This depression thing...it's depressing. The human mind is so incredible, so complex. Everything we know about how our minds work tell us more about how much we don't know.
I think about it..why did this guy do this? Was he of "sound mind"? Can anyone who does this be of a sound mind? Is there even such a thing as a sound mind? I found out a few days later that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and that along with depression was a pretty unsavory prognosis. Was he trying to be noble? Trying to spare his family from the challenges his care would present? Was he scared? Too many voices from the number of drugs his body had been craving? Does it really matter now? Maybe. More questions than answers. Are depressed people now going to commit suicide because Robin Williams did? <shrug>
As a performer, most remember Robin Williams for his comedy - but the man was more genius than clown. He went to Juilliard, if memory serves. That feat impresses me more than any of his comedy performances. I call them performances, because he didn't really have a "routine".
When I was in college, one of the perks of a volunteer job I had was to be able to go to our local comedy lounge for free. (as long as I got my 2 drink minimum, lol) I've seen hundreds of comedians. I usually went on a Wednesday night, and if they were any good, I'd see them again with a date on Friday or Saturday. Imagine my surprise when I learned that they all told the same jokes, the same way, all week long. Not sure what I was expecting, why I thought they'd do something different each night. Cracking jokes for an hour isn't easy. Cracking different jokes the next night for an hour would be even harder.
Robin Williams - well, I never saw him live in person, but from what I could see on tv, this guy never said the same thing twice. He certainly never said it the same way. He bounced around like a pinball in a machine before it goes tilt. He didn't have a routine, as far as I could tell. He'd just go out and ..be. Taking a response from some random person in the crowd, there was no telling which way he'd go. I certainly don't know, but my guess is he didn't know himself.
My one hope is that perhaps from this, people might be more inclined to connect in person, in addition to facebook and other social media sites, and that people would be more willing to get involved in the lives of strangers and make them friends. Easy in theory, but really awkward when I think about it in reality. Our society just doesn't really go for that getting involved bit. It's too much opportunity for discomfort. But, by pushing on that edge of discomfort, that's where we grow.