Robin Williams

[yoder]

Celebrities come and go, but this one hit me hard. From Mork and Mindy to the Dead Poet's Society, the guy was a huge part of my childhood, teen years and beyond.

Here's one of my favorite bits, NSFW language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDQd49rEF_0

Thanks for all of the memories Robin.

[c_hawkbob]

Just tragic. What a horrible loss for the entertainment world and especially his family.

[RiverDog]

This one hit home pretty hard for me. Less than two weeks ago, one of my co-workers, my right hand man, and one of my best friends, committed suicide. Years ago, at the San Diego game where Leon Washington had two KR's for TD's, I had a picture taken of him and me (can't find it now), and some of the folks at work dubbed him 'my son', the joke being that although age might suggest a father/son relationship, he is clearly Asian and not related to me. But I let it stick as it was not at all an insult, indeed I considered it a compliment because he was a hard worker and a great guy that had no enemies.

I have mixed emotions about those that commit suicide. On the one hand, a person has to be in extreme emotional pain to consider taking their own lives, and my heart weeps for them, as it does for Robin Williams. But on the other hand, it is an extremely selfish act when you consider the pain and suffering they leave behind. In the case of my friend, his teenage son found him hanging in his garage. Just think of the trauma that kid has gone through and will continue to go through.

[kalibane]

I'd like to offer something about suicide based on what Riv just said about selfishness and is probably important to understand. I used to feel exactly they way you do. It's cowardly, it's selfish etc. etc.

It is selfish to people who are sane working within the right frame of mind and most people who take their lives would agree if they weren't so depressed. But generally when people get so despondent that they are ready to take their own life in their mind they absolutely believe that the people they leave behind will be better off without them. They feel like they are an anchor attached to their loved one's ankle and the short term grief is outweighed by the anchor being removed. They may be delusional for thinking it but in a sick way when people are in that state, they really believe suicide is the more selfless act.

I've ceased being so judgmental after life's twists and turns have brought me closer to the subject. Now I'm just sad for everyone.

[RiverDog]

I'd like to offer something about suicide based on what Riv just said about selfishness and is probably important to understand. I used to feel exactly they way you do. It's cowardly, it's selfish etc. etc.

It is selfish to people who are sane working within the right frame of mind and most people who take their lives would agree if they weren't so depressed. But generally when people get so despondent that they are ready to take their own life in their mind they absolutely believe that the people they leave behind will be better off without them. They feel like they are an anchor attached to their loved one's ankle and the short term grief is outweighed by the anchor being removed. They may be delusional for thinking it but in a sick way when people are in that state, they really believe suicide is the more selfless act.

I've ceased being so judgmental after life's twists and turns have brought me closer to the subject. Now I'm just sad for everyone.

I'm not sure if I'd ever call suicide 'cowardly.' More like refusing to face up to the challenges of life. There are times that suicide is a justifiable act, such as a terminally ill patient, a spy avoiding capture, etc. I don't know enough about Robin Williams' personal life to venture too much of an opinion as to where his act would fall.

In the case of my friend, I don't think he fully comprehended the impact his suicide would have on his family and friends. It certainly wouldn't have been his first choice to have his son be the one to discover him hanging from the garage rafters. I think it was a spur of the moment decision, that something came over him and he acted on it (his wife had left him), as I saw him 10-12 hours before he was found dead, and he was the same old smiling, laughing, joking self. The last time I saw him he greeted me from a distance of several hundred feet, almost embarrassingly so like Forrest Gump might do. He was the last person in the world you'd suspect as being suicidal. That's one of the things that made it so tough for us, it was such a shock.

20 or so years ago, I had another co worker/friend that committed suicide. He was just a few hours from being arraigned on charges of sexually abusing his teen age step daughter. Years later, the girl admitted that it was a lie, that she was mad at him for his not letting her spend the night at one of her friends. In that case, I do think he was guilty of not having the guts to stand up and defend himself. But I won't go so far as calling it cowardly.

[c_hawkbob]

Not all suicides fit into the same box.
- Hitler's suicide was cowardice; he couldn't face having lost the war and not ruling the world. Same with Wall street jumpers in the depression.
- Baby rapists that hang themselves in prison do it out of shame and self loathing.
- Michael Hutchence was searching for a better orgasm.
- Juliet killed herself because she thought Romeo had and was desperate to be with him whatever it took ...

Robin Williams and others with clinical disorders are the truly tragic cases for which none of the above cookie cutter explanations are applicable. Each individual case is very much it's own unique set of circumstances to which most of us are just not qualified or informed enough to speak. All we can do is mourn their passing, console their loved ones left behind and support the research that might one day prevent such tragedies.

[kalibane]

Oh I agree River. I don't think it's cowardly. It's just what I used to think before I had any first hand experience.

[Hawktawk]

My friends have always described me as a pendulum person, one extreme to the other. There are days I feel truly brilliant and creative and days I dont want to get out of bed.And its been going on for 54 years. There have been a couple of times I stared into the abyss that is eternity during extremely emotional and tough times but I always backed away. In 2011 I was diagnosed Bipolar and given some of the latest medications to treat it. Its helped a lot.

Anyway during that period of time my Doc told me Robin Williams was also bipolar so the guy was kind of my hero the past few years. Ive enjoyed his comedy since I was barely an adult so this was particularly tough. Mental illness is an often misunderstood disease because nobody can really relate sometimes. It isn't an excuse, its an explanation. But its a double edged sword, often blessing those who have it with some wonderful talents.

I guess my 02 cents worth is if you are trapped in your mind seek help, and be honest with your doctor. My physician didn't diagnose me correctly until I was completely honest about how I was feeling and acting and I had been seeing him for over 20 years.
And by all means, no matter how bad it seems dont believe the lie that taking your life will make anything better for anyone....

[Zorn76]

This one was especially sad. I knew a little about William's history, but that was more tied in with the sobriety he had for 20 years or so before relapsing and then regaining it.

He had a pretty full life, to say the least, yet there was so much more ahead as well. Should've been, anyway.

Godspeed to his family.

[washeska]

Well,
I liked him in club paradise.
but he is dead now and won't be entertaining me anymore. Time to find someone else

Wash

[HawkDawg]

Well,
I liked him in club paradise.
but he is dead now and won't be entertaining me anymore. Time to find someone else

Wash

Careful there, he was loved by many people across the world. Not a good time for sarcasm, especially considering the posts above.