I have a thought that might not be very well received, and I do not do this often. This is not a political post. Obviously anytime a human being purposely takes his or her own life is tragic. Robin Williams is no different, except for his notoriety and fame. His death caused a surge of internet posts, pilgrimages to the sites connected with him such as the bench in Boston and the waxing poetic of anyone who had a lovely story to tell. I am no different than most. I ask you to consider, something else when placing a face to the tragic story of suicide. According to statistics, each day at least 22 veterans take their own lives. These are men and women who have volunteered to defend our country, volunteered to place themselves in harms way, to witness atrocities that most of us cannot even fathom in our worst nightmares. We should stop pledging to support research, infrastructure change and the reform of the stigma all associated with mental health issues in the name of a famous actor or comedian. Instead, we should think about those living each day in their own private hell. It saddens me that veteran suicides are so easily overlooked, and then when a famous person dies in the same manner suddenly everyone is a proponent of mental health reform. The little people are important too.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 06:44:13 +0000
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