Rodney King was not exactly a model citizen. No one who abuses drugs over a prolonged
period of time is. But I always hoped
Rodney King would try to change and get the help he needed to have a normal
life. He often said he had a very tough time figuring out who he was supposed to be
to the world. And after today’s Los Angeles
County Coroner report, citing King’s death was ruled an accidental drowning due to an
episode of drug and alcohol induced delirium; I wonder if King ever even
understood the principles of recovery from addiction at all.
When we truly recover from addiction, no matter who we are, we
don’t feel like we are lost in the world. That feeling is something we bring on ourselves. When we recover and keep working on our recovery, we become as much a
part of the world as anyone else who is striving to live a normal life. There is no question that this takes years, but it is a possibility for those who are committed to recovery. Therefore, if there were ever a more tragic example that
recovery is failing those who are getting sober, it would be the example of
Rodney King. Why? Because King was able to get to the best help available in treatment for addiction and it did not work.
I want to be absolutely clear about this, addiction to PCP is a very serious problem. Back in 1991, when the Rodney King beating became an issue
of global outrage, people were skeptical whether or not Rodney King was on PCP
at the time of his beating. No one other than the L.A.P.D. really wanted to make an issue out of it but it did not track with the mainstream media. As was
alleged by Los Angeles police officers, King had a kind of superhuman strength,
a sign of PCP intoxication, when officers tried to get him to comply with their
orders. And while the King beating was
unforgivable; from a clinical point of view, the recovery establishment has a
lot to answer for, because there is absolutely no excuse for King to have died
the way he did.
The treatment model used by anyone who tried to treat King’s
addiction should be closely evaluated. Successful
recovery is not about taking the easy way out.
Successful recovery is principle centered and self-directed through a
journey of continuous learning, so that the fundamentals of recovery can be
established by a recovering addicts' own power.
