I'm as entertained as anyone with the recent antics of Charlie Sheen, and if capturing the attention of the entire public was the goal, then Charlie is "winning."
Most of us are watching in a kind of awe-inspired horror. This would be great, we think to ourselves, if Charlie was actually in control, if his TV show was still in production and if his kids had not been carted away in the dead of night.
Charlie keeps saying he's tired of hiding who he is. He's tired of apologizing for his behavior and he doesn't see his choices as a problem. After all, he has tiger blood and Adonis DNA; he's special and he's tired of hiding it. This is where, in a free society, one has to ask, just how free are we, really?
Charlie has declared himself in defiance of social etiquette as a guy who does anything he wants to do whenever he wants to do it -- rules be damned. Society is now saying, "We can't stop you, but you won't be working for us, and you can't have custody of your kids".
For a lot of people in America, Charlie's antics are making him more of a role model than ever. They look at Charlie and say, "I want to party with you, man." These are the same people who say, "I love Jackass," and they go to shows where stunt men deliberately get into accidents. It's considered uniquely American to have the freedom to not care what society thinks, even if what you're doing is self destructive.
Most of us care about consequences; that's what keeps us in line. What other people think matters to us. We don't have our own definition of winning. We measure our success against a societal definition. As a result, most of us feel like failures, and as we watch a "free" man, we become frightened.
Charlie Sheen is fascinating, compelling, dangerous and exciting. We know it can't last. Eventually, Charlie will have to surrender and admit failure because too many people are watching. He'll either be reined in or become the societal definition. One way or the other, this will come to an end and we'll all say, "It was fun to watch while it lasted".
The funny thing is, there are lots of people living just like Charlie Sheen and no one is telling them to stop. Their children are not being removed and, if they don't work, many of them get money from the government or live completely outside the law. Charlie's problem is that he's experiencing too much of that societal definition of success and at the same time being too high profile. We all know you can't have it both ways.
When there is some much more important things happening in the world, why do we pay some much attention to a malignant narcissist's meltdown?
maybe it's just easier to distract ourselves with sheen than face the ugly reality that is life in the 21st century.
HIROSHEENA.
However, Robin, I think you are wrong in thinking this scene of Charlie Sheen is in any way admired by "alot of people". Most of those who have read about Charlie Sheen can see that he is sick and combusting.
You personally work for a man who has been able to keep is "onstage crazy self" and his real life separate. Charlie is unable to do that. Charlie is a product of his choices and those choices are ruling him. He is not showing the personal strength to save himself from his own destruction. Charlie is making the decision to be weak and indulgent. He has declared himself free to self destruct and has that in common with others who have, or should have, received a Darwin Award www.darwinawards.com. Having much money allows him to destroy himself publicly with personal bad choices.
An overwhelming number of people were following the Sheen story. At one point I read that public opinion polls ranks his favorables as outnumbered by unfavarables by about 4-1. If he were a candidate running for office, that would make him a joke. But as an entertainer whose job it is to attract viewers, the numbers are massive. And even if the misguided who admire him are the distinct majority, they still constitute a heck of a lot of people.
And that's important. Maybe not 30 years ago, when three networks determined what we would or wouldn't see. Now there are hundreds, desperate for content and viewers. And the internet, with literally no bar to access. A guy like Sheen will always have an audience, and how many members of that audience have to take inspiration from his "winning" for it to be dangerous?
Possession is illegal, but I don't think there are many states that make simple drug use illegal. He would have to be actually caught in possession to be arrested - there's no way to prosecute him for having possessed drugs in the past based only on his own statements admitting use, because he can't be forced to incriminate himself. And there's no evidence that would suggest that he's selling or distributing drugs, which eliminates a drug trafficking charge.
The reason it can't last isn't because Charlie is right or wrong. It's because he's chosen an action that has too much force not to blow up -- ya know, that old 40's song about an affair: "it was too hot, not to cool down." There's laws at work in nature and that's one of them. Just think of a garden hose. Where is the most force of water located, at the nozzle or at the tip end of the water? Charlie has left the nozzle.
As a former medical professional, you must recognize that Charlie Sheen is a very sick man. I don't understand how he can be entertaining or provide content for your show? This is an echo of Artie Lange, and you know how that turned out.
"Drug tests don't lie," no, his boys aren't on cocaine, the drug tests prove that(but that status quo is done everyday all throughout society)....people just don't care what goes on off the clock, just don't test positive...
Had his son's mother not intervened, she should have been charged with allowing them to stay in a dangerous situation & lost custody herself.
But Charlie made the biggest mistake of all, biting the hand that fed him.