Am I the only one who feels for Ben Cousins?
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Am I the only one who feels for Ben Cousins?
Obviously addicted to drugs.....he's sick, all the bashing and mud throwing towards him is unbelievable, if he was just a normal person, say your mate...and he had came out of rehab and still couldn't get off the drugs...would you still be going like a pack of scavenges bagging the f*** out of him?
Many a people close to me have been sick, and even came very close to dying because of a drug related problem, just because he is a football player, i don't see why bashing the hell through him is needed.
I know, he's a role model to people, but ffs people he is human, he isn't some kind of animal.
Many a people close to me have been sick, and even came very close to dying because of a drug related problem, just because he is a football player, i don't see why bashing the hell through him is needed.
I know, he's a role model to people, but ffs people he is human, he isn't some kind of animal.
Last edited by Sam23 on Wed 17 Oct 2007 11:36pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Agree with you..However, I'm still sitting on the fence, I believe there are two main arguments here..I'll argue both for the sake of it.
1) Sam23's argument. Cousins is human. Developing a drug addiction is a (growing) problem that faces many Australian today. Despite being a professional footballer, and being paid a hell of a lot for it, he finds the time to use recreational drugs...But that would be an issue all over the world (Premier League footballers, NFL players, NBA basketballers).
Reality is, Cousins is no different to the rest of us - barring the fact that he is much better than the majority of us at playing a sport. I have become acquainted with many recreational drug users - who obviously receive no media attention, unless a major tragedy occurs. Of course, if the substances Cousins takes are performance-enhancing during the season, that's a different issue altogether....
People make mistakes, some more than once, others make the same mistake over again... In no way should this situation influence the way people think about Ben, because there are so many others like him, it just so happens that he is in the spotlight due to his football skills...
2) Cousins is a role model. All professional sportsmen and women should portray to the wider community an image of dignity and "cleanliness". This argument seems to be flawed because it de-humanises the players that of course, like normal people, go out and have the capacity to mix with the wrong people (hasn't everyone mixed with the wrong person/people at least once in their lives - not just with illegal drug-taking use).
What this argument states is that because Cousins, not only as an athlete, but one of the highest-profile sportsmen in Australia - should not allow himself to get into these situations where such negative publicity can result, thus giving a bad reputation to himself, those associated with him, his club and the Australian sporting culture in general. At this stage, it seems like Cousins is the only (although I'd say there'd be many more that consume recreational drugs) AFL player to have a drug addiction -and it has spread in the media like wildfire....
Ben (nor any other AFL player) should consume or possess illicit drugs to the extent where he can not only put himself in danger, but place a great burden on his club, his supporters and the wider community in general.
1) Sam23's argument. Cousins is human. Developing a drug addiction is a (growing) problem that faces many Australian today. Despite being a professional footballer, and being paid a hell of a lot for it, he finds the time to use recreational drugs...But that would be an issue all over the world (Premier League footballers, NFL players, NBA basketballers).
Reality is, Cousins is no different to the rest of us - barring the fact that he is much better than the majority of us at playing a sport. I have become acquainted with many recreational drug users - who obviously receive no media attention, unless a major tragedy occurs. Of course, if the substances Cousins takes are performance-enhancing during the season, that's a different issue altogether....
People make mistakes, some more than once, others make the same mistake over again... In no way should this situation influence the way people think about Ben, because there are so many others like him, it just so happens that he is in the spotlight due to his football skills...
2) Cousins is a role model. All professional sportsmen and women should portray to the wider community an image of dignity and "cleanliness". This argument seems to be flawed because it de-humanises the players that of course, like normal people, go out and have the capacity to mix with the wrong people (hasn't everyone mixed with the wrong person/people at least once in their lives - not just with illegal drug-taking use).
What this argument states is that because Cousins, not only as an athlete, but one of the highest-profile sportsmen in Australia - should not allow himself to get into these situations where such negative publicity can result, thus giving a bad reputation to himself, those associated with him, his club and the Australian sporting culture in general. At this stage, it seems like Cousins is the only (although I'd say there'd be many more that consume recreational drugs) AFL player to have a drug addiction -and it has spread in the media like wildfire....
Ben (nor any other AFL player) should consume or possess illicit drugs to the extent where he can not only put himself in danger, but place a great burden on his club, his supporters and the wider community in general.
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It may well be an illness plugger, but it's an illness he chose.
I'm sure his family and (real) friends must be shattered that Ben chose this path when he was given a real opertunity to face up to his problems.
Maybe he has to hit rock bottom before he realises where he is headed.
I don't believe he should have been allowed to resume his career while he was obviously a long way off overcoming his problem.
I hope that he can sort himself out, but surely it's a long road back.
I'm sure his family and (real) friends must be shattered that Ben chose this path when he was given a real opertunity to face up to his problems.
Maybe he has to hit rock bottom before he realises where he is headed.
I don't believe he should have been allowed to resume his career while he was obviously a long way off overcoming his problem.
I hope that he can sort himself out, but surely it's a long road back.
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An illness he chose... Contentious point satchmo..satchmo wrote:It may well be an illness plugger, but it's an illness he chose.
I'm sure his family and (real) friends must be shattered that Ben chose this path when he was given a real opertunity to face up to his problems.
Maybe he has to hit rock bottom before he realises where he is headed.
I don't believe he should have been allowed to resume his career while he was obviously a long way off overcoming his problem.
I hope that he can sort himself out, but surely it's a long road back.
Many drug users go with the intention of saying "What the hell, it's only ice/heroin/coke/ecstacy/whatever i'll only try it once, there's no harm in trying"... Reality is, doses of those drugs leave you with the feeling of being incomplete without them, and yearning for them when you're sober or coming down. That is why it's an illness - the chemical affect the brain to such an extent that whenever the drug's name is mentioned, it rings a bell and you start thinking about how high you'd like to be...
Of course, the other point of view suggests that he should have had the willpower to resist temptation, but he's young and stupid and had money to blow - and he blew his AFL career in the process.
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Re: Am I the only one who feels for Ben Cousins?
It's because he's narcissistic. Bit of a no-brainer, really.
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i feel for cousins in that addiction to drugs such as ice are a terrible problem and not easily overcome. however he has let his club and the people who care about him down big-time and needs to get out of football (and probably perth) to be able to put it all behind him.
i saw a very good documentary on ice on youtube recently. i'll see if i can find the link for anyone who is interested because it is a real eye-opener as to how insidious and dangerous a drug this is.
i saw a very good documentary on ice on youtube recently. i'll see if i can find the link for anyone who is interested because it is a real eye-opener as to how insidious and dangerous a drug this is.
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Would love to see it carl...bigcarl wrote:i feel for cousins in that addiction to drugs such as ice are a terrible problem and not easily overcome. however he has let his club and the people who care about him down big-time and needs to get out of football (and probably perth) to be able to put it all behind him.
i saw a very good documentary on ice on youtube recently. i'll see if i can find the link for anyone who is interested because it is a real eye-opener as to how insidious and dangerous a drug this is.
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it is that simpleSam23 wrote:Agree, should just tell this to the 100+ million people addicted to them around the world.saintpaul74 wrote:Simple. Have the brains / common sense not to take em in the first place
If it is just that simple.
the fact that there are that many morons in the world is quite worrying
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It is actually...Sam23 wrote:Agree, should just tell this to the 100+ million people addicted to them around the world.saintpaul74 wrote:Simple. Have the brains / common sense not to take em in the first place
If it is just that simple.
It's self inflicted... the first few times would have just been for fun... then more and more... and then the dependency kicks in.
I don't feel for him at all, it's his choice, he has/will suffered the consequences of his own actions.
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I'm not getting any "joy" (I think that's what you meant to say) out of this - but I am not feeling sorry for someone's that's been given the keys to the kingdom but choses to repeatedly f*** himself & the people that care about him. The only problem is Ben only cares for Ben. Until HE shows remorse then the rest is useless.skeptic wrote:there are forumites here that seem almost too happy to ridicule Cousins... that is very sad
it never ceases to amaze me how people can such jpy put ofother ppls misfortune... like those carlton supporters who are actually glad Hamils career ended prematurely
Bingo... we have a winner!savatage wrote:I'm not getting any "joy" (I think that's what you meant to say) out of this - but I am not feeling sorry for someone's that's been given the keys to the kingdom but choses to repeatedly f*** himself & the people that care about him. The only problem is Ben only cares for Ben. Until HE shows remorse then the rest is useless.
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Excuse me d**khead go & prove how anyone here is getting joy. All I'm saying is, I'm sick of the sympathy card. He's f***ed up way too many times to be felt sorry for. Ultimately he needs to wake up to HIMSELF.Sam23 wrote:bulls*** your not getting any joy out of this...
The amount of crude jokes, smily faces, and just 'who cares' and 'good riddance' makes me sick.
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here is the link to that documentaryTrue Blue Sainter wrote:Would love to see it carl...bigcarl wrote:i feel for cousins in that addiction to drugs such as ice are a terrible problem and not easily overcome. however he has let his club and the people who care about him down big-time and needs to get out of football (and probably perth) to be able to put it all behind him.
i saw a very good documentary on ice on youtube recently. i'll see if i can find the link for anyone who is interested because it is a real eye-opener as to how insidious and dangerous a drug this is.
http://www.tudou.com/playlist/playindex ... id=8144316
Last edited by bigcarl on Thu 18 Oct 2007 10:32am, edited 1 time in total.
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Why is the media saying he was caught with a prescription drug,too much bullshite floating around at the minute,the report from the court case should answer a few questions.....
He should have been into grass,then he would've mellowed out at home with an attack of the munchies instead of driving erratically around town.....
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He should have been into grass,then he would've mellowed out at home with an attack of the munchies instead of driving erratically around town.....
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Re: Am I the only one who feels for Ben Cousins?
Main difference between him and any other 'normal' person out there who has a drug problem is that his whole life is in the publics light.Sam23 wrote:Obviously addicted to drugs.....he's sick, all the bashing and mud throwing towards him is unbelievable, if he was just a normal person, say your mate...and he had came out of rehab and still couldn't get off the drugs...would you still be going like a pack of scavenges bagging the f*** out of him?
Many a people close to me have been sick, and even came very close to dying because of a drug related problem, just because he is a football player, i don't see why bashing the hell through him is needed.
I know, he's a role model to people, but ffs people he is human, he isn't some kind of animal.
He's done great things and gained many many adoring fans.
He's done not so great things and copped a hiding for it.
Think about all the young, and not so young kids who looked up to Cousins as a role model, as someone they wanted to grow up as. What do they think now?
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