God, I wondered what happened to Artie Lange...

[G.I.Jim]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

[Don]

Fuck him. There are so many people struggling just to stay alive and you have this fool, trying to off himself. God's got enough people clamoring for his attention, rather than to waste a blessing on this idiot.

I understand where you are coming from, but he's a human being just like the rest of us. If he was your brother, I doubt that you'd say something like that.

You can never know what's going through someone else's mind, or what they're going through. I hate hearing about people doing this sort of thing to themselves, but it's not my place to judge him. I wish him the best and I hope he works out whatever demons he's facing.

If he were my brother, he wouldn't be at this point. Compassion is all well and good but if he wasn't a celebrity, would you give a shit? Wouldn't he be another statistic? This guy has been a bad apple ever since he messed with a bank teller 20 years ago but because he is funny he gets away with things that the rest of us would be held accountable for.
This is my own opinion of course and you if you want to feel sorry for him, fine. I'll save my compassion for the 30,000+ children who will not see the sun set today because of disease, malnourishment and being born in the wrong place at the wrong time. They don't have any control over their destiny, unlike Lange.

I've never even heard of the guy, and STILL have no idea who he is, so yeah... I still care. If this guy took other people's lives, then I wouldn't feel compassion for him. If what I'm assuming here is true... he's a drug addict that I guess was on Howard Stern? I don't watch that crap so I've never seen or heard of him. I look at him as a fellow human being who obviously had a lot of problems and didn't know how to deal with them. Again, not my place to judge.

If he were your brother, how do you think you would have stopped him? There are people every day who take their own lives, and nobody even had a clue that they were contemplating doing something like that. I have a friend who committed suicide, so I can say I've experienced what it's like to lose someone like this. I was pissed off at her at first, but then I just realized that she just couldn't deal with the stresses in her life the way most people do. She gave up on life and it's very sad. She was an ex-girlfriend.

If your brother did this, would you like reading people saying "Fuck him... he deserves to die!"? Just trying to get you to think, because I KNOW you're a great guy.

I'm not trying to get you to not be compassionate for starving children, or disease-stricken people. I'm just saying there's room to be compassionate for everyone (except murderers and those who harm others). At least in my book.

I didn't say that.
My brother would have had to been a drug addict a drunk, in and out of rehabs to compare to Lange, and I would have had to stand around and did nothing alL those years also for this analogy to work. If he offed himself after all that and been abuser, I still wouldn't feel compassion for the hurt he would cause my parents. If he was mentally unstable or deficient, that would be another story but we are comparing him to Lange, not Jana's ex-sister.

[Duncan]

I'm with GB. Plus, if you're gonna off yourself, do it the right way. How could you stab yourself that many times and not finish the job? Pathetic effort. F for effort, F for execution (no pun intended).

No need to worry there.

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Now playing: eyes - Walking Fire

[Jana]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

You both did.

[Don]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

Again, it's all your own interpretation of who deserves compassion, My viewpoint is different.
Tell me this. Suicide bombers who are brought from villages, completely uneducated and ignorant of the world. They get indoctrinated into these groups and kill themselves in the name of Allah. All they know is the US is the bad guy. They don't actually hate us, but this is what they have been told to do by people representing their god.

They don't value their own life enough not to say no, and they're not mentally incapacitated. Do you have compassion for them? Aren't they the LOST also?

[Jana]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

Again, it's all your own interpretation of who deserves compassion, My viewpoint is different.
Tell me this. Suicide bombers who are brought from villages, completely uneducated and ignorant of the world. They get indoctrinated into these groups and kill themselves in the name of Allah. All they know is the US is the bad guy. They don't actually hate us, but this is what they have been told to do by people representing their god.

They don't value their own life enough not to say no, and they're not mentally incapacitated. Do you have compassion for them? Aren't they the LOST also?

I guess GB, what I was saying re compassion wasn't even addressing really all his drug use and falling off the wagon and all of that, which apparently he had been off drugs for a while supposedly with someone watching him. (I don't know if that's true or not). What I felt compassion for was someone who was in so much emotional pain they took a nine-inch knife and repeatedly violently stabbed themselves to end their life. So very sad to me and I feel compassion for him in that moment of darkness he was in.

[G.I.Jim]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

Again, it's all your own interpretation of who deserves compassion, My viewpoint is different.
Tell me this. Suicide bombers who are brought from villages, completely uneducated and ignorant of the world. They get indoctrinated into these groups and kill themselves in the name of Allah. All they know is the US is the bad guy. They don't actually hate us, but this is what they have been told to do by people representing their god.

They don't value their own life enough not to say no, and they're not mentally incapacitated. Do you have compassion for them? Aren't they the LOST also?

They ARE lost, and God DOES have compassion for anyone who repents and asks him for forgiveness. Do I have compassion? Nope... not for someone who takes other's lives. That's for them to work out with God. For nearly everyone else... I have compassion.

[JasonD]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

Again, it's all your own interpretation of who deserves compassion, My viewpoint is different.
Tell me this. Suicide bombers who are brought from villages, completely uneducated and ignorant of the world. They get indoctrinated into these groups and kill themselves in the name of Allah. All they know is the US is the bad guy. They don't actually hate us, but this is what they have been told to do by people representing their god.

They don't value their own life enough not to say no, and they're not mentally incapacitated. Do you have compassion for them? Aren't they the LOST also?

They ARE lost, and God DOES have compassion for anyone who repents and asks him for forgiveness. Do I have compassion? Nope... not for someone who takes other's lives. That's for them to work out with God. For nearly everyone else... I have compassion.

+1

My sentiments exactly.

[Don]

Well, I'm not going to try to get the last word here. That would require entering into a debate that would lead eventually into theology. To each their own and I'll leave it at that.

[Jana]

Well, I'm not going to try to get the last word here. That would require entering into a debate that would lead eventually into theology. To each their own and I'll leave it at that.

God bless.

[Don]

Well, I'm not going to try to get the last word here. That would require entering into a debate that would lead eventually into theology. To each their own and I'll leave it at that.

God bless.

Now, I'm done.

[Duncan]

Fuck him. There are so many people struggling just to stay alive and you have this fool, trying to off himself. God's got enough people clamoring for his attention, rather than to waste a blessing on this idiot.

I'm sure there are no gods, but if there are I think compassion and forgiveness might be quite high on their agenda of what's important. Just guessing though. I like the idea of a god looking down and saying "fuck him"
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Now playing: Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

Going by some of the posts around here, You would have to think that God is reserving that sentiment for people like Michael Jackson and certain members of the Clergy. Apparently the almighty is very selective when he hands out compassion. I've got my own ideas about a divine creator but that's another topic.

Ah yes, the catholics. The buggerers and bombers. I wonder if god will show them any compassion.

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Now playing: Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere

I'm still disgusted that there were groups of Americans who supported that shit.

Interesting to reverse the thought process of the American's who supported the terrorism against the UK and compare it to those who seek to terrorise the US. Is the mindset greatly different? Not sure.

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Now playing: Fleetwood Mac - I'm So Afraid

In my case, growing up in the north east it was ignorance and the media who catered our sympathies towards the IRA, With no internet and not many cable television stations yet, available knowledge about the affairs of states overseas was very limited. Bobby Sands was presented as a hero from what I Remember, a symbol of struggle against the oppressive regime, never mind the fact that is was never explained that the majority of people in Ulster were unionists and had decided on their own free will to stay part of Britain. And now to see his sister involved with the REAL IRA and these recent murders so many years later, it's tragic.

I think you make my point.

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Now playing: Oscar Peterson Trio - Moten Swing

[Duncan]

To say that compassion should be reserved only for those who value the gift of life is kind of pointless, don't you think? That's about the same as a church that ostracizes or excommunicates someone b/c "We don't want 'those kind' in here." It's not the saints that need spiritual guidance----it's the sinners!!! "Those kind" should always be allowed to attend church much in the same way that we as human beings should show compassion towards those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves. Reserving compassion for only those who value the gift of life makes no sense b/c they're not the ones who need it. It's the LOST that do. When someone is too mentally or spiritually lost to see an alternative to suicide, that's when they need our compassion.

Jana, I'm so sorry about your ex's sister.

Great post Jason. You made some great points here.

Again, it's all your own interpretation of who deserves compassion, My viewpoint is different.
Tell me this. Suicide bombers who are brought from villages, completely uneducated and ignorant of the world. They get indoctrinated into these groups and kill themselves in the name of Allah. All they know is the US is the bad guy. They don't actually hate us, but this is what they have been told to do by people representing their god.

They don't value their own life enough not to say no, and they're not mentally incapacitated. Do you have compassion for them? Aren't they the LOST also?

They ARE lost, and God DOES have compassion for anyone who repents and asks him for forgiveness. Do I have compassion? Nope... not for someone who takes other's lives. That's for them to work out with God. For nearly everyone else... I have compassion.

What about the Irish New Yorker who put money into a collection box which went to fund explosives that killed people in Birmingham and London. Where does vicarious killing fit in?

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Now playing: Oscar Peterson Trio - Things Ain't What They Used To Be

[Don]

If we approve of your actions, you're a freedom fighter.
If we don't approve of your actions, you're a terrorist.
If we are not sure, you're a guerilla.

[G.I.Jim]

Well, I'm not going to try to get the last word here. That would require entering into a debate that would lead eventually into theology. To each their own and I'll leave it at that.

I can appreciate that, and I was never trying to get into a debate with you G (we all know I'd win! ). I was just trying to give you a different light to see this story in... that's all. I respect your right to wish him death and eternal damnation... I'm just saying I have compassion for him because he's just a fellow human with problems that I believe needs help and compassion. Just saying! I'm outta here for the night. Have a good one.

[steveo777]

Looks like a lot of anger to do that. It's weird how when people are pissed off at the world some of them take it out on themselves like that. A few weeks ago a teenager around here broke up with his girlfriend. He then proceeded to walk into the street in front of his house and his friends and blow his brains out. How tragic.

[Saint John]

Fuck him. There are so many people struggling just to stay alive and you have this fool, trying to off himself. God's got enough people clamoring for his attention, rather than to waste a blessing on this idiot.

I'm with you 100%. I have never listened to Stern as I find him to be boring and rather repulsive. However, if he starts railing this Artie Lange dude and making fun of him (which he should for such cowardly acts), I will start listening to Stern.

[bluejeangirl76]

I'm with GB. Plus, if you're gonna off yourself, do it the right way. How could you stab yourself that many times and not finish the job? Pathetic effort. F for effort, F for execution (no pun intended).

Actually no... he was pretty much gone. According to the show (and these guys have the accurate info, don't listen to big glowing box or the "Daily Mail"), the complete accident of his mother showing up is the only reason he made it, and even that was almost not enough. Another couple of minutes, literally, and no, this would be a different thread.

I've followed the show since I was in high school and I listen every day in the car... no I don't feel compassion for drug addicts... but this guy has more problems than that and has suffered severe depression for a long time. That part, I feel badly for. Plus, he's a guy who will give the shirt off his back to help other people in need, and I think it's a little sad that he had all these terrible hidden problems that he couldn't get the right help for. Just this morning, Howard said (not verbatim but definitely as on the mark as I can get) "I sit next to this guy every day here, and I had no idea just how much was going on or how serious it was."

This was less about the drugs and drinking than people are assuming. This came from a long battle with severe depression.

And no, Danilow, Howard and the others on the show are not about to start making fun of this or of Artie because they're his friends and they care about him - HS could barely even bring himself to discuss this last week when the story broke, so you're in no danger of having to listen to the show. Hater!!

[Ehwmatt]

I'm with GB. Plus, if you're gonna off yourself, do it the right way. How could you stab yourself that many times and not finish the job? Pathetic effort. F for effort, F for execution (no pun intended).

Actually no... he was pretty much gone. According to the show (and these guys have the accurate info, don't listen to big glowing box or the "Daily Mail"), the complete accident of his mother showing up is the only reason he made it, and even that was almost not enough. Another couple of minutes, literally, and no, this would be a different thread.

I still say F for both effort and execution. How hard would it be to kill yourself with a knife? Cut your wrists, slit your throat.... if you stab yourself multiple times and don't get the job done, then man, you really are useless

[RedWingFan]

My all-time favorite Stern clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxByGcJn ... re=related