May 3, 2008 at 6:18 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Disenabler of the Month
Dean Babcock, who after a 30-year stint as a police officer with a lot of drunk-driving crashes in his memory banks, became a security guard for Target. When he saw a teen-age girl shoplift a $45 bottle of Patron tequila, he confronted the girl, took the bottle and called her father, who was thankful to learn what his 16-year-old was up to. Because Babcock wasn't authorized to stop shoplifters, even though no "authorized" person was on duty store officials canned him. Although he said he understood Target's policy, Babcock explained, "I am not going to let a 16-year-old girl walk out of here with alcohol." Let's hope another store recognizes the value of having a Dean Babcock ...
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May 3, 2008 at 6:16 pm ·
Filed under 2 - Movie & Book Reviews
Review: Crazy/Beautiful
I recently stumbled onto a 2001 movie about an addict and her enablers, "Crazy/Beautiful," starring Kirsten Dunst. I hesitate to litter this Report with a review of what in the end turns into a terribly misleading story that serves only to perpetuate the seemingly endless myths of addiction, but it does offer a decent portrayal of alcoholism and enabling. And by the way, you can click here to view a number of my movie reviews.
Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of an out-of-control early-stage alcohol/other-drug addict is decent in terms of behaviors. In classic fashion, she blames everyone else for all her problems, is completely irresponsible and turns on a dime against those who are out of favor (her doting dad, for ...
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May 3, 2008 at 6:14 pm ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug...
Mommy Dearest
Dear Doug:
After being married two years, my husband and I are awaiting the birth of our first child. My mother-in-law and I have spoken only once since the wedding, when she ended a vicious harangue by saying, "I hope God never blesses you with the gift of a child." My husband claims he supports me, but I'm concerned about our child. I live in dread over the idea that as soon as his mother throws a fake crying fit about seeing the baby, he will give in despite my concern over the idea that if she cannot accept me she couldn't possibly accept my child. Do you think I should cave in with him when the time comes (and ...
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May 3, 2008 at 6:11 pm ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month
"No way would a pastor end up in a strip club. No way could he not know how he got there!"
This summed up the country's reaction when upstate New York pastor Craig Rhodenizer went missing, only to be discovered 36 hours later at a strip club in Northern Ohio two states and 400 miles west. Most people were "scratching their heads...trying to figure out what happened" and couldn't believe he was "playing dumb" in not remembering. Yet, the events are perfectly comprehensible when viewed through the lens of alcoholism.
A bottle of rum was found in his car. Strippers at the club said that Rhodenizer spent two hours downing three or four drinks (anyone doubt he was already plastered?), soliciting dances ...
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May 3, 2008 at 6:09 pm ·
Filed under 5 - Amazing Alcoholic Antics
A trash collector had just emptied a commercial trash bin into his truck and was about to activate its compactor.
That's when William M. Bowen woke up and began screaming.
The driver investigated and found Bowen standing on top of the load. You'd never guess, but the driver said that Bowen was "extremely intoxicated."
Bowen admitted to police he'd been drinking with buddies at a Muncie, Indiana bar until 3 a.m. and didn't recall how he ended up inside the trash bin. He also wouldn't tell police who his "friends" were.
My friend Randy Cassingham, who writes the column from which these antics are often taken, tells me that ending up in a trash bin after a night of heavy drinking is an all-too-common ...
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March 11, 2008 at 7:06 am ·
Filed under General
My readers know that misbehaviors frequently serve as indications of an underlying alcohol or other-drug addiction. Unfortunately, since addictive use is often hidden from pubic view by enablers, behaviors may be the only clues. This is especially true among politicians, CEOs, doctors, lawyers and other professionals.
Yet, most celebrities and professional athletes who misbehave in similar ways are almost always "outed" by journalists. The fact that such behaviors in celebrities who are known alcoholics are roughly identical to those in politicians, etc., in whom the heavy drinking is never reported is damning evidence that alcoholism is the driving force in both. When we understand that addiction causes both egomania, which impels the addict to wield power over others capriciously, along with ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:48 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Actors Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro succumb to "accidental" overdoses
When does addiction-fueled risk-taking make an "accident" not an accident?
English contains numerous words with dozens of meanings. For example, the word "run" has over 90 different definitions. While such nuances can make language more interesting and beautiful, it can also lead to a lack of clarity, making words less useful and communication more difficult.
Progress is enhanced by increasing specificity and differentiating meanings. In science, a singular idea is usually ascribed to each word, allowing scientists around the globe speaking different languages to efficiently exchange information and add to mankind's knowledge. Compared with the physical sciences and mathematics, from a libertarian perspective there have been far fewer advances in the so-called "social" ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:45 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who reportedly "misspoke" in announcing that he chews "coca paste" every morning, which serves as a base for cocaine and is sometimes smoked but not chewed. He later claimed he meant to say he chews coca leaves, which with his consumption of up to 30 espressos a day may explain his tirades. However, this and his weight got me thinking about comedian Arte Lange, who is over 300 pounds and uses cocaine, heroin, alcohol and just about every other drug under the sun. Perhaps Mr. Chavez has learned Lange's secrets. This would be consistent with the observation that alcoholics are more frequently heavy caffeine users than are non-addicts and that ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:43 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Under watch:
Attorney William S. Lerach, 61, sentenced to two years in prison for participating in schemes involving fraudulent class-action lawsuits against numerous large corporations on behalf of plaintiffs who received kickbacks. Lerach, who was known for "explosive" courtroom rants, will likely be disbarred. We might suspect that while some of Lerach's victims, including a number of former Enron executives, got what they deserved there could be many who were true casualties. Although he has admitted that his "conduct was completely and absolutely unacceptable from anyone, and especially a lawyer," we might speculate that alcoholism-fueled egomania drove him on both good days and bad.
Rogue Trader Jerome Kerviel, 31, almost brought down the venerable French bank Societe Generale SA with one-way trades ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:39 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Co-Dependents of the Month:
Friends of Actor Heath Ledger, described as "an intense, restless man known as much for his partying and wild streak as for his sweetness and sensitivity" and "devoted to his daughter [yet] driven by reckless impulses." Friends watched him "drinking and taking drugs to excess" on New York's party circuit, but everyone seemed to think he had it "under control." Here's the problem, friends: we aren't mind readers or little gods. There is no way to predict when an addict will lose control, or in what destructive way.
Perth, Australia locals, who expressed "dismay at speculation in the media that actor Heath Ledger had used drugs." A supervisor at Royal Perth Hospital, Margaret Byrne, 56, commented, "If a ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:38 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Enablers of the Month:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, launching a study into a "bizarre" condition known as Morgellons, in which sufferers typically feel crawling sensations and observe fibers coming out of their skin. Many doctors have diagnosed the disease as "delusional parasitosis" and treat it with anti-psychotic medications. Dr. Mark Horowitz, a dermatologist who has "seen hundreds complaining of Morgellons," said he believes "it's a real entity [but would] be very surprised if they find anything more than a psychiatric disease." Since methamphetamine can cause "worms crawling out of the skin," delusions and numerous other distortions of perception, we might profitably divert the funds to more useful research by instead testing for meth in the systems of those supposedly ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:36 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Sometimes, it takes an addict:
Chess genius Bobby Fischer, who became a Cold War hero when he defeated Soviet champ Boris Spassky in 1972 in Reykjavik, but who later became known for his hate-filled rants after becoming a fugitive, dead at 64. Fischer's encounter with Spassky transformed the game, causing sales of chess sets and memberships in chess clubs to skyrocket while making front-page news. Harold C. Schonberg, in his 1973 book Grandmasters of Chess, wrote that Fischer single-handedly helped the world recognize that chess is as "competitive as football, as thrilling as a duel to the death, as aesthetically satisfying as a fine work of art, as intellectually demanding as any form of human activity." However, his "dark side" had ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:34 am ·
Filed under 2 - Movie & Book Reviews
Tax Season
In late 1995 I discovered that alcohol and other-drug addicts seemed to be at the root of most emotional and physical abuse. I wondered if this was true of financial abuse as well. After realizing that a simple reversal of the idea--that abuse might indicate alcoholism--it dawned on me I could easily test the concept.
I did so during the 1996 tax season by suggesting to clients who were victims of financial abuse (a spouse who was way over-spending; a bankruptcy; a partner who absconded with partnership funds) that the culprit might be an alcoholic. My clients invariable exclaimed that was impossible since the abuser was not only too intelligent but also their partner, child, parent or best friend. I ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:31 am ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug...
Parents enable brother and endanger niece
Dear Doug:
My parents have long enabled my 30-year-old brother by providing a roof over his head while tolerating his working at best a few months out of the year. It recently became worse when he fathered a child. Now my parents watch his daughter while he sleeps off hangovers and even bail him out of jail and cover his legal bills for DUIs and bar fights. I'm losing respect for my family. I'd like to tell my parents to require that he pay rent and tell him that when the daughter is with him for the weekend, he shouldn't drink. What should I do?
Signed,
Concerned Uncle
. . . .
Dear Codependent,
Other columnists might suggest that you have ...
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March 3, 2008 at 9:25 am ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month
"Social scientists and law enforcement authorities say the influence of family members may be one of the most important and largely unaddressed factors in determining whether people adopt lives of crime."
So said a USA Today piece, "For many of USA's inmates, crime runs in the family," written by Kevin Johnson. He focuses primarily on one such story of crime running in the family--three brothers, Jesse, Frank and Sonny Caston, who suffered an upbringing marked by violence and other abuse. The brothers spent much of their childhood locked out of their home at night and every law enforcer involved seem to agree the boys had a Gothic-like and nightmarish upbringing. Today, all three are serving life sentences for murder.
The problem with ...
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