1) He's human. Remember the line from my "Actual Sanity" page? Yeah, the bit about "irreplaceable, unique, wonderful beings." Well, guess what? That goes for Charlie, too. He may be rich, arrogant, and obnoxious, but let he who is without character flaws cast the first stone.
2) He's suffering. Look, I'm as skeptical of "mental health" diagnoses as anyone could be, but sometimes, the shoe fits. If Charlie isn't bipolar, then I'd hate to see someone who is. And he's also an addict. Last time I checked, these were serious health problems, not jokes. Compassion?
3) Jealousy is embarrassing. Sure, maybe you're not jealous of Charlie's money, fame, and unapologetic lifestyle, but you know damn well that a lot of people are. We live in a society that loves to devour its idols. We make them, and then we break them down. It's totally insane.
4) You're no better. Okay, so maybe you're not prone to manic behavior, and maybe you're not an addict. But you're something. What negative labels can be (and have been) slapped on you? How did it feel? Now, multiply that by about 50 million. That's what we're putting on Charlie.
5) You ARE better. No, I didn't just contradict myself. You're not better than Charlie, but you're better than the urge to jump on the bandwagon. You're not one of Pavlov's dogs, so don't act like one. You don't have to mock and ridicule another human being when the media rings the bell.
Fact is, I don't even watch much TV, and I'm not a big Charlie Sheen fan. I am, however, a big fan of compassion, and not smacking people with pre-packaged judgments. When we throw stones at Stone at Charlie Sheen or any other person who is struggling in life, we only hit ourselves.
Brilliant. An all encompassing empathy is the true goal here. Charlie is absolutely a part of that goal.
ReplyDeleteNice post, however I'm unsure of point 2.
ReplyDeleteI'm not opposed to the point that he's suffering, as we all very clearly ARE suffering, but I'm not the hugest fan of putting labels to the different 'types' of suffering we seem to perceive. Hell, aside from our species' blatant insanity, I'm sure entirely sure I believe in acquired mental 'illness'. We are who (and what) we are.
To reiterate one of the fundamental points of 'Actual Sanity', everything deserves to be loved equally, and I feel that all labels (including 'mental health issues') only serve to further the stratification of humans.
Thanks for the post; I look forward to more :)
I completely agree with this blog. But what I don't agree with is how our society markets all these celebrities as people who are "above" the normal person. Its completely insane, and its just as insane, if not more, that we keep feeding the media beast with our money. They make millions of dollars exploiting and ridiculing people, just because they're well-known, just because people will continue buying into it.
ReplyDeleteReally? Charlie Sheen? Why are you taking his side? I understand he is human and that no one should be labeled negatively, but its CHARLIE SHEEN! He refuses to accept the responsibility of his six-or-so kids, embarasses himself and his family by proclaiming he IS better than most people, has a completley hedonistic view of life, whines and complains so he can get a raise on the already ridiculous amount of money he has, has ridiculed cast members (and others), treats everyone around him like shit, and pulls most of his stunts because he is an attention whore! You of all people seem like a person who would want nothing to do with him, and now your DEFENDING him?! I'm surprised and confused to say the least, because though i don't agree with most of what you say (or, at least, how you say it) i've always admired that your heart was in the right place. This has destroyed it. You don't mention that he needs psychiatric help, but instead say we shouldnt laugh at him. I also understand he is a human and should be treated as such, but it should also be noted that if we love him (in the agape sense) we should encourage him to get help, or just ignore him altogether. Its a simple question of whether we want Charlie Sheen to, quoting Neil Young; "Burn out or fade away." The decisions up to you.
ReplyDeleteI don't think AS was defending Charlie Sheen. Yes the Sheenster is not a good role model for a human being, but that's because he's as insane (or more so) as the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteAbout Charlie Sheen though. I would argue that he is in fact not a good thing. His humorous quotes of drug usage has spurred an entire generation of kids into thinking doing a lot of drugs will make you funny and be admired. This may not be the impression you get from the press, but as a 21 year old male DJ who has his fingers on the lifeblood of pop culture, let me tell you; Charlie Sheen is admired. Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1hLduV1p88
"You of all people seem like a person who would want nothing to do with him, and now your DEFENDING him?! I'm surprised and confused to say the least."
ReplyDeleteThen read Actual Sanity again, and show me the part where it says "except for Charlie Sheen."