The Blame Game – The Who Killed Whitney Houston? Edition

Jeez – we are always looking for someone to blame when something goes wrong. In the most recent case, we look at the tragic death of pop superstar Whitney Houston. She died at only 48 years of age, after having lived the dream of being a music superstar, enormous financial success, marriage, children. Then there was what the media calls “tumult” in her marriage and personal life.  Drugs (legal and otherwise) and alcohol were involved.   Hmmmm. We read that she was found, unresponsive, in the bathtub of her hotel room the night before the Grammy Awards. She was to be a guest at the big Clive Owens pre-party that evening. Now the investigation shifts to her physician. You know, the bad guy who prescribed the drugs that were involved in her death. It must be his fault, because we just can’t tolerate that one of the beautiful, important people in our world could have simply self-destructed. Did this doctor prescribe the crack she was doing over the last 10 years? Nope. Just take a peek back at Bobby Brown’s reality series (“Being Bobby Brown”), where she unfortunately publicized a really ugly and out of control time in her life. Her death is really, really sad, and even more so, because we are desperately looking for someone to blame other than Whitney. She was obviously troubled, and had addiction issues. That tends to catch up with you. But can’t we make this into a cautionary tale? Why do we have to seek another reason?  Whitney Houston was what one analyst called “a slow motion car wreck” that her friends, family, and fans watched over the last decade, but now want a do-over. The lesson should be “don’t do crack, kids”. That’s too much to ask.  The lesson should be about making decisions and dealing with the consequences.  I know this: the only person that will be held responsible for any actions or decisions will be her physician; we’ll see charges against him within a week.