Why should I show compassion to someone whos chooses to put a needle in their arm, or shove stuff up their nose?? Sorry but I think its unfair to put the burden of addiction on others who are unaffiliated with the addict. Its not an illness - thats a sad excuse. Its a choice, an addict isnt born an addict, they make a choice at some point in their lives to use and keep using, calling it a disease or an illness is nothing more than an excuse.
I dont want to see the acropolis turned into a treatment centre, that tax money is better spent on recruiting doctors to the community. On a larger scale- I dont think any tax money should go to addiction services, its not fair that an honest hard working individual has to wait over a year for surgery, because “theres not enough money” or teachers have to relocate themselves and their families when a school closes because “theres not enough money” Our dollars are better spent elsewhere, let the addicts family pay for rehab out of their own pocket, not mine.
People who abuse alcohol often have depression which is a mental illness. The two go hand in hand. Also, addiction does run in families, that is, there is a genetic component to addiction. So saying a person has a choice is not entirely an accurate statement.
We will agree to disagree on this issue.
Very Amusing 
It is him though and a couple of others and the poor seniors have tried to complain but he has no respect for them or anyone else. I feel sorry for them as he does it almost to taunt them, to push their buttons. It is a sad , shitty game that he seems to enjoy playing. Wait til he is a senior, can’t be far off now. I can only imagine the respect he will DEMAND we show him 
[quote=“unknown”]
Why should I show compassion to someone whos chooses to put a needle in their arm, or shove stuff up their nose?? [/quote]
Why should you show compassion at all? Why wake up in the morning?
Choose to show compassion for whoever you like, I don’t care. If its the Detroit Lions do it, shed a tear then for Matt Millen. Me, I choose compassion for anyone that is in a rut because I can relate. I’ve been down and low and you know what it helped to have help.
The burden is already on us. Every time a drug user overdoses it means they get to go to emergency, where because they are overdosing, become a priority long before any one with a treatable problem.
Instead of having it work as a revolving crisis we can deal with it as a treatable social problem, which it is. Drugs are a fact but they need not be. You are right, everyone has a choice and I feel strongly that this is an important issue to address.
I don’t have a doctor and it sucks. I would love to see more here. While I’m honest and hard working, the excuses that there is not enough money is lame. There is money. It is just how it is spent.
Money won’t solve young doctors not moving to Prince Rupert. They choose not to come here because Vancouver has big live concerts, Victoria is an urban garden, Kelowna gets way more sun than here… blah, blah, blah. Money is really not the biggest factor. How about a centre where some of them can do research work? Improve their careers? An investment in the North Coast as a tech hub? Unrealistic? Probably but that is another reason they don’t want to be here.
Meanwhile we have drug pushers a plenty. The RCMP are arresting some but not all. You could have more police but that wouldn’t solve the problem, would it? Take one out, another replaces him. How much does that cost? As long as there is demand, why not have a supply? And the endless war on drugs continues.
My dollars can be spent on a stronger and smarter province then that. One that looks at a problem and tries to solve it rather than hoping for the best.
I am not defending Larry Wong,however I do know some of his history. He spent 30 +/- years in the Cdn miltary and I think he is a senior. If he doesn’t like cops I’m sure he has his reasons.
If he is being a problem, then the seniors or the Sally Ann should lodge a complaint.
Now my question,WTF does he have to do with a thread about Acropolis Manor???
You may want to double-check his Canadian Military Record…Just sayin…? And he is referred to in the post regarding his use of pot so it fit in with the general thread of addiction etc. The Seniors have complained and the Sally Ann probably has more to deal with than a guy who gets pissed off because they won’t feed his dogs their soup and sandwiches. He is a royal pain in the ass with an incomparable attitude and treats women like garbage to be spit on. That is Fact
I’m not presuming to know every nuance of Larry’s life,I’ve been told by a friend who grew up with him about his miltary history,signed up as a teenager,appeared back in town around 10 years ago.
Besides where else would a man of chinese and tsimpsean extraction develop an affinity for bagpipes and berets.
Unknown’s comments took me back a few years to a lot of lunch room table discussions.These opinions normally came from the more ‘red neck’ types who always had to throw something into the discussion without really knowing what they were talking about.
From your post I’m not sure if you mean that there should be no treatment for addicted persons in the area of the manor, or no treatment in Rupert, or no treatment in this country at all.
Would you withhold treatment from an addicted person just for the addiction, or could the person be treated for physical problems resulting from the addiction? What would you do with the people that develop cancer because they put cigarettes in their mouth?
What about the people with FAS. Do they get treatment up to the point where they take their first drink or first fix and then cut them off? Do the people with mental health problems who are drug abusers get treatment?
To say that these people aren’t born with a tendency to substance abuse, and that it is strictly a learned behavior is flawed thinking at best.
What we are we have inherited from past generations. Some can break the cycle and some cant.
It would be nice if we all could have started life with a perfect gene structure and a perfect brain and with no ‘bad baggage’ but thats not the way nature works.
Where does your compassion start, or do you have any at all?
Its fairly obvious that there is no one in your circle of family or friends with addictions, but should that happen I suspect that you may find some and spare a little of it.
Necropolis Manor.
It’s your fault. This thread was on the front page so long, that slipped into my head and it’s not going to go away until one day I will end up referring to the Senior’s Home as Necropolis Manor in conversation and someone’s gonna get really offended.
Thanks shitloads.
I never said that treatment shouldnt exist - I’d just rather not see tax dollars going towards addiction services, I think that it should be the addicts family/friends who put up the bill. Im sure addiction is inherited to some degree, but to blame genetics is a lame excuse - granny doesnt force you to get high. I have dealt with addiction, and I do have compassion for those who deserve it - I dont think an individual who makes a poor choice - then blames society and everyone else - deserves my compassion.
i agree with 92.5% of him 
I would venture to say that I agree somewhat with this post but not all. I think that some of our tax dollars should definitely be funnelled into more conservative and possibly more disciplined form of services. Unfortunately, I think we have all heard the stories of the people who have their stays in various detox and addiction centers paid for and either are no shows, go but put forth no effort into their own care or I have heard some even state that it’s a free trip out of Rupert for a few weeks. This makes it tough for those who are truly sincere about their recovery for I think after awhile, the compassion for some runs dry and we become cynical and disillusioned. How many trips can they make back to the well before it does indeed run dry? I believe a person who is proactive with thier own care, has the desire to change and move forward and the sincere willingness to put in the time and hard work it takes to make these new choices does indeed deserve support and encouragement along the journey. It is when that is taken advantage of, that the compassion begins to wane.
I couldn’t agree more. Compassion but not a sucker.
What about a person who made a poor choice and DOESN’T blame society and everyone else? Does he get your compassion? We all make poor choices - some, obviously, more disastrous and harmful than others, like becoming a drug addict. For many, it wasn’t just to get high, it was because of depression, abuse, a catastrophic event, a need to kill the pain and, once in, they couldn’t get out. We all fuck up. Some of us are fortunate enough or strong enough to resist the lure of drugs but we shouldn’t arrogantly dismiss those who aren’t.
To say someone needs to deserve/earn compassion is a bit much. Everyone deserves compassion. Parable of the Good Samaritan anyone? People that suffer any form of affliction deserve our compassion.
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead with no clothes. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
We are in no way, “arrogantly dismissing” those who aren’t strong enough to resist the lure of addiction. We were merely speaking of those who, when given many opportunities and the support and encouragement to follow through with these opportunities, choose to as stated in my prior post, suck the system dry and use and abuse those of us who are indeed trying to assist them on this difficult journey. Our compassion should be boundless, but we are all only human, there are so many stories and everyone I am sure knows one, of someone who just sucks the very energy out of you by drawing out all the compassion you have and after awhile, after believing that, NO, they would not be making a fool of me again, you have to realize that indeed they are and you do become disillusioned and cynical, unfortunate as that is. What is that old expression? “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?”. I have always said, and I do beleive that if these people put as much energy into increasing their own quality of life, into their own value here on this planet as they do into using and abusing and testing the limits of someones emotions and more often than not, finances also, just think of the lives that would be empowered and lightened. A tough road for those seriously willing to put forth the effort, you bet, but it is these people with their dignity and pride that our compassion will support for as long as needed.
One does not get lured into addiction they fall into it , it is a health issue and one does not realize they are going there till it is too late, but I understand what some of you funseekers are saying about sucking the care givers dry. Yes the are many in this small community that I knoow of. I appreciate many of the words which have been expressed and shared re the issue. We must remember that many are addicted to drugs which their doctor started them on and then there is gambler and sex and so many other addictions. If one has an addictive personality they are very sure to get caught up.
I wish my problem was sex 
Aren’t we all, with a very few exceptions addicted to sex?