Anne Heche

[dragonflie]

I guess I've gotta disagree with many posts here. Just on a personal level. It feels like Anne Heche is deserving of sympathy because- what? She's famous? (semi-famous)? Do we typically post about how sorry we feel for drunk drivers who almost kill ppl?

How many stories do we (or... I'll just speak for myself... I) see about impaired driving and my first thought is: disgust and anger. Drunk/impaired driving is vile, horrendous, and not something I generally feel much sympathy for. Yes, there are often (almost always) circumstances if you dig deep enough in the perpetrators life of tragedy or trauma... and, this is true for almost everyone. If you dig deep enough (and often no digging is required at all) traumas and sadness are often at the root of bad behavior- for everyone.

So - no- I'm not particularly sympathetic towards her... no more than I would be towards any other drunk driver who made a choice that put many other people's lives at risk. That doesn't mean I have zero pangs of sadness at the pain and suffering she is potentially going through. Yet, this pain and sorrow is self inflicted. She made a choice to do something that put people's lives at risk- including her own. I feel much more sadness for the people's lives she has possibly ruined, and relief that she didn't kill anyone.

I'm not advocating for online hate. I think that is never really fruitful or helpful. Nor am I advocating for online outrage. It's a sad situation all around- no one needs more piling on of meaningless twitter anger - but on a personal level- I just don't feel much sympathy for a person who makes a choice to get behind a vehicle and put so many ppl at risk. Drunk drivers suck- no matter the past traumas they may have experienced. Just like abusers suck, no matter their past traumas. Of course, if we want to solve the worlds ills and help ppl get past trauma and bad behavior we certainly have to dig deeper and look at treatments and accountability and support. At the same time though, just on a personal level- I have no problem having a kind of black and white view in some cases - like I have no problem feeling little sympathy for drunk drivers and thinking they suck- full stop.

[Deleted]

I don't disagree with you at aall dragonflie--I guess my overall feeling is just how tragic it is all around and that, however much she did it to herself, it's still the worst sort of suffering I wouldn't wish on anybody. If she survives, her life/physical body will never be the same and she is going to suffer the after effects terribly.

[hildymatildy]

I hate how we live in a world where no one looks at the shades of gray. I don't think it's okay under any circumstances.

Was getting behind the wheel drunk stupid yes. Does she deserve the consequences of her action? Of course, I suppose it's easy to judge from a distance. She was drunk, people tried to stop her, an accident that will likely cost her her life happened. It looks pretty cut and dried.

However, we do know that Anne has a history of pretty severe mental illness. So was she mentally capable of being responsible for herself? Maybe Maybe not, either way I feel sorry for her.

I feel sorry that her childhood left her so ill. I feel sorry that no one was able to keep her from drinking, that she couldn't keep herself from drinking. I feel sorry that she got in a car almost killed people and probably herself.

I feel the most sorrow for the people who love her, especially the people who know her personally who are looking for emotional support (the online world is the wrong place to go for that), and are getting hate for their love of her. I would think they know her better than we do.

People in the internet are cold hearted, all they see is a drunk crazy woman getting what they "think" she deserves, as if anyone really has the right to such judgments.

They are more sympathetic to the person whose house was destroyed, (while it's a horrible situation the woman wasn't physically hurt), than Anne's children one of which is 14. People would rather wish for her death, because they have judged it's "what she deserves".

While I certainly think (if she survives), that she should face legal consequences and get help for her mental illness, I don't think all the hate and derision is deserved until we have more information on wtf happend.

[ahah]

Aug 9, 2022 8:30:18 GMT -4 hildymatildy said:

I hate how we live in a world where no one looks at the shades of gray. I don't think it's okay under any circumstances.

Was getting behind the wheel drunk stupid yes. Does she deserve the consequences of her action? Of course, I suppose it's easy to judge from a distance. She was drunk, people tried to stop her, an accident that will likely cost her her life happened. It looks pretty cut and dried.

However, we do know that Anne has a history of pretty severe mental illness. So was she mentally capable of being responsible for herself? Maybe Maybe not, either way I feel sorry for her.

I feel sorry that her childhood left her so ill. I feel sorry that no one was able to keep her from drinking, that she couldn't keep herself from drinking. I feel sorry that she got in a car almost killed people and probably herself.

I feel the most sorrow for the people who love her, especially the people who know her personally who are looking for emotional support (the online world is the wrong place to go for that), and are getting hate for their love of her. I would think they know her better than we do.

People in the internet are cold hearted, all they see is a drunk crazy woman getting what they "think" she deserves, as if anyone really has the right to such judgments.

They are more sympathetic to the person whose house was destroyed, (while it's a horrible situation the woman wasn't physically hurt), than Anne's children one of which is 14. People would rather wish for her death, because they have judged it's "what she deserves".

While I certainly think (if she survives), that she should face legal consequences and get help for her mental illness, I don't think all the hate and derision is deserved until we have more information on wtf happend.

This is very well said. I wonder if many of those insisting Anne deserves no sympathy would react the same way if it was Britney Spears who was in this situation rather than Anne. While Anne has been open about her mental health struggles, she has not really played a lot of it out publicly like Britney has. Does that make it easier to forget therefore make the judging feel that much better?

[scarlet]

Mar 14, 2005 2:10:14 GMT -4 dragonflie said:

It's a sad situation all around- no one needs more piling on of meaningless twitter anger - but on a personal level- I just don't feel much sympathy for a person who makes a choice to get behind a vehicle and put so many ppl at risk. Drunk drivers suck- no matter the past traumas they may have experienced. Just like abusers suck, no matter their past traumas. Of course, if we want to solve the worlds ills and help ppl get past trauma and bad behavior we certainly have to dig deeper and look at treatments and accountability and support. At the same time though, just on a personal level- I have no problem having a kind of black and white view in some cases - like I have no problem feeling little sympathy for drunk drivers and thinking they suck- full stop.

I saw another video last night where when she was fleeing the first scene she came very, very close to hitting a pedestrian who was simply walking down the sidewalk. That she didn't kill someone is a miracle and if it makes me cold-hearted for not having sympathy for her, then I guess I'm cold-hearted.

[romanova]

I wish Anne Heche all the healing in the world (not looking likely if she's in a coma and on a ventilator) because there is no worse way to live or die than by fire, and then I fully support prosecution and restitution if she was driving drunk or drugged. My wish would be the same for Britney Spears or any other lily-white, wealthy, beautiful blonde celebrity who chooses to drive under the influence. It is pure luck that Anne didn't kill anyone and it is, in my opinion, no little bit of pure white celebrity privilege that she is receiving a helluva lot more "benefit of the doubt" than would be extended to a dirt-poor alcoholic from the nearest reservation committing the same offense. As dragonflies says, everyone has a story; unfortunately, mercy and compassion are more generally reserved for the privileged, same as it ever was.

Having said all that, there is no legal punishment Anne could ever receive that would be worse than what she is physically enduring now. She is in physical hell and being in a coma is a blessing.

[Ginger]

Jan 2, 2011 20:03:33 GMT -4 romanova said:

Having said all that, there is no legal punishment Anne could ever receive that would be worse than what she is physically enduring now. She is in physical hell and being in a coma is a blessing.

Yes, I agree. A substantial prison term would be merciful compared to burning alive and then living with horrific injuries (if she even survives), not to mention all she will need to summon the strength to face during her recovery, plus her existing mental and substance abuse problems. I think what she's facing is more than a lot of people would be able to bear.

I don't think Anne enjoys that much in the way of celebrity privilege, although she has other privileges. She hasn't been on my radar for a long time, and I gather her biggest project recently was a podcast I'd never heard anything about. She's an actress in her mid-50s who became infamous but never really broke through. She's been living in a relatively modest apartment, and now I don't think she'll ever work again. She will probably be permanently disabled and not able to support herself. Great that Alec Baldwin and Rosanna Arquette said on social media to send prayers, but I don't think it's going to help her that much.

[ennazus]

I have no sympathy for anyone who drives drunk. I think impaired drivers deserve the maximum legal penalty. Unfortunately, that often isn’t the case. My views are coloured by Mark Muzzo, a wealthy individual, who had just been flown from his bachelor party in Florida, in his private jet, back to my province, Ontario. He was drunk and decided to drive home rather than be chauffeured. He subsequently drove through a 4-way stop and t-boned a van, killing 3 young children, their grandfather, and seriously injuring their grandmother and great-grandmother. The parents were left childless, the mum lost her dad, and then this year, the day after Fathers Day, the father committed suicide. One stupid decision resulted in immediate tragedy, and trauma for the rest of the impacted family’s, extended families’, and friends’ lives. Incidentally, this happened in 2015 and he was already granted full parole over a year and a half ago. To bring this back to the topic: Anne Heche’s car became a weapon when she drove it drunk. She’s lucky she didn’t kill anyone. Put me on the side of not caring about her.

[Mouse]

Do we really know if Anne Heche was drunk? I was thinking this could have been a suicide attempt.

[eveschmeve]

We don’t know yet but TMZ has a photo of her after she crashed into the apartment complex garage and there is a clear bottle with a red cap in her cup holder, looks like Smirnoff to me.