Facts? Why Bother!

This week saw the death of Robin Williams by suicide. I made a slight mention of it earlier in the week because like so many my age Robin has been with us throughout our adult years. Mork and Mindy, Good Will Hunting, Mrs. Doubtfire, Patch Adams and so many other characters he brought to life with his manic comedy. Everyone seems to have seen something he had done and many were touched by his charity work with the USO and St. Jude's. The 24 hour news cycle demands regular feeding so when they run out of real things to talk about they feel the need to just keep talking. It leads to some really stupid things being said and often some things that are very hurtful to the family of the deceased.

Shepard Smith stated the following on Fox News. "It's hard to imagine, isn't it? You could love three little things so much, watch them grow, they're in their mid-20's, and they're inspiring you, and exciting you, and they fill you up with the kind of joy you could never have known. And yet, something inside of you is so horrible, or you're such a coward, or whatever the reason that you decide that you have to end it. Robin Williams, at 63, did that today." Mr. Smith has since apologized for his comments. Do I think Mr. Smith was being intentionally rude. No, he was just talking and quite frankly being ignorant.

Rush Limbaugh made comments about Robin Williams death which he claims were taken out of context by the "liberal media". Personally I cannot speak to what Mr. Limbaugh may or may not have said because listening to him talk makes my skin crawl. His interests are limited to whatever extends his influence over conservatives. He will say anything to maintain their backing. When other folks get upset he always claims to have been misquoted and walks back his prior comments. Perhaps Lewis Black said it best when he posted the following on Facebook. "FUCK YOU Rush Limbaugh. Your statements were beyond cruel and stupid. They were intolerable. Enough is enough from you. You are an idiot. Don't you ever demean the death of another human being. He was my friend. You disgust me." I agree with Lewis Black.

When you have something like Robin Williams death occur everyone wants to be the first to break the news. In order to keep you from changing the channel they try to keep talking even after they run out of facts. Fox News ran a clip which they claimed was Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire. It turned out to be a youtube video by some random guy. All the facts still aren't out but the one thing that came out today that has great significance was a statement by his widow. She stated he had been diagnosed but had not revealed to the public that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. It is a progressive degenerative neurological disorder that can lead to a range of physical and mental symptoms. Mood disorders like anxiety and depression are symptoms of Parkinson's and the disease my cause chemical changes in the brain that make people more likely to suffer from those mental health issues. The Parkinson's Disease Foundation notes on its website the following. "For people with Parkinson's, depression is quite common and disabling- and it is the symptom most often overlooked." Robin Williams had a history of depression. His Parkinson's Disease certainly could have been a contributing factor to his actions on Monday. We need to be mindful of two things in these cases. First, our desire for news should not lead us to endless speculation about what happened. We will have all the facts eventually and we need to allow time to gather facts. Second, the deceased leave behind family and friends who are already suffering from heartbreaking loss. Our speculation in absence of facts adds to their pain. It is an unnecessary and unwarranted burden on those grieving.