Robin Williams, R.I.P.

I took some time off and discovered that I had better things to do for a while than comment on the mess that things are. For all the good such commenting does me this is really the default position, but occasionally I feel obligated to regardless. I'm getting much better at controlling those impulses, but they have to come out somewhere. Although it isn't the direction I was planning on going, a few words about the late Robin Williams (d. 11 Aug 14).

Anyone who is profoundly surprised that he took his own life while actively and productively engaged in the world to an extent that few of us can imagine, let alone achieve, know nothing of depression and how it messes with your worldview. Howard Tayler who does Schlock Mercenary (highly recommended btw) hit it on the head with the tweets he posted in relation to this event. He noted two critical points for understanding real depression (direct quotes):

The tragic thing about depression is that all these lovely, warm tributes to Robin Williams probably wouldn't have cheered him up.

Note from the depressed: "I love you" & "you have done wonderful things for me" help a lot more than "cheer up" and "count your blessings."

I suspect that Robin was what I still call (because it's the right term) at least somewhat manic-depressive. With past experience with these problems, I can tell you that even if you have a mild case of it you can't really understand what goes on in the heads of those afflicted with a serious case. The real problem is that things change as you get older, and the direction of change seems to be more in the "depressive" direction. We'll never know what drove him that day, but the only thing which would have saved him is someone actively interrupting him.

He was one of the most popular entertainers on the planet, loads of money and lots of work, so he had the world by the throat or at least by the scruff of the neck. I remember a friend of a friend who killed himself at 20 or so who also had all the material advantages of relative affluence, which completely mystified me at the same age. I was struggling slightly to get by and I remember thinking "Why, when things re so easy for you?" I've learned a lot since then, and I can relate it to a military equivalent. If you have an impregnable position or some other sort of massive material advantage, the only way you can lose is if you beat yourself. Robin's death was "an inside job" which you may have seen coming (though I doubt anyone really did) but "when" "where" and "how" was never set.

I liked him when he was funny; the dramatic roles never did much for me, but it's a rare bird who is so talented. He fought it for years, but when you're fighting yourself the best you can hope for is a draw and that wasn't in Robin's cards. Unlike many others at least he won’t be forgotten any time soon.