Quote:
Originally Posted by McTrouble
"Let he who is without sin.........."
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This.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarmaContestant
This.
We all go through our lives with personal challenges to overcome. As we work our way to (hopefully) overcoming these challenges, we are all capable of actions we are never proud of. Lindsey suffers the misfortune of his personal struggles being cast publicly; something most of us will never endure.
I believe that the effort of self improvement, coupled with overcoming one's personal challenges and being a better man or woman says a lot more about character than past transgressions.
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This.
Quote:
Originally Posted by michelej1
I don't care if he has changed or not. I guess I'd have to know what he did to think that he should have.
But a song about corruption by power brokers in business or government, which denounces their ruthless actions certainly doesn't say to me that he's beating women and children. Clearly, he is not the protagonist in that song and would battle against him as he did in "Wrong". Plus, I have not seen anyone guarding his image, such as it is. Very few people watching SNL even knew who Hader was pretending to be. There is not much to guard. Maybe he's beating Kristen their kids and poodles and she is keeping quiet about it. That would be her. I highly doubt Irving Azoff spends a lot of time making sure Lindsey misdeeds keep swept under the rug. Lindsey is far from high profile enough. Lindsey hardly has an entourage at this point in his life. Michele
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...and This.
That sums up my feelings, right there.
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But in answer to the original question, here's my short answer.
It's been 30 years. How long do we need to vilify him? Does his past make me look at his music in a negative way? No. Quite the opposite. I know he's speaking from personal experience when he sings about sanity, control/loss of control, fear, growth, overcoming demons, karma, moving on and trying to be a better person or seeking out the good in things. All of it. He lays it all out there. It makes me appreciate his music more, and I genuinely like the man he's become. I feel bad for all he's been through ( and put others through ), but
no way will I hold his very distant past aginst him. I wouldn't with anyone else either.
Here's my long answer, for anyone interested...
Lindsey, as well as the rest of the band, and CAH were all really messed up back then. They all were abusing drugs and/or alcohol, and living a very crazy lifestyle.. That affects different people differently, of course. Lindsey got violent. Apparently, so did Stevie sometimes. Was it OK for her to lash out and attack Lindsey, as she herself has admitted to ( see Michelle's post re. the choking incident )?? Yes, I know , obviusly she couldn't do the kind of physical damage Lindsey could, but was it OK? Chris was scared of John, too. There was plenty of bad behavior from all of them, yet, every few months, the only one we talk about is Lindsey because he's been the subject of a few books. It wasn't OK for anyone - and certainly not OK for Lindsey - to become abusive. And while being under the influence doesn't excuse his/their behavior, it does explain it to some degree. The thing that bothers me is that all this happened 30 years ago! Clearly, he has changed. I don't for a minute think he is the same man today. As was mentioned above, Anne Heche had no problems with him. Neither has his wife and kids as far as we know, and there's no reason to think otherwise. So, I guess, for me, when you ask should what a person did 30 years ago, while under the influence, effect how you feel about him today? My answer is, if you think he's the same person, or you believe a person should carry their sins around until the day they die, then yes. Avoid Lindsey and avoid his music. You won't enjoy either. Celebrities today, atheletes and TV stars , musicians, are in the news all the time for abusing girlfriends, wives and kids. Society gets over most of it really fast. I don't understand that. Rob Lowe videoed himself having sex with a teenaged girl, and now all is forgiven. I recall a very messed up David Hasselhoff a few years ago going nuts on the phone with his young daughter. Michael Jackson may have molested young boys, and definitelty held his own kids out of windows of highrises, and still many people are OK with that. He's a hero and his music is great they say. Do I even have to mention Chris Brown? And don't even get me started on how quick the average football fan looks the other way when someone yells rape or abuse. And these are all a lot more recent than Lindsey's issues. Yes, I know what they did has nothing to do with what he did, but I question why some people get a free pass and others have to carry an albatross around for 3 decades! Lindsey has clearly taken steps to become a better person. The people in his life adore him - his nieces, his kids, his wife, his friends...they don't strike me as people covering up for his ongoing nasty ways. They strike me as people that see a good man. A man who has changed drastically since getting control of whatever addictions and/or mental health issues he had, and of course, from lots and lots of therapy.