The tendency to glamorize these sort of lives and deaths doesn't just apply to music; you see it in literature as well. In my opinion, it's seems to be a peculiarly American phenomenon as well. We applaud the self-destructive streak in artists as some sort of badge of authenticity. Or else snicker over how far the exceptional can fall.
This is so sad but so true... I mean literally a few months ago I was reading 'this guys a fucking mess', 'he's a junkie', some people were even making fun of him and his deteriorating health and then the moment he died everyone switched to 'R.I.P. Scott, you were a legend and a tortured soul' etc. I'm not just talking about on this forum (although I did see some of it here) but the whole internet and media in general, I mean even Dean and Chester (to a lesser extent) were mocking him in interviews a few months ago...
If I ever used harsh words against Scott, and I'm sure I did, it was never to insult him, it was because I genuinely cared and didn't know what else to say. How else can one react after seeing that performance in Texas without saying "Scott, wake the fuck up!". On the flip side, there were plenty of people here in denial who wouldn't let their brains believe what their eyes were seeing, and I think some of the more negative reactions were in response to that, wishing those fans would wake up as well.
Dean comparing Scott to Chester by saying he had the strength of a baby in comparison was rough, and I'm sure he regrets making those statements publicly now, but I truly believe they were made under the same pretenses they were made by fans here, out of frustration and concern, not hate or ridicule. I think a lot of us out there just couldn't understand why he was wasting his talent and putting his well-being in jeopardy night after night. It was difficult to watch embarrassing performances like the one in Texas or those renditions of WTRG on Purple to the Core and respond on here without speaking the truth about where he was in his life.
Everything I've ever said about Scott, good and bad, has come out of love. I believe that of everyone here too, as we're all here for the same reason.