Robin Williams - RIP - (July 21, 1951 - August 11, 2014)

[Totenkindly]

I think what's interesting is that, aside from the obvious "talented/funny" Twitter tributes, there are so many that refer to him as kind, gentle, and/or sweet. That's not necessarily a [group of] word(s) that gets used with comedians.

 

[Avocado]

I liked mrs. Doubtfire and patch adams a lot.

 

[Tiltyred]

Honestly, I wish we had a culture where if you were tired of living, you could check out, and it wouldn't shock anyone. I know some states now have legal assisted suicide in the case of incurable disease, but psychological pain is, for some, incurable disease, and wishing to be relieved of it seems only natural. I hate that he felt that way, but I'm fine with what he did. It seems his choice to make. In a world with a different attitude toward death, maybe he could have told his wife and a few friends, they could have had a ceremony or something ... instead it's this horrible shock that's sent everyone reeling.

RIP Robin Williams

 

[kyuuei]

Honestly, I wish we had a culture where if you were tired of living, you could check out, and it wouldn't shock anyone. I know some states now have legal assisted suicide in the case of incurable disease, but psychological pain is, for some, incurable disease, and wishing to be relieved of it seems only natural. I hate that he felt that way, but I'm fine with what he did. It seems his choice to make. In a world with a different attitude toward death, maybe he could have told his wife and a few friends, they could have had a ceremony or something ... instead it's this horrible shock that's sent everyone reeling.

RIP Robin Williams

I don't think being suicidal and assisted suicide are the same thing at all though.. I'm for assisted suicide.. but the man had a wife, and children. He had a lot to give to them still. Being suicidal is an illness.. psychological illnesses count.. and that's why people try to intervene and it's so shocking. We treat it the same way we do cancer--hoping to cure it, trying to catch it early before it grabs people away from us. There are people I have met that had attempted suicide in the past.. and actually did end up being cured of that state of mind (so far as I can tell for now.. they're still living anyways). It isn't like anyone's shaming him for suicide, he tried for a long time and it's clear that he did.. but it's still heart breaking and sad for great people to leave the world due to an illness that we still believe we can cure someday. More and more suicidal behaviors are having physiological foundations.. Meaning, if we understood this all better, maybe he wouldn't have really wanted to die--but the illness made him think he did. It happens with other mental illnesses all the time.

I'd like to think that the man was very happy at his core. I don't know many people that have so much joy that they just want to spread it to the world like that. Depression is just a beast of a disorder, and it swallows people whole no matter how great they are indiscriminately.

 

[prplchknz]

I think this hit me harder than I thought for the main reason is I've dealt with wanting to die and severe depression. Because I've been their, luckily I didn't know die but there are times I wonder if I should've. drug overdoses don't hit me cuz I have no experience with those.

 

[iwakar]

"Mourning" as an activity means different things to different people, so the "no one can mourn a stranger" proclamations are immaterial. It's incredibly human to be emotionally affected by the death of someone that you may have admired or related to for one reason or another. Excessive mourning, by my standards, would be strange, but I don't see that happening here. Robin Williams had that rare ability to galvanize perceptions by toeing the sacred/profane with humor and underscoring the universal human experience. I wonder whether the number of people that felt inspired and awed by him is comforting to the loves ones he left behind or disturbing...?

 

[Tiltyred]

I don't think being suicidal and assisted suicide are the same thing at all though.. I'm for assisted suicide.. but the man had a wife, and children. He had a lot to give to them still. Being suicidal is an illness.. psychological illnesses count.. and that's why people try to intervene and it's so shocking. We treat it the same way we do cancer--hoping to cure it, trying to catch it early before it grabs people away from us. There are people I have met that had attempted suicide in the past.. and actually did end up being cured of that state of mind (so far as I can tell for now.. they're still living anyways). It isn't like anyone's shaming him for suicide, he tried for a long time and it's clear that he did.. but it's still heart breaking and sad for great people to leave the world due to an illness that we still believe we can cure someday. More and more suicidal behaviors are having physiological foundations.. Meaning, if we understood this all better, maybe he wouldn't have really wanted to die--but the illness made him think he did. It happens with other mental illnesses all the time.

I'd like to think that the man was very happy at his core. I don't know many people that have so much joy that they just want to spread it to the world like that. Depression is just a beast of a disorder, and it swallows people whole no matter how great they are indiscriminately.

This is something I'm intimately familiar with. Severe depression, major depression, is hard to cure -- you have to really stay on top of it. Some are saying he was bipolar, which makes it all the harder. It's a lot to carry just to make other people happy. As Robin Williams himself decided. Someone on Fox News called him a coward, and lots of others are all "why on earth would someone want to die." Lots of people want to die, y'know? Even with the best of treatment.

Then there's this article, saying the tweet represents suicide as liberating and that could cause people to think it's ok to do.
Suicide contagion and social media: The dangers of sharing ‘Genie, you

Well ... it's for each person to decide. I just wish he hadn't had to hang himself with a belt.

 

[Totenkindly]

I don't think being suicidal and assisted suicide are the same thing at all though.. (etc)
I'd like to think that the man was very happy at his core. I don't know many people that have so much joy that they just want to spread it to the world like that. Depression is just a beast of a disorder, and it swallows people whole no matter how great they are indiscriminately.

Yes, I'm open to assisted 'end of life' choices as well; but along with what you've said, this particular situation isn't really clear as to whether it was "I want to die" or "I want to live but I'm so tired that I just can't do it anymore." I guess we will figure out more as the investigation unfolds.

[MENTION=5723]Tiltyred[/MENTION]: I was pretty upset at the Fox commentator who used the word "cowardly." The guy has since issued a public apology and said he didn't mean to call Williams a coward, but I'm not sure how he didn't mean it, in context of his quote.

I had concerns, as someone who has pretty regular (and occasional intense) thoughts along these lines, when I saw that Genie graphic that to me kind of glamorizes death. *shrug* I'm sure it was meant to say they were glad Williams wasn't suffering anymore, but it's pretty triggering IMO... or at least was for me.

Is there a reason the use of a belt bothers you, versus something else?

 

[Beorn]

Yes, I'm open to assisted 'end of life' choices as well; but along with what you've said, this particular situation isn't really clear as to whether it was "I want to die" or "I want to live but I'm so tired that I just can't do it anymore." I guess we will figure out more as the investigation unfolds.

Which is which and why does it make a difference?

 

[Tiltyred]

It just seems unnecessarily brutal. A nice injection would have been more comfortable.

 

[Totenkindly]

Which is which and why does it make a difference?

Why pick me to explain "assisted suicide" when two other people in the thread before me who I was responding to seemed to explain in more detail and be more supportive of it?

In any case, ironically, my distinction was clearly noted in the post you Quoted.

 

[Beorn]

It just seems unnecessarily brutal. A nice injection would have been more comfortable.

A nice injection?

You're sick.

 

[Beorn]

Why pick me to explain "assisted suicide" when two other people in the thread before me who I was responding to seemed to explain in more detail and be more supportive of it?

In any case, ironically, my distinction was clearly noted in the post you Quoted.

I just looked at the thread a minute ago. I'm not picking on you.

I genuinely want to know which attitude is suicidal and which is appropriate for assisted suicide. I seriously couldn't figure it out for myself.

 

[Bush]

I've seen some people on the Internet saying that he owed his fans a letter to explain his death... which I'm still kind of floored by.

Holy shit. Fuck those people.

 

[Totenkindly]

I just looked at the thread a minute ago. I'm not picking on you.

I genuinely want to know which attitude is suicidal and which is appropriate for assisted suicide. I seriously couldn't figure it out for myself.

Well, it's all a big aside from the issue I've been talking about through the thread. But theoretically, if someone has come to the conclusion through some rational means that they want to end their life, then theoretically that's their choice to make. I used the word "theoretically" because it sounds plausible in the general sense but delineating the exact parameters of that scenario is for another thread, if that scenario does in fact exist.

But we're discussing (if all the data is true) someone who chose to die because they were struggling with vast depression that sometimes has led into substance abuse -- and where i connect with that as someone who is susceptible to addictive behaviors, pervasive depression, and struggled deeply at times with self-harm is that I didn't really want to die but things felt so lost and painful and pointless that I just felt like I couldn't continue. So that's a different scenario to me... where desire and reality are at odds.

Maybe others have a different view on it.

Holy shit. Fuck those people.

Yeah, that was kinda what I was thinking when I saw that.

 

[kyuuei]

This is something I'm intimately familiar with. Severe depression, major depression, is hard to cure -- you have to really stay on top of it. Some are saying he was bipolar, which makes it all the harder. It's a lot to carry just to make other people happy. As Robin Williams himself decided. Someone on Fox News called him a coward, and lots of others are all "why on earth would someone want to die." Lots of people want to die, y'know? Even with the best of treatment.

Then there's this article, saying the tweet represents suicide as liberating and that could cause people to think it's ok to do.
Suicide contagion and social media: The dangers of sharing ‘Genie, you

Well ... it's for each person to decide. I just wish he hadn't had to hang himself with a belt.

Pretty revolting to call him a coward after he lived so long with this. Definitely would NOT label anyone struggling with this as a coward. People don't like to face things they're afraid of.. and it brings out the ugly in people. There's a difference between feeling the bittersweetness of someone being free of pain despite it not being the way you (or even they) would have liked to have been free... and promoting suicide. People are just ridic.

ABC News keeping it classy.

That's my contribution to the truckloads of garbage people create when something tragic happens. I worked at the psych ward this rotation.. and it was my first time truly dealing with people across mental disorder spectrums. Extremely eye opening.. and it's really easy to see why regular people just dont get it. There really is no way to get it without intimately being involved with someone who has it somehow. There was no way I was even close to getting it, despite psych classes and such, until I worked with people suffering from these things. It's easy to see that it isn't just in their head.. it's a real disease, just one of the many we can't explain yet.

Yes, I'm open to assisted 'end of life' choices as well; but along with what you've said, this particular situation isn't really clear as to whether it was "I want to die" or "I want to live but I'm so tired that I just can't do it anymore." I guess we will figure out more as the investigation unfolds.

I can't help but think someone who worked so hard on what he did felt the latter.. but I didn't know the guy.. that might just be wishful optimistic thinking on my end colored by seeing him for the talented, sweet guy I felt he was.

 

[Totenkindly]

I can't help but think someone who worked so hard on what he did felt the latter.. but I didn't know the guy.. that might just be wishful optimistic thinking on my end colored by seeing him for the talented, sweet guy I felt he was.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread (and what keeps coming out as people share their stories publicly) is just what a big-hearted, sweet, kind person he was. I haven't yet heard any actual dirt. We've seen people with celebrity status die periodically over the last few years, and I don't remember seeing a response like this one.

 

[Beorn]

He didn't owe shit to me or any other fan.
He did let down his family and friends.
I have empathy with his pain (no, really, I do) but suicide is ultimately a horrible thing to do not just to yourself but the people you love and who love you.
Calling him a coward is unnecessary and crass. It's not like these types of struggles don't produce enough guilt.

 

[kyuuei]

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread (and what keeps coming out as people share their stories publicly) is just what a big-hearted, sweet, kind person he was. I haven't yet heard any actual dirt. We've seen people with celebrity status die periodically over the last few years, and I don't remember seeing a response like this one.

I don't think people will find any except the typical suspects of someone suffering from depression--drug abuse and rehab, etc.

It is more shocking to me, this one, than MJ. When I found out MJ died, my friend messaged me and I thought "haha funny don't be silly." Then it was true and we saw it on the news, and my brother's first words were "$5 they play the free willy song at the memorial." I mean, it was sad or whatever but I wasn't attached to him really. I grew up listening to MJ but he wasn't my favorite singer/song writer/dancer or anything like that. He was just cool. Robin Williams? Grew up watching him, found a whole new side of him as an adult, and a whole other side of him again as a soldier. He was more real to me than the pop idol.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I think what's interesting is that, aside from the obvious "talented/funny" Twitter tributes, there are so many that refer to him as kind, gentle, and/or sweet. That's not necessarily a [group of] word(s) that gets used with comedians.

He kind of reminds everybody of an uncle they have. At least, he reminds me of an uncle I have. I think that's what it is. It kind of registered more than the usual celebrity death for that reason.