Posted on 10/03/2003 5:45:49 AM PDT by shortstop
Believe me, Rush, I know what you’re going through.
That may sound presumptuous, but it’s true. I have an idea of what the crushing of a dream feels like, of what it’s like to be on the evening news, of how your stomach sinks when the most intimate aspects of your life are headlined in the paper and laughed at on the radio.
I know what it’s like. I’ve been through it.
And I have good news.
You’re going to be fine. The things that are precious to you are still going to be with you when this is done. The truth will still be the truth, you will still be you, and the world will go on.
The sun will come up; you will survive. Life is good. Remember that and drive on.
It’s been a tough week. On Sunday, you said an NFL quarterback was a media sweetheart because he was black. By Wednesday that had cost you your TV job. Then on Thursday, word leaked that you might have a drug problem, and had spent four years scoring OxyContin from your housekeeper.
When it rains it pours, huh?
Here’s what I think about where you stand.
First, you shouldn’t have resigned. I am sure you did so because they said they’d fire you if you didn’t, but it wasn’t the right thing to do. What you said was stupid, not racist. And by cutting and running – instead of making them fire you – you accept a new public standard that essentially forbids white people from discussing race. When you quit you’re not a victim of the thought police, you’re an accomplice. You’re admitting you did something wrong.
And you did nothing wrong.
Granted, I don’t think most people would agree with you.
There have been black NFL quarterback stars for years. This is McNabb, not DiMaggio or Koufax. There’s nothing pioneering or unusual – anymore – about his race or ethnicity. And you don’t get into the Pro Bowl through affirmative action.
But sports analysts say dumb things all the time. Your problem was you are white and you mentioned race. And your ESPN career is gone. Badabing, badaboom.
Now some wonder if you will lose your radio job as well.
It would be ridiculous if you did. And it would be ridiculous if any stations pulled your show. I think your listeners – of every race – understand. And they know your heart.
It’s not about twisting five seconds worth of audio, it’s about the totality of a person’s character and career. And you’re not a racist.
But you might be a junkie.
That’s what Wilma Cline, your former housekeeper, says. She says that for four years – until the spring of last year – she illegally kept you in prescription painkillers. Supposedly Oxycontin, Lorcet and hydrocodone.
That story’s coming out today in the “National Enquirer.” Most of the details were in yesterday’s New York “Daily News.” She said she taped your last two buys, and that once she gave you more than 43-hundred pills in less than two months. The claim is also that an intermediate passed her $200,000 to keep quiet – just before she went to the police.
She also claims you went to detox twice, most recently a little more than a year ago.
Well, that’s got to hurt to see in the paper, doesn’t it? And, if it’s true, it’s got to hurt to have that in your life.
I’m sorry.
But if that’s the way it is, that’s the way it is.
Should you quit your radio show? Should you give up your career?
Only if you want to send the message to every other addict out there that they are useless and ruined and ought to jump off a bridge.
But if you believe you can lick it, if you believe you can lay bare you soul on this matter to your audience, if you believe you still have something to offer, then you should stay on the air.
Personally, that’s what I think you should do.
Personally, I think that the millions of Americans struggling through addictions of their own would be strengthened by the humble example you now have the opportunity to set. If there is healing power in saying to a small room of people, “My name is Rush and I’m an addict,” imagine what power there could be in saying that to a nation.
It’s going to be hard, Rush. That OxyContin is a devil sweeping across the country. So are the other addictions people face – the cocaine and crack, booze and sex – and if we fired everybody who was an addict we’d have a lot of empty jobs.
It’s going to be hard, Rush. You’re going to have to go on the air and lay it all out. And you’re going to have to ask for forgiveness and support.
And here’s my prediction: You’ll get both.
Because people care about you. Anybody can bash the Clintons, but your gig is being America’s friend. A great, blustering, opinionated, funny friend. At least that’s how I see you. That’s why I tune in.
That’s why I’ll keep tuning in.
Stay the course, Rush. Your work isn’t done yet. Your country and your audience still need you. Don’t let the hurt of today keep you from the work of tomorrow.
I know what it’s like. I’ve been through it.
And I have good news.
You’re going to be fine.
Keep you sympathy for yourself kid. I have been teaching people about libertarianism and freedom for longer than you have been around. Your personal attack was your last gasp.
Defending a guy who wants to use drugs to feel good as if he needed medication is bizarre.
your prediction of Rush losing 75% of his audience
As I suspected, you did it get all along. Even an elementary school child knew what was being said. But then again, being purposely obtuse is just kinda fun for you kids huh? LOL
Maybe your advanced age has overtaken your wit and you should retire from the forum. Claiming life seniority is the last gasp of those that didn't have anything to begin with.
I agree with you. Rush would not. If he's guilty of this I hope he does time, as the brainless drug laws he champions require.
Whenever someone told me that he had more time in the latrine than I had in country, I knew that was the best claim to fame a loser could make.
And through all that time dividing by a fraction still meant a net gain. AND, Rush won't lose his audience. And medicine is medicine regardless if it is legally prescribed or not. Codeine never stops being codeine.
If you are going ot use age as an excuse then you are in the wrong place.
It's ironic that Rush probably verifies a claim I've been making for years here on FR that based on my previous experience as a managment consultant in south Florida there are many, many high income, high funtioning professionals that are drug users ranging from weekend warriors to full fledged addicts.
But no, the Drug Warriors insist that addicts are street hoods and hookers. But street hoods and hookers don't got to the Betty Ford clininc, now do they?
Gonna take a viagra with some cocoa.
The cocoa helps me sleep; the viagra keeps me from rolling out of bed.
Childish way of avoiding answering the question.
If you are going ot use age as an excuse then you are in the wrong place.
There is no excuse for acting like a child,,,,,unless you are a child. If what you say about your age is true,,,,well, you figure it out.
The WOD is a failure and it is immoral but just because you agree with me on that doesn't make you an adult. A child could figure that out.
And your hero Rush disagrees with you on everything you have said about the WOD. I guess,,,,I mean it will be hard to figure out what he really thinks if this stuff is true. Hypocrisy runs rampant among those who have "talent on loan from God" and have "half their brain tied behind their back".
Which raises the question, if the allegations turn out to be true, which half is behind his back? The drug addled or the semi-coherent?
The author of this piece is already convinced, I see, that the allegations are true. Let's wait for the facts, and just send Rush our support and prayers.
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