Carnelian@lemmy.world 4 days ago
What’s the first sentence of your title mean?
But I think you’re asking, “Isn’t drug addiction ultimately the result of a personal choice since a person has to choose to try it in the first place?”
You could boil it down to that. Personally I chose to start smoking cigarettes at a point in my life when I was spending like 25 hours a week with people who would take smoke breaks outdoors every 45 minutes or so, and we’d use the outdoor time to discuss the project we were working on. In that instance in time it just felt like a natural thing to start smoking as well.
For me personally, I view at that as a personal choice I made (really several choices). Was fully educated about all the dangers and everything.
On the flip side, I feel like we can’t really entirely discount genetics right? Like there’s probably layers to it. Some people possibly would be enticed by the smell of smoke, for example. Plus there may be genetic predispositions to succumb to peer pressure, or marketing, etc.
Put it this way. I walk past a slot machine and hear the jingles and see the cheerful flashing lights, and I roll my eyes and forget about it. Someone else might see that and get totally captivated by the idea that they could change their life forever.
For me the “choice” not to gamble is super easy, but someone else might have a ton of difficulty making the same “choice” as me, and even if they succeed a hundred times it’s just constantly wearing them down until they eventually cave.
I don’t know what the full answer is. I personally find power in identifying that my addiction was a choice (that same power helped me quit! Clean for over 7 years now).
If someone else does or doesn’t feel the same way about their situation, it doesn’t really affect me, because either way I can still choose to treat them with compassion, understanding, and respect. I don’t really care if, when someone needs help, it was an uncontrollable act of nature or a mess they created for themselves or whatever. If they’re ready to get help, then I think we should help either way
Patnou@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Just wanted to avoid the conversation of I was born this and that way. Becoming a big deal in this thread. Nothing against it it’s just the US keeps telling us how it is pure evil or pure good for the person. Kind of wanted to keep politics and agenda’s out of this. That way we can focus on choice. That is what my first sentence meant.
Carnelian@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Sorry so I mean, I literally just don’t know what you’re referring to exactly by “physicality and the tran debate” so that it can be taken out of the discussion. I guess from your reply just now that it has something to do with avoiding arguing about transgender people but I don’t see the relevance to the rest of your question.
Otherwise I hope I was able to respond to what you were asking!
joeljoelle@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 days ago
You can’t take it out of the conversation, that is the entire conversation; it is not a choice it is there all along, there are people who want to make you think it’s a choice, but it’s not. The only choice involved is listening to yourself and who you are because there are a lot of people who would have you deny who you really are, then you become miserable and sad and just consume, I was there. If it was it’s not a choice anyone would even gain anything from making in this society, as far as we have come there is so much more to be done as far as people’s views on the whole LGBTQIA+ spectrum