Everyone is slamming River for having drug problems. Does that mean that we shouldn't admire Elvis Presley either? Everybody knows he had serious drug problems. So he doesn't deserve to be called the King of Rock and Roll? He doesn't deserve his star on the Walk of Fame and the busloads of tourists lining up at Graceland everyday?

Get your heads out of your a$$es and stop judging people by their demons and downfalls instead of who they really were and what they contributed to this world.

Wow, Je-sus! That was SO well said, and you are so right!
Good work!

You are correct. We should not look up to Elvis and cry over his death. He is not someone whom we should idolize but unfortunately, millions do. Just as is the case with River, it's acceptable to listen to their music and watch their movies but when they are put on a pedestal and worshipped - that is where the line is crossed. It's always dicey when stars and athletes become role models, so don't do it, or if you do, be careful who you pick and be prepared to change.

You say "Get your heads out of your a$$es and stop judging people by their demons and downfalls instead of who they really were and what they contributed to this world." I have a better solution, instead of molding our values to fit our stars, why don't we select better stars? Once again, we can't selectively remove the bad aspects of someone's being and only pay attention to the good!

Elvis is a poor role model and so is River.

But no one is perfect. To pick someone 'without demons' would be impossible because there is no one. You can like someone's talents without condoning their bad behavior.

Liking someone's talents is one thing. But here are the prevailing feelings about River Phoenix:

"I looooooove Rio soooooo much I could just die!"
"I miss him soooo much I could not sleep last night"
"I cried myself to sleep last night thinking about Rio!"

These are the thing's that are so disturbing.

People are idolizing him without looking at anything more than what he looked like on the outside. They only look at the exterior and fail to realize that he was a very flawed person. Not someone who should be idolized!

I dont idolize him. Not all of us on here are like "OMG RIo is soooooooooo hot!!!!" I think he was a talented actor and wonderful animal activest, and it was a shame that drugs took that away. I'm not saying that it wasnt his choice to take the drugs, but people make mistakes, some bigger than others.

Then my comments are not directed at you. You and I think a lot alike. I too think he showed a lot of potential as an actor and his community service activism is to be commended.

I usually agree with you, but the only thing I don't understand with you is the fact that you think it's wrong for people to express their feelings of wanting the photo to come down, but you can tell people to stop idolizing River Phoenix. How does that make sense?

I am not demanding people to stop idolizing River nor am I calling for all River worship sites to be pulled down The difference is that I would never advocate banning access to something (which is what a lot of people here are doing) I am just suggesting that people be a bit more selective for whom they pour out their admiration. It would please me to hear someone say "I was crazy in love with River, but that love was blinding me to the fact that River did a LOT of bad things that don't deserve my admiration."

I'm for people having access to the ENTIRE internet (within legal limitation) and wanting people to admire people who genuinely deserve it.