We usually don’t comment on the passing of celebrities, but Robin Williams was a friend and supporter of the Military who provided joy to thousands of personnel overseas through his USO appearances. He also had class, as you can see in this video.
Mr. Williams, you will be missed.
The world is a sadder place without you.
Nanu, nanu, my Captain.
The world got a little less funny yesterday.
RIP Robin.
He did a lot of USO tours, more than any other celebrity that I can think of, and always stayed behind as long as possible to make sure everyone got a chance to meet with him. What a great supporter.
Well, I guess Robin Williams and Jonathon Winters are trading one-liners and skits now but the rest of us will miss him for the rest of our earthly days. Only movie I’ve EVER walked out of and demanded my money back for, was (1982)”The World According to Garp”. When the theater manager asked me why I thought I was entitled to a refund, I firmly explained that showing a movie in which Robin Williams was violently killed was downright heretical – ONE DOES NOT SHOOT AND KILL ROBIN WILLIAMS. PERIOD. Very much to the theater manager’s credit, with a smile and a nod of agreement, he not only gave us a refund, he also gave my wife and I a couple of comp-passes. Thank you for posting that gem, many kudos’ to SSD. Going to go and watch Good Morning, Vietnam now and try and cheer up a bit.
One of my favorites is “Survivors”.
I forgot about Survivors. The big cesspool!
A favorite comedian of mine for a long time.
R.I.P.
I’m going to go ahead and just say it. He committed suicide. Suicide is a cheap way out and destroys everyone around the person who chose the cheap way out. No matter what his lofty deeds were, he killed himself. He chose to end his life. Point blank, end of story. Society should look on suicide with revulsion. Not whitewash it with “he was such a great comedian”. What is worse was he was such a staunch advocate for admitting severe depression (which he was known for), seeking help, and getting others involved if they identified someone who was struggling. At best, he was a failed hero. Closer to reality is the fact that he quit on himself, and even worse he quit on those who loved him. With all the issues with suicide in the military why are we just saying “We’re sad because he was such a great supporter of the USO”? Stop lionizing those who commit suicide. They quit on their family, they quit on their friends, and they quit on their team. Suicide should be seen as something 100% unacceptable. I’m not alone in my opinion as it was a popular topic of discussion today. There are many of “us” that feel like the situation is getting way too much hype for his contributions to the USO, and nothing is being given to the fact he killed himself and how that will influence others who are toeing the line with all the “positive” feed back his memory is getting.
Last time I looked depression was a disease.
Depression is a disease, 100% agree. So is alcoholism and Ebola. Yet neither are seen as an excuse for suicide.
Sounds like you have a good handle on depression, Ricky. Maybe he just needed a good slap in the face or a kick in the butt to snap him out of it. Yo should have a bright future working at the VA treating PTSD.
I do have a good handle on the situation and am very familiar with suicide. Stick around the job long enough and anyone will become familiar with it at a personal level. So instead of snarky little comments and glorification of hist past deeds, let’s look at the facts. A known manic depressive person killed himself. A person who has made multiple appearances to promote the treatment of people with depression who even stated that “suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems”. Fuck talking about what a great comedian he was, let’s talk about the fact he killed himself. Let’s talk about how killing oneself is never an acceptable solution. Stop ignoring the elephant in the room.
No offense intended, but unless you’ve struggled with suicidal depression, this sounds a lot like you giving a lecture on child birth. Clearly he was well versed with the options available to someone with his condition and struggled with it for decades. Losing a battle to an illness is not something we should vilify a man who entertained and millions and attempted to aid a good many others. SSD is clearly shining a light on the good side of his life, not the circumstances of his death. Please be respectful.
Looks like someone has never had real depression. When a person is *genuinely* depressed, their entire mental state shifts. The whole world seems to drain of color, things and especially people that would normally bring you joy seem boring and pointless. And most importantly, logic and reasoning have ZERO meaning. Yes suicide is a terrible thing, but unless the depressed person somehow finds his own inspiration from within, no amount of sympathy or kicks in the ass can change a single thing about their mental state.
So why glorify it by talking about all the great things the guy did, and say nothing about the fact he killed himself? Go ahead, explain it, I’d love to hear your theory.
Suicide or not, Robin Williams has contributed more to the human race than you ever will.
Committing suicide does not negate the good he did in his life. You didn’t know the guy so I’m not sure why you are so worked up over his suicide. That’s pretty irrational.
What I think Ricky is trying to say to say is that by washing over the fact that he committed suicide and only talking about why he is missed will create more people seeking the attention they feel they are not getting now so they will get it after death. I am sure the suicide attempts have gone up yesterday and today. Matter of fact, I had to deal with suicidal people in the last two days and one of them threw in that Williams death was one of the reasons the “world is not cool”. I miss Robin Williams but I am also not going to ignore that he royally shafted his loved one in the emotional sense and has now increased their likelyhood of suffering from depression and alcoholism or worse. Either way, I don’t know of I’ll ever be able to enjoy his movies like I did before because that was a lot of my childhood. I’m a sense, I think he personally has inflicted sorrow on us just as he brought us laughter.
I think Ricky needs to explain himself. He’s turned this thread into a shitshow because he has optional maturity issues.
STFU Ricky. You’re an insensitive dick and you clearly have no grasp of depression or how it affects people. I hope nobody you love ever commits suicide, because it appears that at that point you would stop loving that person.
Is this your professional opinion?
What’s yours?
my professional opinion is that you sir: are an idiot. not just a regular idiot either but one that is also below the average intelligence of a kiwifruit.
First you agree that depression is a disease but then you slam suicide? did it ever occur to you that suicide is part of the disease and not ever seen as the cure? humm something to think about huh? or right that is not one of your strongest points… thinking
No matter how hard you try you can never truly make somebody who has never suffered from depression understan how it feels and what it does. I can tell you’ve never had it yourself just by the way you talk about it like its as simple as any other sickness like a cold to get over. It just goes to show you that even if you’re successful, respected and rich like Robin Williams, you can still be affected by depression and that it isn’t easier just because you have success.
You don’t get to deflect that way. You are the one going on and on about suicide. I didn’t even address it.
So tell us, since you are obviously the expert, all about the evils of suicide and how depression isn’t that big of a deal.
Having worked in mental health after I got out all I will say Ricky is you are viewing the problem from your own frame of reference. Nothing wrong with that but you don’t know this person or their unique frame of reference and perception of reality. It IS unique to us all. So I will simply say you lack the empathy relate which isn’t a bad thing because it is a very hard thing. Empathy is one of the highest levels of emotional and mental maturity and it is much easier to go about life not using it because you are never forced to try and understand something from another creature’s viewpoint instead of just your own.
He killed himself, maybe he had a reason to. Regardless of if you think it is right or wrong, the best you can offer is that in your case and perspective it is wrong for you. To transpose that on someone else would be illogical.
thanks idiot, for hijacking a post that was intended to pay tribute to a guy who made millions of people in the world smile and laugh… a guy who was suffering from depression, and unless you’ve been in his shoes, nobody cares what you have to say.
hopefully, nobody in your family or close circles suffers from depression. you’ll see how horrific it can really be.
go find another website to make shitty comments on you fucking tool.
RICKY – to paraphrase another great comedian(Richard Pryor) – Have a Coke and smile and shut the fuck up. A failed hero? Given to the profound emotional deficit of your utterly cowardly words – other than doing a Google look-up; what the hell would you actually know about being a Hero..? As DarkHorse perfectly stated – go find some other site to post your pseudo-intellectual and self-aggrandizing crap. There ought to be a Law prohibiting people like you from owning a computer and/or having an internet connection… Double shame on you, Ricky. Cheers and thanks again for this post, SSD!!!
We talk of him to celebrate what he did with his life, not to ignore how he died;
To remember him for the laugh he brought, not the hole he leaves behind.
This is the same for all our friends, and of course our family.
Thus we embrace it when we can, before loss, or calamity.
So in these sad times, we each celebrate the spark,
that we feel ignited, bringing us joy in times of dark.
Its how each of us would wish to be remembered,
as part of the brotherhood, a still-burning ember.
So yes, depression is a disease for sure,
and suicide appears as a weakness of the core.
But all of us has a point upon which we break,
universally, to a man, when our mind is at stake.
Depression, if allowed to get bad enough,
will find that weakness, despite grit or gruff.
So on to the next world we bid you good-bye,
until we meet again, when my time is nigh.
We celebrate his greatness, his humor, his joyful madness; may it help us to remember the good times, steel us against the bad, and deliver us from the darkness.
Each of us is but a short flash upon this magnificent planet.
Make it bright, make it good, make it count.
Well put WB.
All hating aside, I had Mork from Ork suspenders when I was a little turd. I kind of grew up with Robin Williams now that I think about it. Suicide = horrible. It’s just too bad he and others do that to themselves. I knew a Sgt a few years ago, one week we were doing MCMAP together, the next week he blew his head off with his .45. Totally senseless. Good post SSD, I appreciated it.
Good post SSD.
Many of us obviously disagree with suicide. However, calling the deceased a quitter or a pussy is hitting below the belt and uncalled for. No one knows what’s going through that person’s head at that exact moment in time when they decide to end their existence. Are you calling the combat veterans with post-traumatic stress who commit suicide pussies and cowards? I didn’t think so…and if so, you really are a bigger asshole than you’ve previously implied.
Depression really does alter your entire state of mind, outlook and thought processes. No one but the deceased will know why they chose to do what they did. Instead of attacking someone who can no longer defend themselves and marginalizing his death because it was a suicide, we should focus on remembering the happiness that Mr. Williams brought into our lives.
Suicide sucks, I’ve lost close friends to it. And while I don’t understand why it happened or what problem they felt it [suicide] was the only solution to, I did not let it change how I remembered them as a friend. I refused to judge their entire life and human contribution based solely on their deaths, because I didn’t know every minute detail about their lives. Not everyone is openly vocal and willing to talk about their demons and struggles. Everyone you meet, everywhere, is fighting some sort of a battle no one else knows of or understands.
What we CAN do is take care of each other and always let those close to us know there is support and someone to confide in, for whatever reason, and hopefully by being that shoulder to cry on or listening ear, we can help people before they feel that suicide is their only solution. Not judge, call names, or marginalize just because it’s not something that affects our immediate sphere of existence.
My 2 cents only…
Suicide is in no way an “easy way out”. It’s rough on everyone, everyone who comes into contact with it. It certainly stops the pain a person feels, in a final and definitive manner – but it also stops the inclusion of any joy that comes later.
The biggest problem with depression, is that the affected person honestly does not believe that such joy can ever again touch them. They believe that they are a burden upon others, and that those others would, in point of fact, be better off without them.
Calling such an act stupid is – in itself – an act of extreme ignorance. Fact is, no one knows what Mr. Williams was feeling, or why he might have felt it, so commenting upon the validity of his emotions seems rather a dick move. Indeed, Mr. Williams’ family is still around, and you never know what they might read, do you?
Oh, another fact: Mr. Williams made millions of people smile, millions laugh, and I’d say about as many actually think about stuff from time to time.
What’d you do today?
It’s a shame and I’m sad at his families loss and ours. I’m not normally given to reacting to deaths of actors, but this effected me. May his soul find the peace his mind couldn’t.
3:47 “Did you get your photo? Good, Merry Christmas.”
That, that right there is the point of the video.
It’s a damn shame that his demons got the better of him. While I’m sure the world will miss him, our sentiment likely pales in comparison to what his family is feeling right now. I hope they find strength with each other in this terrible hour.
If you’re in need of help, remember that the national suicide prevention line is open 24/7: 1-800-273-8255.
3:47 “Did you get your photo? Good, Merry Christmas.”
I was never a fan of his, as a matter of fact I really disliked his style of comedy, until I saw that.
People way smarter than me have pointed out how much comedy is a reaction to adversity: tragedy + time = comedy. For some I guess suicide is the ultimate closing act.
http://www.samhsa.gov
SSD- “not just a regular idiot either but one that is also below the average intelligence of a kiwifruit.”
Not to hijack, but I just burst out laughing in a meeting from that…
Well played SSD, well played.
sjon said that
Goodbye Mr. Williams, thank you for the many laughs you gave me, my family and friends over the years. Your comedy will live on and continue to give many more laughs I’m sure. You had a big heart, it was evident in the way you lived your life and helped others. The world is certainly a sadder place for having lost one, such as you, too soon. I hope God gives strength and comfort to those you left behind. I didn’t know you and never met you, but wish I could have helped you in some way. No one should have to die alone. Godspeed.
Ricky, whoever you are. I hope you find some humanity and empathy in your heart. You have no idea what you are talking about, that is clear. I lost my father to suicide when I was 25 years old. He was only 59 with terminal cancer. He was a Korean war veteran, 101st Airborne, avid hunter, survivalist. I saw how he suffered and I understood why he did it. How he died does not diminish one bit how he lived.
As far as credentials: I am an ICU RN who has taken care of many patients who have attempted suicide. At times they are misguided crys for help (the 17 yo female who drank Formula 409 because her momma left her with friends while she went on vacation), and they seem cowardly sometimes. Then you get to deal with a suicide like my neighbor’s: he spent 5+ years in the Hanoi Hilton, and towards his senior years he started to develop Alzheimer’s. He decided one tour in Hell was enough, so he went into his garage one day, put a plastic bag over his head, and for good measure cut his throat with a knife. It’s hard to label that kind of death as cowardly. Mr. Williams was similarly committed to ending his life, both by cutting his wrist and asphyxia due to hanging. What personal Hell drove him to his act we’ll never know. I only wish he had called someone before completing the act. Thank you Robin for giving some laughs and a taste of home to those who were in harm’s way. I hope you find some sort of peace.
Suicide isn’t always a solution for ‘temporary problems’ and quitters/cowards. i support ‘right to die’/voluntary euthanasia under certain circumstances. hanging or shooting oneself in the head is more shocking/violent than taking a concoction of drugs you never wake up from, but the choice and end result is the same.
Louis Awerbuck’s decision to take his own life comes to mind, and I doubt that anyone would refer to him as a quitter.
RIP Mr Williams.