lanewillson

The trouble with a harm reduction concept of addiction is that harm is still part of the equation. For a "neuroscientist", someone who supposedly understands the chemical workings of the brain, to tell me that while they have been addicted to opiates, as well as other substances, they now enjoy along with sunsets, walks on the beach, and puppy dogs - martinis; tells me I'm still listening to an addict. While the trainer might tell us and show us how harmless the tiger is, and the safety of playing with it, the tiger remains a tiger. Addiction remains addiction. Unlike Siegfried and Roy, whose play with man eating beasts did not send us all scurrying out to get a tiger of our very own, an addict does just that. The addict mind says "Look, this tiger called alcohol can't hurt me. Look at Dr. Lewis. He's enjoying martinis with his new bride. My problem isn't addiction...I've just been dancing with the wrong kind of tiger".It's one thing to keep going into the cage when you think it is safe, whether because you are a skilled expert or because you have raised the tiger from a cub, but it is something altogether differnt to imply that some interaction with tigers can be safe. Especially when you recognize their wounds, and how closely they match your own.