Okay, I have been posting plenty of single line cop out
updates recently (see last night’s update), but I plan on making up for my
terseness this evening. I have a lot on
my mind and I’m going to pour them all out in a series of updates tonight as
well as post brand new “Shite Movie Review”.
Robin Williams
 |
| SOURCE: NPR's Fresh Air on Tumblr |
I touched on the passing of the entertainment legend earlier
this week, but I wanted to expand my original sentiments as well as touch on
the sensitive topics of depression and suicide.
Robin Williams was an amazing and immense talent onscreen
and an incredible and remarkable person off screen.
Some will ask how I know this given the fact that I never
met him and to this I respond by saying that they are right and that I do not
know, but it is the impression I have of him.
An impression that was developed and cultivated from the roles
he played and from the performances he gave; it is an impression that comes
from reading the stories about his well-chronicled bouts with drug addiction
and from the tidbits of information I was able to siphon from entertainment
publications in this increasingly connected society.
Robin Williams was a man, who despite his own personal
struggles, was able to bring smiles and laughter into the lives of millions of
people.
Robin Williams in my mind will always be the loving father
who dressed in drag in order to be hired as his children’s nanny or the
wise-cracking genie that helped the poor street riffraff land the princess
while teaching a valuable lesson on being selfless or the jaded yet comforting
counselor to the downtrodden genius janitor who was unsure of his own value.
Robin Williams will be many things to many people, but to
me: Robin Williams is one of greatest
entertainers of all time.
Unfortunately, some people could not let those that mourned
mourn instead they felt it necessary to make a statement on Mr. Williams’ means
of passing on:
It wasn’t even a couple of hours after news broke on Mr.
Williams passing that this appeared in my Facebook News Feed.
Apparently, this particular “friend” felt that this was an
opportune moment to espouse his opinion on suicide despite nearly everyone else
within my news feed choosing to be respectful of the recently deceased and
deciding to instead celebrate his incredible talents and the gifts he shared
with the world.
I suppose the thing that grinds my gears the most about this
particular status update is the fact that this individual exercised the same
amount of discretion and thought that the Westboro Baptist Church does when it
decides to make proclamations against homosexuality via the passing of
others. The only difference is that this
person decided to make his stand against those suffering from debilitating mental
disorders like addiction and depression rather than homosexuals and in truth;
that sickens me.
Addiction and depression are real and the effects they have on
the human mind can be devastating and rather than demean the sufferer for being
“too weak-willed”; we need to support them.
As for suicide, suicide is devastating for all those
involved including the one that sadly chooses to end their own life in this
manner. People will say that the person
who committed suicide took the “easy way” out, but that is nonsense. Yes, they may be gone from this world, but
don’t believe for one second that the moments before the end for these
individuals were all sunshine and lollipops.
From a personal standpoint, suicide is an incredibly difficult choice
and in some way, a courageous choice (I’m pretty certain that is not the word I’m
looking for) because I’ve at times contemplated suicide, but I am too much of a
coward to ever go through with it. Of
course, it hurts those around the person and it leaves them wondering if they
could have done more, but those are things that we will never have an answer
for because the only person that could answer it is gone. I know these last few sentences have been
perplexing to comprehend and I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Life is short and while we try to make the
best of it, there will be times in which it becomes too much for some, but
rather than wonder “Why?” and “What if?”, perhaps we should instead choose to
honor and remember the fond memories and ask ourselves “What’s next?”
