So sorry to hear about Chris. Last year, during the campaign when the US Politics thread was in a frenzy, I often wondered where he was. I would have loved to have had him posting then. Chris, of course, could not be pigeon-holed into a particular political party or position. He criticized just about everyone and everything—including himself.
I got to know him in the Clinic back in the day when everything revolved around LA, and whether he was ever going to get caught and banned. My position should have made me the target of Chris' vitriol, but he always expressed great respect for me. We got along just fine. We even PMd a few times, and I guess it can be revealed now that in one of those PMs, he wanted my advice on how to drive Python nuts!
I never met Chris face-to-face, but his death is probably a little more personal for me than for others here, because many years ago I suffered from depression. I remember one moment from that time when, had I owned a gun and known how to use it, I might very well have killed myself (that’s not the only reason I support gun control, but it’s a good one). Not because I was in so much pain, but because life was completely meaningless, it made no difference at all whether I lived or died.
I don’t know what Chris’ situation was before he died, but I can easily understand how even those close to him might not have seen it coming. Depression is frequently an almost invisible disease, even, in some ways, to those experiencing it. I will say, though, that from reading his posts and looking at the video that Glenn posted, I find it very hard to believe he was suffering from depression during the period he was active in this forum. There’s an energy there that, in my limited experience at least, is absent when one is depressed. Maybe it was a more recent development, or maybe the factors leading to his death were completely external.
Glenn, I assume you know his wife/widow and daughter well. I have no idea what you would say or did say to them at that time. I can only hope that the daughter, particularly vulnerable, does not in any way see herself to blame for this.