James Gunn on Wednesday shut down comic Scott Adams’ shocking tweet that urged parents with violent teenagers to “watch people die” or “kill your son” by pointing out he was a violent teen addict who managed to turn his life around.
“Hey Scott Adams: As someone who was himself a violent teenager addicted to drugs & entered recovery with the help & love of his family, as well as someone who has seen dozens of other young men stay sober & become fruitful members of society, these are not the only two options,” Gunn tweeted.
Adams’ original tweet was in response to the arrest of Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo III, who killed seven people and injured more than three dozen on July 4.
“The Highland shooting and every Fentanyl overdose death among the young are teaching us the same lesson, and we refuse to learn it, the “Dilbert” comic artist tweeted on July 6. “It’s difficult, but I’m qualified to give you this lesson (unfortunately). This won’t be easy to read,” he wrote before adding this: “When a young male (let’s say 14 to 19) is a danger to himself and others, society gives the supporting family two options: 1. Watch people die. 2. Kill your own son. Those are your only options. I chose #1 and watched my stepson die. I was relieved he took no one else with him.”
Adams added, “If one more person hallucinates to me about some ‘program’ where teens are kidnapped and ‘fixed’ and returned to their happy parents, I might explode. No such thing exists. You have two options. Only two. No help is coming. Only death and suffering.”
The cartoonist previously said that he tried unsuccessfully to commit his stepson, who became addicted to drugs after a severe head injury at age 14. “I got to watch my dead, blue, bloated son taken out on a stretcher in front of his mother and biological father,” he said.
Gunn, who’s been very open about his past as an addict, pointed out that there are, as was the case for him, more options than Adams’ coldly suggests.
Here are some of the other reactions to Adams’ tweet:
