Robin Williams

[Plane]

Robin Williams died on Monday

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=881799


If only he could be asked about this, he is the very one to have some way to make this a good joke.

[sirs]

Very sad....one of the most gifted entertainers I'd ever seen

[Xavier_Onassis]

Like Jonathon Winters before him, the dude seems to have been manic depressive. It is a hard thing to live with.

I liked all his films, some more than others, but all were worth watching.

[Christians4LessGvt]

He should have taken the right dose of Xanax!

[kimba1]

uhm
I posted that very subject and I have no problem the attention is on robin Williams in the media at the moment. he is a subject most people know about. middle east is not . not an issue of priority but familiarity.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Robin Williams was a fellow American, who people identified with.

Americans do not understand or care much about the Middle East. Most think those people are fanatical nutjobs.
They are often right.

People always have their own perspectives.

You need to understand that it does not matter whether Americans beat an eye over ISIS "beheading children in the streets". There is nothing at all they can do about it. All rhetoric from the Middle East is always overblown: they are about to nuke Iran, Iran is about to nuke Israel, Hamas is about to drive all the Jews into the Sea, Armageddon is coming! Be prepared! Jesus will be here any minute! Saddam is stockpiling yellowcake to deliver mushroom clouds! Zionists, Arabs, Iranians always screaming revenge and doom at the top of their lungs. Usually it is bullshit.

LOTS of Americans can sympathize with Robin Williams, because they have friends and relatives that live with manic depression. It is personal with them. Maybe they can learn something from the Robin Williams story to help someone, to understand someone or even themselves better. Nothing any American can do to prevent ISIS from beheading children in the streets, if indeed this is true, which I question.

Copying  some ghoulish picture that you copied from some website is NOT personal. It is not even original.

[Christians4LessGvt]

Robin Williams was a depressed druggie that committed suicide.
Sad & pathetic but really small time in the big picture of things.
Following your silly logic.
There is NOTHING Americans can do about Robin Williams either.

Your loony claim there is nothing Americans can do about ISIS is a crock
American leaders....and thus they are Americans....are VERY CONCERNED about ISIS
and they are starting to take concrete actions to combat ISIS

Actually in truth American leaders are basically not doing squat about Robin Williams.
So again you have it just the opposite of reality.

Of course the level of concern over some druggie committing suicide vs. threats to our national interest is amazing.
But a segment of Americans would prefer to watch some fat ass Kardashian girl while Rome burns.

It's just more of the android society that we now live in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw8WIia47WE

[Xavier_Onassis]

Robin Williams was a talented man who brought joy to millions. He won an Oscar for his creativity, something YOU will never do.
You, as ever, lack any sort of compassion for anyone not like yourself.
He was not a ne'er do well druggie. He did you no harm.

No one expects the government to do anything about Robin William's suicide. However, many Americans know people with his type of affliction, which was not something he brought upon himself. Perhaps they will prevent some of those they care about from committing suicide.

It is bogus to assume that every story in the media is some sort of call to action. It is bogus to assume that  stories like Robin Williams suicide should be squeezed out in order to provide more reasons for you to hate, loathe and abominate Muslims.

ISIS is not a threat to Americans living in America. We are not the world's policemen. We cannot afford to be, and when we have tried to be, we have failed rather miserably at it. 

ISIS has a lot of enemies in the Middle East, and they are the ones to deal with it. It=f the US aids the Kurds and rescues the Yazidis, that is fine with me.

[kimba1]

this is interesting
is it the suicide that gets robin Williams off the compassion list. I always found it strange that some christain organization has suicide hotlines. I always get the image of them telling the caller they`re all going to hell and constantly berating them. I say this because I know many Baptist who talk like this. but also note depression is not exactly acknowledge as a problem to some folks also.

[Christians4LessGvt]

He won an Oscar for his creativity, something YOU will never do.

I have no desire to win an Oscar
Zero desire....I prefer doing what I do.

The "something" he did that I will never .
do is be a druggie that hangs myself.

You, as ever, lack any sort of compassion for anyone not like yourself.

You have no idea what you are talking about,
and you have no idea how my compassion plays
out in everyday life. In fact I think you would be
quite surprised.

He did you no harm.

SIRS STRAW MAN ALERT!
I never said Robin Williams did me any harm.
But I do think the media coverage is an interesting statement about our priorities.

No one expects the government to do anything about Robin William's suicide.

More SIRS STRAW MAN ALERT.
Who stated the gvt needed or was going to do anything about this Hollywood druggie suicide?
You stated nothing could be done about ISIS...and I replied nothing could be done about his suicide either.
Proving your statement was hollow....and didn't make any sense.

However, many Americans know people with his type of affliction, which was not something he brought upon himself.

And how do you know he did not bring it upon himself?
The decision to use illegal drugs and abuse alcohol could easily play a part.
Also there are other life decisions he made that could play large parts.
There is currently no proof that this was no fault of his own....
But yet you state it as fact that it was no fault of his own.
That is an unknown fact at this time.

ISIS is not a threat to Americans living in America. We are not the world's policemen.
We cannot afford to be, and when we have tried to be, we have failed rather miserably at it. 

Then why is Obama involving the US Military against ISIS?

Then why did Obama say ISIS pose a medium & long-term threat to Americans?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/06/22/obama-says-isis-poses-a-medium-and-long-term-threat-to-americans/

Other experts quoted in Time Magazine talk about ISIS
being a threat to the US Homeland.
http://time.com/3096348/isis-iraq-barack-obama-blowback/

[Xavier_Onassis]

I am willing to say that anyone diagnosed with Manic Depression syndrome is not to blame for their condition.
Mental illness is a disease, it is not something people bring on themselves.
I know several manic depressives pretty well. One smokes pot when her period brings on depression. Another takes pills and recuses himself for weeks at a time.

Not recognizing this as a bona fide disease reveals a lack of compassion to me.
I have also known people who have worked at suicide hotlines affiliated with the Episcopal Church. No one ever tells people they are going to Hell. That would simply cause them to hang up and never call again. When people do call, it is because they want to talk to someone who understands what they are feeling.

I see no reason to lack compassion for someone driven to suicide. Why would anyone do that?
I hear all the time that "suicide is for cowards, neener, neener. But that is bull. Bravery and cowardice is no more a factor than mucus or funny hats.

Time will tell whether ISIS can be neutralized by whatever combination opposes it.  ISIS at present might like to be a threat to the US, but first it has to establish itself as some sort of political entity. Being as ISIS consists of fanatics, I am all for its elimination.

But people want to hear more about Robin Williams, because they like him. So the media gives thenm what they like. The media's goal is to peddle commercial products, NPR, PBS, World and the BBC excepted.

[Christians4LessGvt]

I feel sorry for the pathetic life Robin Williams lived.

I feel sorry for his wife and kids.

The dude did tons of drugs and booze...
You can claim that was no fault of his own
But we all have demons and we all make critical choices that can impact our lives

Like I said....I'd rather be a happy camper than a suicidal Oscar winner.

The dude was obviously not a happy camper.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/sep/20/robin-williams-worlds-greatest-dad-alcohol-drugs

[Xavier_Onassis]

I do not think his life was pathetic. It was alternatively manic and depressive.

Actors have the job of convincing others (the audience) that they are not themselves, but someone else. Not Robin Williamsm=, but Mrs Doubtfire, or a make actor pretending to be Mrs Doubtfire. Not Robin Williams, but a robot in Centennial Man. Not Robin Williams but the Fisher King.  Not Robin Williams but Mork from Ork and a cartoon Aladdin's genie.

That is not an easy task. Williams excelled as an actor ina huge gamut of roles. He was not John Wayne or Sly Stallone, who were good at playing people who greatly resembles Wayne and Stallone.

Most people do not have a choice about what we are. We have this or that personality and these or those talents and we can use the talents we have or not use them. He did not choose to be suicidal. I do not think he took drugs for fun, he took them to prevent himself from going mad.

I see no reason to not give Robin Williams the benefit of the doubt. He was not greedy or malicious. He inflicted no harm deliberately on anyone. He gave millions of people a perspective on a variety of interesting characters that he played.

Ernest Hemingway also committed suicide. He had a fatal cancer and refused to allow it to cripple him and make him miserable.
I have no desire to commit suicide, nor have I contemplated any reason to do so, but it is not a sign that a person is defective or has led a failed life.
We all die. Some people are happier deciding for themselves how and when rather than leaving it up to fate. I refuse to judge them by that standard alone.

[Christians4LessGvt]

I do not think his life was pathetic. It was alternatively manic and depressive.

We can certainly honestly disagree...
but your two above sentences in my mind don't make any sense.

I guess it boils down to how one defines "pathetic":
"arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness"

If my life was "alternatively manic and depressive" I would think it should arouse pity.

You are so eager to demonize me that you conclude I lack compassion for Robin Williams.
When the very definition of "pathetic" involves "pity".

I feel sorry for the dude....in my mind...no disrespect...I would not want those kind of demons.
Even if those demons propelled me to some kind of wide spread acclaim.
I'd rather be able to relax....be happy....live a normal even keel life...
But hey that's just me....whatever floats your boat.
Lots of very gifted people are unhappy.....
I hear Steve Jobs was a pretty miserable guy.

[Xavier_Onassis]

As I said, he was alternatively manic and depressed. We have all seen the manic Williams. I do not know if I have ever been as happy as he seemed in some of his films.

We do not have the option of selecting a personality.

Calling him a "pathetic druggy" seems unwarrented". Implying that he was that way because he chose to be that way made it worse.

Perhaps we need a variety of personalities to make like interesting.

Whether we do or not, it is what we have.