Let nature sort ’em out?

I think I’ve been subconsciously putting this one off.  I was going to write about this last week, then decided on something else.  Same thing the week before.  And the week before that.  It’s a topic that is highly debatable and what I have to say about it is likely to piss some people off.  No, politics isn’t the topic, but if you want to argue politics, I suggest you close this window right now and jump on over to Facebook…at the moment, there’s plenty of people to fight with there.  This one is about heroin addiction/addicts.  

The reason I chose to write about heroin addiction (here and in my book) is because it’s rampant right now.  It’s literally everywhere. 

Yesterday, I read a post that a friend shared.  It was a post her brother, an addict, had written.  Based on what he wrote about going through withdrawal, I’m assuming the drug he was talking about is heroin.  When she shared the post, she asked that people keep negative comments to themselves. 

Unfortunately, her request was probably necessary.  I’ve seen news articles where addicts have overdosed and were brought back with Narcan, and some of the people who commented on those articles were ruthless.  They said things like, “Let nature sort ’em out,” and “Should’ve just let ’em die.”  It amazes me that human beings can feel such hatred for someone that they’ve never even met, but I guess it’s nothing new, really (racism, homophobia, etc.).  When children are involved, then I can understand why people get so angry, but I don’t think dead parents are the happiest outcome for children of addicts…I think clean parents are.

Having never been a drug addict, I am definitely no expert on the subject, unless you consider alcohol a drug (it actually is).  If so, then I’ve got over 20 years under my belt, but alcohol is a far cry from heroin, especially since alcohol is socially acceptable.  Either way, I have a soft spot for my fellow addicts, regardless of what poison they choose.  So when I see people so quick to want to throw them away, it really bothers me.  I think they assume that addicts are horrible people.  I won’t argue that addicts do horrible things when they’re actively using.  Drugs will turn your best friend into someone you’d never recognize, but it’s the drug that I detest, not the person, and I think that if someone is a bad person, they’re a bad person with or without drugs or alcohol.

I do agree that the choice to try heroin is stupid.  The thing is, everyone makes stupid choices now and then.  No, not all of those choices are life or death choices, but some of them are.  Think about it this way:  How many of us have looked at our phones or texted while driving?  That’s putting our lives and the lives of others in danger, so if we’ve done it, does that mean we’re horrible people?  People who deserve for nature to sort us out?  Of course not.  It means we made a stupid choice.  And since I’m typing this and you’re reading it, it means that luckily, that stupid choice didn’t get either of us killed.

My whole point here is that I don’t believe that addicts are the scum of the earth.  I don’t believe that they’re disposable.  I’m not suggesting that you should run out and find a few addicts to hang out with (unless they’re addicts in recovery).  I’m certainly not going to hang out with them if they’re actively using.  But I wish people wouldn’t wish death on them.  If they want to wish something on them, why not wish for sobriety?  And even if they don’t believe the addict deserves sobriety, the addict’s loved ones do deserve it.

Some of the brightest, most talented people I’ve ever met are recovering heroin addicts.  The post that my friend shared is a prime example of what’s buried beneath the drugs…her brother’s writing was stunning.  When I read what he wrote, I felt like I was being dragged through hell with him.  When someone writes so well that they can make you feel the pain of what they’re experiencing, that’s something right there.  That guy is talented.  And he’s obviously not evil or horrible; he’s in absolute misery.

I hope that he stays clean and sober.  If he does, maybe he can utilize his talent for writing to not only help other addicts, but also as a testament to the world that we shouldn’t be so quick to want to throw him, and addicts in general, away.  I think the “let ’em die” mentality is easy for someone who has never had a loved one become addicted, but for those of us who have loved or cared about an addict, we know better.