Pubdate: Tue, 29 Mar 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Liam Kennedy
Note: LIAM KENNEDY Holds a PhD in sociology from the University of 
Toronto. He studies crime, deviance and punishment.
Page: A12

Addiction

WE SHOULD HAVE SHOWN MORE COMPASSION FOR ROB FORD

As the body of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford lies in City Hall for 
public visitation, we need to address our collective hypocrisy for 
how we treated the man's problems while he was alive.

In the days following Mr. Ford's admission to smoking crack cocaine, 
many notable politicians, members of the news media and citizens 
called for him to step down or take a leave from his mayoral duties 
and to get help for his addiction.

At the time some regarded his behaviour as disgusting, embarrassing 
and unforgivable (this is just a small sample of the pejorative 
adjectives employed). It took an additional six months and news of 
another crack video for him to enter a rehabilitation facility 
seeking treatment for his substance abuse.

In the intervening period he was mocked for his weight and lack of 
grace, sophistication and overall polish. And, because he failed to 
follow an extremely narrow pathway to recovery set out for him, he 
was repeatedly condemned for his lack of contrition, humility, 
remorse and honour.

Those labelled addicts, so this line of thinking goes, should be 
ashamed of their behaviour and the harm it has caused to those around 
them, should repent for their misdeeds and should seek redemption 
through recovery (often treated as synonymous with a stint in a 
treatment facility). In the eyes of many, Mr. Ford's decision not to 
follow this pathway rendered him subject to ridicule and shunning. 
For a city - and country - that prides itself on tolerance and 
diversity, sympathy and empathy were in remarkably short supply.

Today, his courage, determination and dedication to the city of 
Toronto are being commended by prominent political figures. Former 
prime minister Stephen Harper referred to him as a "fighter," a 
sentiment shared by others. In other words, many of the same 
qualities for which he was reviled in 2013 and 2014 are being 
celebrated now in the wake of his death at the age of 46, more than a 
year after first being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Toronto Mayor John Tory recalled that Mr. Ford was a "profoundly 
human guy." This humanity was lost far too often during the 
discussion of Mr. Ford's substance use. Too many of us were much too 
quick to attack Ford for his apparent connections to individuals 
involved in the drug trade, and to proclaim that his addiction could 
be fixed with a short stint at a Muskoka rehabilitation facility or a 
vacation in Florida.

Only now, after his death, do we feel sorry for him and his family? 
Now he is worthy of sympathy? That strikes me as pretty disingenuous. 
Mr. Ford's death should give us pause.

We should all take some time to acknowledge our hypocrisy, to 
remember our shared humanity not just when someone "battles" cancer 
but when they struggle with addiction (or mental illness or poverty 
or discrimination or domestic violence), and to move forward with 
reasoned approaches to the complex issue of drug and alcohol abuse. 
The current debate about opening three safe injection sites in 
Toronto is a positive sign on this front, perhaps marking a shift 
from an unsuccessful law-and-order approach that criminalizes drug 
users and toward harm reduction.

Let's refrain from patting ourselves on the back for our 
progressiveness until we start treating all individuals with 
substance abuse problems with compassion and understanding.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom