Althouse: "My favorite photos of family are framed in my house, not posted on social media, and they‘ll remain there."

August 13, 2014

"My favorite photos of family are framed in my house, not posted on social media, and they‘ll remain there."

"My family has always been private about our time spent together. It was our way of keeping one thing that was ours, with a man we shared with an entire world. But now that's gone, and I feel stripped bare."

12 comments:

The Crack Emcee said...: Not too bright, going on Twitter now,...; 8/13/14, 8:24 AM
Paddy O said...: The tweets are nothing compared to what her dad did to her.

But the tweets are indeed horrible.

Another way that shows how people forget there are other real people out there. Or maybe don't forget. Just get to the point they don't care.; 8/13/14, 8:31 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Althouse is much more gentle with this suicide than other self-murders.; 8/13/14, 8:44 AM
Unknown said...: The tweets are nothing compared to what her dad did to her.

Why not let her be the judge of that.; 8/13/14, 8:45 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Althouse is much more gentle with this suicide than other self-murders."

You might have missed yesterday's post.

This post is about the daughter.; 8/13/14, 8:46 AM
Ann Althouse said...: And this post is on the day's theme: social media problems.; 8/13/14, 8:46 AM
Paddy O said...: "Why not let her be the judge of that."

Because I'm not in charge of letting or not letting her do anything.

But it seems pretty clear that her dad's suicide is more emotionally traumatic than two tweets about it.

Would she have responded to those tweets in the same way had her dad not first committed the initial self-violence?; 8/13/14, 9:02 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "The tweets are nothing compared to what her dad did to her."

Getting mad at the tweets is what Freud called displacement.; 8/13/14, 10:02 AM
harrogate said...: "Getting mad at the tweets is what Freud called displacement."

It would be reasonable for anyone, including ourselves, to "get mad at the tweets," since they are after all disgusting. Even if she is feeling anger at her father, she can very easily be "mad at the tweets" without committing "displacement."; 8/13/14, 1:32 PM
Larry J said...: Even if she is feeling anger at her father

She may be feeling anger at her father, or she may have seen his struggles with depression up close and personal and knew it was just a matter of time. It's even possible, although perhaps unlikely at this point, that she accepts the fact that he isn't suffering any more. I only knew Robin Williams from his personna and from his work. She knew him all her life up close and personal. I don't presume to project emotions onto other people.; 8/13/14, 2:39 PM
harrogate said...: Larry J,

Agreed on every point.; 8/13/14, 2:51 PM
Unknown said...: Paddy O - by putting different values onto her grief, you're making assumptions about her that you can't back up.; 8/13/14, 3:21 PM