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Well, it's common place in our world now to make fun of ANYTHING so we can somehow have a little spotlight put on us at other's expense.
I don't think the comments were overboard, but they are inappropriate for a guy who is 10000x braver than most of us could dream of being ... especially the guy who said they'd rather Dr. K to kill them off instead of fighting for life.
Do you call what Reeve's was enduring, life? Sheeese man, he couldn't even breathe on his own. If they had unplugged him, he would have suffocated. To me life has to have a certain quality to it, to be worth fighting for. When it slumps as low as his had, it's time to see what's on the other side.
i've heard a few people talk about him 'enduring' life. i didn't know the guy (obviously), and didn't even really know a huge amount abuot him, but from what i've heard/read, he wasn't 'enduring' life, he was living it.
his brain was all there and functioning, if he'd wanted to end it he probably could have. he fought for his life, he fought for everything. he fought for other people too, he fought for research to help other people. he was fighting to walk again.
he still had hope.
the actions he took and the fighting he did were not the actions of a man enduring life.
He had actually been breathing on his own for quite a while. He had also regained movement in his fingers and legs, and sensation in his shoulders. All this despite the severity of his injury and the gloomy outlook from his doctors.Quote:
Originally posted by iaskwhy
Sheeese man, he couldn't even breathe on his own. If they had unplugged him, he would have suffocated.
He was making progress, fighting with all he had. He was beating the odds.
I guess it's a matter of perspective. The man was a world renowned figure, and he had millions of dollars and a ton of supportive people around him. My cynical side also whispers that his doctors saw him as a great way to make a lot of money and get famous to.
As for being an inspiration, sorry, every time I saw the guy on TV press, or watched an old Superman movie, I cringed and said to myself, why is he doing this, why doesn't he just let go? No disrespect to his memory, cause a mans go to do what a mans got to do, and it was his life, but it wasn't an inspiration to me, it was more like watching Frankenstein come to life.
If there was anyone who was concerned about getting money to the doctors/researchers, and making their work famous, it was Reeves himself.Quote:
Originally posted by iaskwhy
My cynical side also whispers that his doctors saw him as a great way to make a lot of money and get famous to.
I guess there's different types of inspiration: someone taking the easy way out and signing himself off isn't one for me. It was hard to watch, downright heartwrenching at certain points, but in the end he really didn't have a choice.Quote:
As for being an inspiration, sorry, every time I saw the guy on TV press, or watched an old Superman movie, I cringed and said to myself, why is he doing this, why doesn't he just let go? No disrespect to his memory, cause a mans go to do what a mans got to do, and it was his life, but it wasn't an inspiration to me, it was more like watching Frankenstein come to life.
He wasn't a coward. He fought on.
I wouldn't have blamed him if he had just given up and offed himself, but I have to credit him with the strength to soldier on. I took a true man of steel to do so.
here here!
I think how he lived his life after the accident was pretty damn inspiational.
Bravery or cowardice has nothing to do with what I'm saying. I'm sure he had no pain to endure. I'm sure he never lay in a ward with 50 other moaning wretches who never had a visitor. And I doubt anyone was ever around him who wasn't positive and smiling, no matter what they really thought.
In his situation, I may have done the same. But I and 99.999999% of the rest of the world weren't in his situation. Just because one person does something does not make it an inspiration for others, by default.
no, not by default, but in my opinion, he was inspirational.
that is all i am expressing here- my opinion. and it seems there is at least one other person here who has a similar opinion on this.
i am not trying to undermine what you are saying or say that you are wrong. you are expressing your opinion, i am expressing mine.
that's all.
Most people with nerve injuries wouldn't have much physical pain (at least those with ones as severe as his was), but I'd wager that no one escapes the grief cycle when something like this happens. Rich or poor, when your body gives way there's no escaping the fact that all the smiles in the world won't put you back together.Quote:
Originally posted by iaskwhy
Bravery or cowardice has nothing to do with what I'm saying. I'm sure he had no pain to endure. I'm sure he never lay in a ward with 50 other moaning wretches who never had a visitor. And I doubt anyone was ever around him who wasn't positive and smiling, no matter what they really thought.
Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. I'm sure he rode that horse just like anyone else. What's inspirational is what came out the other end. It wasn't a recluse, it wasn't someone filled with anger at what had happened to him, it wasn't even someone content to simply ride out the rest of what was before him.
Even though he couldn't move his hands, he grabbed that bull by the horns.
What are you talking about? What exactly would be your definition of an inspiration then?Quote:
In his situation, I may have done the same. But I and 99.999999% of the rest of the world weren't in his situation. Just because one person does something does not make it an inspiration for others, by default.
Have you walked on the moon?
Beaten cancer to win 6 Tour de France races?
Spent your life in service of your fellow man, ala Mother Teresa?
Single-handedly redefined the understanding of space and time, ala Einstein?
You're saying that those things can't be inspirational because they were done by one person and not '99.99%' of most people?
(if you want to respond here, I'll be answering via PM; this is a thread for remembering a man who passed away, not for debating semantics.)
God forbid anyone here have such a thing happen to them, but I'd venture to guess a large percentage of us, when faced with death or the hope that our life can get better someday, would probably choose life.