Shephard Smith rant on Robin Williams "cowardice"?

[Bluray2]

Really?

 

BR2

 

[video=youtube;BCFSoi8i0co]

[Guest ChrisW]

The closeted guy who has more make up on than Tammy Faye Bakker is calling someone a coward? Thats rich...

[armadillo]

BluRay, I brought this up yesterday in following thread:

 

http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?99836-Robin-Williams-Found-Dead/page3

 

 

And if you are outraged by Fox and Shep, there is action you can take:

 

Friends,

 

While fans around the world mourn the tragic death of Robin Williams,

Fox News has come out and called the comic genius a “coward” for his

apparent suicide.

 

Fox News knows it is in the wrong after public outcry -- the right

wing channel forced its anchor to apologize, but it’s not enough.

 

Join me to take action against Fox News for its insensitivity here:

http://action.sumofus.org/a/robin-williams-fox-news-insensitive-comments/?sub=mtl

 

Thank you!

[Frankly Rich]

bluray must not have worked too hard to see if a thread was already up on Williams.

[Bluray2]

bluray must not have worked too hard to see if a thread was already up on Williams.

 

My apologies!

 

BR2

[Diverdan]

Fox News is an abomination. I never watch it, will never watch it and I wouldn't bother to even respond. They don't care... they have a group of viewers who are always out of touch with reality... but as long as sponsors advertize there, or the Koch brothers support them, they unfortunately will stay on the air.

[+ deej]

Rush Limbaugh chimed in, too.

 

He blamed it on Williams being a liberal because "they're full of hate and rage". Sez the guy who spends every moment on the radio machine fomenting hate and rage.

[bostonman]

I think it's all calculated, specifically to get (negative) attention, in the same way a troll does on a forum or chatboard. It's all about stirring up controversy for the sake of stirring up controversy. And yes, it's disgusting.

[BSR]

I would hardly categorize what Shepard Smith said as a rant. Just as it takes courage to take on your demons, it's fair to say that avoiding those demons is cowardice. Let's not forget the enormous pain that someone who commits suicide leaves behind. My uncle committed suicide over 20 years ago, and his sisters still tear up when they stop to think about it. Had my uncle chosen to face his problems, he might be happy, or at least OK, today, and he would have spared my aunts decades of pain.

 

That said, I think we should keep in mind that self-preservation is one of our strongest instincts. If self-preservation weren't so deeply embedded in our DNA, we would have died out as a species a long time ago. If a person's pain is so deep that it overrides the most powerful instinct of self-preservation, then that pain must truly be unbearable. For that reason, I don't think we should criticize those who commit suicide. But at same time, we can't ignore the pain they leave behind. By the eulogies given by Williams' children, it is clear that their father's suicide has devastated them. The pain will ease in time, but I doubt that kind of pain ever really goes away. God bless those who have the courage to confront their demons. Also, may God bless the souls of those who lacked such courage.

[armadillo]

Getting up and smiling for the world and making the world laugh is not cowardice, being a lowly news reporter feeling the need to speak condescendingly upon suicide is.

[Nvr2Thick]

I would hardly categorize what Shepard Smith said as a rant. Just as it takes courage to take on your demons, it's fair to say that avoiding those demons is cowardice. Let's not forget the enormous pain that someone who commits suicide leaves behind. My uncle committed suicide over 20 years ago, and his sisters still tear up when they stop to think about it. Had my uncle chosen to face his problems, he might be happy, or at least OK, today, and he would have spared my aunts decades of pain.

 

We have no idea whether he avoided those demons. It could be that he took them on day after day and eventually succumbed. We do not know the depths of his struggle. Shepard Smith says, "...because his father killed himself in a fit of depression." Smith, of course, has no idea whether it's correct to characterize William's situation as "a fit of depression." It's a media layman's self-serving assessment of something complex and very personal.

 

It has been forgotten for decades, but editorializing is supposed to be considered a rare indulgence for a journalist. Anyone remember when news programs used to put up the "Editorial" banner while a news anchor was switching to that role? Now its commonplace for opinion to be woven into the reporting of news. Even the respectful coverage crosses the line over and over as reporters express their feelings for the impact of this event as they discuss its meaning with Williams' friends. Now that the event (Robin Williams died, of a now confirmed suicide) has been reported the new news event is "the nation/world/friends/family/peers/fans mourn", not "we all feel bad". Of course Shepard's is among the worst as he speculates, attempts to interpret and simultaneously judge Williams' actions and state of mind.

 

Certainly a suicide takes a huge toll on those close to the person who has chosen to do so. Because the act is a personal choice family and close friends can question whether they should have been aware, and they can come to feel that the act his been inflicted upon themselves or has been done without regard for themselves. Speaking for myself I can say that getting around that obstacle can be the greatest challenge for a suicide. There are a few ways to justify or rationalize the pain you will cause. Sometimes the desperation becomes so strong that awareness of these consequence on others are forgotten. Sometimes it can become vindictive; you can come to believe that someone deserves to carry the burden that you did this because of him or her. An acquaintance managed to convince himself over time that his children and fiancee were better off without him, and that this act would help everyone.

 

Using terms such as cowardice and selfishness to describe a suicide is an oversimplification, though it's reasonable to want to understand something we can't necessarily truly understand.

[VirginiaGuy]

The whole concept of successfully fighting off bouts of depression and addiction as proof of "courage" and a fatal failure to fight off this one bout as "cowardice" fundamentally misunderstand the nature of these diseases. Williams, like so many millions similarly afflicted, has fought these episodes over and over again throughout his life. Until this week, he always managed to get ahead of it. This time, the fuckers caught up with him. Maybe his guards were down, maybe his medicine was not quite calibrated, or maybe it hit at a moment when someone wasn't around to intervene. But to say that a man who successfully fought back time and again is guilty of "cowardice" because the disease finally won is not just mean, it's fundamentally misinformed about the nature of this mental affliction. And that's where Smith really failed, by implying that depression is something anyone can beat by swinging a big enough dick and being tough and courageous. Not so simple.

 

Then again, FOX being callous and misinforming viewers... Not exactly breaking news.

[bigvalboy]

We have no idea whether he avoided those demons. It could be that he took them on day after day and eventually succumbed. We do not know the depths of his struggle. Shepard Smith says, "...because his father killed himself in a fit of depression." Smith, of course, has no idea whether it's correct to characterize William's situation as "a fit of depression." It's a media layman's self-serving assessment of something complex and very personal.

 

Using terms such as cowardice and selfishness to describe a suicide is an oversimplification, though it's reasonable to want to understand something we can't necessarily truly understand.

 

Well said....

[BSR]

This thread has devolved into yet another example of liberal selfishness. Self-congratulatory liberals pretend to care about something or someone, and they endlessly congratulate themselves because their supposed compassion makes them noble and selfless. But the awful truth is that the only thing liberals care about is the Single Liberal Principle: "how does this benefit ME?" In this case, liberals are feigning compassion for Robin Williams and those who commit suicide, but the awful truth is that they are twisting the issue into a means of attacking (with the long-term goal of destroying) two powerhouses of conservatism, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. I've said it before, I'll say it a thousand times: today's American liberals are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.

[Nvr2Thick]

This thread has devolved into yet another example of liberal selfishness. Self-congratulatory liberals pretend to care about something or someone, and they endlessly congratulate themselves because their supposed compassion makes them noble and selfless. But the awful truth is that the only thing liberals care about is the Single Liberal Principle: "how does this benefit ME?" In this case, liberals are feigning compassion for Robin Williams and those who commit suicide, but the awful truth is that they are twisting the issue into a means of attacking (with the long-term goal of destroying) two powerhouses of conservatism, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. I've said it before, I'll say it a thousand times: today's American liberals are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.

 

...he said, self-indulgently.

[armadillo]

And when a leading Tea Party member in MS commits suicide, all express grief:

 

http://www.chinatopix.com/articles/4405/20140719/mississippi-tea-party-vicechairman-mark-mayfield-commits.htm

[bigvalboy]

This thread has devolved into yet another example of liberal selfishness. Self-congratulatory liberals pretend to care about something or someone, and they endlessly congratulate themselves because their supposed compassion makes them noble and selfless. But the awful truth is that the only thing liberals care about is the Single Liberal Principle: "how does this benefit ME?" In this case, liberals are feigning compassion for Robin Williams and those who commit suicide, but the awful truth is that they are twisting the issue into a means of attacking (with the long-term goal of destroying) two powerhouses of conservatism, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. I've said it before, I'll say it a thousand times: today's American liberals are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.

 

Your first post was thoughtful, interesting even, but this just sounds like an angry rant. I'm just not sure what could have possibly set you off. OK, several of us jumped on the whole Shepard Smith faux pas, myself included, but that's to be expected. It was one one of those moments that shocked a lot of people, and your right, there was a little bit of a gotcha moment for the media. In this age of social media, everyone does it.

 

Smith's argument is not new. There will always be someone who believes that suicide is a cowardice act, to be clear, personally I think that argument is flawed, but there is room somewhere down the line to have that discussion. His timing was inappropriate and his comments insensitive. I think a couple of days to celebrate the man's life, before everyone begins dissecting his demons and that tortured part of his life, that none of us was privy to, is not too much to ask.

 

When you are in the public eye, everything that you say is scrutinized. From my view point, he said something that was, at the very least, arguably inaccurate. He got called out on social media, and had to walk those comments back. When someone speaks inappropriately, no matter how well intentioned, there apology should be immediate and sincere. I read Smith's remarks, and apology and I thought his apology was both, and I accept it. Conservatives haven't concerned the market on inappropriate comments or behavior. Liberals are just as guilty. I'll agree, Smith's initial comments were hardly a rant, but the tone of your post sounds like one, and calling liberals "grotesquely selfish" does nothing to further the conversation.

[Lohengrin1979]

This thread has devolved into yet another example of liberal selfishness. Self-congratulatory liberals pretend to care about something or someone, and they endlessly congratulate themselves because their supposed compassion makes them noble and selfless. But the awful truth is that the only thing liberals care about is the Single Liberal Principle: "how does this benefit ME?" In this case, liberals are feigning compassion for Robin Williams and those who commit suicide, but the awful truth is that they are twisting the issue into a means of attacking (with the long-term goal of destroying) two powerhouses of conservatism, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. I've said it before, I'll say it a thousand times: today's American liberals are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.

 

What is it about being accountable for one's actions that some conservatives find to be so surprising, I ask? Mr. Smith spoke unwise words about a sensitive situation on a national forum and received backlash for it from people on both sides of the fence. If Shep Smith and Rush Limbaugh don't want their "powerhouses" of conservatism to fall, then perhaps they should guard their tongues with more wisdom and human decency.

 

 

Lohengrin

[bostonman]

What is it about being accountable for one's actions that some conservatives find to be so surprising, I ask? Mr. Smith spoke unwise words about a sensitive situation on a national forum and received backlash for it from people on both sides of the fence. If Shep Smith and Rush Limbaugh don't want their "powerhouses" of conservatism to fall, then perhaps they should guard their tongues with more wisdom and human decency.

 

 

Lohengrin

 

Human decency is the entire point. Yes, Smith has the constitutional right to say whatever he wants, but some things do go against human decency, and one of the things we accept as polite and decent, respectful behavior is to not speak ill of someone who has just died. Especially speaking ill of a public figure who is beloved by many, especially when it's a public figure who is the one speaking out, and also particularly when the family of the deceased has issued a public statement asking for privacy (which really translates into a request for respect and decency).

 

I could care less who is liberal, conservative, or whatever. That doesn't play into this as far as I'm concerned, except that we know Fox News is only "fair and balanced" on the conservative side, lol. I don't care what Smith's political leanings are. Simply put, what he said was disrespectful in a way that most of the rest of us decent human beings could recognize. I'm not saying he can't believe in what he said - but it's a matter of tact to know when it's appropriate and not appropriate - ESPECIALLY if you're in the public eye - to say things such as that. Smith showed he has no tact.

 

Down the road at some point, when the initial impact of Williams' death has lessened, his statement might still seem disrespectful, but perhaps somewhat less so than it did in the immediate aftermath of the suicide. Why he didn't hold his tongue on the subject until (at least) a time when the suicide was no longer in the forefront of the news is inexplicable and unforgivable.

 

Even though Fox News is a news network, being on TV still makes the network a form of "entertainment" in a broad sense (And for the record, I'd say the same for CNN or any other TV network.). We all know that one essential thing any entertainer must have is good timing. Smith here demonstrated he has lousy, unprofessional timing.

 

That's all. Nothing liberal or conservative about it. Just mean-spiritedness from someone in a position of power who really should have known better.

[TruthBTold]

Really?

 

BR2

 

[video=youtube;BCFSoi8i0co]

 

What an ASSHOLE!!! (Sorry)