Published: April 20, 2011

When more than 3.5 million people sign-in to their Twitter accounts, they might check the latest updates from their family members and friends or stalk the feeds of old flames. But they will definitely catch the latest nonsensical mini-rant from self-professed “unemployed winner” Charlie Sheen.

That’s right. Millions of people, and maybe even quite a few Fordham students, have voluntarily visited the deranged Warlock’s page and hit “follow.” After all, doesn’t everyone need a daily dose of entertainment? If this raving lunatic chooses to make an utter fool of himself in front of the world, shouldn’t we all have a good laugh at the downward spiral of his own doing?

There’s one big problem with this logic: every time we laugh at his rants, become fans of his online pages, finish every tweet with #winning or walk around donning a t-shirt with his face plastered across it, we’re enabling Sheen to continue being mind-blowingly insane.

And it’s not like the guy stands on soapboxes in his underwear singing Disney songs. Sheen is harmful to himself, his family and society and desperately needs help.

When Sheen trashed his hotel room at The Plaza Hotel last October after an apparent alcohol and cocaine binge, he racked up over $7,000 in damages and left police to find a terrified prostitute hiding in the room.

The former “Two and a Half Men” star has managed to call Denise Richards, the mother of two of his children, everything from a “traitor and loser whore” to a “vile kidnapper and now dog thief” on Twitter.

More seriously, Sheen had allegedly assaulted Richards in 2006 and essentially told her to die, albeit using much more colorful language. Other allegations against him include threatening ex-wife Brooke Mueller with a knife in 2009 and viciously beating ex-girlfriend Brittany Ashland in 1997.

So what do we do with an unstable and violent man who should be removed from the public? We “like” his Facebook page, “follow” him on Twitter and buy tickets to his barely coherent, one-man stage show.

I can’t even listen to music on the website of the radio station I’ve been rocking out to since I was old enough to dance without stumbling upon some Sheen-themed feature. The latest is a Sheen soundboard, complete with a large photo of the fallen star looking (you guessed it) crazy next to a list of his more infamous sound bites.

But from the hundreds of responses it has generated from users, both positive and negative, it looks as though more Sheen-centered posts are in store.

Though Sheen is managing to cash in on his public breakdown, other stars who have lost a few marbles along the way have faced intense criticism and a damaged career.

When Mel Gibson was slapped with a restraining order for a domestic violence accusation and made several racist remarks last year, the public was outraged. Celebrity gossip sites declared Gibson’s career forever tainted while users called for boycotts of the actor’s work.

And some of Sheen’s actions are even worse than those of Chris Brown, Rihanna’s abusive ex-boyfriend.

But while Brown’s fans, unconvinced by his public apology and guilty plea in the R&B recording artist’s 2009 assault, turned their backs on him, Sheen has been given an extra 15 minutes of fame for no other reason than behaving badly.

And he is clearly not apologizing for the garbage he’s been spewing, especially when he’s being rewarded for every piece of trash he throws at the public.

Nothing incenses me more than watching friends who abhorred Gibson’s or Brown’s actions tag Sheen in tweets that commend him for his “hilarious sense of humor” or talk about how his poorly reviewed show will make for an interesting night.

I’d just like to remind everyone that we live in New York City. If you want a few laughs, you could easily walk to Times Square where, I assure you, you’ll be bombarded with comedy show ticket sellers before you even manage to set foot in a Starbucks.

For a mere $20, you can pregame at your friend’s apartment and watch a show put on by people who can actually form basic sentences without spouting hatred or being womanizers.

It’s probable that Sheen will continue to make a public spectacle of himself until he dies from a drug and alcohol overdose or jumps out of a hotel room window while attempting to fly like a warlock.

But we should not give our time and money to eat up his garbage and support his dangerous antics. We’re fueling this mad man by giving him a platform in the media, on our social networking pages and in theaters across the country.

It’s as if we’ve thrust open the doors to the world stage and have beckoned Sheen to come and entertain us for a while. Except that the show is really bad. And the actor is a self-centered psychopath. So no matter how much we think we’re #winning, we’re really just #supporting a lunatic.