Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2003 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Author: Mary Mitchell, Sun-Times Columnist LIMBAUGH MAY BE OFF DRUGS, BUT HE'S ON HIS HIGH HORSE I wasn't one of the 1 million people glued to the radio waiting to hear how Rush Limbaugh would handle his return to the air waves. Actually, I don't think I've ever listened to Limbaugh. That's the beautiful thing about free speech. People are free to say whatever they want, but we are also free not to listen. Since no one put a gun to my head and forced my ear to the radio, I didn't catch Limbaugh's act. Still, I followed news accounts. I was curious about how Limbaugh would be received upon his return from rehab to kick his addiction to painkillers. Would he be more tolerant of drug abusers in the future? Would he offer a feeble mea culpa for remarks he's made in the past? Had he become a convert to the cause of treating drug offenders more compassionately? Now that he's been in the valley, would he use his power to help pull others out? Of course not. Why should he? He's doing just fine. He still has his radio show. He still has his $24 million oceanfront mansion. He still ranks right up there with 1 percent of the wage earners in this country. Is he a hypocrite? Probably not, because addicts don't see themselves as addicts. As any addict would tell you, when people are abusing drugs, they are always hiding their real selves. How would I know that? Well, to be honest, I've dealt with enough addicts in my own family to know their moves. There's not much difference between addicts who snort, shoot up or pop pills, although many of us would like to see it that way. All addicts are notorious liars. They have to be in order to hide their sickness from people who care about them -- not to mention those who don't give a darn. Between 1995 and five weeks ago, the time Limbaugh said he was an addict, the man must have told a whole lot of lies. Yet he was still able to climb back onto his high horse and crack the backsides of the liberal establishment on Monday, just as he did before he was outed by a National Enquirer expose about his drug use. "I've not been a phony here," he told his audience on Monday. "I've not been artificial on the program. I was all of that elsewhere. I was all that other places, but not here." He also said "he avoided the subject of drugs" on his program, despite the fact that the quip most quoted while he was laid up in rehab was about drugs. As tainted as it is, Limbaugh has his image to uphold. Obviously, it wouldn't be good for business if the rooster came off looking like your average chickenhead. Because Limbaugh has mastered the art of manipulating the masses, he knows his celebrity status and drug of choice distance him from other drug abusers. Most people can relate to the "ordeal" of getting hooked on a prescription drug and forgive the means by which those illegal drugs are obtained. But fewer people can relate to the life circumstances that have led millions to abuse street drugs. Those conditions -- neglect, sexual abuse, violence, mental illness, and depression -- are far less palatable. But a backache or dislocated disc? That's another matter. Since Limbaugh's drug use has been exposed, many people have called on him to repent, so to speak, by taking up the cause of addicts everywhere. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, for instance, has challenged Limbaugh to "use his power to change our drug laws." "It is unjust and hypocritical for Limbaugh to unapologetically condemn other drug abusers but seek exemption for himself," Jackson told the Chicago Defender. Jackson is right. But you see, that kind of logic is exactly why Limbaugh ridicules liberals as "linguine-spined." While it is noble to show Limbaugh more compassion than he has shown others, he can't be lumped with your average drug abuser. In fact, he's worse than the pitiful white guys who sneak into drug-infested urban neighborhoods looking to score. Accusers claim Limbaugh used his former maid as a drug mule to make his buys. If that's true, he should be treated like other small-time drug dealers. Maybe after he gets out of prison, listeners would really see a changed man. Palm Beach County officials have said that Limbaugh's drug use is still under investigation, and fair-minded people in that town ought to make sure those officials don't flush the toilet on this one. I don't expect Limbaugh to come clean about how he acquired illegal drugs for eight years, but police officials should go after this drug conspiracy as aggressively as they go after other drug conspiracies. And I don't expect Limbaugh to change his tune. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter was arrested for obtaining anti-anxiety drugs, and the governor didn't jump on the reform bandwagon, either. When it comes to narcotics, the punishment never seems to be as harsh for the rich and prominent as it is for the poor and powerless. When the majority of us are fed up with that unfairness, those laws will change. Until then, Limbaugh will make an entertaining poster child for America's unequal justice system. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek