In it he specifically said this: "...I don't want anyone to misconstrue this post as satire or exaggeration. So I'll reiterate. If you have acted, or plan to act, in a way that keeps doctor-assisted suicide illegal, I see you as an accomplice in torturing my father, and perhaps me as well someday. I want you to die a painful death, and soon. And I'd be happy to tell you the same thing to your face..."
He is unhinged, in my opinion. It may be grief, it may be rage, it may be anything, but I believe some part of his mind has crossed a line. I don't know squat about him, so I don't know anything other than his satire and sarcasm in his professional work. If this is his normal viewpoint (maybe verified from looking at his non-cartoon opinions he may have expressed in his blog or in interviews) I would say he needs professional help. If it is not, he is overcome with grief.
In either case, he is not in a healthy state of mind...it sounds extremely corrosive to me. Is this the kind of viewpoint he has advocated his entire life, or is it something he may look back months from now and regret writing?
I'm like you here: "I don't know squat about him, so I don't know anything other than his satire and sarcasm in his professional work." I'm also wondering about an answer to your question.
Whatever is the case with him, I agree with this post by lee martell in another very recent thread:
The artist should stay away from twitter or social media for a couple of months before he inspires someone to break the law.
The probability of such an "inspiration" doesn't strike me as extremely high, but such a disturbing possibility (that didn't occur at all to my mind before reading that post) is good reason for people, especially the famous and well-liked, to avoid posting certain things online.
What did just occur to my mind is another possibility that disturbs me even more: the idea that a celebrity would post something violent like this with the intention of provoking a follower into what we could call taking action.
I would be happy to kill you personally and watch you bleed out. I won’t do that, because I fear the consequences. But I’d enjoy it, because you mother[f-word] are responsible for torturing my father
Well, I just noticed that not everyone in the world will fear the consequences.
Sleep tight, me!