On Suicide
This is going to touch alot of nerves, I'll bet, so bear this in mind: if you respond with loaded comments, either for or against the post, they will promptly be deleted. I am not going to get into a fight on my journal, but I have alot of friends who wouldn't mind bitching you out, so this is for your own safety. Loaded comments involve judgemental or derogatory phrasings. I will, of course, be the sole judge, so even if you don't see it, if *I* do, I will delete it.
Now, onto my defense of the dignity of suicide (though, note: not the act itself. Just it's dignity.)
You know, I've been thinking.
Why do we try to stop people from committing suicide? I mean, really?
Yes, killing yourself is by far the most selfish thing one can do, but if someone is in so much pain that they feel the only thing they can do is give up... then are we not being nearly equally selfish in forcing them to stay and suffer?
The only cause we might have for forcing someone to not kill themselves is personal gain. I mean, let's think about it... if we truly cared about the person, we would work with them to improve their lives until either they were happy individuals, or they felt there was nothing else we could do.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the wish to commit suicide comes from a lack of hope. We cannot force hope upon someone, it's something that has to come naturally, of its own accord. And you know what? Some people have lost hope, and will never find it again. And a life without hope is not a life at all, but a sort of half-life where nothing can satisfy.
If someone decides to off themselves, we should be thankful that they have finally found an escape, a rest for their demons, a second chance. Not pissed and furious with them for copping out. Because, you know what? If you're not the one in the coffin, you can't know whatever personal hell they were living in. You can't ever know that.
Death is a personal thing. A beautiful thing. There is no such thing as a dishonorable death, only a dishonorable life (and that only if you don't buy into subjective and relative truth/reality as I do) which clouds and covers the death.
Some people might be angry with a friend who decides to move to another country, but we don't consider this anger justified, so is the anger at a suicide considered justifiable? It's the same thing, except that a suicide cannot move back. I'm not saying we shouldn't be upset about death, we shouldn't be upset about a friend leaving us, whether its to the next stage of life or another country... but there is no justifiable reason why we should be particularly upset with a person for choosing to leave us.
They're not leaving because of *us.* If they were, wouldn't everyone we know be leaving? Or, at least, more than one person? No. They're leaving because the weight of the world is too much for them. Because they can't seem to be happy, and they can't see themselves being happy where they are.
We all feel that way eventually about something, and if we see a way out, we take it. It's perfectly natural. Hell, I did it with Putney, and no one thinks less of me for it.
So, why the fuck can't we just accept the fact that this world isn't made for everyone?
Now, onto my defense of the dignity of suicide (though, note: not the act itself. Just it's dignity.)
You know, I've been thinking.
Why do we try to stop people from committing suicide? I mean, really?
Yes, killing yourself is by far the most selfish thing one can do, but if someone is in so much pain that they feel the only thing they can do is give up... then are we not being nearly equally selfish in forcing them to stay and suffer?
The only cause we might have for forcing someone to not kill themselves is personal gain. I mean, let's think about it... if we truly cared about the person, we would work with them to improve their lives until either they were happy individuals, or they felt there was nothing else we could do.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the wish to commit suicide comes from a lack of hope. We cannot force hope upon someone, it's something that has to come naturally, of its own accord. And you know what? Some people have lost hope, and will never find it again. And a life without hope is not a life at all, but a sort of half-life where nothing can satisfy.
If someone decides to off themselves, we should be thankful that they have finally found an escape, a rest for their demons, a second chance. Not pissed and furious with them for copping out. Because, you know what? If you're not the one in the coffin, you can't know whatever personal hell they were living in. You can't ever know that.
Death is a personal thing. A beautiful thing. There is no such thing as a dishonorable death, only a dishonorable life (and that only if you don't buy into subjective and relative truth/reality as I do) which clouds and covers the death.
Some people might be angry with a friend who decides to move to another country, but we don't consider this anger justified, so is the anger at a suicide considered justifiable? It's the same thing, except that a suicide cannot move back. I'm not saying we shouldn't be upset about death, we shouldn't be upset about a friend leaving us, whether its to the next stage of life or another country... but there is no justifiable reason why we should be particularly upset with a person for choosing to leave us.
They're not leaving because of *us.* If they were, wouldn't everyone we know be leaving? Or, at least, more than one person? No. They're leaving because the weight of the world is too much for them. Because they can't seem to be happy, and they can't see themselves being happy where they are.
We all feel that way eventually about something, and if we see a way out, we take it. It's perfectly natural. Hell, I did it with Putney, and no one thinks less of me for it.
So, why the fuck can't we just accept the fact that this world isn't made for everyone?