If Heath Ledger Was Such a “genius” (Todays Newspaper), Why Didn’t He Manage His Drug Addiction Better?

Question by Bisley: If Heath Ledger was such a “genius” (todays newspaper), why didn’t he manage his drug addiction better?
This “genius”, who now, naturally, is being compared to James Dean (another druggie), didn’t even make it to 30 before he killed himself with drugs. Shouldn’t the message be: don’t do drugs,they are killers, and that the “it won’t happen to me” attitude shows anything but genius…….instead of these tired post-mortem characterizations of the lost genius? The list of these dead drug genuises gets longer all the time. Billie Holiday, Montgomery Clift, Lenny Bruce, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, John Belushi, Richard Pryor, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger. Who’s next? Amy Winehouse would be a reasonable guess. Then we’ll read that she was a genius as great as Billie Holiday, an incomparable talent (except little talent for remaining among the living)……the only trouble was that she was such a pathetic addict that was so far gone that she needed cocaine while she was on stage, performing. Real genius there.

Best answer:

Answer by Rapture
Good question. I don’t see any genius there. I doesn’t take genius to see the danger of falling into the same old entertainer as addict trap. “It will never happen to me.”

Janet: You are absolutely correct about the depth of addiction. And this is no secret to anyone capable of rational thought. Was Ledger somehow unaware of this? These people who are supposed to be so terribly bright and talented (and I assume who would like to stay alive, and use their talents) should be capable of deciding not to start down that slippery slope to begin with. They are aware of how many people have died because of a drug habit, but they all share the same smug, arrogant attitude that “It might have killed Elvis, but it won’t kill me. No never. Not me.” He was wrong.

To all of the drug addict sympathizers below: How do you get addicted if you never start in the first place? The geniuses are the ones who refuse to start with drugs. I get tired of hearing how hard it is to fight addiction. How about saying “no” from the start??????

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