Robin Williams (Facebook)
To the Editors:
I wonder why I’m sharing my thoughts with you regarding the death of Robin Williams when I didn’t feel the same urge at the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who also died prematurely from suicide suffering from bouts of severe depression.
While Hoffman’s death was tragic, his persona was not as engaging of the public as Williams’. Williams, in my estimation, was the funniest man alive, whose humor appealed to children and adults, sometimes in the raunchiest modes, yet even then I found myself feeling guilty and disgusted while laughing uncontrollably at something he said.
However, Williams’ humor emerged from a depth of experience and emotion that made him equally powerful as a dramatic actor. He spoke and related to all sides of our human condition in ways no other could. And amid the comedy and drama he conveyed, he maintained a childlike playfulness and sense of adventure with the world that endeared him to us, and made his death all the more tragic.
We cannot ignore the internal battles he fought in his bouts with depression and the calculated means by which he quietly departed this life. Such are the daily silent struggles many of us face that plead for wider networks of understanding and support to prevent similar outcomes. Hopefully, we will become more attentive to their signs and symptoms.
But for now, we acknowledge our common loss as we bid farewell to our favorite court jester and thespian, who made us both laugh and cry to the point where it hurt, and urged us to explore the dimensions of our soul willingly, because unlike a finger-wagging critic, we trusted him as one who walked and stumbled with us.
Arnold Isidore Thomas
Senior Minister
Wilton Congregational Church
Wilton, Aug. 21