Fuck the American media coverage of the death of Robin Williams

"PanchoVilleneuve ST" (PanchoVilleneuve) 08/12/2014 at 13:57 • Filed to: Off-Topic

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We're going waaaayyy far away from the topic of cars here, so I apologize.

For years, the way the American media has portrayed mental illness has been as some dehumanizing force. Something to apply to school shooters and people who kill their children. Something to reinforce the idea that those who do evil are somehow a horrible other.

But here we are. A man who was beloved by millions has taken his own life. He is a victim of his own mental illness. And you rarely see any mention of it. Because why would they? There is no way that Mork from Ork was mentally ill, right? He's a good person! Only evil people have any sign of mental illness!

I have dealt with depression my entire life. It is a disease. It's a disease that so few of us who suffer from it seek treatment for because, as far as popular opinion is concerned, only affects monsters.

We have an opportunity now to talk about this seriously, and honestly, and respectfully. But we won't. And that pisses me the fuck off.

CalzoneGolem > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 13:59

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TBH if someone takes their own life you can pretty sure there was at least some underlying mental illness.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 14:00

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I totally agree with you. Suicide is a damned epidemic, yet it's a taboo subject. It's not just going to go away, and not talking about it or it's causes isn't doing anyone any good.

jariten1781 > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 14:03

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There were lots of articles through the years and since his death where they talk about his struggles with depression, alcohol, and cocaine.

Alfalfa > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 14:14

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I really do feel like there has been more meaningful discussion over the years. Maybe a lot of it is less in the mainstream media and more on the blogosphere, but I have already seen multiple articles on the reality of struggling with depression. There was quite a bit said about it when Philip Seymour Hoffman died, as well.

DipodomysDeserti > CalzoneGolem 08/12/2014 at 14:24

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There are plenty of people around the world who have chosen to commit suicide with a completely clear mind.

CalzoneGolem > DipodomysDeserti 08/12/2014 at 14:26

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Clearly these are the outliers. Hence the pretty sure.

DipodomysDeserti > CalzoneGolem 08/12/2014 at 14:32

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Outliers? I would hardly call people who choose assisted suicide outliers. Some people kill themselves because they're mentally ill, others kill themselves because they don't want to live with a debilitating illness anymore. In history, whole groups of people have killed themselves in order to avoid living under subjugation, and others have killed themselves in order to avoid dishonoring themselves or their families.

phenotyp > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 14:50

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It's not "the media," but the comments on Metafilter's obit thread really knock it out of the park. Really great stuff.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Alfalfa 08/12/2014 at 15:01

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All I remember from the coverage of Philip Seymour Hoffman was DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS WAS HE SECRETLY GAY? DRUGS DRUGS!

Alfalfa > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 15:05

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and this is where it seems that media outlets differ. Most mainstream media makes me want to throw a hammer at the screen, because they focus on the pointless shit that gets views.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole 08/12/2014 at 16:38

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It's not just suicide. We have a large section of the population that are sick. They have one of countless diseases that affect their brain chemistry, and there seems to be no real impetus to help them. This is especially true with men. The only mental illness in recent years that has gotten any kind of attention is PTSD, and the narrative there isn't these are people who need help, but they are casualties of war.

In all other instances, mental illness, especially in men, is either demonized as the affliction of evildoers or as a weakness, as a "woman's problem" like it was still the fucking 19th century.

I'm fortunate enough to have had the support of loved ones that have enabled me to seek help for my sickness. I'm still affected by it, but as of right now, my disease does not control me. Not anymore. Whether it's medication or cognitive therapy, it's something millions of people in this country need and something that millions of people will not get as long as we treat it as anything other than what it is: a disease.

We don't stigmatize any other disease like this. We don't shun cancer patients. We don't tell people with MS that it's all their fault and they should just cheer up, because, you know, it's all in your head.

Goggles Pizzano > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 20:23

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Over the last year here north of the border there has been several campaigns to not only bring this illness to the forefront, but also the stigma that goes along with it.

The strongest campaign has been by Canadian Olympic speed-skater and cyclist Clara Hughes.

I'm not suggesting that Canadians lead and Americans follow (quite the opposite almost all of the time actually), but it is a start here in NA, and maybe soon word will spread.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 20:31

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You should look up Maria Bamford. She's a really funny dark comedian that talks about mental illness.

Maria Bamford on the stigma associated with menta…:

m2m, apex detective > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/12/2014 at 21:23

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It's a sad thing that depression, burnout etcetera are treated as if people would willingly run into these kinds of trouble. Mickey Rourke once said that [depression] was the kind of illness people would yell at you for.

At some point the world will have to put up with it and admit that there isn't necessarily an irrepressible desire to live under any circumstances. Not for everyone, not always ... so instead of praying for the when they're gone, shouldn't we focus on not losing sight of these people in the first place? It is especially hard to put up with someone when they hit a rough patch, so people helplessly avert the eyes.

Letting someone alone with their own worried head (which happens in families, too, as some people won't cope) is probably the biggest problem when it comes to depression, anxiety disorders and other nasty tricks of the human brain. Think "If you feel properly alone, why bother going on with being you if you don't like it?"

Mattbob > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/13/2014 at 07:27

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My brothers wife posted this garbage, I don't even know how to respond.

http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/08/12/rob…

CalzoneGolem > DipodomysDeserti 08/13/2014 at 08:06

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I think they are a statistically small number of the people that kill themselves.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Mattbob 08/13/2014 at 08:54

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Reading that made my eyes twitch.

Mattbob > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/13/2014 at 09:08

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but what do I even say to that? People who believe that have obviously never had to deal with or know anyone with real depression.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Mattbob 08/13/2014 at 09:43

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"You're an idiot who has no grasp on the facts and should shut your ass before you embarrass yourself further."

DipodomysDeserti > PanchoVilleneuve ST 08/13/2014 at 10:35

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NPR had an entire show last night discussing depression and bipolar disorder and how it applied to Robin Williams. They had a psychologists on explaining the two diseases and what people suffering with them experience. They then had a second show featuring a comedian with severe depression. He was on trying to demystify the belief that there is somehow a connection between comedians and depression.