QUIT WHINING AND GET OVER IT!

Over the past few weeks we here at The Middle Tennessee Times have received
a few complaints over our policy of naming names of individuals who have
been indicted and/or convicted of drug and alcohol offenses through news
articles and court dockets. The complaints that we receive are not that we
have printed misinformation but rather that we are embarrassing the
individuals, and the families of the individuals, who have committed these
offenses by publicly naming them in the paper. Quite frankly this stuns me.
There is an old saying that goes, "Never do anything that you wouldn't want
in the paper." Well, that holds true here. Throughout my life I have seen
countless numbers of people affected by drugs and alcohol. I've had friends
killed by drunk drivers, and friends killed by their own actions due to
drug and alcohol abuse. I've watched people very close to me, become
shackled by the chains of alcoholism, and I can say from personal
experiences that there is no way that you can help these individuals. The
only way they can beat their problem is if they want to. All the love and
understanding in the world will do nothing unless the addicts decide for
themselves that they want a better life. These people usually spiral into
the abyss that becomes their life and carry those around them into the void
as well. I have seen people sell everything they own just to get a few
hours of pleasure through a plastic straw and when they have nothing left
of value to supply their habit they steal from those around them. I pity
these people, but at the same time I feel outrage. Rather than trying to
better their circumstances they seem to have lost an outlook on life and
are constantly searching for an escape. But, through their escape they
endanger the lives of those around them. They travel the same roads as our
friends, our family and our children. Our position is that if you want to
endanger your life, so what? If you're stupid enough to waste your life
away through drugs and alcohol you're probably not worth the effort. Like I
said before, the only person who can help you is you. But when you drive
and endanger the lives of everyone on public roads, then we feel we have a
duty to warn the public. We are not the ones who are embarrassing you, or
your family. Rather it is you who is the embarrassment and we will do
everything we can to tell the public exactly who you are and what you are
doing. Get over it!