Yes, you read that correctly. I do hope your understanding coincides with mine.
Suicide
is an arrogant – not to mention an utterly selfish – act. Point
blank. I have no good words to offer in its defense. Although I may
not judge people who commit suicide, I condemn the act per se as
undignified and utterly devoid of love. Disclaimer: You have to
separate the persona from his actions, otherwise you'll overlook the
good deeds he accomplished during his lifetime. This is not an easy
mindset to adopt, but as they say “Blame the sin, not the sinner.”
Robin
Williams' apparent killing of himself has propelled me to revisit
certain tenets of “existential philosophy” and discuss the
ethical dimensions of suicide. I want to quote the greatest
existentialist philosophers of all time such as Kierkegaard,
Nietzsche and Camus and share to you their respective opinions on the
matter (just so you know, philosophy is merely an attempt to explore
the elusive truth), but I'm afraid doing so might make me lose sight
of my purpose. Also, this is not a hardline philosophy class where we
have to witness the teacher spout one nosebleed-inducing jargon after
another. That's not how my writing works.
And
the reason why I'm writing this? I hope to spread the word to
everybody that suicide will never ever solve your or this world's
problems. So why bother?
Wait.
Maybe I'm not harsh enough.
Let me
restructure my argument: The world will never stop with just one
death. The world does not stop for you, grieve as you might. Instead
of adding up to the problems, be part of the solution instead. And no
offense to Robin Williams' soul, may he rest in peace, but what he
did only hurt his loved ones and people from all walks of life who
look up to him as an artist and as someone with a revolutionary
contribution to the entertainment industry.
What
he did was arrogant, selfish and inhumane. He did not think of his
children, his wife and the millions of fans hoping to see another one
of his life-changing movies. I wonder what pushed him to the edge of
reason enough to make him take his life away without sparing any thought for
the people he'd be leaving behind. His daughter was bullied online
for something she had no control over. I'm not blatantly blaming Mr.
Williams. Even if I don't point the obvious to everyone affected
(deeply or remotely) by his death, it does not change the fact that
his loved ones are now in pain. And people are not helping either.
Because many would rather condemn the sinner and not just his sin.
Like it's a “buy one take one” promo or something.
No one
knows for sure if there's such a thing as reincarnation. No one knows
for sure if consciousness can still be retained after our physical
vessel expires. No one knows for sure what's beyond the land of the
living. In other words, life can't be recycled. But Mr. Williams'
gave himself a definite ending knowing full well there's no turning
back.
Face
it. Many people fear death. But does that mean committing suicide is
a display of pure courage? I beg to disagree.
No, I
do not support any act driven by selfish and violent motivations. If
Mr. Williams' suicide had stopped the Gaza conflict from turning into
one huge pool of blood, I'd have looked at it in a different – more
understanding – light. Because that would mean he was heroic
and altruistic and less into himself. Now that he's dead, nothing much has changed.
People just took to social media and his name trended here and there.
His daughter was bashed. Media grappled to book an interview with the
family, which only fueled more bashing from the narrow-minded crowd.
The Ebola virus hasn't disappeared into a puff of smoke and casualties
are rising by the minute. Russia couldn't care less about one popular
American actor who died because it's bent on threatening Ukraine and the safety
of its people by funding pro-Russian rebels. Gaza continues to be a cemetery.
So why
did Mr. Williams bother to kill himself?
Simple.
I may not know the actual circumstances behind his self-inflicted
death, but here's what I know for sure: Robin Williams let life get
the better of him. He lost to life and gave up. Who's to say if
suicide is wrong – completely, irrevocably and beyond reasonable
doubt? I am not God, so He alone has the right to judge Mr. Williams.
All I'm saying is, if I were in his shoes and something or someone
depressed me so much, suicide would be the last thing on my mind. I'd
rather lock myself up in a solitary cottage on a faraway Greek island
and do whatever I want to do in there without a care in the world,
until I feel better. Or I'd talk to a complete stranger about my
problems, hoping against hope he's not an axe murderer. Perhaps this
complete stranger can lead me out of the tunnel into the
sunlight. I mean, I just can't believe Mr. Williams of all people
would run out of ways to console himself. Doesn't that sound so
preposterous?
The
act of suicide is beyond cowardly. At least to me it is. Is this
world too dark and depressing? It can be but not always. In all his
years living as a human being, hasn't he come to realize that life's
always been a never ending cycle of ups and downs? Wasn't he in Dead
Poets Society –
a movie dealing with existential angst of epic proportions? Oh,
Alanis Morissette. It really is ironic. Yeah, I really do think.
To
be honest, I feel just a tad bit insulted and mocked by Robin
Williams. Don't you? His suicide makes me feel like our struggles
have been all for naught. If it's that easy to take your life and
leave a lifetime of struggles behind, then I shouldn't have bothered
to go to school for 16 years or pass my exams or make wonderful
memories with family and friends or work my butt off. He couldn't be
bothered even when we painstakingly did and still do. I'm sure many of those dead Palestinians (God rest their souls) would have wanted to live Robin Williams' life had they the opportunity. But Mr. Williams thought it better to join them in the after life. The difference is, while he chose to go there of his own accord, the latter were taken there by force. If that's not arrogance,
then I don't know what is.
How
many of us here have the stamina to go on living even when our
hopes and dreams shatter? How many of us here can still face the
crowd with heads held high after experiencing an epic failure? Would
you dare make a comeback and prove your detractors wrong or would
you settle for non-existence and leave the world with its
misconceptions of you? Are you brave enough to see your life through
to the end or would you rather run away from it?
These
are questions. And you alone have the answers. It's your life; live
as you see fit. Just remember one thing: THE WORLD WILL NOT STOP FOR
YOU.
