Posted by 37th Apostle at clustr1-cis438.unh.edu on April 10, 2003 at 16:23:44:
In Reply to: So none of you.... posted by Ted on April 10, 2003 at 16:06:07:
: ...See the hypocrisy in Mewes' HBO deal? He beat jail by putting the judge in front of a camera. He's getting PAID to go thru rehab!
: NewsAskew says that they won't report on this much as it has to do with Jason's 'privacy' - HE'S PUTTING IT ON TV! The only privacy concerns are those that may fuck up his TV deal!
: I don't buy for a second that the true motive behind this HBO deal is some sort of altruistic 'don't do drugs' message. It's cashing in on celebrity in one of the crassest forms I've ever heard of.
: Can any of you honestly say that you would have reacted to my questions in the same manner had it not been Jason Mewes? What if CarrotTop was doing the HBO 'documentary'? Or harmony Korine? Paul Thomas Anderson?
: Keep your heads in the sand, kids. Toodles.
I can personally say that I would have because I have someone very close to me trying to get through a problem with drugs right now. It hurts both the person, and the people they care about. While this sounds cliché (I thought so as well), I don't think any exploitation of it is a good thing. Would I watch it? No. Am I for it if it helps people? Not sure; part of it comes from the fact that it IS exploitative, but I didn't think that anything you said was particularly funny, nor in good taste. And while I don't agree that the documentary itself is in good taste, I don't know if that's what people are reacting to.
The post you made, readily acknowledged as satire, seemed in poor taste, is all. I never said that I agreed with the documentary; I also know that addiction isn't a joking matter. Perhaps the motive is altruistic AND money. I don't think anyone here is willing to put judgement on that. I would have reacted to these questions the same way even if there was some guy or girl I didn't know.
It may not seem like it, but I wasn't particularly angry, and the response isn't: As I said, you satirize the motive, and I respect what you are doing in that regard. I'm reacting to treating it lightly, and making some generalizations about our affiliation to the subject matter.