Selfish? I Think Not

I wanted to  begin this post by screaming,  "HEY STUPID PEOPLE, ROBIN WILLIAMS WASN'T SELFISH......" but I reconsidered because I know using caps and bold in the same sentence is not a good practice.

A strange thing happened to me last night that prompted this post.

I, my wife and my dog were out at the local park attending a free concert that the State Park holds each Wednesday ( my dog is partial to rock and roll but will listen to anything ) when what was a beautiful evening was ruined by the ignorance and stupidity of "an acquaintance" of ours.

About half way through the evening this acquaintance, suddenly appeared before us, and one of the first things she says is, "How about that Robin Williams?" I just assumed this was her awkward way of starting a conversation so I answered with the prerequisite " I know, very sad." As it turned out, she wasn't just making happy talk, her purpose of appearing at our feet like a jeannie out of a bottle was to spread her bigotry and stupidy over us like the blanket Rosie was laying on.

If you want to have me fully engaged in a conversation, say something to me like, " How could he have done that, he must not have loved his kids..." or something to that affect. As my wife and I calmly tried to explain out thoughts to her on the subject...."It wasn't his choice"......."Depression is a  sickness as real as cancer or any other disease" ......etc etc.

With each attempt by us to drain the stupidity out this person, she would look at us and roll her eyes, repeatedly saying she just didn't understand  "it". It, being depression, the word she was afraid to say.
When she finally exclaimed, "Do you understand why I can't understand this?"  I SPRANG FROM MY CHAIR, TACKLING HER..........
I'm kidding, just fantasizing for a second there.
My wife responded to her with, " No, I thought you were more intelligent than that."

Oh, and, did you know that all Koreans are bad people? I learned this also during my conversation with crazy lady.

Anyway, Katie Hurley who writes for the Huffington Post says all of this in a much more grownup manner then I can. "Suicide is a decision made out of desperation, hopelessness, isolation and loneliness. The black hole that is clinical depression is all-consuming. Feeling like a burden to loved ones, feeling like there is no way out, feeling trapped and feeling isolated are all common among people who suffer from depression." 
She goes on to say, "Until you've stared down that level of depression, until you've lost your soul to a sea of emptiness and darkness... you don't get to make those judgments. You might not understand it, and you are certainly entitled to your own feelings, but making those judgments and spreading that kind of negativity won't help the next person. In fact, it will only hurt others."

Robin Williams was a very funny guy, and even a better actor in my opinion.

He was not a coward. He had a disease. A disease that isn't understood by people like the like the lady who interrupted my evening in the park last night. 

The Huffington Post article is here, and worth reading, again, in my opinion.