Thoughts 31 - Lamar Odom rant

I apologize for so many posts in such a tight timeframe.  I was going to save this one for next week, but it's timely now. 

photo source

Lamar Odom

I'm tired of reading, hearing, seeing the headline that he was found in a brothel.

In Nevada, going to a brothel is legal.  Yes, it is the only state in the U.S. that is so, but it is.  So, morally, you can question it all you want, but legally, he's done nothing wrong by going there.

The fact that he is in a hospital hooked up to a ventilator is not about sex or prostitution.  It is about drug addiction.

The story should be that a man lost his career and his wife, and now is damn near close to losing his life to drug addiction. 

Reportedly, his father was an addict which affected him greatly.  Lamar was suspended from the NBA due to a drug violation in the early 2000's.  He seemingly cleaned up, was a member of the LA Lakers and won two championships with them, married a Kardashian, had his own reality show, but tragedies seemed to surround him. 

An infant child of his died from SIDS.  He had a cousin that was murdered.  He was in a car accident that resulted in another person losing their life.  He's been in rehab and arrested for a DUI.  His best friend died after contracting a flesh-eating disease from dirty needles used in drug use.  Another friend died of a drug overdose. 

If Lamar Odom's condition is going to be in the media, it needs to be less about brothels, prostitutes, sex, or the Kardashians and more about the message that drugs are bad; drugs ruin lives; drugs can kill.  

Admittedly (and sadly), the Kardashians are a media empire. If Lamar Odom's status is forever joined to them, let's hope they can use that media platform to educate others on the perils of addiction.  

Book #42

Book #42 (and the first book of 2014) - A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown - Cupcake Brown's life completely unraveled at the age of 11 when she discovered her mother dead.  She experiences abandonment as well as sexual, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. She descends into prostitution, gang activity, criminal behaviour, and severe drug and alcohol abuse.  She perseveres and overcomes.  This is her story.

I liked the book; I like memoirs.  I have tremendous respect for the author's dedication to drag herself out of the gutter (literally and figuratively).  With the painful experiences early in life, it is no surprise the path her life took.  The only thing that bothered me is she never seems to totally express remorse for her criminal behaviour and gang banging activity.  She tells you what happens (mostly), and seems to take responsibility (somewhat), but I didn't feel any remorse or empathy.  I believe we all have lessons to learn and room to grow.  Without a doubt, she has learned SO much, but I think there's still room to grow.  In my extremely humble opinion, she had poor excuses for adult role models in her life for a significant amount of time.  She never experienced her tormentors (biological father, foster parents, foster sister and other siblings, ex-husband, etc.) taking responsibility for the harm, damage, and abuse towards her.  Therefore, she hasn't quite grasped that lesson of showing remorse or empathy.  Just my take, my opinion.

I think this book is a great example of one person taking responsibility for their own life (with the help of a support system) and overcoming adversity that no one person should experience.