Even another person compared the impact of his death to that of losing a family member. As insane as this sounds to me nothing surprises me anymore though. I mean, when Kurt Cobain died the public referred to him as the "new John Lennon." Hell, when John Lennon died they said he was the "new Jesus." The general public is just so sensitive. I guess to them it makes perfect sense to be "Shocked" or "Angered" or "Frustrated" over this sort of shit. Me? I just don't get it.
If these people didn't know Philip Seymour Hoffman personally why would, or should, any of them in fact be "Shocked"... or "Angered".... or even "Frustrated"? It's a legitimate question. Answer me. Somebody. Why? The man was an actor. A great one I will give you, sure. I am sorry that he is dead and my sympathies do indeed go out to his real family and the friends that did really know him. As for everybody else? Jesus people, get a fucking life. Here it was super bowel Sunday and all everybody could talk about was this actor who overdosed on drugs. There are lots of other things going on in the world today too. Everybody hates each other now more than ever before. Oh man, and Kim Kardashian changed her hair color as well. If that is not news worthy I don't know what is. (Actually someone somewhere, and somehow, deemed this newsworthy, which is why I even mentioned it in the first place) But I digress.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was yet another Hollywood star that succumbed to the throes of addiction.
"Anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all." His own words quoted from a 2006 interview.
The number of actors and musicians and writers that have become addicted to drugs or alcohol, and eventually died from such cravings, is beyond comprehension and calculation. In fact, musing on history one could argue that this sort of behavior might go with the territory. Even another argument could state that great performances, masterful writing and some of the best music known to earkind are a direct result of drugs and alcohol. Just for the record, I have a human degree and soul dipped decree in drugs and alcohol and I happen to fully subscribe to this theory. Just sayin'.
While the jocks, cocks and all those graduates from the school of hard knocks drank Budweiser out their foam coolers and yelled at an inanimate object, this being a very large screened television, every time a man in a meat helmet, pointy shoes and a pair of tights either caught a ball or dropped one the artful side of humanity apparently finds itself weeping and punching walls because yet another actor died from too much skag in the bag. Oh, that humanity is such a fickle pickled cunt.
I have known plenty of people that became addicted to drink or drugs, or both. Some paved the road to ruin then ended up smashing into a brick wall they didn't see coming because they were too high to notice it blocking their view of the rest of la la land.
On the other hand I have known many that were lucky enough to swerve, jump the curve, and ultimately wind up in the end zone far away from that wall. Good for them. If I wore a hat I would take it off in salute to such a person well before I would give a squirt of piss over a dead actor, or for that matter some overpayed asshole scrambling for a pig skin prize. Athletes typically tend to be a bunch of drug addicts as well you know.
If someone I actually knew died of a drug overdose, well.... yeah, color me shocked, angered or frusrated with permanent marker. For someone outside of my own immediate circle I might bow my head and give a little shout out in the form of a prayer on a wind aimed directly at their proper loved ones and kin folk. Sure, it's sad and I am human. But I certainly am not going to let someone elses poor decision making and the resulting actions get in my way or ruin my day. I won't be "Shocked" because celebrities, quasi or actual, do this kind of shit all the time. It comes and goes with the territory and when it does it's certainly not any kind of news. To "Anger" myself over something so common place and out of my control seems like an awfully lot of negative energy that is both mis-placed and mis-spent. Truthfully? I'd rather put some energy into something way more positive and self affecting, like sleeping or taking a shit.
This all leads me to "Frustration." An extreme action. Anxiety that tends to be reserved for things that actually make a difference and somehow benefit either ones self or society in the scope of things. How does an actors death even come close qualifying to something of this magnitude? I mean, sure once again.... great actor. Yay. He made lots of cool movies and I am sorry that he won't make any more of them. My deepest sympathies extend their hands and shoulders far and wide to encompass the vast array of people this mans physical existence did in fact touch. But if you think for one micro-second that I am going to give any of this a thought past writing this blog or waste my time and energy on being "Shocked and Angry and Frustrated" over something that happens all the time to people that I don't know and never will know...... well, you are out of your fucking mind.
Millions of people die from addiction to drugs and alcohol every single day. I imagine even somewhere that someone has died both while I write this blog and post it. That's two people that the world won't even know about or care about. What makes celebrities and their inability to cope with getting out of bed every day and keeping their shit in check matter any more than all of the countless nameless and faceless?
Before you curse me with some sort of rare form of crotch rot for being harsh and sounding like an asshole all I am doing is being realistic here by raising a simply query over a legitimate beef. Why does this matter? More specifically, why should I or anyone else who isn't related to this man or that has him on their speed dial list be shocked, angered or frustrated?
Look, don't get me wrong here. I am not by any means saying that it's wrong to be "Shocked" or "Angered" or "Frustrated" over this. We all handle our shit differently. I get that. Just like some we all handle our highs differently. Some float a little, laugh it off, and then go to work the next day. Some eventually figure out this is not the way to go and kick the habit because it is much safer than say, kicking a bucket? Still others get fucked up, then die and achieve some sort of immortality and higher props because..... well, why? What makes them so special? That is all I am asking here, people. Tell me what makes this one death so special that we should all lose our minds and curse the great gummi worm in the sky and kick holes in the dirt with our clod hoppers. Why, I ask? I have no reason or rhyme, only realism. I am a simple man even. I won't even demand that you tell me why I should be shocked, angered AND frustrated. I'll settle for just one. Why should I be any of the three? Operators are standing by. In the meantime, the world continues to turn, people go on hating each other for no apparent reason other than they just feel like it, oh.... but celebrities? They belong on a pedestal or a cross.
Things are rough now. People fucking hate each other, man. It's an "Obamanation." There are two sides of the shit box now and both are scratching lines in the sand that designate where their toes can dip and curl as they spit on each other while standing in place. It's fucked up and I wish that things could be different. I don't see it happening anytime soon though. If it is going to happen at all I don't see how people punching walls or shedding tears over someone they didn't even know and probably wouldn't have even cared about until the news came on and said they were dead is going to do anything to help matters anyway. That's just me though and what do I know? I'm not a celebrity.
Another dead actor just means another day the groundhog saw his shadow and predicted that Winter is going to be colder than it's ever been in the history of Winters. People are still gonna drink cheap beer and call each other names when their team wins or loses. Balls will be dropped and then picked up again. Next week.... or next month..... or maybe even tomorrow and the day after that (celebrity deaths are supposed to come in three's after all) another actor or musician or writer will die. Whether it's a drug overdose or a car wreck or from a life that resembled a car wreck, lots of these people are going to die. If your life is so empty that such a thing can only bring you "Shock, Anger or Frustration" then I highly suggest you do something more productive with your existence. Maybe do like that Kim Kardashian does and go dye your hair. It sure beats dying in a pool of your own waste.
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