Carrie Fisher

NewCreation435

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Stravinsk

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About what? I certainly don't agree that simply reporting those things, if they be fact (not rumor or speculation) is in any way "shaming" - nor do I understand how she is supposed to be a victim? Of who?

Sounds like something some dumb female caught up in 3rd wave feminist bs might say.
 

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Carrie Fisher's death is being ruled as related to sleep apnea and several other factors. The autopsy also reveals that several drugs including cocaine were in her system when she died. I saw one person online who said this was victim shaming and that we really didn't need to know this. How do you feel about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/entertainment/carrie-fisher-cocaine-autopsy/index.html

I'm not sure that reporting an objective fact can be considered to be blaming anyone. If there was cocaine in her system then there was cocaine in her system, and using cocaine was presumably a choice she freely made. It's not like blaming a rape victim for wearing a skirt.

That said I'm not sure why people are so fascinated by things like this. We know she died, it's not like it's really anyone's business exactly what circumstances surrounded her death. Yes, she was famous for her role in the Star Wars movies but I don't see how that entitles everybody and their dog to know exactly what finished her off.
 

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That said I'm not sure why people are so fascinated by things like this. We know she died, it's not like it's really anyone's business exactly what circumstances surrounded her death. Yes, she was famous for her role in the Star Wars movies but I don't see how that entitles everybody and their dog to know exactly what finished her off.

Hmm. Notwithstanding the fact that the dead don't need privacy and cause of death is rarely a private matter to begin with - I think someone who has gotten fame and fortune through movies as popular as Star Wars is not exactly entitled to the special privilege of privacy on these matters as their worldly success is largely due to their being a public (and celebrated) person. I think it also illustrates the fact that something that escapes 99% of the population (fame/fortune), but that many of us are convinced is considered "success" and "making it" - that these things do not necessarily make one happy, content, satisfied, immune from depression or even a long life. Even with all that fame and fortune, Ms Fisher was not a happy camper.

On a personal note - I was a cocaine abuser at one point in my life. This drug does not contain or medicate depression or lack of energy, but only for a very short time. The "coming down", especially if one has used a lot is like a really bad hangover where your whole body feels malnourished, used and ugly.
 

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Carrie Fisher's death is being ruled as related to sleep apnea and several other factors. The autopsy also reveals that several drugs including cocaine were in her system when she died. I saw one person online who said this was victim shaming and that we really didn't need to know this. How do you feel about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/entertainment/carrie-fisher-cocaine-autopsy/index.html

It's interesting that someone would say it was "blaming the victim" when Fisher's daughter (in the linked article) openly acknowledged her struggle, and made a point to state that Fisher did while she was alive, too.
 

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Carrie Fisher's death is being ruled as related to sleep apnea and several other factors. The autopsy also reveals that several drugs including cocaine were in her system when she died. I saw one person online who said this was victim shaming and that we really didn't need to know this. How do you feel about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/entertainment/carrie-fisher-cocaine-autopsy/index.html

Hollywood stars always went out of their way to let the public know their every move so that they can remain in the spotlight. They go into the business knowing they would not have privacy again. Revealing that a Hollywood star had drug use in the system isn't victim shaming in my opinion. How can a dead person feel ashamed anyway ;)
 

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Hollywood stars always went out of their way to let the public know their every move so that they can remain in the spotlight. They go into the business knowing they would not have privacy again. Revealing that a Hollywood star had drug use in the system isn't victim shaming in my opinion. How can a dead person feel ashamed anyway ;)

I don't know. I also don't know why it is important to publicly announce what type of drugs she used in the days before her death. I haven't read any of her books, but what I have heard she was fairly public about her problems, in particular with bipolar disorder. One of the symptoms of bipolar, particularly when a person is manic, is that they tend to take risks because they have such grandiose thinking that they don't think bad things will happen to them. Things like gambling, spending large sums of money and going into debt, unprotected sex, drug use and things like that are all too common with people who are bipolar.
 

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Hmm. Notwithstanding the fact that the dead don't need privacy and cause of death is rarely a private matter to begin with - I think someone who has gotten fame and fortune through movies as popular as Star Wars is not exactly entitled to the special privilege of privacy on these matters as their worldly success is largely due to their being a public (and celebrated) person. I think it also illustrates the fact that something that escapes 99% of the population (fame/fortune), but that many of us are convinced is considered "success" and "making it" - that these things do not necessarily make one happy, content, satisfied, immune from depression or even a long life. Even with all that fame and fortune, Ms Fisher was not a happy camper.

On a personal note - I was a cocaine abuser at one point in my life. This drug does not contain or medicate depression or lack of energy, but only for a very short time. The "coming down", especially if one has used a lot is like a really bad hangover where your whole body feels malnourished, used and ugly.

I don't expect a star to get any preferential treatment, I just don't see why it needs to be splashed all over the news. The big difference with the whole star issue is that when your time is up, or my time is up, if there are any suspicious circumstances it might get a mention as a footnote in the local paper, rather than suddenly becoming headline news just because the deceased was famous. Dead people don't need privacy but perhaps they have surviving family members who don't need details splashed all over the media.

I agree entirely that people who choose a path that is very much in the public eye willingly sacrifice a degree of their privacy but think the media today take things too far. It's inevitable that people want to know more about the latest stars they are following, it's just a shame when that turns into a relentless quest to find information about them.

On a loosely related note, I think it was Daniel Radcliffe who was said to have gone through an extended period of time where he wore the exact same outfit every time he went out. He knew the paparazzi would be following his every move and the outfit trick was to make sure that the pictures were unsaleable, simply because they were identical to the pictures people got the last few times he went out.
 

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I don't expect a star to get any preferential treatment, I just don't see why it needs to be splashed all over the news. The big difference with the whole star issue is that when your time is up, or my time is up, if there are any suspicious circumstances it might get a mention as a footnote in the local paper, rather than suddenly becoming headline news just because the deceased was famous. Dead people don't need privacy but perhaps they have surviving family members who don't need details splashed all over the media.

It becomes headline news because the person was famous. Whether we like it or not, it naturally follows that when a famous person dies, it makes the news - the cause of their death usually makes the news as well, because people are curious.

As for surviving family members - surely you are aware that Ms Fisher was quite open about her substance abuse? That she titled her autobiography "Wishful Drinking" should tell us something. It isn't as if this was a "dirty little secret" when she spoke openly about her substance use/abuse.

I agree entirely that people who choose a path that is very much in the public eye willingly sacrifice a degree of their privacy but think the media today take things too far. It's inevitable that people want to know more about the latest stars they are following, it's just a shame when that turns into a relentless quest to find information about them.

So in your opinion the moral thing to do is pretend her substance abuse didn't exist, even though she spoke openly about it - and anyone curious if it may have contributed to her death is on a "relentless quest", covered by shame for inquiring about something so morbid - or simply connecting a few logical dots?

I don't know about anyone else - but I don't think less of her because she had substance abuse problems or because they were tied to her death.
 

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I think her death is a sad thing and should be kept private.
 

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It becomes headline news because the person was famous. Whether we like it or not, it naturally follows that when a famous person dies, it makes the news - the cause of their death usually makes the news as well, because people are curious.

As for surviving family members - surely you are aware that Ms Fisher was quite open about her substance abuse? That she titled her autobiography "Wishful Drinking" should tell us something. It isn't as if this was a "dirty little secret" when she spoke openly about her substance use/abuse.

I just think it's a shame that people are so desperate for random pieces of information about those who are/were famous for something unrelated. What I see is "Carrie Fisher died" and from there I don't see why it matters whether she died in a car crash, of old age, natural causes or something like substance abuse.

The fact she didn't keep it a secret doesn't mean it needs to be splashed all over the newspapers after she died.

So in your opinion the moral thing to do is pretend her substance abuse didn't exist, even though she spoke openly about it - and anyone curious if it may have contributed to her death is on a "relentless quest", covered by shame for inquiring about something so morbid - or simply connecting a few logical dots?

I don't know about anyone else - but I don't think less of her because she had substance abuse problems or because they were tied to her death.

I'm not sure where I said the moral thing to do is pretend she didn't have a problem with substance abuse.

She was open about her substance abuse. Someone who has issues with substance abuse who suddenly dies may have died as a result of substance abuse. Whether or not Ms Fisher's death was caused by substance abuse isn't really any of my business. It's not as if it's a secret that substance abuse can lead to the premature demise of the abuser, so it's not as if being able to point to her and say "look, that's what happens if you abuse drugs" is a particularly useful thing to say.

I haven't read her autobiography so can't comment on what she had to say about her issues with substance abuse but I'd hazard a guess it would do far more to honor her memory to look to initiate adult discussion over the social, moral, legal and economic aspects of substance abuse in general than to focus on whether or not it was specifically responsible for her premature demise.

Here's the thing. Whether or not drugs/alcohol/whatever killed Ms Fisher makes no difference to my life or the life of anyone else. It's a single data point that provides information with little context and less value. If it were to lead into a discussion on what to do about the wider problem of substance abuse maybe some good can come of it and I suspect, given she was open about her issues, she would be quite happy with that. If all that happens is another data point gets logged of "star takes drugs and eventually dies" then it seems like an opportunity wasted, no?
 

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Hollywood has a drug problem. Rich people looking for an escape...they can afford to turn to drugs. There is a lot of pressure in their careers to become famous and then stay famous. Of course drugs aren't the answer.

A lot of people look up to those Hollywood stars and want to be like them. To make drug use as shocking as we can in the news might be a way to deter at least some of the fans from mimicking their behavior.
 
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