A Death From Overdose

[TheSchoolofAthens]

On the way back home from the movie theater, a friend of mine in the back seat got a phone call about how someone close to him had just died from an overdose. I went to the same High School as the young man who died, probably around just 20 years old. It's such a heart breaking thing - the way people use drugs that harm themselves, and sometimes drugs that end up killing them. Death is impossible to stop, yet there are those who subconsciously invite it, going out of their way to walk along side it, to get close, whether they realize it or not. It upsets me because I remember when I was in my junior year of high school and would take pills called tripple c's. These pills were for colds and could easily be stolen off the shelves of stores like Wal Mart, or bought with like $5. I was not addicted to the pills but I took them on too many occasions than I'd like to know. It isn't odd that people choose to get high at the low periods in their lives. After all, the high is to elevate them above the state of mind that they usually live life in. I smoked weed, drank with friends, and experimented with these pills when I was depressed with high school's prison esque system, day after day of intellectual torture and physical imprisonment. I've learned that it is best to view the ingestion of recreational drugs as a low, as one should strive for activities that are of a higher prestige or bring upon a higher level of happiness that drugs could not bring. 

But getting back the young man who died - I really did not know him personally but so what? It is a tragedy. There is nothing that can be done for this young man who died, but there is so much that can be learned from tragedies such as this in order to help teens and young adults who are struggling with these problems, just as I struggled with them, and just as this unfortunate man did, and so many countless others. As you are all aware, the importance of a happy, healthy childhood seems to be unparalleled in regards to a promising future. And on the contrary, a childhood of neglect and abuse seems to be unparalleled in regards to a future of disaster, heart ache, and tragedy. 

Many questions filled up my mind when I had heard that the young man died. Where was he? Who was with him? What drug was he taking? Why did he do it - suicide or just an accident? But the real why I was wondering about was why was he messing around with drugs in the first place? I can only assume he was getting high, again, to escape the lows. But furthermore, another why was why weren't his parents there? It is the parents who need to be building relationships of love with their children from the very beginning. Parents spend so little time with their children to begin with, and the time that they do spend can be so often violent in one way or another. This sort of parental irresponsibility is a map that points its readers into the direction of sheer cliffs. How in the world is any sort of quality relationship supposed to be built upon violence and only a couple hours of time spent together as a family a week? Why aren't parents helping children discover their passions and talents, and instead are just throwing their children into prisons called public school where the life is sucked out of them? Why aren't parents worried about drug abuse, to at least sit down and talk seriously about the consequences of drug abuse, and figure out what the hell their kids are doing at these parties or going out so late or who they are really hanging out with? 

It is heart breaking and it amazes me to see people look and find the answers to these questions, and fight to make them known to the public. All this had made me think about these kids I babysat recently. The mom was leaving to go to work, and she asked her kids for hugs and kisses to say goodbye. Her 5 year old child ran towards her really quickly and gave her a hug, but he ran too fast and accidentally hurt her ribs. The mom said "Oww, my ribs" she didn't seem to be in genuine pain and the child laughed and I gently smiled. She got angry and scolded him about not laughing, the worst part is that she pulled his hair back in order to get his attention. He even said it hurt him and she just said something like "well don't hurt me! You are so rough all the time!" No - the worst part is that I didn't say anything. I was silent. SILENT in a scenario of abuse. I wanted to badly to say something, to stand up for that child, that human being who was a victim of violence. 

I didn't have the courage. But I think now I do. I am going to text the mother tomorrow when I have time about the importance of peaceful parenting and the consequences of violence. You know why? Because in 15 years time, that 5 year old could be lying dead on the floor as a victim of overdose. And I'll be damned if I don't do anything to try to stop that from happening. I know there is a lot to this post, I have even more to say than this but I will leave it at this. Thank you for reading. 

[J. D. Stembal]

Good on you, Nicholas.

 

I dislike the passive-aggressive boys are too rough characterization of the male gender, especially when they get scolded for it, like this mother did by pulling his hair. How is pulling his hair going to teach him to be more gentle?

 

My inner-white knight almost sided with the mother instead of the child. Ugh.

[fractional slacker]

You asked why this now deceased 20 year old was taking drugs. It's safe to assume no young adult would be taking life threatening drugs if they had a relationship with good parents. They would not experiment with dangerous drugs nor have the desire to take a large dose.

The thing that gets me is how the parents, who by default had a role in this tragedy, will not be scorned or criticized for bad parenting but will be treated as the victims and shown copious amounts of sympathy.