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Such Is Life - Ben Cousins Doco

so basically, he admits, his drug use didn't decrease his job performance. and the worst thing they can show is that he was dancing in underwear while off tap.

lol.

This doesn't seem over the top sensationalist at all. Clearly all this "mourning" and regret is a face put on to fit the moralist media. 8)
 
I'm going to watch this simply out of curiosity (and the fact I love footy and am a Fremantle supporter/member), it's been getting alot of press over here in the west.

I think it serves as a good human interest story, but as for serving as a warning to young people to not use drugs, I don't think it will have any impact at all regarding that. People will continue to use/abuse substances, the factors involved in people having serious drug problems have nothing to do with any doco they saw about an elite sportsman that is a stim (coke, meth) addict.
 
It could have been worse I guess, but I don't really see what point they're trying to make. Many of the 'consequences' of his drug use didn't come because he used, but because of the public perception of drugs, and the outrage everyone seems to feel when someone decides to alter their consciousness with something other than alcohol 8) And like they said at the end, if he'd have lied, everything would have turned out much better. It basically just perpetuates the myth that using drugs is just instrinsically bad, first and foremost.

..And he doesn't know how to smoke a crackie without toasting it :p
 
I'm not sure what other message you'd expect the show to sell?

When the Cousins train wreck was in full flight, the zero tolerance zealots, especially in government were putting a huge amount of pressure on the AFL to abandon their three-strikes policy and publicly name and ban anyone who tested positive for a recreational drug. I think the last time I read, there are more than twenty players now who still have careers because the AFL stuck to their policy.

Whether or not we think testing for recreational drugs has any place in sport, a six-day bender that ends in being arrested outside Crown is excessive, even for one of us, let alone a man who is supposed to be a national sporting hero (and a role model to young people).

footscrazy said:
It basically just perpetuates the myth that using drugs is just instrinsically bad, first and foremost.
Click to expand...

He doesn't say it's not a shitload of fun.

Look I think it's pretty good. There are those who think he should never have been allowed to play again, there are many who think the documentary does drug users a disservice by focusing on one, rather overindulgent, individual when drug users and addicts go through much worse everyday without the support and money that Cousins had.

In the broader scope though, this show will reach a lot of people whose attitudes to drugs reflect the attitude of the mainstream and if nothing else, will get the idea across to some of the most ill-informed that drugs are a health issue rather than a moral failing.
 
People should cut him some slack. Addiction can hit anyone, even people who vowed never to touch hard drugs...

Addiction is something that can't be cured so unless you are one, you can't have an opinion saying - "he'll never be clean", yeah it's a fair statement. Once youve had a love affair with a drug it's almost impossible to just let that go.

Many people do, but it's hard. And speaking of arrogance, I reckon anyone who was living that almost 'rockstar' lifestyle at such a young age would be confident which could come off as cocky.
 
I thought it was pretty good, fairly balanced.

It's didn't sensationalise his drug habit for or against use/abuse.
To me the moral was with the dad saying he wish he could've picked up or known about it earlier before it was out of control.

This is a very strong pro of it being legal and socially acceptable, people notice when their friends or kids are becoming alcoholics because they drink all the time, keep their drink's in the fridge etc.

Instead people are forced to keep it all secret and thus people often don't find out until it's getting out of control.


I also agreed with what he was saying about I'm doing this to myself, I don't see how other people can tell me what I can and can't do if i'm not hurting anybody else and not cheating in my sport/career.


I definately wanna see what the 2nd part is gonna bring tomorrow.
 
it was very interesting that's for sure. certainly does have triggers in the program for people who are struggling to overcome a cocaine/ice addiction... so i advise to people who are trying to stay away from either of those substances to maybe not watch this...

it strikes me as quite weird that with all the illicit drug use there is no indication that he ever touched H. whether he hasn't touched H, or the stigma attached to that particular substance in the australian community is the reason it wasn't mentioned in the doco I guess we'll never know.

i am in no way saying people that have used/abused coke/meth/pills/xanax etc etc all will indulge in H, but it certainly is a possibility in the circles he associated with.

will definitely be tuning in tomorrow night, and ben if you are reading this, PM me we can catch up and i can show you the proper way to twirl a pipe without caking black shit all over your glassie.
 
chefping said:
...and ben if you are reading this, PM me we can catch up and i can show you the proper way to twirl a pipe without caking black shit all over your glassie.
Click to expand...

=D LOLz..i think he'll have to wait till saturday tho. unless he's fucked his hamstring.

Seriously tho, thinking about all the gear he has wasted by torching the bejebus out of it almost makes me want to cry
 
and the disgusting condition that his glassie was in, caked on shit through the stem and bowl. clean it fella.. even when you are on a bender you can manage to give it a good clean. heck, im bordering obsessive compulsiveness with cleanliness of my glass!
 
footscrazy said:
..And he doesn't know how to smoke a crackie without toasting it :p
Click to expand...

I came back into this thread to say exactly that! Haha. He practically had like half the length of the flame on the pipe. I guess it doesn't really matter when you ar earning as much as he was.

I only really caught the second half but what I saw wasn't too bad, it didn't really come across as a fully anti drug documentary to me. I mean it did show a lot of personal consequences in his life and blame them on drug abuse where some were certainly caused, or atleast excacerbated by, the general public perception of drug use. But it certainly also came across to me that he was pretty drug dependent and suffered negative effects from that regardless of other peoples perception, it seemed more a cautionary tail of addiction than drug use itself. That said I didn't really see the whole thing.

One thing I do wonder is why the fuck a high profile football player would film himself smoking shards in the privacy of his own home, obviously when on ice people don't always make rational decisions but in my experience most amphetamine induced irrationality is paranoid and would not give people incentive to film themselves, without even having to to factor in a lucrative professional sporting career being at stake.
 
Just watched it too.

I couldnt help but yell "Ben ya burnin the shit out of it!" Glad I wasnt watching it with my folks 8)

It is a very honest story from him, hell you can tell even now by the way he talks about it he loved it!

Amazing his level of discipline though, to train and play his guts out for weeks, even months he said, only to then allow himself a hell binge.. then back on the track.

Seeing his family so hurt and sad for him was probably the toughest thing to watch. How many of us on this site will one day be / or already are the parent of an addict I wonder..

I was over in Melbourne to watch the Grandfinal in 2006.. hell my adrenalin levels were off the charts, you can kinda understand why they might need to chase that rush over and over no matter what form it comes in.

Eagles Fan
 
^ yeah, having 90,000 people roaring in your ear as you kick a crucial goal kinda makes a weekend 8-ball seem tame. I dont think any drug could replicate that kind of high...but some do try their hardest :)

Also, i think the football club and the way they operate also partly responsible for the skewed "moral compass" some players seem to have. How can you on the one hand..shove needles into a player who has just injured himself in order to overcome the pain so he can return to the field, irrespective of the physical detriment it may cause him AND THEN turn around to this same player and tell him that recreational drugs are evil, stay away because they will do irreparable harm to your body and your mind. The msg the player gets is....sooo, uh, drugs are okay when they benefit the club (winning games) but not when they are for my personal benefit (having a good time)??? Hypocrisy at its finest.
 
Ignatius J so true about the clubs pumping what they need to in the player.

How can we ever forget Chris Mainwaring in the 1994 Grandfinal running back out onto the ground and jumping up and down on his broken ankle, but only AFTER a few injections into the soles of his foot from the team medic.

Just found this on Wikipedia:

'In early 2003, Cousins injured his ankle in a game against Hawthorn, playing on through five weeks of pain-killing injections'
 
really looking forward to the next one. its a great insight into the issues a person in the spotlight can face.

ps- anyone sending me pm's- i cant send any back.. no 50 posts yet.. hook us an email or something if ya can. cheers.
 
For an idea of how the mainstream see it.

100+ comments @ Herald Sun.


Roland Mather of Nth Fitzroy Posted at 7:18 AM Today

He's right. He's not the image of the junkie on the street, he's a professional with lots of money and a hedonist who loves getting high. Judging him, his actions or his choices misses the point at this stage of the debate, which is: drugs are a huge part of our society. Those of you shocked by these scenes need to look past the protagonist and come to grips with the reality that person sitting next to you at work probably getting wrecked on the weekend. Why?

Comment 82 of 98
 
footscrazy said:
It could have been worse I guess, but I don't really see what point they're trying to make. Many of the 'consequences' of his drug use didn't come because he used, but because of the public perception of drugs, and the outrage everyone seems to feel when someone decides to alter their consciousness with something other than alcohol 8) And like they said at the end, if he'd have lied, everything would have turned out much better. It basically just perpetuates the myth that using drugs is just instrinsically bad, first and foremost.

..And he doesn't know how to smoke a crackie without toasting it :p
Click to expand...

"And he doesn't know how to smoke a crackie without toasting it" :p[/QUOTE]


i was waiting for someone to pick up on that...

[EDIT: Not appropriate, don't ask to meet people. hoptis]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ignatius J. said:
Also, i think the football club and the way they operate also partly responsible for the skewed "moral compass" some players seem to have. How can you on the one hand..shove needles into a player who has just injured himself in order to overcome the pain so he can return to the field, irrespective of the physical detriment it may cause him AND THEN turn around to this same player and tell him that recreational drugs are evil, stay away because they will do irreparable harm to your body and your mind. The msg the player gets is....sooo, uh, drugs are okay when they benefit the club (winning games) but not when they are for my personal benefit (having a good time)??? Hypocrisy at its finest.
Click to expand...

That is a really excellent point!
 
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