There was a thread a while back about some of our posters glorifying drug and alcohol abuse. A recent example of this would be Fanaticist telling about his partying.
I am undecided about the whole drug / alcohol abuse matter, but whenever I read stuff like that, I feel that it's wrong. But wrong in the way of "you should not do that," said by some pure voice who lives perfectly. However, since there is no goal in life, you can't live it perfectly. Therefore that voice's opinion has no base.
Not only does it "feel wrong" it also appeals a lot. I have done my fair share, but when I was on it, I could never go to parties. We just played silly computer games and watched movies with friends, wasted. I don't get how you can get all active and outgoing with that stuff, alltough I stuck to weed; mainly.
When I went for alcohol hm.. I mostly don't remember my nights with alcohol, but I know I didn't shoot my jizz over some random girls face. Mostly yelling out loud and peeing in the streets.
Anyway, what I realized when reading was that many literature books glorify drugs as well. Maybe some of you have read Donna Tart's The Secret History. About a bunch of students drinking strong alcohol and being the coolest kids on the block. Currently I'm reading The salterton Trilogy; the moraly "best" character in the story (mainly because he lacks a lot of morality) is a musician who likes his beverages. Every old man in literature has his favorite strong drink, it seems to me.
So not only on TL I am confronted with the dillema's of drugs and alcohol, but also in literature.
To me the dillema is even bigger because if I decide to go drinking tonight, I know I will have diarea tommorow and feel like shit for two days, and can't think as straight as I usualy for a week. If I do weed tonight my poop will be good but my thinking would only be up to par after several weeks. This makes long streaks of usage seem attractive, because then the aftermath seems relatively shorter.
Anyway, if you have any comments on my english, please state them. It's not my first language and I want to improve my writing skills.
Fantasists blog seemed like a pretty honest one, and he wasn't proud of his lifestyle. I don't think it was glorifying drug and alcohol abuse, I just think Fantasist is just a good writer and therefore people responded.
Although I morally disapprove with some things people do I respect their freedom of choice.
In regards to normal media outlets I do agree they tend to glorify drug and alcohol abuse. The way magazines pounce on any hint of celebrities having similar problems might make it seem "baller".
On August 17 2009 21:39 ShaperofDreams wrote: Fantasists blog seemed like a pretty honest one, and he wasn't proud of his lifestyle. I don't think it was glorifying drug and alcohol abuse, I just think Fantasist is just a good writer and therefore people responded.
Although I morally disapprove with some things people do I respect their freedom of choice.
In regards to normal media outlets I do agree they tend to glorify drug and alcohol abuse. The way magazines pounce on any hint of celebrities having similar problems might make it seem "baller".
Said it well man. He even states he knows his life will not continue like this and he will eventually be assimilated back into society and follow society's way of life.
I enjoy drugs that have a pleasant method of intake - i.e. good alcohol (cognac, whiskey, wine with appreitif) or smoking a hookah (mixed with weed sometimes for an additional high), because the smoke is so smooth and flavorful, unlike regular cigs. I don't find substances that affect your body or world perception as too dangerous, because you can always control how much you take with willpower.
The most dangerous drug of our times is information. Knowing and having to know have been my personal peeves lately.
Yeah, pretty much every accomplished writer is such a huge fuck up it's incredible. Some (Hunter S. Thompson) made a career out of it, but most just happened to be really good writers who loved booze/drugs/gambling/women
On August 17 2009 21:39 ShaperofDreams wrote: Fantasists blog seemed like a pretty honest one, and he wasn't proud of his lifestyle. I don't think it was glorifying drug and alcohol abuse, I just think Fantasist is just a good writer and therefore people responded.
Although I morally disapprove with some things people do I respect their freedom of choice.
In regards to normal media outlets I do agree they tend to glorify drug and alcohol abuse. The way magazines pounce on any hint of celebrities having similar problems might make it seem "baller".
Said it well man. He even states he knows his life will not continue like this and he will eventually be assimilated back into society and follow society's way of life.
i don't know, in my estimation there's nothing quite as infuriating as people who glorify drug use self-othering themselves like this, give me a break
I had my first experience with weed the other day and it was great. My friend and I were in a secluded, wooded side path near a local park. After 3 wimpy hits I took a substantial one that burnt my throat. The next one really hurt like hell so all I can think of is wow this is painful... and then my friend is like ok man get up, run. Apparently these girls walking along a nearby paved path in the park smelt something and were coming towards us. We ran into a nearby townhouse complex and proceeded to amble around the neighborhood totally baked since we had to get back to the park to get to his car.
The night was pretty dry as all we did was go to the mall and get Chinese food, but everything felt so new and hilarious. It was also exciting that I was in public for 70% of the time.
I tried playing on iCCup at the end of the night but my high was wearing off and I just got pissed cause I couldn't split or micro or control my mouse at all.
Sorry this ramble was kind of pointless. Navane, just listen to your heart. If you don't think getting something is worth its consequences, just don't do it. Otherwise, party yourself senseless.
On August 17 2009 21:39 ShaperofDreams wrote: Fantasists blog seemed like a pretty honest one, and he wasn't proud of his lifestyle. I don't think it was glorifying drug and alcohol abuse, I just think Fantasist is just a good writer and therefore people responded.
Although I morally disapprove with some things people do I respect their freedom of choice.
In regards to normal media outlets I do agree they tend to glorify drug and alcohol abuse. The way magazines pounce on any hint of celebrities having similar problems might make it seem "baller".
Said it well man. He even states he knows his life will not continue like this and he will eventually be assimilated back into society and follow society's way of life.
By writing it like that, I still think he is glorifying it. He does agree with his own lifestyle at the moment. And he gives it public attention. To speak for me, when I read that, at least part of me thinks "that would be cool if I did that too"
Note: I am not taking a stance wether its good or bad, I just think posts like that are glorifying that kind of life, just as those books are.
Yeah I dunno, I don't personally consider drugs/alch morally wrong. Unhealthy for sure, but I think that people make too much of a connection between peoples' drug habits and their actual personality. Obviously in Fanta's case it's a pretty defining part of him, but for the casual user it's just something they do for fun.
On August 17 2009 21:29 Navane wrote: Maybe some of you have read Donna Tart's The Secret History. About a bunch of students drinking strong alcohol and being the coolest kids on the block.
I already posted this once in a different thread, seems appropriate to repost even though I'm just a low post-count semi-lurker that won't get too much attention.
I don't post a lot, but I like this particular subject. I'm a drug user. I smoke weed on a regular basis, and I have tried MDMA, LSD and shrooms. They were all to my liking. Obviously I have been drunk. I like this (alcohol) as well, but I don't like the hangover it can give you and I especially don't like how aggressive or retarded it can make you when you've had too much.
Psychoactive drugs are, I think, the most interesting. They are used in many cultures in certain rituals. The idea that is presented through this use and that I would like to defend is that in taking certain psychoactive drugs, preferably under the supervision of more experienced 'trippers', one may undergo a change in character, or rather worldview, that will often be beneficial to one's happiness and/or the pursuit thereof. For me, my first trip - shrooms - had quite an enormous effect on my outlook on life and lead me to certain insights that I am quite happy to have attained. One may argue here that it is not at all necessary to take certain psychoactive substances in order to attain such valuable insights; that one may, by reading certain books, for example, question one's outlook on life and possibly change it for the better. This argument may hold in certain cases, but in general, I think, there are but a few people who are so open-minded and critical that they will be able to subject their 'outlook on life' to scrutiny. The benefit that shrooms offer, for example (I think there are other drugs that may better serve the purpose that I have described), is that they will put the user in that place; that is, a state of perplexion, a state in which curiosity reigns, a state in which one may question one's ideals fully and perhaps search oneself for other ideals that are more fitting of a life you really want to lead. Even for very average people, psychoactive drugs may 'get the job done'. Furthermore, even for the critical intellectual that is able to subject oneself to such critical scrutiny by reading Nietzsche for example, the realization of certain ideas may not necessarily make him 'interiorize' these ideas. This is, I think, another advantage of psychoactive drugs: because the experience is so intense and because it alters one's consciousness, it is quite conducive to the interiorisation of certain ideas, certain epiphanies, if you will, that might occur during the trip. You will not only hold these things to be true and just go on living your life; you are more likely to think about these ideas in a different way and indeed to live accordingly. I believe that having an experience such as this at least once, and preferably every couple of years, is healthy and will indeed increase the chances of your leading a satisfying life.
I don't like the 'if you haven't tried it you don't know wtf you're talking about' argument. In fact, scientific tests concerning the effects of drugs consists mostly of people watching people who took certain drugs and describing/analysing their behavior. You can have a good idea of what it does to you without having tried it. However, in the case of psychoactive drugs, the usefulness of this method is questionable. You will have to listen to the stories of this drug-user in order to get an idea about what exactly it will do to you. Finally I would like to say that an anti-drug-attitude is created under social pressure and what one might call a weak form of indoctrination. Equally so, it is often peer pressure that would drive one to reject such an attitude and accept a more drug-loving-attitude. Just because peer pressure may drive you to do certain stuff doesn't necessarily mean this stuff is bad. You are formed for a large part by peer pressure (or 'social pressure' to include teachers and parents).
I could write more extensively about this stuff (MDMA for example is entirely different than LSD and shrooms. LSD again is quite different from shooms), but I think this post is already too long.
My take pretty much is that everybody can do whatever he wants to as long as other people are not affected. So drug use in itself is something one is personally responsible for and if one likes using drugs, why shouldn't one voice it's pros? But. When there is drug use there is the potential danger of drug abuse which can have horrifying consequences, both for oneself as well as for other people. In my opinion that's a big enough 'but' to be very cautious about drug glorification. Maybe you are strong enough to handle it and enjoy it. Also think about others who might not be. (Sorry for being Captain Obvious here. ..)
Navane, ever see a crime movie where you are hoping for the protagonist (the criminal) to win over the law, despite moral discrepancies?
Good writing involves manipulation of the reader to strengthen an emotion or theme, thus making it's viewership more "fun". Fanatasist was not writing a documentary, he was writing a blog.
On August 18 2009 01:25 ManBearPig wrote: I already posted this once in a different thread, seems appropriate to repost even though I'm just a low post-count semi-lurker that won't get too much attention.
I don't post a lot, but I like this particular subject. I'm a drug user. I smoke weed on a regular basis, and I have tried MDMA, LSD and shrooms. They were all to my liking. Obviously I have been drunk. I like this (alcohol) as well, but I don't like the hangover it can give you and I especially don't like how aggressive or retarded it can make you when you've had too much.
Psychoactive drugs are, I think, the most interesting. They are used in many cultures in certain rituals. The idea that is presented through this use and that I would like to defend is that in taking certain psychoactive drugs, preferably under the supervision of more experienced 'trippers', one may undergo a change in character, or rather worldview, that will often be beneficial to one's happiness and/or the pursuit thereof. For me, my first trip - shrooms - had quite an enormous effect on my outlook on life and lead me to certain insights that I am quite happy to have attained. One may argue here that it is not at all necessary to take certain psychoactive substances in order to attain such valuable insights; that one may, by reading certain books, for example, question one's outlook on life and possibly change it for the better. This argument may hold in certain cases, but in general, I think, there are but a few people who are so open-minded and critical that they will be able to subject their 'outlook on life' to scrutiny. The benefit that shrooms offer, for example (I think there are other drugs that may better serve the purpose that I have described), is that they will put the user in that place; that is, a state of perplexion, a state in which curiosity reigns, a state in which one may question one's ideals fully and perhaps search oneself for other ideals that are more fitting of a life you really want to lead. Even for very average people, psychoactive drugs may 'get the job done'. Furthermore, even for the critical intellectual that is able to subject oneself to such critical scrutiny by reading Nietzsche for example, the realization of certain ideas may not necessarily make him 'interiorize' these ideas. This is, I think, another advantage of psychoactive drugs: because the experience is so intense and because it alters one's consciousness, it is quite conducive to the interiorisation of certain ideas, certain epiphanies, if you will, that might occur during the trip. You will not only hold these things to be true and just go on living your life; you are more likely to think about these ideas in a different way and indeed to live accordingly. I believe that having an experience such as this at least once, and preferably every couple of years, is healthy and will indeed increase the chances of your leading a satisfying life.
I don't like the 'if you haven't tried it you don't know wtf you're talking about' argument. In fact, scientific tests concerning the effects of drugs consists mostly of people watching people who took certain drugs and describing/analysing their behavior. You can have a good idea of what it does to you without having tried it. However, in the case of psychoactive drugs, the usefulness of this method is questionable. You will have to listen to the stories of this drug-user in order to get an idea about what exactly it will do to you. Finally I would like to say that an anti-drug-attitude is created under social pressure and what one might call a weak form of indoctrination. Equally so, it is often peer pressure that would drive one to reject such an attitude and accept a more drug-loving-attitude. Just because peer pressure may drive you to do certain stuff doesn't necessarily mean this stuff is bad. You are formed for a large part by peer pressure (or 'social pressure' to include teachers and parents).
I could write more extensively about this stuff (MDMA for example is entirely different than LSD and shrooms. LSD again is quite different from shooms), but I think this post is already too long.
Fantastic post man! Very informative, I agree that many people are against drugs with very little knowledge of it's pros but knowledge of it's cons. Of course you can abuse drugs, just like everything else in the world.
-The trick to life is to look at all of the beautiful and wondrous things in this world while keeping the oil in the spoon.
(one point for whoever can recognize that quote, it's not exact by the way).
On August 17 2009 22:24 Hawk wrote: Yeah, pretty much every accomplished artist is such a huge fuck up it's incredible
Fixed. You've gotta have some inspiration, and happiness usually doesn't cut it. Can you imagine if every singer was Jason Mraz or Colbie Caillat? That's just an awful thought.
I think it's up to the individual what they choose to do to their body. As long as it doesn't harm them in a way they're not consciously aware of (aka. the dangers of smoking and drinking to excess are pretty well publicised.) or hurt anyone else (such as drunk driving killing pedestrians or alcohol/drug related muggings/crimes.) then no one else really has a right to tell them what to do.
I personally don't drink or smoke - no smoking because I have better ways to spend my money and I saw the health problems it caused my father and no drinking (not more than a couple of beers/soju shots.) because of my emetophobia. I definitely don't begrudge anyone a good time, but I actually feel very uncomfortable around drunk people (last time I went out with friends someone got very drunk and was throwing up into his beer glass at the table - not only was it disgusting, but it was also unfair of him to stay and spoil everyone else's enjoyment of their food due to his over-drinking.) I'd also never do drugs because of my emetophobia and also I am a bit of a control freak. I've never even had the urge to try them.
The only thing that kind of annoys me is when people complain about hangovers after drinking - after all you always have a choice whether to drink or not. Excuses about people constantly re-filling your glass or 'having' to drink strike me as pretty lame. There shouldn't ever be a situation where someone 'has' to drink in a social context. So when friends complain of being hungover I am not usually sympathetic. (Oh unless your drink is spiked which is a horrible thing to do to someone.)
I don't really condone drinking to excess or the glorification of weird/silly things done whilst drunk, but if it's how people want to live their lives then I'm not going to preach to them about it either. It's all about personal preference.
its a cool experience that can last for years kind of a different world trying stuff is amazing when you just a beginner many people will say they never regret what they done since they were young and adventurous but only the ones that are not suffering from it i ended up pretty roughed up for quite some time and i still live with the consequences of the shit i used to do. I used to say i was happy with the way i live but now i do regret it sicne it didnt end good for me
On August 17 2009 22:24 Hawk wrote: Yeah, pretty much every accomplished artist is such a huge fuck up it's incredible
Fixed. You've gotta have some inspiration, and happiness usually doesn't cut it. Can you imagine if every singer was Jason Mraz or Colbie Caillat? That's just an awful thought.
Word up
"See, I think drugs have done some *good* things for us, I really do. And if you dont believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a Favor: go home tonight and take all your albums, all your tapes, and all your cds and burn em. 'Cause you know what? The musicians whove made all that great music thats enhanced your lives throughout the years... Rrrrrrrrrrrrreal fuckin' high on drugs." Bill Hicks