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Through the Cracks to the Grave
02/02/2003

So many social ills contributed to the death of Brandon Vedas that it's hard to know where to begin unraveling them. By the same token, his story represents the confluence of so many issues that it provides an example through which to think about them.

In short, Vedas overdosed on rum, marijuana, and various prescription pills that he had obtained legally. While his mother, apparently, was "in the next room doing crozzwordz," Vedas logged on to a drug users' Internet Relay Chat group, where he was known as Ripper. Then he sat before his Web camera to show off how many substances he could put in his body. The group encouraged him to keep going, and when some began to worry, even contacting 911 online, others encouraged them not to give any information. "I told u I was hardcore." was one of the last coherent thoughts expressed by Brandon Vedas in this life.

Vedas was 21, so without further information, it is difficult and would be wrong to make presumptions about what aspects of his family and life contributed to his activities. But the broader culture is tremendously culpable, not the least for glamorizing not just drug use, but also being "hardcore." Reading the transcript of the chat, I was reminded of those conversations in youth when kids speak as if they are experts on something about which they know little. In my later teens, I found that the druggies were particularly inclined to such posturing. Add into this the attenuated sense of reality encouraged by television and movies, video games, and the Internet, and you've got a volatile mindset.

Perhaps this environment has something to do with these statistics:

Vedas was a casualty of a new epidemic: a surge in the recreational use of pharmaceuticals, even as the rate of illegal drug use holds steady or declines. The most recent survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says 11.1 million people used prescription drugs for fun in 2000, nearly half of whom were under 25.

In New York City, the number of people showing up in emergency rooms after taking too many legal narcotics jumped 47.6% from 2000 to 2001, the most recent year for which numbers are available.

"In 2001, for the first time, we had more emergency room mentions of prescription narcotic analgesics nationally than for heroin," said Dr. Westley Clark, director of the administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

More likely, all of these trends and influences accumulate and contribute to each other like parts of an avalanche. Such a cultural illness requires that the underlying disease be treated, not just the symptoms. In this limited sense, proponents of legalizing drugs have room in which to squeeze their arguments. Personally, I think opening that floodgate, no matter how much sense it might make under specific circumstances, would drown our society in its current state. My fears are exacerbated by the observation that those making the case for legalized drugs don't frequently make a concurrent and equally strong argument for strengthening the moral and behavioral foundation of society.

At any rate, they'll have to address the reality of Brandon Vedas's death, from now on — at least when they're arguing with me. In that way, perhaps his death will not have been in vain. Hopefully it's already spurred changes in the outlooks of those who watched him die from the comfort of their own computers.

RIP

(Note: I apologize if this post is a little disjointed. I found the transcript of Brandon Vedas's final online chat disorienting — sickening. If you want to read it, however, you'll have to find it for yourself.)

Posted by Justin Katz @ 03:30 PM EST

4 comments

We need to change. Or we will not survive. This is one of few objective comments which reflect the true state of where we are and that we have to change. I want to attempt to help someone not meet this same fate. It is not just one aspect that needs to change but many. It is a real wake up, if only people listen to the facts of our ills. This is a problem that needs to be addressed, we can not continue to ignore that we are failing to interact with others on a personal basis, not the surreal impersonal net. We can hope that somehow this might make people realize this is a very real danger. I feel a personal disappointment that we have become so disconnected from the actual world into the virtual world, that we can longer think in a rational manner.
I will miss Ripper (Brandon) for the rest of my life. A bright star that is gone forever.

Richard Vedas Sr @ 02/07/2003 09:20 AM EST

Mr. Vedas,

I am very sorry for your loss. The essay about Brandon took me longer to write than its length might suggest — simply for the reason that the effect that the tragedy had on me made the words difficult to piece together.

I don't know whether it is of any comfort to you, but I prayed for Brandon, and I'm sure many others have done the same. If only the prayers could have come sooner.

Justin Katz @ 02/07/2003 09:46 AM EST

We can only hope that this tragedy will not be repeated. If you read his obituary pages from his friends, it is easy to see that he helped many in time of need, he was always giving. I miss my personel computer whiz, here Dad let me do that. As Sean said "bang them keys hard in heaven Dude"

Richard Vedas Sr @ 02/07/2003 10:01 PM EST

I would like to add a comment on Brandon Vedas. There is a sick underworld of chatrooms online, and if any of you have frequented them you will know what I am talking about. I personally have sat in chat while people wanted to kill themselves and actually heard people egging them on. All I could say was do you remember what happened to Brandon Vedas? Dont joke around about "life" or "death" what you say can actually effect what the outcome might be. So many people flock to these chat rooms, because they have nothing better to do. They become intertwind w/ these indaviduals in chat, and it becomes like a soap opera "these are the days of our lives". Brandon's death has promted me to want to write a book, about internet junky's and what they go through to get there fixes so to speak. So if you have any comments or additional information you would like to tell me in refrence to Brandon, or your own experiences online, please feel free to e-mail me@ pimptiny2@aol.com

Heather Parks @ 12/18/2003 03:45 PM EST