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People sometimes die because they fail to mention their drug habits to their anesthesiologists. Pregnant Teenage girls commit suicide because they fear anyone f

People sometimes die because they fail to mention their drug habits to their anesthesiologists. Pregnant Teenage girls commit suicide because they fear anyone finding out, or die giving birth all by themselves, or bleed out with a coat hangar stuck through their uterus. Shame is a powerful emotion. It might be related to me being European that I believe in sparing people such experiences (“dignity” is a big concept here), the stigma itself might be proportionally stronger in the US. Death of a Salesman is all about that, IIRC, and considered a cornerstone of Americana.

72deluxe 7y ago
I am aware that shame is a powerful emotion, but I am not sure that a drug habit is the same as not having food. Food is something we all need, drugs are not. Food is a mandatory, drugs are optional. If I decide to take up something that is optional, dealing with the repercussions of my choice is part of me choosing to do said action. Food is very different. I remember Death of a Salesman being about how the father carried on away from home and his son found out, and how he killed himself over the shame of it and how it affected his son. I thought it was more about the repercussions of his selfish actions than being purely about the emotions that he himself felt. If anything, the father was not a figure to be emulated. In these sad situations, it is clear that there is a flotilla of other individuals who are also sadly in the same situation, so it isn't a "shame" queue that the "non shamed" observers can stand at a distance and deride. If I was too ashamed/proud to be seen queuing for food (we all do at a checkout in supermarkets anyway?), I would perfectly expect someone to ask me if I considered starving as more important than my presented image. Which would I rather be: embarrassed, or starving?

72deluxe 7y ago

I am aware that shame is a powerful emotion, but I am not sure that a drug habit is the same as not having food. Food is something we all need, drugs are not. Food is a mandatory, drugs are optional. If I decide to take up something that is optional, dealing with the repercussions of my choice is part of me choosing to do said action. Food is very different. I remember Death of a Salesman being about how the father carried on away from home and his son found out, and how he killed himself over the shame of it and how it affected his son. I thought it was more about the repercussions of his selfish actions than being purely about the emotions that he himself felt. If anything, the father was not a figure to be emulated. In these sad situations, it is clear that there is a flotilla of other individuals who are also sadly in the same situation, so it isn't a "shame" queue that the "non shamed" observers can stand at a distance and deride. If I was too ashamed/proud to be seen queuing for food (we all do at a checkout in supermarkets anyway?), I would perfectly expect someone to ask me if I considered starving as more important than my presented image. Which would I rather be: embarrassed, or starving?