Poll: Suicide

[Icehearted]

Simple question, I'm sure will garner complicated answers; Why do people mock suicide?
On the internet they sometimes mockingly call it "heroics", while often others will call people who have chosen death are referred to as "morons", "cowards", and "idiots". Is it really idiotic to want death over a life of suffering? It doesn't always get better, things don't often actually improve, in fact I've seen things get worse for a lot of people that have been stricken with the kind of personal grief that sustains suicidality.

I know a young man, barely an adult, that took his own life and he was mentally disturbed. Do people really think mental illness is a mark of stupidity? I knew a woman that deliberately allowed her boyfriend to kill her before turning the gun on himself, was she really just an idiot and a coward?

I'm running on a bit, but I'm genuinely curious about this mentality people have with mocking and ridiculing anyone that considers this the only way to get out of a life of abuse, mental illness, and unresolvable grief.

I'd really like to understand why suicidal people face such seemingly provocative ridicule and rebuke.

Edit: I'm not asking about whether you have mocked suicide, I'm asking about whether or not (and why) people mock other people that are seriously contemplating suicide.

 

[similar.squirrel]

There's a very fine line between outright derision and good-natured ribbing. The latter can often save a person's life by putting their feelings into a more objective light. Calling somebody a 'moron' because they are suicidal is a horrible thing to do, however. Making light of the situation [usually the typical male, white and middle-class woes] can cause a re-appraisal, though.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Some people commit suicide for completely justifiable reasons, other people kill themselves because they're too cowardly to work out their problems the hard way.

As with any group of people, there are extemes on both sides.

 

[Jonluw]

I haven't mocked anyone who's suicidal in the sense that I've made fun of them for being suicidal, but I've joked with suicide, the same way that I joke with baby killing, racism and rape.

I'm allowed to joke about suicide though, since I was/am suicidal myself.

 

[Lacsapix]

It is his/her choice to make not mine, I respect that.

 

[Kortney]

First of all, there is nothing you shouldn't joke about. Just because we may be personally connected to one issue does not mean anyone who jokes about it is an asshole. To quote Ricky Gervais "comedy comes from a good or a bad place". Context is everything.

Secondly, just because someone jokes about an issue does not mean they do not take it seriously or do not care about it. Humour is used as a sword, a shield and a medicine.

Thirdly, and to answer your question, I may have joked about suicide before. As if I would remember every joke I have told? But, if I have, I doubt the person committing suicide was the real target.

 

[Dogstile]

Sure I have and I stick by it. My life used to /suck/. I used to get the living shit kicked out of me every day. This went on for years.

I never once tried to commit suicide. The people I mock are the people who's parents argue every now and again, or don't have that many friends. They need to grow up and realise there are worse things in the world.

Edit:

THIS IS MY OPINION. YOU CANNOT PROVE ME WRONG ON THIS BECAUSE OF THAT. I DON'T LIKE PEOPLE WHO CRY FOR ATTENTION USING SUICIDE. DEAL WITH IT.

 

[Icehearted]

I haven't mocked anyone who's suicidal in the sense that I've made fun of them for being suicidal, but I've joked with suicide, the same way that I joke with baby killing, racism and rape.

I'm allowed to joke about suicide though, since I was/am suicidal myself.

I recognize the difference between making light of a bad situation, but what I'm asking is more about making light of or outright attacking people that are desperate enough to prefer death over life. I understand how you feel more than I am willing to elaborate on, but I'd think if anything that would make a person like you much more empathetic when it came to the plight of others.

I do get where you're coming from though, it just seems the only real support for people in this mindset are from uncaring therapists offering unrealistic by-the-book solutions according to their training. Peers, I've found, are often much better at getting through to someone because they "get it".

 

[Queen Michael]

I've never joked about suicide.

 

[DEAD34345]

I would never insult someone for being suicidal, but i personally do think it is often a cowardly thing to do. Even if your problems are completely unfix-able (Unlikely)and so horrific that you wish to end your one chance at life prematurely, then surely you should at least refrain from suicide for the sake of your family, and friends?

There are exceptional circumstances, of-course, but often suicidal people leave a trail of distraught and horrified people who have had to go through the experience of having someone they know commit suicide. It has thankfully never happened to me, but i can only imagine how people feel when someone they are close to commits suicide. I know i would feel horrified, depressed and most likely guilty for not having helped enough. It might even be enough to cause further suicide. It's certainly not something i would wish upon anyone, and personally i think it is cowardly to go through with suicide knowing the affect it will have on people, rather than trying to make things better, or just push through them.

 

[anthony87]

I've been involved with/around suicide three times now from the time I was 17 or so, by now I'm pretty...I suppose you could say desensitised to the whole thing.

I don't make fun of people who are suicidal because I pretty much don't care at this stage.

 

[Jonluw]

I haven't mocked anyone who's suicidal in the sense that I've made fun of them for being suicidal, but I've joked with suicide, the same way that I joke with baby killing, racism and rape.

I'm allowed to joke about suicide though, since I was/am suicidal myself.

I recognize the difference between making light of a bad situation, but what I'm asking is more about making light of or outright attacking people that are desperate enough to prefer death over life. I understand how you feel more than I am willing to elaborate on, but I'd think if anything that would make a person like you much more empathetic when it came to the plight of others.

Oh, I would never attack or make fun of someone who wants to die. Sucide can just be a funny topic, that's all. Like that comic with the guy who dons a razorwire noose and glues his hands to his head.

I do get where you're coming from though, it just seems the only real support for people in this mindset are from uncaring therapists offering unrealistic by-the-book solutions according to their training. Peers, I've found, are often much better at getting through to someone because they "get it".

I wouldn't know. I've tried neither.

 

[Gardenia]

Spoiler: Ofcourse you can joke about it!

But deriding someone who shows signs of suicidal thoughts is something else though. That's just evil. But making jokes about it is fine, in my opinion.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

I laugh and joke about suicide and have ROFL'd at comedians who have done so. However, I haven't met a suicidal person before, so I haven't had the choice whether or not to mock them. Instead of mocking them, though, I'd do something else first. Unfortunately, my suggestion would have the mods breathing down my neck again so I'll refrain from saying it directly.

 

[Exterminas]

There is no person who is seriously contemplating suicide.
If you are serious about it, you have already done it, before anyone can notice your mood on facebook.

If however, you walk around and rub your plans into peoples faces, to see how they react, you obviously aren't serious but rather use suicide as a method for attention.

Now there, I am not saying that suicide is wrong, or that there is no reason in life to be unhappy. I am merely stating that it is a fallacy to assume that the persons who talk about suicide the most are the ones who are the most serious about it.

You know who is serious about suicide?
The hundreds of bankers, managers and stock brokers who blow their brains out every day, because they gambeled away all their fortune. Or the guy that gets scrapped off the front of a train.

 

[Dogstile]

Sure I have and I stick by it. My life used to /suck/. I used to get the living shit kicked out of me every day. This went on for years.

I never once tried to commit suicide. The people I mock are the people who's parents argue every now and again, or don't have that many friends. They need to grow up and realise there are worse things in the world.

Like, say depression?
(You come across as an insenstive jackass who thinks people can just 'man up' from the mental illness which is usually the reason for suicidal thoughts - you may not be tho...)

Read what I said again. I said explicitly the kind of people who want to commit suicide that I mock.

Argh, that makes no grammatical sense. Pretty much, I mock people who say they want to commit suicide.

No they don't, they can either do it or stop talking about it.

 

[Womplord]

I don't think anyone should mock suicide - the people who do it are obviously experiencing emotional pain on a level that most of us can't even comprehend. People should take it more seriously. I mean directly, of course. Internet memes are acceptable I guess because people would be able to see thats its just a joke.