Actress August Ames driven to suicide

[Firefly]

I have to consciously watch what I say sometimes, because I regret some of it even many years later.

I know those feels all too well.

I dunno if I would go out with a porn person or not. People do worse for free amd in private.

And I guess its like music. A lot of hair bands from the 80s are broke because they wasted their one hit on cocaine.

I never her saw her films because she just wasnt in any I watched but she seemed like a happy sort.

The whole thing irks me because it involves SJWs, Suicide, and the winter season.

[Hootiewho]

My POS mother pretty much drove my youngest Brother to suicide through years of mental abuse and some physical. She was that way to all of us, but my one Brother could never just distance himself from her and tell her to FO. I know this for a fact because I found him dead, cleaned up after the fact and found his writings. My POS mom eventually went down the same path and shot herself. I say that so you know where I come from.

As time goes on I think there are some people who just cannot mentally make it through all that life throws at you. I'll be perfectly honest there are days I don't know how I got through all that mentioned above and tons more that happened during that period. But I am here. This woman's world probably revolved around her fan base and what SM said about her. When it turned on her, she couldn't take it. It is sad, but unfortunately it is life. It has always been so. You have to be mentally tough just to get through normal every day BS, much less when things get difficult.

[TAZ]

I don't get it, she had the right and power (by today's standards) to take her own life, she was empowered to stay or go on her own terms. She could have just turned off social media if she wanted to if it bothered her that much, she was empowered to do that also. The so-called hypocrites were just exercising their right to criticize one of their own. Why all the hand wringing, everyone did what they wanted to do, she got fed up with living and picked her time and they voiced their displeasure with her......everyone did what was right in their own eyes...a total win.

WTF?! Over!

[TAZ]

Social media has either created a problem or greatly increased an underlying problem. I don't know which one. It seems like every month or two I read of a pre-adolescent killing themselves over online bullying. That was literally unimaginable to me 20 years ago. Yes, teenage suicide was a problem 20+ years ago - but pre-adolescent suicide? Unheard of.

Be clear: the following is not criticism, it's analysis. The people who kill themselves over this stuff are putting vastly too much emotional effort into their online or social media world. Presumably some of them have a thin and stilted social setting in real life, or for the younger generation, maybe there's no real boundary between online and IRL. Whatever the case, this is a social problem, and since it seems to cut across many dividing lines (location, wealth or social class, family status, race, etc.) I'm going to call it a societal problem.

My kids don't yet know what social media is, and I'm inclined to keep it that way a long time. I know it's common for kids to have their own phones and such by the "tween" years, but I don't think it's healthy or wise.

As for Ames, whatever the beauty or glamor of some people in her occupation, it's an industry that generally takes naive and/or vulnerable people and uses them. I've read that most female porn stars become drug users over time, for a variety of reasons. We can blame the people who bullied her, and they deserve it, but I wouldn't neglect to blame the sleazy commercial porn industry as well. (Aside: a year ago I would have said "Look how sleazy Hollywood is, I'm sure the porn film industry is worse! Well, today, that might be backwards....)

I would agree with you in the assessment that this was just one of many straws on this young girls back. However, it’s my opinion that social media has reached critical mass in our society. While you or I view it like a goofy side show to social life, there is an entire generation that views it as actual social life. Not agreeing with the mentality, but trust me it’s there and it’s getting far more ingrained into kids lives. Since we are noticing a pretty nasty trend here with online bullying resulting in terrible outcomes, maybe it’s time to look into it. As a parents and people in general we should try to minimize the bad side effects of daily activity. Not saying that Bookface or twatter are responsible, but that we should think about how we deal with these issues. We can’t do squat for August, but we can see how fast things go sideways and try to help our kids and friends.

[SomeOtherGuy]

I would agree with you in the assessment that this was just one of many straws on this young girls back. However, it’s my opinion that social media has reached critical mass in our society. While you or I view it like a goofy side show to social life, there is an entire generation that views it as actual social life. Not agreeing with the mentality, but trust me it’s there and it’s getting far more ingrained into kids lives.

Oh I agree with that. But I would also say that it's rather like opium use in China in the 19th Century: just being a pervasive fact doesn't mean it's a good thing.

My wife and I, and most (but not all) of our IRL friends, minimize social media use - but cannot completely avoid it, because Bookface has taken over for scheduling and advertising of a huge range of community, school and other kid events, and at least in my area is also displacing Craigslist and all other forms of classified advertising, even for the most basic dirt-economy stuff (literally farm equipment and supplies, here). It's a tentacles and hooks model, much like network tv in the 70's or cable tv in the 90's, they don't want it to be possible for you to live without it.

Anyway. No solutions. I feel like I should yell at someone to get off my lawn.

[SteyrAUG]

I don't get it, she had the right and power (by today's standards) to take her own life, she was empowered to stay or go on her own terms. She could have just turned off social media if she wanted to if it bothered her that much, she was empowered to do that also. The so-called hypocrites were just exercising their right to criticize one of their own. Why all the hand wringing, everyone did what they wanted to do, she got fed up with living and picked her time and they voiced their displeasure with her......everyone did what was right in their own eyes...a total win.

In a sense, I agree. Just wish everyone was strong enough to survive in that world.

[flenna]

It saddens me no matter who I hear doing this. It speaks to the shallowness of worth placed on human life today. In today’s “me me me” world where people twitter and Facebook every aspect of their lives in hopes of getting public approval coping skills and real life experiences are lacking.

[Jellybean]

I'm not ashamed to admit I've seen her work and hated to hear this happened to her. Were I in her shoes, I wouldn't want to work with a "crossover" actor for health reasons either. There have been several outbreaks in that industry and IIRC, almost all of them occurred with crossover male actors. The fact that she obviously fell into the LGBT spectrum, yet was bullied and harassed anyway just proves that no group is exempt from hypocrisy. I also find the stigmatization of adult film actors to be ludicrous. The overwhelming majority of adults view adult content, so why would they look down on the performers? I just don't get it......

On the contrary....some groups are more hypocritical than others. Namely groups like that...
I find it mildly hilarious that we have the current unending parade of women dredging up sexual misconduct allegations from decades past, and an overall sexual culture of "no means no"... you know, until it's with "one of them", and then no means "STFU and say yes".
And if you DO dare to avail yourself of all this "my body/my choice" stuff they're all about when an "other" is involved.... they do shit like this.
It started over a cake, and now we have all these "special" groups that incessantly complain about being bullied and harassed, posses more or less unspoken blanket immunity from such, and then turn around and do the EXACT SAME THING they complain about being the target of to folks that decide to exercise their much-vaunted power of "choice". God help you if you ever poke a hole in their charade of normalization...
And they wonder why people hate them...
But yeah, sure let's keep shoving who-gives-a-damn-who-you-are celebs and other "important people" in everyone's face to campaign against "bullying"...
Because everyone's a victim as long as you're being "properly" victimized...
I wonder how many "victims of bullying" they've brought on themselves.


Anecdotally-
There once was a man who owed his landlord a great debt, more than he could ever repay. When called to pay he could not, and begged for more time to pay the debt. His lord, understanding he could never pay, instead forgave him his entire debt and sent him home. Upon arriving home, the forgiven man met one of his employees who owed him a few cents, and seizing him by the neck, demanded "Pay me what you owe!". Eventually word got around, and the landlord changed his mind and had the ungrateful debtor arrested...

[SteveS]

WTF?! Over!

I would say so sad but for decades people seem to push it is important to have the freedom to choose. Just like drug use is a victimless crime until you have been robbed by a doper wanting the next fix.

[TomMcC]

WTF?! Over!

You got a question?