Sail on Robin Williams

[MammaBear]

Stunned and sad beyond words.

We lost my cousin to depression and alcohol. Calling Stephen and Robin cowards is like calling someone who lost the battle with cancer a coward for not trying harder with chemo or radiation. Sometimes you can't go any farther, no matter how hard you try. I am beyond sad for Robin, and for his family and friends who no doubt tried to help with everything they had. I've been in their shoes and nothing could be more painful.

Sail on, funny man. I hope you have found the peace that escaped you here.

Jen..as I said...this is most likely an anger response from me. I am angry he didn't fight more for his life...angry that (because of his successes in life) our young people will see this as their only way out....angry that someone with so much promise is gone - like so many others. Suicide is a terrible thing...I did not mean to infer Stephen was a coward. It just seems that some people have much more access to medical help than others. So when I hear "we need more access to mental health professionals"..this just doesn't fit. I am truly sorry for your loss as I am for Robin's family, friends and the family of my son's friend.

[Tiki Torches]

Calling Stephen and Robin cowards is like calling someone who lost the battle with cancer a coward for not trying harder with chemo or radiation. Sometimes you can't go any farther, no matter how hard you try.

Agreed. I saw similar sentiments being expressed in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing. It only goes to show how some folks have absolutely no grasp on what depression is or how deeply it effects people.

[Wino you know]

I'll say what I said on facebook:
I would like to thank Mr. Williams for going on record shortly after his movie "Good Morning Vietnam" came out and stating his support for those of us who served over there, saying we're not all crazy, we're not all bad people, we did what was asked of us, and we do love our country. (And we're not "baby killers").
His words meant so much to us, and his death is above and beyond sad.
Wherever he is, I hope his heart is at peace.

[MammaBear]

Calling Stephen and Robin cowards is like calling someone who lost the battle with cancer a coward for not trying harder with chemo or radiation. Sometimes you can't go any farther, no matter how hard you try.

Agreed. I saw similar sentiments being expressed in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing. It only goes to show how some folks have absolutely no grasp on what depression is or how deeply it effects people.

I am not so sure that Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing was intentional...And..yes...believe me...I DO grasp depression and how deeply it affects people. What I am saying is that with someone so public who has all the resources available to them, depression just became unbeatable....

[Tiki Torches]

Calling Stephen and Robin cowards is like calling someone who lost the battle with cancer a coward for not trying harder with chemo or radiation. Sometimes you can't go any farther, no matter how hard you try.

Agreed. I saw similar sentiments being expressed in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing. It only goes to show how some folks have absolutely no grasp on what depression is or how deeply it effects people.

I am not so sure that Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing was intentional...And..yes...believe me...I DO grasp depression and how deeply it affects people. What I am saying is that with someone so public who has all the resources available to them, depression just became unbeatable....

If you truly do grasp depression your first reaction to his death would not to have been to think of him as a "coward".

The autopsy report on Philip Seymour Hoffman's death ruled it as "accidental" but prior to that knowledge when most of the public thought it was a suicide there were those that also referred to him as a "coward".

[MammaBear]

Calling Stephen and Robin cowards is like calling someone who lost the battle with cancer a coward for not trying harder with chemo or radiation. Sometimes you can't go any farther, no matter how hard you try.

Agreed. I saw similar sentiments being expressed in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing. It only goes to show how some folks have absolutely no grasp on what depression is or how deeply it effects people.

I am not so sure that Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing was intentional...And..yes...believe me...I DO grasp depression and how deeply it affects people. What I am saying is that with someone so public who has all the resources available to them, depression just became unbeatable....

If you truly do grasp depression your first reaction to his death would not to have been to think of him as a "coward".

The autopsy report on Philip Seymour Hoffman's death ruled it as "accidental" but prior to that knowledge when most of the public thought it was a suicide there were those that also referred to him as a "coward".

I never saw any reports that Hoffman's death was suicide. As far as my reaction to Mr. William's suicide being "coward" comes from a man who is 63 years old with all resources available to him to battle this disease. And yes, as I said, I do totally grasp depression because I am still here and alive. I just fear this will have a domino effect....

[MammaBear]

We can glorify this or we can vilify this.....take your pick. Glorifying this will give someone the excuse to end it. Vilifying this will give some the excuse to fight it.....take your choice. I will take vilifying this if it saves our kids...

[ejr]

He had been fighting depression for years. How terribly sad and tragic that someone so brilliantly talented and so capable of bringing joy to others could not bring joy to his own life. I cannot imagine how in pain he must have been for his life to take this tragic final turn.

[Tiki Torches]

I'm not glorifying the man's death. I also don't see a "domino" effect occurring as Robin Williams is not the first celebrity to have committed suicide nor will he be the last, unfortunately. And, no matter the amount of resources at his disposal be they monetary or otherwise, that's no reason why he (or anyone that commits suicide) should ever be referred to as a coward.

When Philip Seymour Hoffman's death was initially reported the general consensus was that he had committed suicide.

[FunkHouse9]

Just because someone lost their fight doesn't mean they didn't try or didn't try hard enough. You can never truly be able to walk a mile in the shoes of another, so as much as the experiences of your own life may help you understand their perspective, the struggles we face personally are deeply individual. The struggles celebrities face are public to a degree we will never know which can't make anything any easier. It is not our place to judge him for ending his own struggle on his own terms in what must have been among his darkest of days. We all will have our time. Today was his. I mourn for him as much as everyone who loved him.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

We can glorify this or we can vilify this.....take your pick. Glorifying this will give someone the excuse to end it. Vilifying this will give some the excuse to fight it.....take your choice. I will take vilifying this if it saves our kids...

No, I will not pick, because there are other choices. We can choose to do neither. We can, instead, choose to mourn his passing, support his friends and family, and tell those in our lives that they matter, and that the world is a better place with them in it. If Robin Williams had died from a heart attack or cancer, we would neither glorify nor vilify the disease that took him. Neither should we glorify or vilify the disease that DID take him; depression.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

We can glorify this or we can vilify this.....take your pick. Glorifying this will give someone the excuse to end it. Vilifying this will give some the excuse to fight it.....take your choice. I will take vilifying this if it saves our kids...

No, I will not pick, because there are other choices. We can choose to do neither. We can, instead, choose to mourn his passing, support his friends and family, and tell those in our lives that they matter, and that the world is a better place with them in it. If Robin Williams had died from a heart attack or cancer, we would neither glorify nor vilify the disease that took him. Neither should we glorify or vilify the disease that DID take him; depression.

[MammaBear]

We can glorify this or we can vilify this.....take your pick. Glorifying this will give someone the excuse to end it. Vilifying this will give some the excuse to fight it.....take your choice. I will take vilifying this if it saves our kids...

No, I will not pick, because there are other choices. We can choose to do neither. We can, instead, choose to mourn his passitong, support his friends and family, and tell those in our lives that they matter, and that the world is a better place with them in it. If Robin Williams had died from a heart attack or cancer, we would neither glorify nor vilify the disease that took him. Neither should we glorify or vilify the disease that DID take him; depression.

I am not sure i agree with you. I will choose to vilify this act if it will help to save any kids who may be considering the same act...this is not the answer and by glorifying it, we will loose more of our kids to suicide...We can mourn his passing, support his family and friends, tell those that in our lives they matter...but...with the attention given to this suicide...talk to those that may be encouraged/glorifying the same act....Please be reasonable and make sure you make sure they know this is not the answer.

[Tiki Torches]

I haven't seen a single soul glorifying Robin Williams' death but I have seen my FB feed flooded with links to various resources for suicide prevention.

[coasterghost]

I never saw any reports that Hoffman's death was suicide. As far as my reaction to Mr. William's suicide being "coward" comes from a man who is 63 years old with all resources available to him to battle this disease. And yes, as I said, I do totally grasp depression because I am still here and alive. I just fear this will have a domino effect....

This is proof that money doesn't buy happiness.

[Crazy Navy Flyer]

Like cancer and heart disease, mental health issues are a disease and sometimes you lose. I just don't agree with calling him or anyone else who is overtaken by depression a coward, unless you've been there you can't imagine.

Tragic loss of a very talented and funny man but depression is no joke.

[ejr]

We can only imagine how low his lows were by how high his highs were--we saw the brilliant comic in those moments. They say that the medications used for depression take away the lows, but also take away the highs creating a flatness that for someone whose very existence and fame came from those highs must be unbearable which is why so many do not remain on the meds.

We are the richer having seen him through the good times, and how terribly low the lows must have been to have so overtaken his life.

[CaptainP]

Watched "The Birdcage" last night.

[Big Phan]

Very sad.

One of my most favorite sayings: Be kind. Always. You never know what battles other people are secretly fighting.

There are a variety of versions out there and credit has been given to different people so I've never known how to quote it or to whom credit should be given. Regardless, I think it's pretty powerful.

[captainalex]

Sad and heartbroken over the passing of Mr. Williams.

The pain and the suffering he must have been feeling is beyond comprehension that the choice he made was the only way to make the pain stop. Unimaginable.

Depression is such an insidious disease. It just doesn't stop and is without mercy.

My thoughts are with his family this morning.