When You're Uncool

My intention was for this blog to be as light hearted as possible, but unfortunately, life isn't always light hearted. 

Some people who know me are aware that Philip Seymour Hoffman is hands down, my favorite actor (with Mr. Joaquin Phoenix being a very close second). Sure, I didn't know him personally, so I was fortunate enough not to be effected in that sense by his death, unlike his children, partner, and other family members and friends, but I LOVED to watch his movies. When you watched one of his performances you just knew you were watching something special, whether he was comedic relief in Twister or he was somehow turning the role of a villain in Mission Impossible into a damn Oscar worthy performance, the man could do no wrong when it came to his art. Setting aside the manner in which he died, the world lost a true genius, and will most likely never see an actor that talented again. So yeah, I'm genuinely bummed out that I will never get to see new work from this man again. 

You know what I'm also bummed out about? People. Specifically the ones who feel the need to more or less say this man deserved to die. Do I agree that drug use is a selfish thing? Yes. I don't think these people are concerned with others when they make these bad decisions, and that is the definition of selfish. But, to pass judgment on somebody with barely any facts on a situation is what is wrong with the world. Your lack of compassion and tolerance is sad, and count yourself lucky that none of your poor choices have led to your death. I don't want to spark a debate on whether or not addiction is a disease (my opinion is yes, by the way, and your entitled to yours) but I know what it feels like to only get relief from something negative. Did I know for two years that sticking my finger down my throat after very meal was a bad decision? Absolutely. Did I know that nothing good would ever ever come from it? Of course.  I didn't care. Those few moments of relief that came right after made me not care. I NEEDED those moments to get through the day. Sure, I knew this would never solve my problems, but it made me feel better about them for a little bit. What would your opinion been of me if this would have led to my death? Good riddance? One less idiot on this planet? I certainly hope your answer isn't 'yes'. 

An urge like that never goes away, and hangs out in the back of my head all the time. I just do a much better job of ignoring it than I used to. I can only imagine what this 'urge' is like for a drug addict. I imagine almost as strong as your urge to speak out negatively and harshly about somebody you know nothing about. I hope you got the attention you wanted from those awful comments.

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind on how they feel, but I do wish being compassionate came easier to people. 

Also, go watch Love Liza if you feel like watching a true genius at work, or every other movie Phil had a hand in. 

And be nicer to people. Most of us need it.