<p>Tragic, but not surprising.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4- Many smart phone users have apps for news services that will post an update screen-front with “breaking news” such as the death of a celebrity. Also, Twitter followers also learn things like this almost in real-time. That’s how I learned before the official announcement. As soon as you look at your phone- there it is.</p>
<p>Several years ago when I posted about Steve McNair’s death (beloved TennesseeTitans former quarterback) and the story developed, the same rude and judgmental comments were posted since he was having an affair and was murdered by the young woman. I just don’t get it.</p>
<p>@ qdogpa - Can we at least wait until the autopsy report is published before deciding on the cause of death? And forgive me, but each of us has the right to our individual definitions of “tragedy” - I may not embrace yours. What does it say about a person when he or she chooses to denigrate someone who has recently died to others who find that passing sad? Of course, it’s your perfect right to do so. Would you consider it insensitive IRL?</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that the unfortunate death of McNair can be compared to the ‘only a matter of time’ death of Houston</p>
<p>Frazzled, whether she died from snorting heroin yesterday or the Xanax found in her room, is irrelevant…Illegal drugs killed her…i will apologize to those who find her passing sad, and i truly mean that…i do not…i think a post above was correct in saying we need to stop idolizng celebrities…</p>
<p>I don’t think this is a matter of idolizing celebrities, but of mourning ANY sudden death. In this case, since it is a public figure, we comment publicly. Would you be this snarky if it were someone’s child who had an addiction?</p>
<p>The same type of comments were made about Steve McNair’s death and “what did he expect if he behaved this way.”</p>
<p>to CC’ers… I am apologizing if you feel sad on Whitneys passing,my comments were not intended to offend any of you, but i don’t feel sad about her death at all…this wasn’t a death that just crept up, she has been on the path for 10+ years…</p>
<p>Momofwild…Sudden death? Have you not read ANY articles about Whitney in the last decade?</p>
<p>^^ Of course I have, but it was still a sudden death and at a young age. I think maybe someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today, as we used to say!</p>
<p>Here’s how an apology works. You say “I am sorry THAT I offended you,” not “I am sorry IF I offended you.” And then you don’t reiterate the offensive comments. But whatever.</p>
<p>It is only a “matter of time” before we all die, qdogpa. The vast majority of people on this thread have come to share their feelings of sadness at the passing of a person whose life meant something to them. You have made your position on this matter plain. If you truly wish to “apologize to those who find her passing sad,” perhaps you could stop making hurtful comments on this thread. I do not understand your purpose in continuing to post here.</p>
<p>Maybe you should reconsider the meaning of the word “tragedy.” It does not mean simply “sad,” despite the debasement of the term in modern media. A tragedy has a hero with a tragic flaw that leads them to ruin. Seems to me that that describes Whitney Houston’s situation perfectly.</p>
<p>FWIW, I certainly never idolized Whitney Houston in any way, nor would I count myself as a fan. But she had an undeniable gift.</p>
<p>LOL at qdogpa thinking s/he knows everything. I hope Whitney has found peace.</p>
<p>Ignore list is helpful.
If only it was IRL.</p>
<p>I kind of “get” what qdogpa is saying. She has been on a destructive path for many years which makes the news not surprising. I can still, however, have empathy for someone who is self destructive because at our ages we’ve probably all known someone who created their own destiny in this way. I’m not one who believes that drug and alcohol or any addiction is a physical “disease”, mental disease maybe.</p>
<p>qdogpa,
What are basing your opinion on in regard to Houston’s addiction vs. abuse of drugs? Addiction is not really a choice and recovery isn’t really a choice. Attempts at recovery are made out of choice but the success is never guaranteed.</p>
<p>Addicts have a sickness that never goes away. They experience a physical addiction along with a psychological addiction. The cravings are something that they have to live with forever. We have a very loved family member who is an addict. She was not setting out to become addicted when she began using drugs. She was trying to relieve her depression and anxiety. She was very young with limited coping skills. Before long she was addicted. Now she is in recovery and working very hard to maintain her sobriety. If she relapses, and she may, I will not lover her any less than I do now.</p>
<p>When I talk about her to my Ds, I try to illustrate what it must feel to be an addict who is trying to stay away from drugs. The best I can do is to tell them to imagine when they have felt more thirsty than ever before in their life. But they must deny themselves water. </p>
<p>Nobody can ever truly walk in another’s shoes. You cannot know what drove Whitney Houston to drugs and why recovery was not in the cards for her. You ask that the other posters here not judge you because we don’t know you and yet, you are the first to judge others that you do not know. I hope that the people around you are kinder in their judgements of you than you are of those that you deem weak and morally inferior to you.</p>
<p>Substance abuse causes changes in the neurotransmitter receptor sites in the brain. It is a difficult battle to win, with both psychological and physiological factors involved. I find it painfully sad that some posters have no compassion for her, regardless of the cause of her death. I hope no one tap dances on your grave, qdogpa. If you truly volunteer with the underpriviledged, do you not think that some, if not many, of the homeless folks there have substance abuse problems? It is no different if one has wealth or not.</p>
<p>I don’t know how she was later on, but when her D was in pre-school, Whitney used to come to her school performances. The school was a very down to earth, didn’t have other celebrities. She made a point of going, and people left her along. </p>
<p>No matter what some of us think, she was someone’s daughter, mother, friend.</p>
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<p>Well said.</p>
<p>I am not dancing on her grave, i am just not feeling sad for HER…you can grieve for her if you like, but i won’t …she was a junkie,using ILLEGAL drugs…Had the resources and contacts to get the help she needed…Apparently she chose not to, or when she did do the rehab route,it was for a very short duration,just to appease people…She was a great talent, and manyof you will miss the greatness of her voice,and thats ok…But hundreds of people die each day of drugs without the ability to get help…Help those who cannot help themselves…</p>
<p>We can speculate all day about whether she was addicted or not…But the fact is the activities she chose to imbibe in are illegal…Never once was she arrested for possession or such, and shame n the authorities and her enablers to protect her…Perhaps if she was treated like a normal person, she may have found a way to stop using drugs…</p>
<p>And i am judging her, as the facts are present…She is a junkie… People go jail for this type of behavior…</p>