“They’re Not Victims”
Looking over all of the options for columnists this summer, I randomly selected Bill O’Reilly. The first thing I noticed about his writing style was that he is very straightforward and strong with his opinions, normally leaning toward the right. He is very confident, and does not care about any backlash he may receive from his blogs. One of the columns I read about was O’Reilly tackling drug abuse in America. He addresses people who are addicted to drugs by making them feel as if they are ruining the United States Society, with their inability to control their addiction to drugs.
O’Reilly highlights a substantial amount of reasons as to why addiction is harmful to everyone. He talks about how their behavior is deadly to themselves, and millions of others around the world. According to O’Reilly they fuel cartels, are responsible for child abuse and neglect, and single handedly destroy homes and communities. Others consider them victims. They believe those who struggle with drug abuse are not at fault for their abuse, that they are mere victims to a massive epidemic. O’Reilly completely ignores a potential argument for the other side, except for a quick tangent about an “addictive personality,” just to shut it down quickly in the following sentence. O’Reilly is very effective with his writing because he chooses exactly what he wants to make his argument convincing and then he strongly words his writing to be upfront and clear on what side he takes.
Discussion Question: Did you have any prior opinion on the subject of people who struggle from drug addiction in the country? If so, did O’Reilly change your opinion, or did he make your feelings on the subject stronger?
My prior opinion, as someone who has family members affected by drugs, is that it’s out of their control once they start but if they get the right help then eventually they can get it under control. I don’t think he changed my opinion but I understand and somewhat agree with how they’re affecting not only themselves but the people around them and society as a whole.
My opinion on this topic is different depending on what situation the affected person is in. Sometimes, becoming addicted to drugs is uncontrollable for a person. Imagine someone took too many heavy duty pain killers after a big surgery and then couldn’t stop taking them. This wouldn’t be all their fault because the drug was prescribed to them to help not harm. In other situations though, where people specifically buy drugs to do only harm to themselves, is when they begin to harm others around them as well. I believe that no matter how bad it gets, there will always be someone or somewhere that can help people who are addicted, but it will be hard so they need to really want it. I wouldn’t say that he changed my opinion on the subject because I do not totally agree with everything he is saying, but I do understand where he is coming from.
It depends exclusively on the individual situation as to whether or not the “victim” is at fault. A plethora of examples can be provided for either viewpoint, which in essence diametrically invalidates the claim constructed by the author of this article. To proclaim that all drug-users affect others is a fitting and understandable statement, given that organized crimes tend to have a common middle-ground of substance accumulation, but to declare that they all nominated themselves to reside in the predicament they are in is an ostentatious exhibition of ignorance. He did not alter my opinions, for his argument is both unconvincing and insensible.
Before reading about this column, my opinion was that people with drug addiction were closer to a victim than a problem to society. I originally thought this because I know it can be very hard to break a bad habit or addiction, and sometimes it is not always an addicts fault that they are hooked on a certain substance. They may have been exposed to drugs at a young age or were pressured into participating in duck activities. Now, after reading this overview, I would have to say that opinion has changed. Although it may be hard to break an addiction, this column proves that addicts need to find a way to quit because of how much harm it is causing to themselves and many others.