Director: You're all responsible for Amy Winehouse's death

[someoneyouknow]

Snip from the full article:

Kapadia says he did not set out to blame anyone for Winehouse's death.

"I'm not pointing the finger, I'm just saying this is really complicated," he said. "But there are issues, and there are maybe things that could have been done differently.

"It's turning the mirror on everyone, saying, we're all slightly to blame, complicit, a part of this system — this circus — that it became."

He hopes members of the family will come to see the film the way he does — as a rounded portrait of Winehouse, and a tribute to her.

"I'm hoping with a bit of hindsight that there'll be a rethinking of it. Not to take things personally but to just say, look, people love her, that's the thing. It's about her and kind of rebalancing everyone's image of her."

The film gives ample time to Winehouse's music, from the jazz sounds on her first album, "Frank," to the soul and hip-hop influences that infused her breakthrough record, "Back to Black."

The single "Rehab" was her biggest hit, and also something of an albatross. Winehouse was constantly asked to perform the song about how "They tried to make me go to rehab — I said no, no, no."

Kapadia said that in retrospect the song sounds like "an incredible cry for help."

"The clue is always in her songs," he said. "Two songs: 'Stronger Than Me' — 'I want someone who's stronger than me' — and 'Love is a Losing Game,' sum her up. If she had those two elements, then maybe there would have been some peace."

So there you have it. No one is to blame for her death but everyone on the planet except the drunk drug user is responsible for her death.

Moron.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/amy-winehouse-director-share-blame-death-31122241

 

[IrezumiKiss]

Okay.

Why is this in the Politics Board?

 

[AllyRose]

Okay.

Why is this in the Politics Board?

http://i.imgur.com/fzBKKCl.png

 

[renard_ruse]

And here I thought praying was a waste of time. I guess it worked in this case.

 

[patient1]

I recognize the name as a celebrity, ( perhaps I heard her name on the Tonight Show or something ), but I would have guessed she was a living actress.

My fault, huh? If I were aware that she was in danger of some kind, would she have been receptive to my advice and help?

I didn't think so.

 

[mark_j]

A sad and tragic story to be sure but in the end the only one responsible for Amy's death is Amy.

 

[MrRandyWatson]

We are not to blame for Amy Winehouse's death. We are responsible for preventing future celebrities from going down that road. There is a difference.

 

[Boxlicker101]

We are not to blame for Amy Winehouse's death. We are responsible for preventing future celebrities from going down that road. There is a difference.

I don't consider myself to be responsible for the deaths of any celeb, past, present or future. Amy Winehouse basically killed herself; she wasn't the first and she won't be the last.

 

[Paendragon]

http://i.imgur.com/fzBKKCl.png

Stop being so goddamned funny.

 

[MrRandyWatson]

I don't consider myself to be responsible for the deaths of any celeb, past, present or future. Amy Winehouse basically killed herself; she wasn't the first and she won't be the last.

Of course you don't. You're a very small fraction of the society that put her in such a position. Just like all those bystanders that watched Kitty Genovese being murdered didn't see themselves as responsible for it.

It's not just Amy Winehouse. It's everything. It's cops shooting or strangling unarmed offenders - last time I checked, the punishment for selling hand-rolled cigarettes in NYC wasn't death without a trial. If cops are that fucking afraid, get them better equipment. And we, as a society, need to demand it. And we need to demand better when it comes to everything else. We're in this together. Let's start fucking acting like it.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

I don't consider myself to be responsible for the deaths of any celeb, past, present or future. Amy Winehouse basically killed herself; she wasn't the first and she won't be the last.

There's no 'basically' to it. She straight up drank herself to death.

Of course you don't. You're a very small fraction of the society that put her in such a position. Just like all those bystanders that watched Kitty Genovese being murdered didn't see themselves as responsible for it.

It's not just Amy Winehouse. It's everything. It's cops shooting or strangling unarmed offenders - last time I checked, the punishment for selling hand-rolled cigarettes in NYC wasn't death without a trial. If cops are that fucking afraid, get them better equipment. And we, as a society, need to demand it. And we need to demand better when it comes to everything else. We're in this together. Let's start fucking acting like it.

What the hell does police brutality have to do with an overrated celebrity drinking herself to death?

Nothing.

Winehouse's death was ruled "Misadventure", her blood alcohol content was 416 mg per 100ml (0.416%) at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. Nobody forced her to drink that much. The only person responsible for her death, is her. There's a HUGE difference between that and being stabbed to death in front of your home. Which, by the way there weren't a lot of bystanders around at 3:15AM when Kitty was stabbed to death.

What's your solution? Outlaw alcohol? It was tried, and it helped almost as much as outlawing drugs has.

 

[MrRandyWatson]

What the hell does police brutality have to do with an overrated celebrity drinking herself to death?

Nothing.

Winehouse's death was ruled "Misadventure", her blood alcohol content was 416 mg per 100ml (0.416%) at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. Nobody forced her to drink that much. The only person responsible for her death, is her. There's a HUGE difference between that and being stabbed to death in front of your home. Which, by the way there weren't a lot of bystanders around at 3:15AM when Kitty was stabbed to death.

What's your solution? Outlaw alcohol? It was tried, and it helped almost as much as outlawing drugs has.

Right, because the solution is either "let people drink themselves to death and don't push them to get help at all" or "outlaw anything that's even a bit bad for you." I'm married to a mental health professional. I've struggled with an addiction myself (food, in case you're curious - yes, it's a fucking addiction, and yes, I'm getting help for it.) The fact that Amy Winehouse is merely one of many, many people who drink themselves to death in the United States is a huge fucking problem on epidemic proportions.

There are ways to help people that don't involve totally outlawing things. I may struggle with food issues. My solution is not to lobby Congress to ban fast food, although 90% of it is shit so I wouldn't shed a tear if they did. Someone needed to get ahold of Amy Winehouse and get her into treatment. And society needs to stop building people like her up to the point of feeling invincible. Just saying "it was her own fault" doesn't help anybody. It just leads the cycle to continue. It's the same reason three-quarters of people incarcerated in America reoffend - we treat these people like garbage, they see themselves as garbage, and they act like garbage. And no one accepts responsibility - not for people destroying themselves, not for people watching others being beaten, raped, murdered, etc, and not for finding and putting in a solution. Plenty of places have done it. We haven't.

 

[mark_j]

Right, because the solution is either "let people drink themselves to death and don't push them to get help at all" or "outlaw anything that's even a bit bad for you." I'm married to a mental health professional. I've struggled with an addiction myself (food, in case you're curious - yes, it's a fucking addiction, and yes, I'm getting help for it.) The fact that Amy Winehouse is merely one of many, many people who drink themselves to death in the United States is a huge fucking problem on epidemic proportions.

I am an addict. therefore I am.
I am because I'm an addict.

So in other words I get to absolve myself from blame.

There are ways to help people that don't involve totally outlawing things. I may struggle with food issues. My solution is not to lobby Congress to ban fast food, although 90% of it is shit so I wouldn't shed a tear if they did.

Problem is, banning something "for your own good" doesn't always work out so well.

Someone needed to get ahold of Amy Winehouse and get her into treatment.

To use an old saw

You can lead a horse to water....

Look, you can have all the safety nets and programs in the world. But until the person with the problem can accept/acknowledge that they have a problem all those programs aren't going to do any good. So unless you are going to go back to forced intervention (like they used to do in the old mental health days with involuntary committing of mentally ill people) it is still up to the person with the problem to accept that they have a problem.

Even then, once they accept it, THEY have to follow through with whatever course of treatment they take.

And society needs to stop building people like her up to the point of feeling invincible. Just saying "it was her own fault" doesn't help anybody.

Please.. this has been going on for 100 years or so.

So when does someone take responsibility for themselves? Because the way you are stating it there is always someone else to blame for your bad choices.

It just leads the cycle to continue. It's the same reason three-quarters of people incarcerated in America reoffend - we treat these people like garbage, they see themselves as garbage, and they act like garbage. And no one accepts responsibility - not for people destroying themselves, not for people watching others being beaten, raped, murdered, etc, and not for finding and putting in a solution. Plenty of places have done it. We haven't.

What does incarceration and recidivism rates have to do with Winehouse?

 

[MrRandyWatson]

I am an addict. therefore I am.
I am because I'm an addict.

So in other words I get to absolve myself from blame.

You can absolve yourself from blame, yes. It's not your fault you're an addict. However, it's your responsibility to take care of the problem. It's not my wife's fault she was born with PCOS. It's her responsibility to do something about it.

Problem is, banning something "for your own good" doesn't always work out so well.

There's a difference between, say, Prohibition and modern smoking bans. If people are educated on a matter, a ban that actually makes sense works.

To use an old saw

You can lead a horse to water....

Look, you can have all the safety nets and programs in the world. But until the person with the problem can accept/acknowledge that they have a problem all those programs aren't going to do any good. So unless you are going to go back to forced intervention (like they used to do in the old mental health days with involuntary committing of mentally ill people) it is still up to the person with the problem to accept that they have a problem.

Even then, once they accept it, THEY have to follow through with whatever course of treatment they take.

If anyone led Amy Winehouse to water, I sure don't know about it. And my point is this - we don't lead horses to water enough. If we lead them, enough people will drink that, when an Amy Winehouse drinks herself to death after being led to rehab and functional help, society can say that it at least tried.

Yes, you can lead a horse to water. Are we leading them, though, or just pointing out that there's a water source and expecting them to find it on their own?

Please.. this has been going on for 100 years or so.

So when does someone take responsibility for themselves? Because the way you are stating it there is always someone else to blame for your bad choices.

Once again, you do not follow the difference between blame and responsibility. Is it Amy Winehouse's fault she was in that situation? No. This is what society does to talented people, especially in music. Was it her responsibility to do something to prevent her fate? Absolutely. And it's the responsibility of those around her to make sure she'll get help. It's the responsibility of people close to her to see that "I Won't Go To Rehab" isn't just a rebellious battle cry but a cry for help.

What does incarceration and recidivism rates have to do with Winehouse?

Winehouse is a victim of a failed system. So are those who reoffend. And in both cases, there are better solutions that are readily available, but just because a small contingent of people make money off the current system, it won't happen.

 

[mark_j]

You can absolve yourself from blame, yes. It's not your fault you're an addict. However, it's your responsibility to take care of the problem. It's not my wife's fault she was born with PCOS. It's her responsibility to do something about it.

Which is exactly my point... see section in bold.

There's a difference between, say, Prohibition and modern smoking bans. If people are educated on a matter, a ban that actually makes sense works.

Of course there is a difference.

In the case of Prohibition it was "alcohol is the root of all evil" so therefore we shall ban it. Kaos ensued.

With smoking, the information on it's harm and effects were well publicised. So except for prohibition in public places it was left up to the individual to decide whether or not they wanted to smoke.

The key to this point is choice.

If anyone led Amy Winehouse to water, I sure don't know about it.

I don't see how you couldn't know. It was all over the media http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Winehouse#Substance_abuse_and_mental_health_issues

And my point is this - we don't lead horses to water enough. If we lead them, enough people will drink that, when an Amy Winehouse drinks herself to death after being led to rehab and functional help, society can say that it at least tried.

Seems that in Amy's case plenty of people tried.

Yes, you can lead a horse to water. Are we leading them, though, or just pointing out that there's a water source and expecting them to find it on their own?

How much more do you want? In Amy's case they even had her committed.

Once again, you do not follow the difference between blame and responsibility.

Yes I do..

Is it Amy Winehouse's fault she was in that situation?

What situation? That her baseline psychosis was mental illness? Of course that isn't her fault. What is her fault is how she dealt with it.

This is what society does to talented people, especially in music.

So what? No one forced her to live her life in the public eye, she chose that life when she decided to take her talent beyond her private life. The fact that she couldn't handle the pressures of a public life and all that entails is on her, not society at large. It's not like societal adulation is something new. Those in the public eye have been dealing with it for 100s of years. Some better than others. Further, she made the choice to self-medicate, not anyone else, she did.

Was it her responsibility to do something to prevent her fate? Absolutely. And it's the responsibility of those around her to make sure she'll get help. It's the responsibility of people close to her to see that "I Won't Go To Rehab" isn't just a rebellious battle cry but a cry for help.

This is what those around her tried to do. Tragically it didn't work.

Winehouse is a victim of a failed system.

What system? The only thing that failed Winehouse was Winehouse. The resources were there if she chose to take advantage of them.

So are those who reoffend. And in both cases, there are better solutions that are readily available, but just because a small contingent of people make money off the current system, it won't happen.

How about the best solution, don't offend in the first place. That way you don't have to worry about "the system". In the end it all comes down to you and you have the power to make a choice.