Friday, August 15, 2014

A SOCIETY OF CRUELTY-ROBIN WILLIAMS


Since Robin Williams died, amateur Internet shrinks, trolls, self appointed experts have been busy diagnosing a person they never met.

Robin Williams was a victim, similar to all the victims that I write about on this blog. Everyone else seems to have an opinion about what happened to him and why.

Some of it has been cruel, perpetrated by people who justify their cruelty as a necessary deterrent to suicide: as if bullying, criticizing the dead is some kind of public service.


But Robin Williams wasn't a monster.  He had a weakness. He was a human being who became a victim. 

He was a man with a family, not simply a famous celebrity that was seen through the plastic illusion of what he appeared to be in his public career.

The dark corners of the web feed on weakness to draw energy from cruelty, with arm chair experts spouting their clueless opinions on his life, death.

The Internet and various forms of media allow others to talk big, but the truth is that we all suffer from the many weaknesses of being human. One small step and any of us can become a victim of life's obstacles.

Yet the keyboard cowboys continue to shoot victims down ruthlessly, with no regard to any sense of compassion, or how close any of us are to the frailties of life.

In a society of cruelty and criticism it's easy to be mean.

We need more people who have enough courage to be kind.