Rest in Peace Robin Williams

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Drunks do wallow. Ive never met a single one who doesn't blame the world for everything. Of all the addictions, they simply don't or can't take personal responsibility. And then they have to be forced to in 12 Step meetings.
They cling to the Why Me attitude like no one else.

But we don't know much about RW. It's speculation Perhaps he'd stopped drinking and it was something else entirely.
Its horrifying no matter what.

Maybe he died saving a drowning puppy. Suicide is the candy ass out.

 

[sr71plt]

The depressing thing (for me) is how a person who obviously should know how much his talent means to so many people could be that depressed. At least we'll have a whole lot of good memories of this talent preserved for review.

 

[squirrelzo]

I agree with both these previous posts. Its depressing and candy ass at the same time.

 

[JWren]

Yep, another normal, fallible, vulnerable human among the many billions on the planet. With enormous talent that, in the end, didn't protect him from his demons. I assume that's what you were trying to say, in shorthand.

Well said Anymair. Depression is an illness, often accompanied by some form of addiction. Many entertainers (comics) have fallen like RW. It's sad when talented, famous people go this way - but no more than those who never made a headline in their tortured lives. None deserve vitriolic abuse.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I agree with both these previous posts. Its depressing and candy ass at the same time.

Shows how much his kids, relatives, and friends meant to him.

 

[RoyceConnors]

Shows how much his kids, relatives, and friends meant to him.

I agree, JB. No matter how bad he thought things were, he created them himself. No one pushed him to do drugs or drink. He wasn't man enough to face the responsibility of his own actions. There are people far worse off than him and struggle to stay alive and smile every day they get to see another one.

As much as I mourn his passing, he had no right to end a life that was still full of richness to give and enjoy. For that, I pity him.

 

[StrangeLife]

Shows how much his kids, relatives, and friends meant to him.

As much as I enjoyed his work, I tend to agree. Depression is a serious disease, but as a bazillionaire Robin Williams had the means to get all the help he needed.

I am a little disappointed...

 

[PennLady]

As much as I enjoyed his work, I tend to agree. Depression is a serious disease, but as a bazillionaire Robin Williams had the means to get all the help he needed.

I am a little disappointed...

Just because you have access to help or treatment doesn't mean it will work for you.

I think it's hard to realize, or really understand, but from what I can see about depression is that a person's brain simply doesn't function "normally."

It's not the same but it reminds me of my grandmother, and my MIL. Both definitely have some mental issues, whether it's onset dementia or something else. Their brains do not process information properly. With depression -- not just the "man, I'm having a bad day" type of blues -- a person's brain is not working properly.

The luckiest of us with such problems recognize it, get help that works and have a support network. The not-lucky do not, and it doesn't matter how rich or poor or famous or not you are.

 

[Trixareforkids]

Shows how much his kids, relatives, and friends meant to him.

No, it shows that despite everything, some times the darkness is so dark the only place that feels right is the final darkness.

For most of us, all acts have a selfish aspect to them. Suicide being the ultimate selfish act still, for some, holds an element of compassion for loved ones, causing pain now but knowing they can and now will be able to move on.

Death does not rob the dead, only the living suffer it's consequences. I see no fault, sadness yes, but no fault in speed up death's timetable.

 

[rippitydoo]

As much as I enjoyed his work, I tend to agree. Depression is a serious disease, but as a bazillionaire Robin Williams had the means to get all the help he needed.

No; He had all the MONEY, but not the means. Like it or not, "the Benjamins" do not help an Oscar-winner like him anymore than they do you or me to "radar" who is telling the truth & who is full of BS.

Not to mention he was in Hollywood for his home life & when he made a living (a lot of the time, anyway), where half the city gets paid to pretend to be/do things they really don't do &/or suck at.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I agree, JB. No matter how bad he thought things were, he created them himself. No one pushed him to do drugs or drink. He wasn't man enough to face the responsibility of his own actions. There are people far worse off than him and struggle to stay alive and smile every day they get to see another one.

As much as I mourn his passing, he had no right to end a life that was still full of richness to give and enjoy. For that, I pity him.

Its all a popular game losers play, called WOODEN LEG. Everyone has a wooden leg excuse.

 

[Sonichu]

No; He had all the MONEY, but not the means. Like it or not, "the Benjamins" do not help an Oscar-winner like him anymore than they do you or me to "radar" who is telling the truth & who is full of BS.

Not to mention he was in Hollywood for his home life & when he made a living (a lot of the time, anyway), where half the city gets paid to pretend to be/do things they really don't do &/or suck at.

and then there's radar detector

 

[sr71plt]

Just because you have access to help or treatment doesn't mean it will work for you.

I think it's hard to realize, or really understand, but from what I can see about depression is that a person's brain simply doesn't function "normally."

It's not the same but it reminds me of my grandmother, and my MIL. Both definitely have some mental issues, whether it's onset dementia or something else. Their brains do not process information properly. With depression -- not just the "man, I'm having a bad day" type of blues -- a person's brain is not working properly.

The luckiest of us with such problems recognize it, get help that works and have a support network. The not-lucky do not, and it doesn't matter how rich or poor or famous or not you are.

To a large extent, I think what drove him to his depressions and harmful coping mechanisms was the same base that sparked and drove his talent. He pretty much mimicked his mentor, Jonathan Winters--but with even more fame and opportunity.

 

[lovecraft68]

I agree, JB. No matter how bad he thought things were, he created them himself. No one pushed him to do drugs or drink. He wasn't man enough to face the responsibility of his own actions. There are people far worse off than him and struggle to stay alive and smile every day they get to see another one.

As much as I mourn his passing, he had no right to end a life that was still full of richness to give and enjoy. For that, I pity him.

So Him taking is life is wrong because it took something away from you and others?

That is about the most ignorant theory I've heard.

And there is always someone pushing a person like him or any other addict to drink or drug its addiction itself. No one chooses it despite what a forum full of "experts" might think.

No one chooses to steal for drugs, no woman chooses to whore herself for them, its a disease and some can get control some can't some go back and forth their entire lives and that is one hell of a battle.

Apparently Williams became too tired to fight anymore.

But I bet he is regretting it right now. I bet wherever he is he is saying

"Jeez I did not realize ending my pain would rob Royce Conners of something, I feel terrible now.

You're an idiot.

 

[lovecraft68]

Shows how much his kids, relatives, and friends meant to him.

In this thread you have proved yourself a liar for every time you've had the audacity to mention you've worked in this field.

I'm disgusted with you, I really am.

 

[lovecraft68]

Drunks do wallow. Ive never met a single one who doesn't blame the world for everything. Of all the addictions, they simply don't or can't take personal responsibility. And then they have to be forced to in 12 Step meetings.
They cling to the Why Me attitude like no one else.

But we don't know much about RW. It's speculation Perhaps he'd stopped drinking and it was something else entirely.
Its horrifying no matter what.

Then you have never met one in recovery the first step is to sit down and own your shit, to admit you are the one doing this to yourself and others and need to get some help.

In the drunk and drugs they do wallow(or fly on a false perception of wellness brought on by whatever their fix is.) but once on the path that stops.

A tremendous amount of guilt plagues recovering addicts because they can never change what they did or unhurt those they hurt. So they may not always be the cheeriest of people, but its very easy for people to not understand that unless they have lived it or spent their lives around people who have both won and lost that fight.

You're an addict or you're not. For those who aren't saying these people are just weak is blind ignorance, but hey, the internet is a haven for that.

 

[rippitydoo]

So Him taking is life is wrong because it took something away from you and others?

That is about the most ignorant theory I've heard.... You're an idiot.

You can now welcome yourself to the Triple-I ("I am an Ignorant Idiot") Club, due to this statement:

"And there is always someone pushing a person like him or any other addict to drink or drug its addiction itself. No one chooses it despite what a forum full of "experts" might think."

...

.... In addition to turning "his" into a verb. (See first quoted part of your post.)

 

[Sonichu]

C-c-c-c-combo breaker!

 

[JagFarlane]

As much as I enjoyed his work, I tend to agree. Depression is a serious disease, but as a bazillionaire Robin Williams had the means to get all the help he needed.

I am a little disappointed...

I am a little disappointed in how little people know or care to know about depression and in particular suicidal depression no matter how much of an effort is made to educate the public. No matter how much money you throw at it, in the end it's dealing with that depression every single day, hour, and minute of your life. When an episode strikes it's debilitating. A person thinks no one cares and that is why they never reach out for help at the darkest moments, you feel alone, helpless, and unwanted. No amount of money overcomes that, no drugs, no meds, nothing. There are a number of free services available to people who want to commit suicide, numbers of charity organizations and doctors who provide care for free, despite that people still attempt suicide. To believe that just because he had money meant that he could beat his depression is foolish and ignorant of the problem at hand.

I was diagnosed suicidal depressive over a decade ago and still deal with episodes every now and then. Imagine two sine waves, one above the other, each with varying peaks, some very high, some very low. The waves represent your moods, the very high ones are days where you're very happy like a wedding day or birth of a child. The very low ones are days when you're very sad, like the loss of a loved one. A suicidal depressive person's sine wave is the bottom set of waves where their happy peaks meet the bottom of a normal person's very sad peaks. In short they can feel happy but it's nowhere near as good as a normal person feels even on a blah day.

Also we don't know what may have sparked this particular event. Perhaps his meds were being altered at this time. Each med affects everyone differently and even the altering of a dosage level can spark side effects that can include suicide attempts. The effectiveness of the meds can wear off after a time as well. Too many variables, not enough information, but running your mouth on a forum about disappointment won't help anyone and only tells someone who may be depressed right now that you disapprove of them.

 

[StrangeLife]

Just because you have access to help or treatment doesn't mean it will work for you.

I think it's hard to realize, or really understand, but from what I can see about depression is that a person's brain simply doesn't function "normally."

It's not the same but it reminds me of my grandmother, and my MIL. Both definitely have some mental issues, whether it's onset dementia or something else. Their brains do not process information properly. With depression -- not just the "man, I'm having a bad day" type of blues -- a person's brain is not working properly.

The luckiest of us with such problems recognize it, get help that works and have a support network. The not-lucky do not, and it doesn't matter how rich or poor or famous or not you are.

I realize that psychic illness can be difficult to emote with for an outsider because of the intangibility of it. But I have lost several friends and family members to similar circumstances, except that they had the added problems of limited or no insurance and the pressure of being forced to strive to make ends meet while simultaneously battling depression and/or substance abuse. They really had no way out.

Robin Williams was not psychotic or insane. If he had committed a homicide he would not have been able to use his emotional state as a defence, and that's exactly what he did. He is guilty of the homicide of Robin Williams. Guilty of robbing everybody who cared about him of his own company in a cruel and traumatizing manner. Making people who cared about him and loved him suffer and cry for his own selfish reasons.

I'm sorry Penn, but as much as I admired the guy for his work I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for him...

 

[Trixareforkids]

If he'd had a physically debilitating disease and chose to end his life, people wouldn't be bashing him, ok, they wouldn't be bashing him as much.

Mental pain is worse than physical pain IMO and especially when it's a chronic, life long disease. I say bravo to making it 63 years.

 

[JWren]

I am a little disappointed in how little people know or care to know about depression and in particular suicidal depression no matter how much of an effort is made to educate the public. No matter how much money you throw at it, in the end it's dealing with that depression every single day, hour, and minute of your life. When an episode strikes it's debilitating. A person thinks no one cares and that is why they never reach out for help at the darkest moments, you feel alone, helpless, and unwanted. No amount of money overcomes that, no drugs, no meds, nothing. There are a number of free services available to people who want to commit suicide, numbers of charity organizations and doctors who provide care for free, despite that people still attempt suicide. To believe that just because he had money meant that he could beat his depression is foolish and ignorant of the problem at hand.

I was diagnosed suicidal depressive over a decade ago and still deal with episodes every now and then. Imagine two sine waves, one above the other, each with varying peaks, some very high, some very low. The waves represent your moods, the very high ones are days where you're very happy like a wedding day or birth of a child. The very low ones are days when you're very sad, like the loss of a loved one. A suicidal depressive person's sine wave is the bottom set of waves where their happy peaks meet the bottom of a normal person's very sad peaks. In short they can feel happy but it's nowhere near as good as a normal person feels even on a blah day.

Also we don't know what may have sparked this particular event. Perhaps his meds were being altered at this time. Each med affects everyone differently and even the altering of a dosage level can spark side effects that can include suicide attempts. The effectiveness of the meds can wear off after a time as well. Too many variables, not enough information, but running your mouth on a forum about disappointment won't help anyone and only tells someone who may be depressed right now that you disapprove of them.

Finally, a balanced comment. Depression IS an illness. Don't talk money and riches or talent: they cannot help.

 

[PennLady]

I realize that psychic illness can be difficult to emote with for an outsider because of the intangibility of it. But I have lost several friends and family members to similar circumstances, except that they had the added problems of limited or no insurance and the pressure of being forced to strive to make ends meet while simultaneously battling depression and/or substance abuse. They really had no way out.

Robin Williams was not psychotic or insane. If he had committed a homicide he would not have been able to use his emotional state as a defence, and that's exactly what he did. He is guilty of the homicide of Robin Williams. Guilty of robbing everybody who cared about him of his own company in a cruel and traumatizing manner. Making people who cared about him and loved him suffer and cry for his own selfish reasons.

I'm sorry Penn, but as much as I admired the guy for his work I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for him...

No one's saying anyone is insane. Mentally ill does not equal insane.

I'm very sorry for the losses of your friends and loved ones, which are difficult under any circumstances, and I think especially hard when there is no way out, or when one feels there isn't.

And I had a similar reaction to yours, I think, when Kurt Cobain died. I wasn't a huge fan, but the music was okay with me. My first thought was, "Wow, too bad." My second thought was, "What a shit for doing that to his wife and kid." And I'm sure many people thought that someone as successful and creative as Cobain was selfish for ending that creativity, and certainly he was another one who had the wherewithal to get help, and access to it.

But I think so many people are missing the point here. Cobain -- and PS Hoffman and others -- were not thinking rationally or logically about what they were doing. This is part of the "brain not processing properly," or however you might want to phrase it. They were ill, and sometimes, no matter how much medicine or therapy or counseling is available, or how much money you have to avail yourself of treatment, it will not cure you.

It is a crying shame for Williams -- and non-famous people with similar problems -- that there was no one there at that lowest moment, or that he felt there was no other way.

 

[Bramblethorn]

As much as I mourn his passing, he had no right to end a life that was still full of richness to give and enjoy. For that, I pity him.

Imagine you have a huge tapeworm living in your stomach. Every time you swallow a bite of food, that tapeworm gulps it all down and digests it, leaving nothing behind. You're eating but you're not getting any nutrition from it, you're starving to death.

And your friends are standing around saying things like "but you shouldn't be hungry, you've got so much to eat! I'd love to have that delicious steak you just ate!"

Depression is kinda like that. Telling people stuff like "you should be grateful for all the good stuff" just makes it WORSE, because it's hard to articulate why the "good stuff" isn't helping, and it just reminds people how fucked-up it is to have a joy-devouring tapeworm inside them, and makes them feel guilty about not being grateful for the "good things".

As much as I enjoyed his work, I tend to agree. Depression is a serious disease, but as a bazillionaire Robin Williams had the means to get all the help he needed.

Money makes it easier to find help, but the best help in the world is still limited - and depression itself makes it harder to go out and find that help.

Robin Williams was not psychotic or insane. If he had committed a homicide he would not have been able to use his emotional state as a defence, and that's exactly what he did. He is guilty of the homicide of Robin Williams. Guilty of robbing everybody who cared about him of his own company in a cruel and traumatizing manner. Making people who cared about him and loved him suffer and cry for his own selfish reasons.

This kind of talk is incredibly unhelpful, and actually increases the risk of depressed people self-harming.

 

[RoyceConnors]

So Him taking is life is wrong because it took something away from you and others?

That is about the most ignorant theory I've heard.

And there is always someone pushing a person like him or any other addict to drink or drug its addiction itself. No one chooses it despite what a forum full of "experts" might think.

No one chooses to steal for drugs, no woman chooses to whore herself for them, its a disease and some can get control some can't some go back and forth their entire lives and that is one hell of a battle.

Apparently Williams became too tired to fight anymore.

But I bet he is regretting it right now. I bet wherever he is he is saying

"Jeez I did not realize ending my pain would rob Royce Conners of something, I feel terrible now.

You're an idiot.

You need to read what I said better. I said he had no right to end a life that was so full of richness, not that he had to give any of it to me or anyone else. He chose his life and lifestyle, he had the choice to say no to any of it at any time, but he did what he wanted and now he pays the price for it. Offing himself is not taking responsibility for fucking around with your life and dealing with the consequences. I'd rather face his demons than mine, but I got what I got and he got what he got and I'm still in the game and living it as much as my body will allow me to.
Only losers commit suicide. Go watch someone fight for their life every day and see the smile on their face that they made it to another one to enjoy another waking day of pain. I don't hear them wanting to end it and they're far worse off than RW would ever be.

I won't resort to name calling to get a point across. I can discuss something civilly enough with someone who can maintain the same decorum.