Charlie and the Media Factory

Part of me is loathe to write about this train wreck that's been played out in microscopic detail over the last few weeks.

It was mildly entertaining for about a day - if that - then I had to look away when it became apparent that Charlie Sheen is a very sick man, in need of urgent medical intervention.

This is where the media has a responsibility to do the right thing and, oh, how they are failing right now. Miserably.

I've never been more acutely aware of being in La La Land than I have recently. It is impossible to get away from stories about Charlie Sheen, and the only reason why he's been knocked from the perch as the leading news story each day is due to the devastation in Japan.

Cocaine habit? Bi-polar? I don't really care - just get the man the help he needs and stop fuelling his own delusions of self grandeur by printing or replaying every recent sound bite of his.

As for those millions of idiots who are following him on Twitter? Shame on them.

In the world of therapy, there's a term for people who make it possible for an addict to continue their self-destructive behaviour. These people are known as enablers.

I see the media and Twitter followers as being Sheen's enablers.

This is why I was reluctant to add any more attention to this topic in cyberspace. However, I recently saw a brilliant snippet from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and wanted to share the clip within a context.

I've never actually watched this show, but I think I may have to change that. He articulated - in a way that I can't - how there is nothing funny about mental illness.

Plus? I always love a good Scottish accent.