The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Your Daily Charlie Sheen Update

Posted on | March 2, 2011 | 69 Comments

“It seems crazy to everybody else, but for us, I mean, it works well.”
— Natalie Kenly, one of Charlie Sheen’s “goddesses”

“I am very concerned that [Sheen] is currently insane. I am in great fear that he will find me and attack me and I am in great fear for the children’s safety while in his care.”
— Brooke Mueller, Sheen’s ex-wife, in court document

I’ve always liked hanging out with crazy people because it relieves me of my usual social burden of being The Craziest Guy in the Room. Even a professional Crazy Guy occasionally needs to chill out and let somebody else carry the ball.

This explains why I like Marty Beckerman. The very first time I read his book, Generation S.L.U.T., I recognized Beckerman as an insanely depraved soul, looked up his e-mail address, and soon became his friend.

But there’s crazy and then there’s crazy, as in mentally ill, and Beckerman evidently fails to recognize the symptoms of Charlie Sheen’s psychosis:

This is Charlie Sheen’s world. We’re just living in it.
Go check your Facebook or Twitter feed. Everyone is linking to stories about him, quoting his diatribes, and either celebrating or condemning him. It’s most likely split by gender: ladies deriding Sheen as a “pig” and “asshole,” guys praising him (correctly) as the most hilarious person on earth. He’s instantly become a hero to millions of educated, courteous young males who would never emulate his antics — nor watch Two and a Half Men, for that matter — yet admire him with irony and sincerity. . . .
His appeal is that, while most guys — especially post-college — must reign in their ids and demure to society’s expectations to advance rung by rung up the soul-crushing ladder of corporate mediocrity, Sheen has reached the ultimate apex of manhood eternal: doing whatever he wants and speaking the complete truth, consequences be damned.

Beckerman e-mailed that article to me — you can read the whole thing, including Beckerman’s astute observation that Sheen “makes deranged narcissistic self-destruction look fun” — but after reading it, I felt the need to warn against admiring the Trainwreck Called Charlie, and sent Beckerman this e-mail:

Manic-phase bipolar disorder may seem fun, Marty, but even with all his wealth and fame, Sheen won’t escape the inevitable crash. This will not end well: Either jail, hospital or an early grave.
Please note that Sheen, the most successful star on TV, who was once married to the fabulously hot Denise Richards, is now shacked up with a couple of low-rent bimbos who aren’t even as hot as Charlie’s third wife. If he’s “winning,” why is he scraping the bottom of the bimbo barrel?
— RSM

The fact that Sheen is associating with women so far beneath him is rather a telltale signal of his fundamental problem: Such an overbearing personality that he can’t stand to be contradicted or criticized, which is something guys in normal (i.e., reasonably equal) relationships have to deal with from their spouses or girlfriends.

Charlie likes hanging out with these dimwit floozies because they will never question his judgment.

OK, fine. And so when he makes a complete wreck of his career (and health) there will be no one there to say, “Hey, Charlie, maybe you’re pushing it a little too far this time.”

The fantasy of a Peter Pan existence of perpetual irresponsible boyhood is just that — a fantasy — and being a man requires a willingness to shoulder responsibility, for oneself and for others. Sheen’s wealth and fame enable him to indulge his reckless whims, but his wealth is not unlimited, and being an “unemployed winner” (as he boasted on his Twitter page) isn’t going to pay the bills.

Also, it might be hard for Charlie to pay the bills after it is alleged that he threatened to “execute” his manager, Mark Burg, whom he reportedly called a “stupid Jew pig.” And as for his fame, I know they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but I’m not sure that applies to headlines like these:

Sheen Allegedly Wanted Associates Killed

Brooke Mueller Claims Charlie Sheen
Knocked Her Unconscious

Just sayin’ . . .

So while I think Beckerman is dead-on in observing that Sheen is admired because he “makes deranged narcissistic self-destruction look fun,” it’s important to remember that Sheen is an actor. He is trying very hard to convey the impression that he’s having fun — “Winning!” — but I’ll bet it’s a lot less fun than it looks.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!

UPDATE II: Linked by Maggie’s Notebook and by That Mr. G. Guy’s Blog — thanks!

Category: Celebrities

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