Philip Seymour Hoffman has died

Deleted User wrote: »

Honestly you're coming across like a bit of an idiot. Suicide and shooting heroin are not the same thing. To ever try and argue that they are alike is pointless as you're wrong. Are you saying that everyone who ODs on heroin was trying to kill themselves?

I don't know that they're totally separate. A person who is in the pits, hopelessly addicted to heroin may not be actively trying to kill themselves, but they may not care very much about living any more, and that to me is a very sad thing. Not saying that that was what was going through PSH's mind, but it certainly seems like there must have been something very wrong to trigger a relapse after 23 years of sobriety. My point is that plenty of people who commit suicide in what you could call "conventional" ways tend to be looked upon with a lot more sympathy than those who develop problems with addiction, despite the fact that both suicide and addiction probably find their roots in very similar places.

I think it's completely unhelpful and really indicative of the current prevailing sh*tty attitude in society that we call people who are struggling with various problems that can probably be traced back to mental health 'selfish', and all the moral pontificating that comes with it (as if none of these people have vices or problems themselves). People can't even look beyond something at face value and think about what may have led someone into addiction or self-harming or suicide or whatever it is. Until you get to the root of that, the problem is never going to be helped. PSH spent 10 days in a rehabilitation programme which helped with the physical side of addiction, but clearly he had no help in dealing with the problems that underlie addiction. That is where the real crux of the matter is, and it has nothing to do with selfishness.

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

I was shooting Lara Croft into my veins, last night. It was awesome.

Man I got so high on Ripley last night it was unreal.
Never thought I was gonna die but I did have terrible stomach cramps.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I see the difference but the point is that there is no aspect of our lives that isn't without risk.

Should we stop having sympathy for people who die in car crashes, after all more people die in car accidents than they do as a result of ODing on heroin.

Can you please read a post instead of subjecting your own interpretations please?

I never said have no sympathy for people in a car crash, but if you don't respect your body enough to not inject yourself with FATAL amounts of heroin, then I don't see why I should have sympathy for them.

John Malkovich is awesome at playing that upper middle class, intellectual, John Malkovich type.

I feel sorry for his family and friends.
He was a very good actor.
But it appears that the police found 70 bags of suspected heroin in his home. He doesn't appear to have been a 'great man' as someone has described him.

It's always tragic when someone throws away the talent that they have, but less so when self inflicted.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

He was a great actor

Many will regard him as great, others as good, and others may not have been a fan at all.
But I don't think anyone is debating his acting skills.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

and by all accounts a pleasant and decent man.

He might very well have been a really nice guy. I never met him, nor do I have some insight to his personalty, so I can't really speak in dept about the guy.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

It doesn't matter to us what type of person he was off screen or stage, our connection is to the amazing once in a generation talent he held

I take your point.
But there is a line at which you cannot ignore what a person does away from their professional life. Clearly the guy didn't commit a terrible act that should disgust us and degrade the man; but overdosing on heroin and possessing such a large quality of the drugs in his house shouldn't mean that he isn't open to criticism of his character.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

All the facts of his death mean to me is that he was human like us all. Flawed and failing in aspects of his life, like we all are.

How many of us are taking a highly dangerous drugs and storing 70 bags of it in our home? It's an illegal drug that many spend time behind bars for even possessing. I would regard it as a little bit more than a flaw.

I agree that he had a weakness, and I agree that it's terrible that he couldn't overcome that weakness (considering he had a family and was taking an unnecessary risk with his life).
It's awful for his family, as it is for anyone's family to lose someone in such a way. But I'd imagine that his kids will remember their dad in a positive light.

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Do we really need to keep bringing it back to his drug use? Talk about going around in circles.

The guy has died due to a drug overdose.
Not sure how discussing it is irrelevant.
Ignoring it isn't helpful either.

But if the majority wish to move on from the topic, and solely discuss his professional career, then I'm ok with that.

It might not have been his best role, or best performance, but looking though his list of movies he has worked in, my favorite would be The Big Lebowski.
I thought he was hilarious in Along Came Polly, and played an excellent villain in MI3.
Tough to pick a standout for his best performance due to being excellent in quite a few.

snausages wrote: »

This is all pure conjecture. I doubt any of us has any real informed insight into how a heroin junkie's mind operates. I'd say they fear death just as real as the rest of us, but that's just what I think.

They wanna get high plain and simple, im sure in the back of their mind there is a little voice saying that takin smack may kill me but they choose to ignore it because the high is Sooooooooo good.
Please do not use the car analogy thing again that was just laughable.