http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/11/21/suicide_net Comments On: Suicide.net by Paul Constant en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:15:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by sum*life4me]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:42:43 -0800 The Stranger The same arguement of perspective can be placed on the concept of murder during war time. Killing people to stop an evil empire from world domination is exceptable from the perspective of the winning side and murder from the losing side. The only thing that the 2 arguments have in common in either scenario is that some one(s) is ultimately is dead.
Posted by drone5969]]> Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:44:55 -0800 The Stranger Posted by another Andy]]> Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:17:14 -0800 The Stranger As a gay kid living with homophobic parents, I had the joy of failing a suicide attempt, only to have those same homophobes treat me with anger and passive-aggressive behavior at my 'selfishness' until I moved out at 16. And I can assure you their behavior would have been even worse had I come out to them.
I agree (from a mentally healthy perspective) that it IS a selfish act towards folks who love them. BUT- suicidal people KNOW they are unloved/accepted by everyone at the time they attempt, true or not. It's been proven again and again that if a suicidal can be persuaded that even ONE PERSON loves them and will grieve over their death, they will not suicide.
Posted by BeenThere]]> Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:56:32 -0800 The Stranger Posted by So Sad]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:06:46 -0800 The Stranger
of course, I met these object lessons after having tried to kill myself so I guess they functioned more as warnings of what could happen if I tried again and messed it up. life is cruel and botched death is also cruel.
Posted by that sad kid as a sad man]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:51:19 -0800 The Stranger
The only reason I'm still here is that I met a guy a few years back who'd shot himself in the head with a .45. The damned thing didn't kill him, just horribly mutilated his face. So here's someone who was suicidal to start with, and now he looks like the Elephant Man, like he didn't have enough problems. I never could figure out a truly foolproof method, so I never had the guts to go through with it.

The thing you can't see when you're in the depths of a suicidal depression is that there IS a possibility of remission. It feels terminal. It does not feel like it's possible the depression will ever lift. But it can.
Posted by Geni]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:56:33 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Lor]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:35:38 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Marya]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:30:04 -0800 The Stranger Posted by bb]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:08:38 -0800 The Stranger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX1CvW38c…
Posted by levmyshkin]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:26:59 -0800 The Stranger
Suicide is selfish. Saying so is not blaming the victim (calling the victim an asshole, OTOH...). Killing oneself will hurt ones friends and family in direct proportion to their goodwill towards the victim, and the potential suicidee knows this. I think that living, when one perceives death to be in ones best interest, would be a kind and selfless act. And conversely, choosing to die, knowing how it will hurt others, is selfish, even if one thinks it best (end-of-life type situations excluded, obviously). I say this with a lot of sympathy for the deceased, and depressed folks. I think all would be better off if he was still alive, and I wish he knew that.
Posted by RL]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:16:29 -0800 The Stranger
I'm living on the planet of personal responsibility. When you come down from your hippy utopia into the real world, let me know.
Posted by TheMisanthrope]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:03:45 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Vince]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:24:23 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fremont Whiny Babies]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:22:18 -0800 The Stranger
He probably just wanted someone to touch him/hug him without judgment.
Posted by CommonKnowledge]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:54:13 -0800 The Stranger Posted by kids are fucked up!]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:50:38 -0800 The Stranger
It's better now that I'm older and have some perspective, but that stuff is hard to put behind you sometimes. Hang in there.

That being said, if I were to commit suicide in public, it would be definitely suicide by cop at the Pike Place Market, dressed in something amazing.

Not that I've thought about it or anything.
Posted by it'smark mitchell]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:45:22 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Shock]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:38:34 -0800 The Stranger Posted by NapoleonXIV]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:38:22 -0800 The Stranger
I'm looking at you Jonny Liverwurst.
Posted by Shock]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:37:29 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Bellevue Ave]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:36:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by that sad kid as a sad man now]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:25:49 -0800 The Stranger
I wasn't live on the internet and only called a friend to take me to the hospital when it took too long (I waited at least 6 hours after taking an entire bottle of 100 aspirin) and I started worrying that it could turn out to be really agonizing instead of the peaceful, painfree drift off to noplace I'd envisioned (also I was a real puss about the intense discomfort)

the subsequent stomach pumping, ambulance ride, intensive care and locked mental health ward stay, not to mention the humiliation that high school faculty knew, the shame and guilt at what it did to my family and on and on really really sucked

my attempt wasn't a conscious cry for help, or at least not the help I got, though I guess it was the desperate move of someone who was completely miserable - on the other hand, if there was a magic button I could press to retroactively and instantly wipe myself out of existence, I would have jammed that thing down without hesitation and still would -- no need for cheerleaders, the existential horror of life is more than enough
Posted by that sad kid as a sad man now]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:24:41 -0800 The Stranger
Seriously, the guy was asking for it. History has proven that the human race, especially when anonymous, have a fascination with death, especially unnatural ones. From the latest car accident on 520 to the video series Faces of Death to public beheadings to Roman lion chow time...the public have always been fascinated by death and violence. And, woe be it to the person who expects the human being to stop it.

The real asshole in the story is the kid who killed himself. Anybody who attempts suicide (especially to fail at it) is doing an incredibly misguided selfish assholish thing. Especially if he expected somebody whom he has never met in person to come to his rescue.
Posted by TheMisanthrope]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:23:27 -0800 The Stranger