I wondered at the beginning of this module, why suicide wasn't included as one of the topics. Like I've admitted before though, I do have a morbid curiosity -but I wasn't waiting for something tragic like this to happen before bringing the subject up in my blogs.
Suicide must be the ulitimate personal statement. I also have to admit that sometimes in my rather murky alcoholic past, it has been something that played on my mind quite a bit - as a way out of a situation I felt I had no control over. Alcoholism is a process of slow suicide in its own right, if you take it to the bitter end.
I digress though. The question in my mind isn't so much the 'why?' - but the 'how?' Not the mechanics of doing it, obviously, but how someone can feel so utterly at the point of no return, where they can actually go through with it. There are those that would say it's the coward's way out, but in my opinion, it's one of the most courageous things anyone can do. The act goes against a lot of peoples' beliefs and opens a whole debate on the rights and wrongs of it.
One train of thought is that life was given to us by God, and only he can take it away again. I'm not a religious person, and feel that our life is our own and it's up to each individual to make the decisions in their life that they feel are the right ones for them; whether that be from the most basic and trivial, right through to what is probably the most difficult - whether to take your own life or not - it does have a certain finality about it; once you've done it, you can't change your mind.
There's also the big question of what happens if it goes wrong? With some methods - such as hanging, a person could end up permanently brain damaged, and then they could have to live the rest of their lives powerless to do anything because they're trapped in a mind they have little or no control over - which to me would be worse than dying. Would that be seen by some as God's punishment for trying to take something that wasn't theirs to take in the first place? I'm sorry, but I can't see it that way.
Mark Speight - Telegraph
3 comments:
I found your entry about suicide really interesting. I too have developed something of a morbid curiosity as well, ever since I read "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby, which is about four people who all try to kill themselves on New Year's Eve by throwing themselves off a building, and how they all accidentally meet on the roof-top before the event. It's very interesting as it looks at the different reasons why they are all motivated to do such a drastic thing.
One view I had never thought of until I read the book is that suicide is in most religions seen as a 'sin', and as you said, only God has the power to take our lives, as he gave us them in the first place. As I'm not particularly religious I don't go along with that, but I can see why people suddenly 'find God' when they are at such a low point in their lives - it rationalises why they CANNOT take their own lives (when really they are just afraid to). I agree with you when you say that it takes a very brave person to end their own life.
This was a really good entry, I've very much enjoyed your blog, thank you!
I too do not understand the religious viewpoint on suicide. It is one of the fundaments of religion that I cannot seem to grasp. Christianity teaches us that any sin is forgiven, if only we repent, apart from suicide. So you can rape, torture or kill thousands of people and still be let into the kingdom of heaven if only you apologise. Yet if you’ve never harmed a hair on anyone else’s head, yet you take your own life, its an eternity in hell for you.
However I don’t think that committing suicide is a courageous thing to do at all. Life is hard, it’s a struggle, its not easy, you have to fight for what you want. You have to work hard. You get knocked down and have to get up again repeatedly. But wouldn’t life be dull if it wasn’t a challenge? If happiness was handed to us on a plate, I’m sure we’d all get sick of eating it. Everybody has dark days when they wish they didn’t have to face the world. The courageous thing to do is get up and face it.
I agree with what you say about suicide, that it must be the ultimate personal statement. I do not at all, however, agree with your statement that it is one of the most courageous things people can do.
Having lost a high school boyfriend to suicide when left home for Uni several years ago, I have a very different view of this tragic act. Think about how many people are affected by one suicide, and how the one committing suicide will never need to deal with the aftermath. Everyone else will hurt, and need to cope, and why? Because someone didn't want to suffer anymore. Suicide is selfish, causing everyone else involved to suffer. I consider the real victims of suicide to be the survivors.
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