[lbo-talk] dregs and drugs

joanna 123hop at comcast.net
Sun Apr 24 16:10:57 PDT 2005


Michael Dawson wrote:


>>How good are opium addicts at holding down jobs? At conducting healthy
>>modern interpersonal relationships? At contributing to their communities
>>and political systems? At raising children? Would you feel happy if your
>>kid became an opium addict?
>>
Addictive behavior is addictive behavior -- to a child it doesn't matter whether the parent isn't there because of addiction to work/opiates/alcohool/books/game shows etc. The problem isn't the substance but the behavior. Some addictions are socially acceptable; others are not. Some addictions lead merely to absence -- devastating enough -- others lead to absence + violence + other kind of abuse, even worse.

I see no reason to get moralistic about the particular escape route chosen. It's true though that some addictions are worse than others. Parents/parteners who drink are more likely to hit than those who smoke pot; but both are equally absent.

Joanna


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