Monday must have been a very slow news day.
The media went into a frenzy to cover the demise of Robin Williams.
Suddenly he was the greatest comic genius the world had ever seen.
With all due respect to his family, I don’t share this opinion.
Robin Williams could be occasionally funny, but a “comic genius” he was not.
I never liked “shticks” and he used too many of them.
I had a soft spot for him in “serious” roles like in Good Will Hunting.
But it is not easy to be tagged a “funnyman”. You have to constantly prove that you are witty and it is more often a burden than an advantage.
Personally, if I had to pick a funny man, it would choose John Cleese of Monty Python fame or Jerry Seinfeld.
But with the world ablaze with hatred and destruction, I cannot understand why news departments everywhere chose to devote most of the day to report the passing of a comedian.
Excuse my French, but right now I am more concerned with what’s happening in Iraq where a bunch of Islamic fanatics are maiming or killing anybody who don’t share the same twisted beliefs.
I am worried about Ukraine where Putin might ignite Word War Three.
Who thought that the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would start WWI?
I am worried about Israel, the last sane, pro-western bastion in the Middle East cauldron.
I am worried about Turkey where sinister “mildly Islamist” Recep Erdogan was just elected president.
I am worried about Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban and the fate of women in that cursed country.
I am worried about Syria, Libya, Nigeria, Sudan, etc. and the rise of extremism everywhere…
I am worried about the spawning of radical zealots in Europe.
So excuse me for not showing extraordinarily concern about the passing of a mere troubled “funny man”.
Alain