Posted on 08/23/2014 12:59:38 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Henry Rollins slams Robin Williams for committing suicide: 'How in the heck could you possibly do that to your children?'
The hardcore rocker and spoken word artist doesn't mince his words when it comes to Williams' Aug. 11 suicide, suggesting that the 40,000 people who commit suicide each year in this country 'are 40,000 people who blew it.'
Hardcore rocker Henry Rollins is being branded as a punk for criticizing Robin Williams in his weekly newspaper column.
The former Black Flag frontman and self-proclaimed Williams fan slammed the late comic actor for committing suicide and "traumatizing" his three children in the process.
"I simply cannot understand how any parent could kill themselves," Rollins wrote in his Thursday piece for LA Weekly's West Coast Sound Blog.
""How in the hell could you possibly do that to your children....choosing to kill yourself, rather than to be there for that child, is every shade of awful, traumatic and confusing."
Williams committed suicide Aug. 11 in his California home, leaving behind three adult children and millions of distraught fans. The 63-year-old actor, who won an Academy Award for his turn in "Good Will Hunting," had suffered from depression and addiction for years — and had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"I think as soon as you have children, you waive your right to take your own life," Rollins wrote. "No matter what mistakes you make in life, it should be your utmost goal not to traumatize your kids. "
But Rollins, whose biggest hit is an empowerment dirge titled “Low Self Opinion,” didn't stop there, saving his harshest words for all tortured artists who chose to end their lives prematurely .
Pictured in 2004 are, from right, Robin Williams, daughter Zelda, wife Marcia, and sons Cody and Zac.
"I no longer take this person seriously," Rollins wrote about artists who took their own lives. "I may be able to appreciate what he or she did artistically but it's impossible to feel bad for them."
And taking that logic further: "Almost 40,000 people a year kill themselves in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," he added. In my opinion, that is 40,000 people who blew it."
Those words incited plenty of reaction on social media, particularly from critics who felt Rollins was the one who blew it.
"Henry Rollins threatening to stop taking suicides seriously will be a serious disincentive for the four people who still take him seriously," tweeted music writer Sam Adams.
Rollins’ flap comes after Kiss frontman Gene Simmons drew boos for harsh comments about suicide.
Rollins' controversial diatribe comes on the heels of a major backlash over Kiss bassist Gene Simmons' controversial comments on depression.
"Drug addicts and alcoholics are always, 'the world is a harsh place.' My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, I don't want to hear X all about 'the world is a harsh place,'" Simmons told the music site Songsfact.com. ""And for a putz, 20-year-old kid to say, 'I'm depressed, I live in Seattle,' X you, then kill yourself."
Though the interview had initially been published two weeks before Williams' suicide, it went viral after the tragedy drew a spotlight on depression.
Simmons later apologized for his ill-timed remarks.
Suicide - what a nice example to set for your kids.
I have experience with this. After the initial grief comes anger. How could you do this selfish thing to those who love you? It bothers me still.
If one doesn’t understand, or has not seen or experienced depression, then all bets are off.
When a person is at that level of despair, he isn’t thinking about the consequences. He is in pain and he’s consumed with finding relief for that pain. If he thinks about anyone else at all, it’s along the lines of “they will be better off without me.”
It’s a disease. Would Mr. Rollins berate a victim of lung cancer in the same way?
I’m speaking as a survivor. It’s awful, and it persists for years. The people who killed themselves feel nothing afterwards. It’s selfish and inconsiderate and done with no concern for the loved ones they leave behind. I don’t care how they bad they are feeling before they decide to end their lives. It can’t be as bad as what they inflict and leave to linger.
It isn’t a disease.
A disease makes you sick and can eventually kill you.
Depression or sadness didn’t kill Williams.
Robin Williams killed Robin Williams.
Deep depressions can in fact kill you. Depressions are known to increase the chance of death and weaken your umm u be system and increase the likelihood you will get Alzheimers.
Bravo for you and Bravo for Rollins. Remember who reads these opinions. It is better to tell people to deal with their problems and endure the life they’ve been given than to “understand” (excuse) their suicide.
Baloney.
Robin Williams killed himself. His sadness did not kill him.
Thank you.
You said depression does not kill. I said it contributes to increasing the likelihood that certain conditions will kill you.
Yes, Robin Williams did kill himself. Those of us who have been where he was understand the effects the depression has and can be sympathetic. Those of us who have not generally cannot understand why he might have done it.
As a Robin Williams fan, I must say...He has a point.
Thank you.
If a disease was this, then a change in behavior could cure, or at least remove all symptoms, of such "diseases" as gambling addiction, alcoholism, obesity." A person with Type 1 Diabetes would love it if they could eliminate their dependence on insulin injection if they would only stop indulging a certain behavior. But they cannot because they have a real disease, whereas the disease of the addicted gambler or drinker (I speak as a reformed alcoholic with a couple of nights in the ol' crowbar hotel under my belt) is really more about character than it is about "disease."
Depression is something else entirely, all bets are off, especially considering today's prescription pharmaceutical insanity. Judging Williams is God's job, not mine. Anyone who opts to murder himself/herself has a lot to answer for, but not to me. All I can do is think, "There but for the grace of God go I." God have mercy on him.
Yes, it’s a disease. Its a mental illness. It eats at your brain. That’s when you become irrational and look to death for relief.
I don’t blame people for not understanding. Science still doesn’t understand mental illness either. Certain drugs and therapies may help, but for some, nothing works. And I’m sorry to say, faith doesn’t always help either.
In California cruising South along the Pacific Coast Highway and a hard right turn of the wheel in a deserted stretch of the road and gravity will take care of the situation when your vehicle impacts the ground at the bottom of the cliffs. This would stop a lot of the drama associated with offing yourself and spare your family a good deal of grief.
And I used to joke that suicide was the ultimate in self-criticism. No more - it is impossible for us to know what these poor souls were suffering as they made the ultimate decision. It's always easy to criticize someone for doing something when you haven't a clue of what was going on in their head - may make one feel all warm and fuzzy superior but it serves no other purpose.
Depression does NOT “eat your brain”.
I attempted suicide once when I was 13 years old. I was abused by my mother. I thought I had no way out.
I was a kid, and I reached out....couldn’t find anyone who would help.
Thank God in Heaven....He saved me.
What is Williams excuse? He could have reached out. Paid for help. He was a capable adult with the means to change.
He chose to kill himself.
I make no excuse for my attempt. Even though I was a kid, I was wrong.
If I can’t excuse my behavior at 13...I certainly will not excuse Williams’ suicide.
“Would Mr. Rollins berate a victim of lung cancer in the same way?”
If the ‘victim’ was a 4 pack a day smoker, wouldn’t he have a right to?
Depression may be a disease. Suicide is NOT a disease. It’s an act.
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