George Best

[Gill 05]

They're saying his hours are numbered now, bleeding complications means he can't recover.

Such a shame :-(

[kags]

I am pretty horrified by the people on here who are passing judgement over the comparative value of other people's lives. Eugenics anyone?

[kick3m0n]

but Kags, that's exactly what best has done. By receiving a precious donor organ, then treating it with utter contempt, Best has judged that the life of the person who died was worth far less than his own. Even if he tried his absolute best and could not beat his alcohol adddiction, to then, as Artemis notes, not express any regret for this is galling in the extreme.

[surfer mike]

I wish we all can be as perfect as some claim they are..

A man lies dying in a hospital bed because of a illness called alcholism, he accepts that only he is to blame for his misfortune and yet still some cannot resist putting the verbal boot in with flippant and ignorant comments like 'hes a drunk i have no sympathy for him' compassion is obviously not universal on here.

[kick3m0n]

why is it if someone doesn't agree with you they're being "flippant and ignorant". "He's a drunk" is a statement of fact (that even Best would not argue with) and "I have no sympathy for him" is an entirely personal opinion. Having experienced the alcoholic first hand, I can assure you it is very hard to be flippant about such a thing but you do develop an ability to cut through the ******** and see things for what they are.

[OBonio]

All those who are sticking up for Mr Best here, would you want your children growing up like him? He is being heralded a national hero and I think this over steps the mark considering the not so elegant lifestyle he has led. Great footballer in his time. End of story. Nothing else to see here.

[kags]

How do you know George Best does not feel any regret? Have any of you actually met him? If he were dying of a different disease should he be expressing regret? Are we to condemn him for accepting a donated liver to save his life? Would any of you refuse such an offer if your life depended on it? I think not. And let us not forget that decisions about organ transplants are made on MEDICAL not ethical grounds.

I would have hope that those of you who have experienced alcoholism first hand would know full well what a tragic illness it is, and have more compassion for a man who is a son, a brother and a father.

[kags]

I am not "sticking up for Mr Best", I am sticking up for anybody's right not to be judged and condemned by people who look only at the surface of an issue.

[kick3m0n]

Kags, read Artemis' first post on the previous page. According to him, in the last interview he gave, Best said he wouldn't have lived his life any differently. This was AFTER his transplant, and while he was clearly drinking himself to death, yet he claims he wouldn't change a thing? This shows an utter lack of respect for friends, family, organ donor and nto least, himself. It also buys into that myth about alcoholics havign a wild old life, enjoying every mintue etc etc. As I said before, this is a facade that they perpetuate to save themselves from facing the truth and we, the public, generally accept this. If instead of Best dying just now it was Pete Doherty or some other "flawed genius", then would the reactions be the same? Do drug addicts get the same allowances and considerations alcoholics get? If it was an unknown alcoholic who'd abused a donor organ would we feel the same? Yeah Mike, it's an illness, but a self-inflicted one, as he admits himself.

[kick3m0n]

many of those who have experienced alcoholism first hand cannot feel more compassion for Best, as many of us will have suffered at the hands of such men and women. Walk a mile in our shoes Kags. As I said in my first post, I have unending sympathy for the plight of his family. They have suffered at his hands throughout his life and now must suffer in his death. They did nothing to deserve this and tried only to help. How devastated must his father and mother be that their son has effectively committed suicide in full view of the world?? Ultimately, George Best cared about no one more than he cared about himself and so continued to do what he knew would kill him, regardless of the affect on his nearest and dearest. Also, I am in no way intimating that Best should not have received a transplant. of course he merited it on medical grounds pr he would not have got it. My issue is his utter disregard for the donor's life. if you're hell bent on killing yourself, why take others with you? Selfish, selfish, selfish. And let's not even get into the damage this has done to organ donations. They transplant network could hardly have had a worse advert for their work and they admit Bests abuse of his donor organ HAS reduced donations.

[Gill 05]

Paddy im sorry if you think that I only gave stars to those who agreed with me, that wasn't my intention, you'll now find i've got round to giving everyone who posted stars, to thank you all for your opinions, because that was what I was looking for in the first place.

[kags]

I absolutely agree with you kick3mOn, in that an unknown alcoholic or drug addict wouldn't be getting the same sympathy or compassion, but it doesn't mean they don't deserve it - which is why I said I wasn't standing up for George Best particularly but for a general principle.

And I cannot possibly walk in your shoes, but I HAVE walked in similar ones, it doesn't change for one minute my belief that we should not sit in such judgement over others. I am not trying to diminish the pain anybody has suffered as a result of the alcoholism of a loved one. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one!

I do think it is very sad if this affect organ donations - I think perhaps this is because of a lack of understanding of the true nature of alcoholism.

[paddy_36]

Hi Gill, sorry if I seemed a bit confrontational about the stars thing, but the subject of alcoholism is something I feel quite strongly about, for a reason I mentioned in my previous post. I just want to make it clear I do feel sad for Best's situation, but I don't feel sorry for him, nor do I think he wants us to. I do feel a great deal of sympathy for his family, though. Unless you live with or spend a lot of time with an alcoholic, it's very difficult to imagine the kind of things people have to put up with. I know it's an illness, but some alcoholics live a selfish life in complete denial that they have a problem, ignoring it and hoping it will go away - but it doesn't.

I don't think he deserved a transplant any less than anyone else requiring a liver; unfortunately, he let his illness get the better of him.

[Gill 05]

Paddy, no worries.

Alcoholism have played a major part in my life too, not me personally, but family members, so I totally understand where everyone is coming from.

I loved George Best for his football skills, and believe he was and is a legend, regardless of his private live, that was between him and his family and was not for me to judge. But at the end of the day his family loved him and will miss him no matter what his "faults" were. xx

[kags]

can I just say thank you to everyone who took part in this discussion - we didn't all agree but the debate was honest and there were no personal attacks that so often come up in emotive threads. This is what AB should be all about. And thanks to Gill 05 for starting it off.

[kick3m0n]

here here Kags.

[kick3m0n]

three stars to you too Gill 05. xxx

[Gill 05]

kick3mOn, lmao I didn't realise I could give myself stars lol

[hollie1586]

i agree with you kags, we just wanna give our opinions. this is what answer bank is all about. agree or dont agree. its up to you

[hollie1586]

i dont want to offend anyone

[bernardo]

I was under the impression that this was supposed to be a question-and-answer website, not a forum for chatting about current news events. I earlier asked what the question was (and reported this thread for not being a question), but (bizarrely) the editor deleted my query (which was legitimate) instead of deleting this entire thread (which did not start with a question and is therefore not valid). So I have to repeat: What is the question? And why did the Editor delete my query instead of the whole thread?