I find it easy to dismiss people who claim that their lives have been destroyed by inanimate objects. It's the choices that they make that determine what direction their lives take. I've known people who have had all sorts of chances to change their lives, and have refused to make the effort to do so. I know a woman who I spent the last year coresponding with while she was in prison, and less than a week after she was released, she's disappeared. As far as I know, she's doing drugs again, and back into prostitution, to get money for her drugs. She was staying with a decent family who opened their home to her, in order to help her get back on her feet. I'm finished with her. I'll continue to try helping people who want to change their lives, but I will not listen to people who try to blame their lot in life on inanimate objects.
There are some people who claim that some people are "slaves" to their "addictions." BULL! Words mean something. Slavery is where people or a government oppress someone. People living under those conditions are people who deserve the sympathy of being considered a victim, and deserve to be helped by others. Claiming to be a slave to addictions is claiming that you have no control over your own life.
Mark
So you think there is no such thing as addiction to anything?
See my post above.
People with addictions do lose control over their own lives. That's what a real addiction is. It robs a person of the ability to make rational decisions about their life. It's easy to demand that a person just overcome their addictions through willpower but if it were that easy, addiction wouldn't be a problem that follows known patterns and trajectories.
I know that I have low-level addictions. For example, I have an addiction to chocolate. If I don't have chocolate, I crave it. In the past, I've stopped eating chocolate for a period of time to show I could make that choice. The cravings are relatively mild, but I can see how they influence rational decisions. They create thoughts and feelings that try to persuade one to give in, and I could see how stronger cravings could overcome someone.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Scientists have been doing research into how people think and make moral decisions. You should read this article. I've got more scientific peer-reviewed versions of the points raised in the article if you want to demand such things.