8/12/2014 8:51:47 AM

8/12/2014 9:32:30 AM

bad form, peter

8/12/2014 9:41:15 AM

8/12/2014 9:47:20 AM

8/12/2014 9:47:35 AM

goodnight, sweet prince

8/12/2014 9:58:54 AM

8/12/2014 10:26:07 AM

i don't understand people on facebook who pretend to be personally affected by the death of celebrities

8/12/2014 10:31:35 AM

Movies and actors are meaningful to some people and can have a big impact on their lives. And moreso when the person appears to be a good person. I'm not going to lose sleep over it, but I do find it sad.

8/12/2014 10:35:30 AM

I will miss his work. It makes me sad. I am not grieving for him, but I am emotionally affected by his plight. It breaks my heart that someone so loved and so seemingly awesome could be going through so much. "Ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown when no one's around."

8/12/2014 10:53:55 AM

but I assume that you, and others on facebook, don't feel saddened by the tens of thousands of other people who commit suicide each year

8/12/2014 10:57:22 AM

Why do you assume that? Sure, that's just as sad, and sad to think about the millions of friends and family who grieve for them.

But I don't know them. If I did, it would be even sadder for me. No, I don't "know" Robin Williams, but I kinda do, in a way. I've been watching him on movies and stand-up and talk shows for a few decades (although admittedly, I often found him a bit annoying, but he seemed like a good guy.) And he did a lot of charity work and work with the USO.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-robin-williams-charity-work-20140811-story.html


[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 11:11 AM. Reason : ]

8/12/2014 11:02:51 AM

The Idea of that does sadden me, and when they are highly publicized I do get emotional about it. But most of those suicides happen and only hit close to home. The local news reports it and then moves on. Celebrities have a tendency to become part of our "lives." We see them on a regular basis. We feel like we know them. (Of course we don't actually know them.) Definitely a bigger impact than a girl in Texas who I never met and never knew anything about.

8/12/2014 11:04:21 AM

^^ plenty of other people who kill themselves are good people who support charities

8/12/2014 11:11:02 AM

and their deaths are just as sad, especially for the people that know them. but i don't know them (and i don't know robin williams either, but see my post a couple minutes ago).

i just explained this, it's pretty simple. you're doing your annoying argue-for-the-sake-of-arguing thing again.

8/12/2014 11:13:44 AM

no, i'm just not doing the "i'm faking sadness on facebook for attention, everyone like my robin williams image that I posted!" thing

8/12/2014 11:15:05 AM

well yeah, you got a point. people use facebook to get attention. that's not why i find it a little sad though. i haven't posted anything on facebook in almost a year.

8/12/2014 11:15:45 AM

it's extremely simple: some people make a connection with entertainment personalities.

It's a similar reason most people are more affected by the 9/11 attacks than by daily bombings and other terrorist acts or acts of violence that go on in other countries. We feel more of a connection to Americans than the other people.

Many people are affected more the more they connect or relate to someone or some thing. I agree that some people probably aren't really that "sad" who are posting stuff but I also think more people are than you probably think.

To me it's a bummer and I was briefly sad but not extended grief since it was a limited connection for me, but I also know people who are more emotional and were probably genuinely sad. You could pretty easily make a chart ranking people from 1-5 on how emotional they are and 1-5 how much of a connection they had to someone and plot different people all over that spectrum.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 11:22 AM. Reason : ]

8/12/2014 11:16:53 AM

I've actually teared up a few times, but keep in mind I am still in the post partum hormonal stage and I am currently in a state of thyrotoxicosis which primes the emotional pump even more.

8/12/2014 11:24:24 AM

its impossible for anyone not to keep in mind that you have a baby

8/12/2014 11:47:50 AM

I've talked with some friends about this and I think the reason this is hitting harder than most is because for our generation (anybody born after 1980 or so), he was the first grown up I can remember who didn't seem like a Grown Up

8/12/2014 11:55:21 AM

^another good reason. Hook is the first movie I saw in the theaters that wasn't animated.

8/12/2014 12:01:47 PM

I usually don't give two shits when a rich celebrity dies, much less of suicide, but Robin Williams was pretty talented and hard to dislike. I think it's really sad and I feel terrible for his family and those who knew him well, but I agree the Facebook and media coverage is over the top and annoying. Where were all of you 'die hard' Robin Williams fans the past few years at the Box Office to support his movies or why didn't you watch the TV shows he was in recently (they got cancelled BTW)?

8/12/2014 12:21:22 PM

8/12/2014 12:25:55 PM

I'm sure his recent lack of commercial success and struggles to stay clean had absolutely nothing to do with his suicide. Total coincidence, I'm sure.

8/12/2014 12:29:14 PM

They most likely did. What's your point? If i had watched his recent tv shows this might not have happened?

8/12/2014 12:30:44 PM

No, my point is that a lot of people who are absolutely 'devastated' and letting the world know their pain via FB probably haven't watched an RW film since Aladdin. The fact that the media has completely ignored the family's request for privacy, coupled with the fact that all the blogs are criticizing each other over who's doing the "worst job" covering the death or whatever is pretty sickening too.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 12:37 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2014 12:32:39 PM

Well, being "devastated" on facebook is pretty silly, but I still think it's legitimate to be a little upset about his death, even if you stopped liking his films after Good Will Hunting.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 12:37 PM. Reason : Death to Smoochie is really good]

8/12/2014 12:37:04 PM

How many times have you seen that damn Aladdin hugging the Genie image this morning? I decided I'm not looking at FB until there's another Malaysia Air plane crash.

8/12/2014 12:38:55 PM

I only saw one of those. I saw a couple of dead poets' society and a few other references to that. one where he's really young. One hook. one good morning vietnam, One good will hunting. Maybe I'm too old for the Aladdin, I never even saw that movie.

8/12/2014 12:42:21 PM

I watched his comedy Crazy Ones from last year. Wasn't stellar (I think it was too scripted for RW to shine) but I enjoyed it.

I'm saddened, and it's been on my mind most of the day. The comment earlier about his impact on our particular generation is correct. I don't see anything wrong with personal facebook statuses about being upset, but the media coverage is overkill and annoying.

8/12/2014 12:42:41 PM

So childhood nostalgia isn't enough reason for me to be sad about his death? You people will reason yourselves into very sad, cold lives.

8/12/2014 12:43:28 PM

Quote :

"I don't see anything wrong with personal facebook statuses about being upset, but the media coverage is overkill and annoying."

They are basically the same thing. Whatever has shown up in my FB feed is decided by whatever algorithm FB uses to get me to like and click on stuff. FB wants me to be just as sad as the media does. They can both fuck themselves right now.

Quote :

"So childhood nostalgia isn't enough reason for me to be sad about his death? You people will reason yourselves into very sad, cold lives."

Feel as sad as you want, and post as many Robin Williams images as your heart feels need. The only time I've posted pictures of someone who recently died was when my dead grandmother passed away at 91. I actually knew her, had a relationship with her, and she directly had an impact on my life.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 12:47 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2014 12:46:09 PM

I guess Louie has to go to his funeral now.

8/12/2014 12:46:13 PM

if facebook annoys you so much, don't use it.

8/12/2014 12:47:05 PM

all the white people are rioting

8/12/2014 12:48:38 PM

I thought about deliberately liking everyone of those riot posts just so FB would stop the barrage of Robin Williams pics, but like I said, I'm just gonna lay low and not access it for a few days.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 12:52 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2014 12:50:10 PM

Quote :

"Feel as sad as you want, and post as many Robin Williams images as your heart feels need. The only time I've posted pictures of someone who recently died was when my dead grandmother passed away at 91. I actually knew her, had a relationship with her, and she directly had an impact on my life. "

No offense, but other than a handful of people, do you think the vast majority of people seeing your facebook status updates care about your grandmother?

But I do see your point. Most of the people who regularly update their facebook statuses are dumb attention-whores.

8/12/2014 12:51:40 PM

If I were fishing for 'likes' like most people do, sadly you're right. Only immediately family members and close friends liked the picture or commented or whatever. I should totally post that Genie and Aladdin pic to compare. It would probably be my most 'liked' picture of the month.

8/12/2014 12:53:53 PM

Quote :

"when my dead grandmother passed away"

as opposed to

"when my grandmother passed away"

?

8/12/2014 12:56:57 PM

When my living grandmother had not yet passed away, I divorced my fiance and exhumed a living body in honor of the Genie from Aladdin.

8/12/2014 12:58:00 PM

Who says I don't still have any living grandmothers? Maybe one's alive and one is dead?

8/12/2014 12:58:31 PM

^^^^because people "knew" and liked the actor Robin Williams. They don't know your grandmother. If they met your grandmother a few times, they'd probably care more.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 12:59 PM. Reason : ]

8/12/2014 12:58:54 PM

I "met" your grandmother a few times, if you know what I am saying.

8/12/2014 1:01:26 PM

Look, I'm not upset that more people care about Robin Williams than my grandmother (the dead one). I just think the excessive FB mourn posts are a bit much. Chill out and go watch his movies or something, but enough already.

8/12/2014 1:02:32 PM

Quote :

"The only time I've posted pictures of someone who recently died was when my dead grandmother passed away at 91. I actually knew her, had a relationship with her, and she directly had an impact on my life. "

I feel like this is worse. Nobody on facebook really gave a fuck about your grandmother. If you were just doing it for family members, then you should have sent a group email or something. Instead you went to facebook looking for pity.

Facebook is for social interaction and attention whores (and for businesses, information sharing, etc)...but for the purposes of this discussion, we'll stick with the first two. Before facebook people would meet at work, or at a bar, or a social event and would say..."did you hear Robin Williams died?? Man I loved Alladin...He was Great in Good Will Hunting...etc." And some would be overly sad because they loved his movies and thought he was an awesome dude or maybe it reminded them of a friend or family member that suffered from depression and/or committed suicide.

Now they're just doing the same shit on facebook. If it bothers you, then its got to suck to have little shit like this bother you. And if it really bothers you, then just get off facebook. But its kind of funny to see someone bitch about something like this and then admit to attention-whoring their grandmother's death at 91.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 1:10 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2014 1:09:37 PM

I disagree. Attention whoring after my grandmother's death is exactly what she would have wanted me to do, so go fuck yourself pal.

And besides, like I said, she was the only person I ever posted something like that about. People post pictures of their dead pets and family members all the time. That, to me, is pretty reasonable/normal. I guess you are more affected by celebrity deaths than actual people you know. Charmed life you must live.

[Edited on August 12, 2014 at 1:13 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2014 1:11:44 PM

I've never seen as many posts about a celebrity as about Robin Williams.

It's entirely possible to me that people do feel deeply affected by Williams. Famous people can have a deep impact on peoples' lives for whatever reason, and I can see Williams being that kind of guy. He always came out as genuine, he spoke about his problems openly, he was known to be pretty generous, he's been to Iraq/Afghanistan a dozen times (a war he was outspokenly against). The story of a unique, creative, funny, insightful person who publicly spoke about the demons he battled, who scummed to those demons probably touches many people.

I can't really think of any celebrities as genuine as Robin Williams right now. I know i was genuinely sad when Steve Jobs died, but that's because i'd been following his life and career since the early 90s.

8/12/2014 1:28:12 PM

^^ I'm not affected by it at all. I liked the dude as an actor, I'm happy that he gave a lot to charity, and I feel for his family and friends...but his death has had zero emotional impact on me. But I also think its silly to get worked up about how it affects other people.

I also think it's okay/normal for people to post stuff about their dead pets/family members on facebook (although I do find it odd that your grandmother would want you to do that...but whatever). But it's also funny when you would do something like that yet criticize other people for showing their remorse about the death of universally well-liked, funny, and charitable celebrity.

8/12/2014 1:42:56 PM

Quote :

"I can't really think of any celebrities as genuine as Robin Williams right now."

Perhaps because you can't think of anything other than Robin Williams right now, if you've recently perused facebook

8/12/2014 1:52:53 PM