I just heard about it when I woke up this morning, and I am like so many others in feeling a tremendous sense of loss for the world. He definitely contributed alot, for alot of people, and was an unbelievable source of kinetic energy both on the stage and in his films. I first started watching and enjoying him way back in the day with Mork and Mindy, and have been a fan ever since. But there is a part of me that cannot help but be angry, at the same time. I understand that depression is a serious issue, and there are people out there that need serious help so that they dont take the route that Robin Williams took. However, having experienced the loss of a close friend at the hand of suicide, I get very upset when people take this route, and see it as an extremely selfish and devastating act. The person committing the act no longer has to deal with any of this, but leaves behind a wake of pain and sorrow on anyone that was touched by, loved, knew of, or had any kind of relationship with that person.
I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I have experienced and witnessed this firsthand, and seen what it does to people. A friend of mine did this, with a shotgun, and did it in his parents BATHROOM. His dad was the first to find him. A few days later, we graduated from college and our honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, took his mom and dad his honor cloth (I cannot remember what it was called, it hangs around your neck and goes with your graduating robes) and watched his father breakdown and collapse when we gave it to them. I wont even go into the last interactions *I* had with him and still replay in my head to this day, over and over, and wonder if I had just noticed a little more that something was strange with his behavior, that MAYBE there was something I could have said to prevent it. EVERYONE close to him went through the same thoughts. This happened a little over 20 years ago, and I still beat myself up over it.
When someone does this, its over for them. But for everyone around them that was close to them, knew them, loved them, etc. They will carry with them a lifetime of pain, and often, suffering. In my opinion, they are victims, too. Most of those victims will carry scars from that selfish act for the rest of their lives, and the blame for this falls directly on the shoulders of the person who committed the act.
I hate to see that Robin Williams chose this way out, I hate to see that he was suffering so much that he felt this was his only course of action, and I hate that we will not get to see anymore of his brillance. But I hate it even more for the people that loved him, and were a part of his family and loved ones, because they are going to be marred forever.
A tragedy, indeed.
