I sometimes like to watch Mark Levin’s Fox show “Life, Liberty and Levin”. I usually try to tune in because he seems to have a unique ability to draw information out of a broad range of interesting people, making him more or less a male Barbara Walters. Last week I was shocked when I tuned in to see Levin interviewing Mike Lindell, the ubiquitous “My Pillow” guy. Lindell and I share some roots. I graduated from St. Louis Park High School, only a few miles from his Chaska pillow factory. It’s also interesting to note that Prince killed himself a few miles from both cities. Prince and Lindell apparently had one thing in common—they were both hardcore drug abusers. I was vaguely aware that Lindell had a past history of cocaine abuse and at some point he cleaned up his act, but until Levin’s show I didn’t know the details of his sordid history.
Levin Takes it in Hook, Line and Sinker
Levin seemed to be ecstatic as he encouraged Lindell to tell his “fascinating” story. With a big smile on his face, Lindell bragged that he had been a “functioning” crack addict for over 40 years, and he was high as a kite when he started his pillow business. Things got so bad that at one point his drug dealers cut him off. He went on to claim that a few years ago he found Jesus and now he sells pillows and religion all mixed up together.
As a practicing physician with over 40 years of experience, I can absolutely guarantee you that there is no such thing as a “functioning addict”. When someone abuses alcohol they usually only hurt themselves, their families and perhaps friends and some co-workers, but their addiction usually doesn’t have any broader effects on society.
The Inherent Horrors of Hard-Core Drug Abuse
For people who abuse drugs like cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, the picture is much different. Unlike alcohol, the substances they abuse are illegal and are moved into this country by drug lords like the notorious El Chapo Guzman. I know a bit about this clown because he was first captured a block from our condo in Mazatlan, Mexico. During our last visit to Mazatlan a few months ago, I read the excellent book “Hunting El Chapo” by Andrew Hogan. The book details all the evil acts of El Chapo and it is clear that he was directly responsible for killing thousands of people and indirectly responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people. He and other drug lords have completely destroyed the fabric of society in Mexico and several other countries. When you connect the dots, it is clear that by supporting people like El Chapo for 40 years, Lindell is indirectly responsible for the deaths of countless people throughout the US, Mexico and many other countries around the world.
Levin seemed oblivious to these obvious facts and he seemed to be fascinated by this obvious psychopathic con man. Not only do we have to live with these horrible facts, ever 15 minutes Lindell shows up in one of his ubiquitous TV ads for pillows, bed sheets, bed covers and whatever. My research interests involve the connection between diet and brain function. We now understand that highly processed food is neurotoxic, and it eventually depletes the brain of monoamine neurotransmitters like serotonin. If you have low serotonin, guess what? You don’t sleep well because melatonin directly comes from serotonin. Clean up your diet and perhaps throw in some 5-htp, the precursor of serotonin, and you’ll sleep like a baby even if you use a rock as a pillow!
The Laurel and Hardy of Drug Abuse
Lindell and El Chapo also share another trait—they are proud of their past histories. Recall that El Chapo met with Sean Penn in the jungle to give him his life history in the hope that perhaps someone would make a movie or write a book about his wonderful accomplishments. Lindell tried to do the same thing with Levin, and I think he was successful. In my opinion Mike Lindell is a dangerous con man who belongs in jail rather than constantly showing up on TV hawking pillows. I think Mark Levin owes his viewers and the general public an apology for showcasing this psychopathic clown. Virtually all treatment groups encourage former alcohol and drug users to be humble and to ask for forgiveness from those people they have harmed. I sensed none of this contrition from Lindell, only false pride and bravado. Now you have an idea of why I renamed my home state “Weirdesota” when I moved to the Boston area.
By the way, when I watch his ads I get the distinct impression that’s Lindell has consumed a few too many cups of coffee or perhaps he’s still high as a kite. Do we really care? Perhaps Dr. Seuss could write a new best seller titled “Mike Lindell Will You Please Go Now”! And of course, I will pay the transportation costs to move him to another country, because he certainly doesn’t belong in the home of the free and the land of the brave.
Pillow Boycott
I also have another idea. If you agree with my perspective, when he shows up on TV with one of his obnoxious ads, I suggest calling the TV station and telling them you will boycott their station until they pull his goofy ads. I would also encourage your family and friends to avoid him and his products. Perhaps such a boycott will attract his attention and kick him back to the reality of the real world where he can be appropriately humble and ask for forgiveness from the surviving family members of those he has harmed. If he has truly found Jesus, this task should come naturally.
Hey Bill lighten up. I watched
Mark Levine when he interviewed Mike Lindell. Everyone does recovery different . Over 50 years I have tried at least 59 different pillows without satisfactory results. At the advice of my PT I got My Pillow. We have 4 My Pillows that we use every night. They aren’t perfect but superior to all the others we have tried. He certainly had a history of being a con man which he readily admitted which is typical of addicts. He did express humility but also exuberance. His new prioject is to work with addicts and provide options for recovery. In this holy season he should be granted redemption rather than throwing this psychopathic con man in jail.
You are very talented but stick to your area of expertise. Your research stands on its own and slamming individuals and their characters is out of bounds in my opinion
Glenna:
I must respectively disagree with your view. I have treated thousands of patients who have abused alcohol and illegal drugs and the consequences of each are quite different. I suggest that you read the book about El Chapo that I recommended in the post. I foolishly purchased one of his pillows a few years ago but I can no longer tell which pillow it is. What did our ancient ancestors sleep on? They seemed to get along just fine without a “magic pillow or sheets”. People who have trouble sleeping have brain issues, often related to their diet. The solution is not a new pillow but rather focusing on fixing the brain, my area of expertise. I recently gave a talke at a brain conference where virtually all the speakers were department heads of scientific and medical institutions from around the world. I was the only primary care physician asked to speak.
Glenna, I suggest that you take your own advice and stick to topics where you have extensive training and experience. Mike Lindell is a sociopathic con man and in my opinion anyone who sees anything else is living in distorted dream world far beyond being “out of bounds”.
By the way, Glenna, in the field of addiction people with your attitude are considered “enablers”. It’s bad enough to enable alcohol abuse, but as I point out in my post, El Chapo was the primary importer of cocaine into the US for the past 40 years and Lindell was a top customer of his products during this period of time. People involved with alcohol usually don’t directly kill people unless they drive drunk and get in an accident. People involved in the illegal drug trade like El Chapa are directly responsible for the death of thousands of people. If you can’t connect these dots, then you must be the Queen of enablers in a clear process of death and destruction. Shame, shame, shame on you. At least addicts have an excuse for their destructive behavior, whereas you have no such excuse other than moral laziness.
Dr. Bill Wilson