Philip Seymour Hoffman dead at 46

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by dubbs

True - makes the most sense... It's ridiculous to think this is not a choice. I laugh at people when they "need" cigarettes or alcohol or other things.. Trust me - I like to drink.. At the right time.. Will power is a very rare commodity.

I'm an alcoholic, from a family of alcoholic Scots descendants, who could put the Irish to shame. It's not necessarily a choice to be an addict. I'm firmly convinced that everyone is an addict in waiting; it's just that some haven't found the magic substance yet. I shudder to think how many so called clean and sober people would be broke and on the streets, if they ever tried cocaine or heroine.

And while I believe that being an addict isn't necessarily a choice, giving into that addiction is one. In the last 30 years I've had maybe 3 beers and no hard liquor. I realized where I was going, when I was 20, and put a stop to it when I saw too much of my father in myself. Every few years I would test myself and say, "Nope, I haven't changed."

So I don't curse the addicts for being addicts. I curse them for not having the balls to walk away.