Public Suicide: Selfish?
May. 27th, 2009 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psyCNN: Would-be Suicide Jumper Pushed Off Bridge
BBC: Video Footage
Organizations such as the Yellow Ribbon suicide prevention program reach out to thousands of high schools and universities in America every year. Students are told to watch out for signs of depression, and to seek help for any friends or classmates who may be contemplating suicide. This story, however, demonstrates that not all individuals are as sympathetic toward people contemplating suicide, especially when it is done in public, and "selfish" in the sense that hundreds of commuters are unable to go to work, pick up their children from school, etc. Your thoughts on all of this?
BBC: Video Footage
Organizations such as the Yellow Ribbon suicide prevention program reach out to thousands of high schools and universities in America every year. Students are told to watch out for signs of depression, and to seek help for any friends or classmates who may be contemplating suicide. This story, however, demonstrates that not all individuals are as sympathetic toward people contemplating suicide, especially when it is done in public, and "selfish" in the sense that hundreds of commuters are unable to go to work, pick up their children from school, etc. Your thoughts on all of this?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-28 06:25 am (UTC)To a certain extent, public suicide is selfish. Anyone who commits suicide in a deliberately public way is generally either saying "Hey! Pay attention over here! Notice me!" or "Fuck ya'll, now you have to pay attention!"
That does not, however, mean that they aren't in pain and don't need help, it just means they are really really desperate and often angry.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-28 03:11 pm (UTC)suicide is a really touchy issue for me. a very close friend took his own life almost exactly four years ago. his wasn't public, though -- in fact, nobody found him until almost three weeks after, which caused me and all his other friends an incredible amount of guilt/shame.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-28 03:43 pm (UTC)I've had friends and family both commit suicide//attempt to commit suicide before. I've even [obviously unsuccessfully] tried at one point in my life. Instead of inspiring feelings of worry and sadness, it causes me extreme... anger.
There are always people who are doing worse than you are in the world, yet they trudge on. To hurt the people who love you so deeply is such a horribly selfish act... it's not even a matter of weakness when you take that and flaunt it to the world. I get it--it's a cry for help--for attention. I can't quite... relate to that. I can't see how something that once filled me with such a private shame would be better with an audience.
I don't know--now I'm just rambling. /: