Originally Posted by The Batlord

I've been good friends with an addict. He was a cluster**** of a human being, and if being friends with him taught me something it's that it honestly normalizes their situation so that being a drug addict no longer feels so terrible, cause hey, this guy is sticking by me. Or at least that's how I perceived it.

And to be perfectly honest I think compassion for an addict who isn't seeking out help on their own might very well have the opposite effect, as now that you're making explicit to them that their behavior is NOT normal, and in fact is pitiable, it will only widen the gulf between them and non-addict society. If you were having money troubles and I just walked up to you and handed you a hundred dollars unsolicited for you to pay your rent, would it make you feel better or worse?