George Best

[John Galt]

DA - I wonder how interested you would be in this man if he were drinking himself to death and making a fool of himself with younger and younger women if he weren't a famous footballer? Certainly applaud him for his talent and his attitude to life but don't try to defend his lifestyle - he has been on a path of self destruction for years and I really cannot understand the interest in slowly watching someone kill themselves, famous or not.

[DodgyAgent]

DA - I wonder how interested you would be in this man if he were drinking himself to death and making a fool of himself with younger and younger women if he weren't a famous footballer? Certainly applaud him for his talent and his attitude to life but don't try to defend his lifestyle - he has been on a path of self destruction for years and I really cannot understand the interest in slowly watching someone kill themselves, famous or not.

Fair enough, but if we all look at the number of times that we have made fools of ourselves, and relate them to the number of opportunities that have in turn presented themselves (few to members of this board I fancy) then he is probably no better or no worse than the rest of us. Now I ask if any of you were presented with the number of opportunities that he must have had would have turned them down. As for the liver, I will accept that it should have gone to a more deserving person.
I am not defending his lifestyle, I am simply saying that it is not for me to criticise lest I be guilty of hypocrisy.

[Dundeegeorge]

Hang on

Fair enough, but if we all look at the number of times that we have made fools of ourselves, and relate them to the number of opportunities that have in turn presented themselves (few to members of this board I fancy) then he is probably no better or no worse than the rest of us. Now I ask if any of you were presented with the number of opportunities that he must have had would have turned them down. As for the liver, I will accept that it should have gone to a more deserving person.
I am not defending his lifestyle, I am simply saying that it is not for me to criticise lest I be guilty of hypocrisy.

As for the liver, I will accept that it should have gone to a more deserving person.

More deserving? WTF does that mean?

[DodgyAgent]

You reap what you sow

As for the liver, I will accept that it should have gone to a more deserving person.

More deserving? WTF does that mean?

There is a shortage of organs therefore priority should be given to those who need a replacement through no fault of their own and who are not going to do their level bes to destroy it once installed

[Dundeegeorge]

Now then

There is a shortage of organs therefore priority should be given to those who need a replacement through no fault of their own and who are not going to do their level bes to destroy it once installed

Why should that be so?
Why should someone be given an organ just because it's not their fault they need one? I believe I could quite reasonably claim that George Best was a victim of alcoholism and clearly it's not really his fault he needs the replacement.

[John Galt]

Fair enough, but if we all look at the number of times that we have made fools of ourselves, and relate them to the number of opportunities that have in turn presented themselves (few to members of this board I fancy) then he is probably no better or no worse than the rest of us. Now I ask if any of you were presented with the number of opportunities that he must have had would have turned them down. As for the liver, I will accept that it should have gone to a more deserving person.
I am not defending his lifestyle, I am simply saying that it is not for me to criticise lest I be guilty of hypocrisy.

But that's the whole point isn't it? His talent did give him opportunities and wealth and status - good on him - so it makes you wonder what sort of man he was that made him destroy himself despite all the opportunities. I really don't think he can be held up as someone to be admired.

[PerlOfWisdom]

There is a shortage of organs therefore priority should be given to those who need a replacement through no fault of their own and who are not going to do their level bes to destroy it once installed

I read somewhere that there isn't a shortage of livers for transplant.

[DodgyAgent]

But that's the whole point isn't it? His talent did give him opportunities and wealth and status - good on him - so it makes you wonder what sort of man he was that made him destroy himself despite all the opportunities. I really don't think he can be held up as someone to be admired.

I admired his footballing genius, he seemed modest, objective in his assessment of the game and therefore likeable (but really I could only judge him on his football).

I bet you are the type who admires Gary Lineker?

[wendigo100]

Oh right, that's OK then.
I'll tell you what, don't those disabled people get on your tits, crowding up the place with their wheelchairs. And all those sick people, if we just let them all die we wouldn't need hospitals, think how much money we could save.

The difference is that not many people would share a view like that.

I don't hate Best, honestly, but my childhood was adversely affected by the heavy drinking of others. I don't admire anyone for doing it.

[Dundeegeorge]

I don't admire his heavy drinking

I admired his incredible talent on a football pitch, and I believe he was as entitled as anyone else to have a chance at life, by which I mean a liver transplant.
Sanctimonious prattle about some people being more worthy than others is just that.