You know what, thats it! Most people love River on this site, and this is directed to the people who do! We like River right, he was addicted to drugs, he died of a drug overdose...OK, Got it! Good!

Now, why do you like him! Ok, you've got your reasons, so listen to this! Hundreds of people, everyday die from a drug overdose, and theyre not made a fuss of! Theyre are pittied, they are spat upon! They dont have obsessed girls sticking up for him, making excuses! Most of them probably took the same drugs as River, died in weird places ect! SO what makes River any different! Why do so many people refuse to take in how he died, and just defend him? Now dont get me wrong, I like River, Hes awsome, he's 'all that'....But Im not going to excuse how he died! He might have been a blood good actor, but you girls need to realise that just because he had the looks and he was a good actor, thats not a reason to protect him as if he did nothing wrong, because that would be lying, and to yourself as well! Ask yourself, If you heard about a drug addict dying on the street, from a drug overdose, and it wanst River, or he wasnt good looking ect, you would just forget about it, wouldnt you? You wouldnt dismiss how much of a junkie they were?

So the question is, Why is River so differnt?

He was an moviestar...

To be honest, I think that If an obsessed young girl came running up to River, saying how much she loved him, how pretty he is ect...he would be freaked out, and maybe even to freaked out to laugh in her face! He wasnt the kimd of guy who would find that flattering, he didnt really like all that! I only know from previous quotes!
When he was young, and I am talking from like the age of 7 - 10. he said, ' You mean to tell me that there is a whole football field of girls who want me to be their boyfriend? Do they like me because of my acting, or the way I look?
Thats what I mean, he would have rather heard a young woman come up and compliment him on his acting skill, and how they appreciated his talent for music, and respected him as a human being, and a person, not come cheesy actor! I would have said that to him!

Great come back Ally

good response to your question

Thanks Ant! I dunno, its just what I think! RP can correct me if im wrong!

Thanks Ant! I dunno, its just what I think! RP can correct me if im wrong!

"He was an moviestar..."

Ally - I think the above is pretty accurate, even though (as you said) River hated how so many girls just thought he was a "pretty boy." But that's just part of the Hollywood legend, you know? "Pretty actor dies tragically and young." I mean, think of James Dean for a minute. Who DOESN'T know who James Dean is?? But guess what? He only starred in THREE movies before he died - and only ONE of those ("East of Eden") was released PRIOR to his death. "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant" both came out AFTER his death. But he was a "pretty actor who died tragically and young" - see? He was only 24 when he died in a car accident; that's one year older than River. And this fall will mark the 50th anniversary of his death!! Has anyone forgotten him after all this time? Nope. Do people typically talk about what a great actor he was? Sadly, no. People tend to remember him as "beautiful and brooding." He certainly showed a lot of promise, but he hadn't had time to really prove himself acting-wise. He's part of the Hollywood legend, though, isn't he? Yup. Same with River ("beautiful and brooding"), even though they died in different ways (car accident vs. drug overdose). Both died young, pretty, and tragically. Instantly became Hollywood legends. That's the way that "bad place" (as River put it) works.

::sigh::

Well put JC!
You said: ." He certainly showed a lot of promise, but he hadn't had time to really prove himself acting-wise"!
Thats another thing James and River had in common, both died young, and both talented, but never got a chance to shine, because they died too young! I mean, If River didnt die that night, at that time, and because of his drug ussage, who knows what he would be like today? Would he have givin up drugs? Would he still be alive today? If not, he might have died in a completly different place and a differnt cause, and if he died somewhere else, in a more horrible way, maybe you woul have a whole different perspective on him! The drug issue wouldnt be such an issue, because if he didnt die that night, we wouldnt be on here, shocked and dissapointed in him for taking those actions! So maybe, his death isnt the worst he could have suffered, what if it was worse?

"Well put JC!"

Thanks, Ally.

"Thats another thing James and River had in common, both died young, and both talented, but never got a chance to shine, because they died too young!"

So true. Who knows what either could have done if they had lived longer? But then again, they both could have crashed and burned early and gone down in history as failures instead of "instant legends." I just think their tragic deaths are part of the whole package when anyone thinks about them - not even necessarily HOW they died, just that they DID die young (and "pretty" of course). James Dean will always be the "Rebel Without a Cause" to the world - and I've heard River called the "Rebel WITH a Cause" (on the Rio's Attic website, I think). Appropriate comparison, I suppose.

You know, folks always say that people like James and River died too soon, before they could show the world what they were made of, before they could achieve the success they should have, etc. But we really aren't the judges of that, are we? When thought of in this way, you're always going to associate their lives with tragedy and sadness - not the greatness they DID achieve while they were here (professionally and/or personally). Does that make sense?? But what if you think of it this way - that they lived FULL lives and accomplished a lot more than most people do who live to be old? That makes you associate positive feelings with their lives instead - see? I've had to try to change the way I think about a dear friend I lost in an accident a few years ago. She wasn't famous or anything, but she was amazing! She died young and tragically, but she had packed more living and loving into her short life than anyone I've ever met. Someone once asked me if I had ever thought that maybe she was "finished" here - that she did all she was supposed to do and it was time for her to move on to the next phase of life. (Whatever that is - certainly depends on whether you believe in some sort of higher power I suppose.) Anyway, it helped me finally find some peace with her death to think of her life as having been full AND fulfilled in spite of dying young. It reminds me of this quote I saw somewhere: "Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." Maybe people like James Dean and River Phoenix were "finished" here, too...? I dunno... waxing WAY too philosophical here at the moment, aren't I? *(A couple of REALLY bad days + no sleep makes JC a girl who thinks about things waaaay too much! LOL)* Just gives you a different perspective to ponder.

::sigh:: (again)