Robin Williams passed away today, losing a decades-long struggle with
depression informed by bipolar disorder and alcoholism. I prefer the
expression, "Death by depression" to suicide, since it decenters the
individual as the cause and focuses on the illness, much as if he died
from a stroke or congenital heart failure. I don't accept the simplistic
rational that an individual is solely responsible for their mental
illness - we understand that there are biochemical issues in the brain
that can be treated with medication and cognitive therapy. It's hard for
someone to fight these demons forever, though, and whether it was a
momentary mistake or a deliberate decision from a perceived rational
state, Robin Williams decided it was time to stop fighting. It's
irrelevant to think this entails weakness or failure; if the success
Robin Williams achieved and the millions of people he made happy
couldn't beat this, maybe nothing could. He was wrong, however, because
he believed he was not loved. If only he could see now how much we all
wanted him to stay with us.
It's a shame to muddy that somber note with what we talked about on the rest of the show: the goddamn new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
Music from:
What Dreams May Come, 1998 - Michael Kamen
Aladdin, 1992 - Alan Menken
Mrs. Doubtfire, 1993 - Howard Shore
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