Topic: Suicide? Not on my watch!

[Pugnate]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/23/china.suicide/index.html

[Xessive]

He raises a valid point. A lot of it is a plea for attention.

[Dragonlor]

I would have to agree.  Most people who actually go out and commit suicide do it suddenly.  I had an English teacher in high school that was all about telling the faculty if a friend was talking about suicide. Well during one of her lectures about it i said out loud.  "If a friend of mine calls me ot tells me he/she is going to commit suicide I'm going to tell them to do it."  Well to say the least she didn't like that.  Anyways the point I'm making is if someone is thinking of suicide they usually don't tell anyone they just go out and do it.  Like my friends dad jsut went out to a rest area and shot himself in the head.  Everyone was just kinda shocked by that.  Otherwise they are just trying to get attention so they can make themselves feel better about themselves.

[Cobra951]

I don't understand the "attempting" thing with suicide.  It's not hard at all to complete the act.  Yeah, anyone who "attempts" suicide and fails more than once doesn't really want to die.  They're after something else, whatever that may be.  Attention seems the likely goal.

[Ghandi]

I was listening to something on NPR a few weeks back about a class taught on assisted suicide. Basically it was aimed at people with terminal illnesses, and it offered information on what drugs to use and how to get them. It was an interesting discussion from both sides.

[Quemaqua]

I don't understand the "attempting" thing with suicide.  It's not hard at all to complete the act.  Yeah, anyone who "attempts" suicide and fails more than once doesn't really want to die.  They're after something else, whatever that may be.  Attention seems the likely goal.

Not necessarily true.  Someone in my family tried to kill themselves somewhere in the order of 10 times and continually failed, and they weren't out for attention because none of us had any idea until the last attempt.  They took a shitload of pills, but instead of dying, they basically went crazy for several days alone in their apartment.  Depending on the road you take, apparently it can lead to disaster but not death.

[wizall]

I've always wondered at the use of the verb "commit" when talking about suicide. In the use of the word it's as if it should be considered a crime. Idiocy, if you ask me.

[Cobra951]

Looks like you and this guy think a lot alike.

Believe it or not, suicide has been considered a crime.  I don't know what the status of such laws is today.  Calling suicide a crime does seem silly.  You can't arrest or punish the perpetrator, so what's the point?  On the other hand, if you assist a suicide, then if the suicide wasn't a crime, you can't be an accomplice to a crime.

[Xessive]

I think suicide falls under the category of criminal activity because it results in the death of a human; in this case the self.

It's in the word itself. The suffix "cide" is the act of killing. Homicide: killing a person; suicide: killing onseself; genocide: killing of antire group of people; omnicide: the destruction of everything.

The laws and penalties on suicide vary from place to place. Intentional, accidental, whether or not it resulted from a mental condition are all factors. I know in some cases the offendors' estate becomes the property of the governing body rather their heir(s). A real shit deal.

In the Middle-East, at least among Arabic nations, it is considered shameful. The offendor is considered a disgraced coward or a jackass. Usually the family and friends that feel are the ones especially offended by the suicide. Socially, no one talks about it, it's considered a distasteful subject.

I believe any person has the freedom of will to choose anything they want to do; it's just a question of whether or not they're willing to pay the price or suffer the consequences. Basically risk and cost assessment. Nothing is free, fair trade.

[Dragonlor]

After reading the link I have to totally disagree with the way he represented harm.  Honestly does suicide harm others physically...no.  But on the other hand it can harm family and friends mentally, which in fact can be worse.  Some mental scars never go away while physical ones usually do.  Also some criminals might commit a crime never intending to hurt someone but to actually save or help somebody.  like stealing some bread to feed a starving child.  So the ignorant one was that guy.  People who try to commit suicide are the selfish ones not even realizing the people they are hurting around them.  This is why I refuse to help people who tell me they want to commit suicide.  i tell them to just do it and leave me alone, or if they actually really need help to go see a doctor.