just plain sucked for a while, and before I knew it I was 
addicted"

>> Also, it being the druggie's fault or not, treating him as an 
outcast 
>> is not going to solve the problem. It'll only make it worse. For 
him, 
>> and for the rest of us.
>
>	It may not solve _his/her_ problem, but it may also make a couple 
>of younger kids think twice before shooting up. 
>
Well, I have news for you: It doesn't make them think twice. You only 
have to look around you to see the prove of that.

>> What works much better is treating his addiction more like a 
disease. 
>
>	Assuming that they _want_ to get treated. 
>
Most of them do not like the situation they're in. Try _really_ 
talking to some of them. The problem is that by the time they're 
outcasts from society, the only thing left in life that'll take away 
the pain (physical pain as well, from withdrawel) is the drug. Make 
these people feel part of society again, and they suddenly gain a lot 
of strength. Enough strength in many cases to enable them to give up 
the drugs or at least lower their consumption to a level where they 
can actually function again.

>> and a dime. Also the mortality rate under the junkies is very low, 

>> although I suspect you don't see that as a good thing.
>
>	If they hold down a job, pay their own way, I could care less, and 
>don't mind a bit. 
>
>	I don't want to support them.
>
I'm not asking you to support them. I'm only saying that it would be 
that much nicer if we could help them get back on their own two feet.

>> The 'drug problem' as it exists in most places in this world is 
the 
>> result of the mindboggeling numbers of people living in tiny 
spaces. 
>
>	Crap. There are kids in small towns all across the USA doing Coke, 
>Speed, Pot, and LSD. They aren't "escaping a painful reality", they 
are 
>just fucking bored and looking for a little fun. 

They're not the drug addicts I talking about here. They're just, like 
you say, "kids looking for a little fun"

Alex
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