In 2014, the outpouring of grief whenever a celebrity dies is now a viral event. Back when John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963, I am guessing that, unless you were tuned to radio or television, you might have heard the devastating news by having a friend call you.
On the telephone. Or even knock on your front door. Did you hear?
Not today. It unfolds completely on Facebook or Twitter. I watched it happen and, believe me, most of what I encountered was genuine. People were really moved by his untimely passing. Hey, I was a fan, too. There were photos posted from Mrs. Doubtfire or Mork and Mindy or Aladdin.
Also, there were lots of posts on depression and mental illness. Okay, good. But suddenly every one is an expert on a very, very complicated issue. Um, not so good. Now we're hearing that he might have been in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease so I guess we'll be seeing lots of "experts" on this.
Then, we encounter folks who are totally consumed by the intruding press coverage of Williams' suicide. Okay, there's a lot of truth here. I mean, look at this annoying dichotomy from the ABC News website.
Suddenly, people are super concerned about Robin's family. Okay, but did you even know anything about them? Did you know how many times he was married? Answer: three. Do you even know how many kids he has without looking at Wikipedia? Answer: three. I looked it up on Wikipedia myself. But, reading the reactions on-line, you would think that most people were actual friends of the family. Are you going to the memorial service? Are you invited back to the house after the cemetery? Can you bring a nice crumb cake? The answer to all three: probably not.
And, then there's this. I see in two different places on Facebook an on-line petition calling for the firing of Fox News reporter Shepherd Smith because he allegedly made insensitive remarks about Williams and supposedly said that his suicide made him "a coward."
I clicked on the posts and discovered that there was a virtual petition available and the goal was 250,000 signatures. There was a meter off to the side counting the number of names. So, there's actually a software out there designed to do this? I suddenly wonder a little bit more about America.
I researched Smith's remarks and listened to the whole segment. Yes, Smith suggested that suicide is a form of cowardice. But, in context, he also ticked off a very detailed list of all the possible reasons why Robin took his own life. I thought about all the people who had already signed to clamor for Smith's ouster and whether any of them had even heard the whole tape themselves. Doubtful.
Of course, contemplating these off-the-cuff remarks, I think about those TV journalists who automatically called Donald Sterling a "racist" or Donald Trump "a loony tune" or anybody they don't necessarily agree with it "a nut case."
Indeed, the reporters may be right. Or they may be wrong. And they're all entitled to their opinions. And that doesn't necessarily mean that anybody needs to be fired for it. And we certainly don't need petitions.
This is America slipping a little further down the rabbit hole. Intolerance. And a need to make somebody or anybody, even in the depth of despair over Robin Williams' unfortunate passing, a villain.
Think about everything we deal with in the media. How much of our "entertainment" dwells on somebody's failure and punishment?
Who's getting voted off?
Who's going home?
Who's being fired?
Who's going to die in the season finale?
Isn't this exhausting for you? It is for me.
Can't we leave anybody alone for just five minutes without trying to capitalize on somebody's failure or demise or that opinion you don't agree with?
Do what I do. Turn the freakin' channel.
I don't like Bill Maher at all. I hate his views on religion. I think they are incredibly insensitive and offensive. Moreover, his political views are phony. I know for a fact that he will espouse any side of the aisle depending upon whether he can get employment out of it. But do I start a petition to get him thrown off HBO? Nah.
I just don't watch his show.
There are politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, that I can't stand. I think they're all crooks. My views are different from probably 99% of my friends. It is my opinion and, other than sometimes mentioning this in a blog, I keep it to myself. I make it a practice not to discuss politics with my pals. And don't necessarily force it down the throats of people on social media.
I have first hand information that Denzel Washington is not a nice guy. I won't get into specifics to protect my confidential sources, but I've know this for a long time. It's totally contrary to how he is portrayed in the media. I have zero respect for him as a human being and that comes from me who lived very close to his family in Mount Vernon, New York. Do I picket his movies at the Arclight Cinema? Nah.
I simply don't go to them.
You don't like it? Leave it. Or get yourself a blog and go to town.
So, one more thing that I learned from all this Robin Williams news of the week? I have a little bit less respect for our society. And I worry again about the long term future of a country that was originally built on the basic premise of simple freedom.
Right now, lots of folks are consumed by this ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Okay, a good cause but, like all things in America, it's getting completely overplayed and ridiculous. I'm hoping, though, that the icy showers work to wake some people up. If we continue down this crazy path, there will be a day maybe 10 or 20 years down the road when we have leaders who are dictators or despots and we will all wonder how they got there.
But, until that unseemly moment occurs...
Robin, one of the things I will miss is the laughs. Because, as this country continues to unravel, we're going to need them more than we know.
Dinner last night: Leftover bratwurst and German potato salad.
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