Some insight

[niteowl]

Maybe someone could shed a little light on the subject.

Chris Benoit whom killed his wife and son,then himself suffered from serious brain damage.But a lot of people dismiss it and insist it was steriods and he had roid rage.

Heath Ledger OD'd on six different types of drugs and he gets sympathy,praise and various awards.

Two of my friend said maybe it was because Ledger only killed himself.

If that's the case. Does that mean we should forgive a drug user and condemn a person with brain damage?

 

[HankQuinlan]

Maybe someone could shed a little light on the subject.

Chris Benoit whom killed his wife and son,then himself suffered from serious brain damage.But a lot of people dismiss it and insist it was steriods and he had roid rage.

Heath Ledger OD'd on six different types of drugs and he gets sympathy,praise and various awards.

Two of my friend said maybe it was because Ledger only killed himself.

If that's the case. Does that mean we should forgive a drug user and condemn a person with brain damage?

No. Your comparison doesn't have any logic. If Heath Ledger had murdered someone else as well, he wouldn't have been remembered fondly, either. He would have been another Sid Vicious.

Benoit was a druggie too. Steroid use contributed to his downfall. No difference there.

Committing brutal murders tends to stain someone's reputation, no matter what the excuse.

 

[melissa.in.abby]

Committing brutal murders tends to stain someone's reputation, no matter what the excuse.

Um yeah... and considering that Chris is still well thought of by some....

 

[niteowl]

From what I've seen is that Benoit was dumped like yesterday's trash (sorry about the cliche) and yet Ledger gets put on a pedestal and have various awards thrown at him.

It must be me as I've seen actors/musicians get sympathy and athletes get criticism.

Oops got my mistake. Athletes tend to lie about their drug use and the other were more or less open about it.

 

[HankQuinlan]

From what I've seen is that Benoit was dumped like yesterday's trash (sorry about the cliche) and yet Ledger gets put on a pedestal and have various awards thrown at him.

It must be me as I've seen actors/musicians get sympathy and athletes get criticism.

Oops got my mistake. Athletes tend to lie about their drug use and the other were more or less open about it.

You seem to have missed the point. Heath Ledger didn't murder anyone. Murder is bad.

Phil Spector hasn't got much sympathy despite his immense fame. Spade Cooley is virtually forgotten, but was once as famous as Bob Wills.

 

[passenger57]

The WWE more.

The WWE immediately distanced themselves from Benoit when the details came out. Not only because of the murders but because of the steroid scandal that followed. They had to become more accountable to the public and actually started handing out real suspensions when wrestlers failed drug tests. IIRC 13 wrestlers were suspended for steroid use immediately after Benoit's death. They were big names too and that definitely hurt business. Benoit's death was bad business.

On the other hand, the public placed most of the blame on drugs\steroids but depression and brain damage had to be the main culprits. After his only real friend in pro wrestling, Eddy Guererro, died, Benoit was going through severe depression. A year later add a possible divorce and an uncertain future for a son with a mental disorder. These factors combined with brain damage could make a relatively sane person do stupid things. I mean look at Riddick Bowe.

 

[niteowl]

I guess fan base HotAC. Some of the comments on the fight network web site were pretty nasty and there was one ignorant person on youtube insist it was steroids as he sees not really making contact with any type of headbutts.

I see you point Hank but Hollywood was praising some who 'accidently' OD'd.
How do you OD'd by accident? He took six drugs instead of four?

 

[HankQuinlan]

I guess fan base HotAC. Some of the comments on the fight network web site were pretty nasty and there was one ignorant person on youtube insist it was steroids as he sees not really making contact with any type of headbutts.

I see you point Hank but Hollywood was praising some who 'accidently' OD'd.
How do you OD'd by accident? He took six drugs instead of four?

The point is that Ledger didn't MURDER anyone. It doesn't matter if his was an accidental death or a suicide. The rest is not relevant to your original question. When you murder someone, you don't get forgiven, and your reputation doesn't survive.

If you kill yourself stupidly -- by accident, by drug overdose, by suicide, your reputation is not affected. If you were a hack actor (like the TV Superman guy), you are barely remembered. If you affected a lot of people and had talent, you are remembered and can even be an icon -- Ernest Hemingway, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, etc. etc. etc. Can you name an actor/musician/sports star who MURDERED someone who remained in good graces with the public? (I actually can, but I don't wan't to tell....)

If you want to compare Benoit to OJ Simpson, then that would be much fairer (if OJ had only offed himself too, as most of us wish he had).