Pubdate: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/about/feedback/ Website: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339 Author: Gus Richardson READERS AGREE ON 'SELFISH' HOFFMAN Christine: I find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with everything you expressed. We disagree on most topics. However ... Mr. Hoffman was a brilliant actor and I enjoyed his work very much. But, it should be clear to anyone with a brain that his use of heroin and other illegal drugs was definitely selfish (or other more earthy descriptive terms), considering his family responsibilities and lack of awareness (or caring) for the devastation that the ultimate result would have on his kids. Sure, lots of entertainers use drugs, but that's no excuse. The article in the Daily News in the issue immediately following his death was fine, except for the last sentence, which said that Mr. Hoffman was the victim of a drug overdose. If there was ever an example of how words can be used correctly but incorrectly at the same time, that was it. To the extent that he probably would not have taken that last hit, if he knew the result, yes, he may have not given himself that last shot. But he was smart enough to know that it could happen at anytime and he apparently didn't care enough for his family's sake to be a man and think of someone else besides his own desires. Gus Richardson Havertown - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom