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I'm not sure what to think, a small part of me agrees with the 'entirely his own choice' phrase, though a larger part of me thinks that he died as a result of an illness not unlike cancer or the flu. Nobody wants to be depressed, it just unfortunately happens to some. The biology of it (and treatment of it) is probably just as unknown as that of other diseases.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
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jeron1 wrote: an illness not unlike cancer or the flu.
Very true, and the treatment (in the UK at least) is at best, mediocre. People suffering from depression tend not to vote so they don't have much of a voice.
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The question of how much depression (or other mental illnesses) is 'not unlike cancer or flu' and how much people with those conditions still have free agency and can be considered to be making their own choices like everyone else is a tricky one, not least because most mental illnesses are a line on a continuum from 'normal' to 'severely X' and it's not an objective diagnosis.
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mark merrens wrote: He was funny. He died. Get over it.
That's a pretty cold way of looking at life man. It's not like people are "unable to go on" just because they post a "that sucks" message on FB. You yourself are taking part of it too with this post. So it's a bit counter intuitive.
Just because it's a lot of people posting doesn't make them bad, stupid, or anything to say a quick RIP to someone who had an impact on their life, even if on TV. Seriously man, you might want to get over it.
Now if it was Justin Bieber, you'd have a point.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: Now if it was Justin Bieber,
I'm still trying to organise that room.
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You miss the point: I am over it and I am sad that such a great comedic genius has now shuffled off this mortal coil. What I am talking about is the great outpouring of public grief.
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mark merrens wrote: You miss the point: I am over it and I am sad that such a great comedic genius has now shuffled off this mortal coil. What I am talking about is the great outpouring of public grief.
I did not miss the point. It's only been like one day. You really must hate people to whine about them saying RIP already. If it were weeks, I'd agree with you. One day, and you're just cold.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: One day, and you're just cold.
And yet you to continue to miss it; were you around when Diana went? It was ridiculous. And now, everywhere you turn, people going on about Robin Williams; somehow his sad passing is more important than anything or anyone else. I presume you'll be taking full page ads to bellow your heartfelt grief?
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Have fun arguing with yourself. Tootles!
Jeremy Falcon
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No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
John Donne
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Holy men tell us life is a mystery.
They embrace that concept happily.
But some mysteries bite and bark
And come to get you in the dark.
-- The Book of Counted Sorrows, Dean Koontz
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The newsreader just read this earlier this evening
"Robin Williams is believed to have committed suicide after a long battle with depression.....people often described Mr* Williams as an unstoppable life force." Do they even think before they write this guff?
*Radio 4 Don'tchaknow
Alberto Brandolini: The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.
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The fact that a man who had such an amazingly positive affect on the world would be so poisoned with depression that in spite of the joy the mere thought of him brought most of us who grew up watching everything from Mork & Mindy through his innumerable movies to his standup decided to kill himself is heartbreaking.
Any number of the millions of lives he touched would've been willing to help him, but for the knowledge of how.
Depression is a horrifying prison, utterly inexpressible to those who haven't had to suffer through it.
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Well said.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
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I hope people who don't understand depression never have occasion to.
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It's terrible stuff, I hope people can come to understand it enough to remove the stigma of it,and look on it as they do other ailments.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
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Well, right. That's certainly a better way to phrase it.
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mark merrens wrote: What I don't get is the ridiculous public outpouring of grief, especially on farcebook and twatter
Well then that's your problem right there. Get that sh*t out of your life; you won't miss anything. I can pretty much guarantee you'll still hear about the stuff that matters.
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For me, I didn't do a massive outpouring of grief, but I did feel very sad in myself, because he was someone whose work I enjoyed, and who seemed to me to be a pretty decent sort of a person. I'd agree that his death is no more tragic than any other suicide, but, unlike most people who kill themselves, I felt that I had some connection to his work, and admired him from afar because of it.
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As I have pointed out, individually his death is sad; he was a clever, funny guy but his passing is no more important than anyone else's and I simply don't get the PUBLIC grief.
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Yeah, there is something odd about the people who want to post a ton of stuff on facebook, and carry on like their grandmother died. It's very sad. I am saddened by it. But, if you had not posted this, I would not be discussing it with anyone, today, and yesterday, I just agreed that it was a very sad thing.
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He was a very funny guy who had real problems (depression and substance abuse), which a lot of people who have been through the same thing related to, and identified with.
A lot of people were encouraged by seeing him overcome those problems and have a successful career...and then he hung himself
So I think from a lot of these people, you are seeing multiple emotions at play, not just sadness that this much loved guy has passed away, but also the fact that if Robin Williams, despite being much loved and hugely successful, couldn't beat depression, then what chance does Joe Sixpack have?
Maybe that's why some people are having trouble getting a grip
But most just attention whores, I'll give you that!
I watched Good Will Hunting earlier, never seen it before, very good movie!
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Because it makes you think about your own, and everyone around you's, mortality. It is a completely preventable death that really can strike anyone you know (you don't know what's going in anyone else's head). It hurts because Robin became both a murderer and a victim yesterday. It's very difficult to come to terms with somebody who spent his life bringing people happiness, choosing to kill someone, himself.
modified 12-Aug-14 21:31pm.
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What nobody seems to have mentioned that he is almost as well known for his generosity. He gave of himself to everyone he met, even complete strangers, at a rate unsustainable by most others.
He once chartered a jet to fly cross-country to spend time with a girl suffering from terminal illness. Through Make-A-Wish, she was supposed to fly out to California for the meeting with Williams but fell so ill she couldn't make the trip. So he did, for her.
It isn't the shows he put on for audiences of thousands that pulls out the grief on social media. It's the light he brought to others where he made those encounters all about audiences of one person at a time.
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