Alcohol & Know-It-Alls

I'm taking a nutrition class (required for the dental hygiene program) & last night was our lecture on alcohol, which of course included alcoholism. The professor goes over the health problems caused by prolonged abuse, cirrhosis of the liver being one of the msot serious. She mentions that if it gets bad enough, the only real treatment is a transplant. At this point, a super obnoxious girl who sits behind me decides to chip in with her 2 cents. (if you've ever been in any kind of higher education you pry know the type. she knows everything about everything & has either personally experienced every ailment discussed in class or knows some one who has. & of course, bc of her great wealth of personal experience, she knows more about any given topic than anyone else including the professor. she also brings brownies to this class (did i mention it's a nutrition class?) & frequently spouts off about her incredibly healthy vegan lifestyle, despite the fact that she weighs over 200lbs & seemingly eats packaged brownies like candy. i'm sure you can already tell how much i appreciate her commentary.)

anyways, last night's discussion of alcoholism hit close to home for me, as i have watched someone very close to me struggle with it for over 20 years before finally becoming clean almost 3 years ago. we saw withdrawl in all its horrid glory, as this person quite cold turkey (a stupid, stupid & very dangerous way to quit for a serious addict, in case anyone is wondering.) we saw the after effects, the altered personality, the tremors, the halucinations (no, it's not just drug addicts who go through that kind of withdrawl) & it was incredibly scary, even more so bc this person (my dad) is also a diabetic, which is pretty much the worst additional disease an alcoholic can have. the combo is super dangerous & damaging & we are incredibly lucky that he is here & well & sober today.

so when the professor is talking about transplants, this idiot brownie-eating girl has the balls to say that alcoholics don't deserve the chance, bc their problem is of their own making. excuse me, but who gave her the power to judge another human being? what right does she, or anyone, have to say that a man like my dad, who, although far from perfect, is working to turn his life around, does not deserve the chance to live a life free from addiction? Addicts are not by definition evil people. They have mothers & fathers & sisters & husbands & wives & children who love them, just like any other person.

The ability of some folks to condemn an entire population of people through ignorance, or lack of compassion, or just plain meanness infuriates & amazes me, & leaves me feeling somehow disapointed with the human race generally.