Opinions on Suicide

What are your opinions on suicide? Is it moral? Should it ever be done. Here are some examples from history and the present I thought we could discuss:

Terry Prachett : Wants to commit suicide or euthanasia due to his developing Alzheimer's.

Saigo Takamori: Committed suicide after being defeated in the Satsuma Samuria rebellion.

Cato the Younger: Commited suicide rather than be captured by Julius Ceasar.

I think Cato is an interesting case as he would have almost certainly been pardoned for his part in the civil war but would have been closly watched and forced to live under Ceasar's tyranny as Cato saw it. Therefore Cato's suicide was to avoid being forced to live in a society which would compromise his personal integrity and self respect rather than to avoid physical pain or a humiliating death. So it's an interesting case.

Reply 1

miser

20

If you don't have the right to leave, then you're living in a prison. And if it's true that a person has the right to life, they must have the right from life as well.

Suicide is certainly not always ethical, but the law has no place in it. The right to die is the most fundamental right of all.

Reply 2

Farm_Ecology

12

Original post by miser

The right to die is the most fundamental right of all.

This, through and through.

Reply 3

Albino

11

I don't think i could ever do it because of the repercussions on other people like my parents, to solve this i would have to kill them first, but then their friends would also be sad so i would have to kill them and eventually i would have to kill the whole world before committing.

Reply 4

miser

20

Original post by Albino

I don't think i could ever do it because of the repercussions on other people like my parents, to solve this i would have to kill them first, but then their friends would also be sad so i would have to kill them and eventually i would have to kill the whole world before committing.

If you had a button which, if pressed, would instantly delete the universe and everything in it, would consider pressing it?

Reply 5

Zorgotron

6

I despise suicide and have absolutely no respect for people, who choose to kill themselves. They're quitters and therefore they're not the kind of people that should be idolized, romanticized and admired.

Throwing your life away... what a waste. I especially ''love'' those kinds of suiciders whose only legacy for their children is a massive monetary debt and pain in the ass funeral arragements. Beautiful.

Reply 6

mmmpie

12

Suicide is rarely the best option, but I believe a person's life is theirs and theirs alone to end should they choose to. There's no sense saying that it's illegal or anything like that. Moral judgement doesn't seem relevant, you can't punish or rehabilitate the dead. Anyway, i don't see any intrinsic wrong in somebody ending their own life.

I think that as a society we should try and prevent suicide in the sense that I think we should try and eliminate the reasons why people sometimes feel that it's their best or only option. I don't think that we should actively intervene to stop people ending their lives through their own free choice; I don't believe it's our place to make that decision for other people. Certainly if I had an incurable degenerative disease I would be keeping it in mind. If we had the technology to indefinitely extend life, I would choose to live until I became bored with it, and then I would choose to die.

Reply 7

miser

20

Original post by Zorgotron

I despise suicide and have absolutely no respect for people, who choose to kill themselves. They're quitters and therefore they're not the kind of people that should be idolized, romanticized and admired.

Throwing your life away... what a waste. I especially ''love'' those kinds of suiciders whose only legacy for their children is a massive monetary debt and pain in the ass funeral arragements. Beautiful.

If a person's life is so bad that they want to commit suicide, how can you blame them? If they genuinely judge life not to be worthwhile, on what grounds are you to say that they're wrong? This obsession with not-quitting-no-matter-what is irrational. Sometimes quitting is better.

Reply 8

Palindromic

3

suicide is a very selfish thing to do, during the past year 3 people from my year group have committed suicide in my town, its becoming a sort of trend where a lot people are committing suicide here, be it older or younger. All the friends, family, teachers and colleagues all blame themselves and think about how they should have seen it coming and help prevent it when you're going through hell. Even one the guys who committed suicide sent a text blaming them before he commited suicide, tragic and selfish.

This song/spoken poem perfectly describes how suicide is selfish.

[video="youtube;VH9CxM6o-eI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH9CxM6o-eI[/video]

or this version hits you harder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqRKoq-dW8c

Edit: all of this is obviously about those who commit suicide for having a hard life, i support those who wish to end their life for terminal illnesses, its their right to do so (as it should be for everyone to decide their own life)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 9

Gnome :)

2

As someone who has been suicidal and has lost people to suicide, I can see both sides. However, I believe that fundamentally, if you have the right to life, you also have the right to make a choice over that.

Reply 10

Malevolent

19

I don't like it when people say people who commit suicide are cowards. Some people just can't see a brighter future and they don't want to suffer anymore. Isn't it sad when a person has managed to get into that state of mind? That being dead would be better then living.

Reply 11

Rosaknows

9

I think everyone deserves the right to do what they want to do with their lives. However, that being said, I think that there is always another way around the issue and that suicide shouldn't be an option for anyone, as it would most likely be the worst (and last) mistake they make. Also, the effect it would have on others would be devastating, making the act seem selfish and inconsiderate. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, no?

Reply 12

123formyabc

12

Suicide is for the weak. Man up!

Reply 13

ChocoCoatedLemons

17

I had depression for two years, by my count, and I came very close to killing myself. I obviously didn't, and I'm so glad I didn't, but some people have lives that are just too much to bear. Who are we to say who should be made to live? If it isn't our lives, then it shouldn't be our judgement to make.

My great grandmother begged for death before she finally died, and I would have given her it if I could. Suicide is sometimes justified.

Reply 14

ChocoCoatedLemons

17

Original post by 123formyabc

Suicide is for the weak. Man up!

I'd like to see you deal with some of the situations the suicidal find themselves in.

Reply 15

Malevolent

19

Original post by Rosaknows

I think everyone deserves the right to do what they want to do with their lives. However, that being said, I think that there is always another way around the issue and that suicide shouldn't be an option for anyone, as it would most likely be the worst (and last) mistake they make. Also, the effect it would have on others would be devastating, making the act seem selfish and inconsiderate. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, no?

Isn't it also selfish that you wan't someone who has suffered a great deal and has probably tried to find a way out but hasn't been able to so sees suicide as the last resort to ending that pain to keep suffering because it would be devastating on others. They commit suicide because their mind sees it as the only way out. So many people say its selfish without having to experience what others go through. I wen't through a period of depression where everyday i woke up dreading the day thinking its going to be terrible. Go to school, be bullied, go home and cry and the cycle repeats. In the end i managed to stop feeling so low but not everyone is able to get out of it. People who commit suicide don't usually do it to make people miserable they do it because they believe that they will be better off without you.

Reply 16

miser

20

Original post by ChocoCoatedLemons

My great grandmother begged for death before she finally died, and I would have given her it if I could. Suicide is sometimes justified.

Wow, that must've been terrible to listen to. Hope it didn't affect you too much.

Reply 17

Rosaknows

9

Original post by Malevolent

Isn't it also selfish that you wan't someone who has suffered a great deal and has probably tried to find a way out but hasn't been able to so sees suicide as the last resort to ending that pain to keep suffering because it would be devastating on others. They commit suicide because their mind sees it as the only way out. So many people say its selfish without having to experience what others go through. I wen't through a period of depression where everyday i woke up dreading the day thinking its going to be terrible. Go to school, be bullied, go home and cry and the cycle repeats. In the end i managed to stop feeling so low but not everyone is able to get out of it. People who commit suicide don't usually do it to make people miserable they do it because they believe that they will be better off without you.

I understand that, but what I'm trying to say is that there is always a way out of depression. I've had a very tough life, and am still trying to let go of the past. Many people get suicidal thoughts, some more than others, but that doesn't mean they should commit the act straight away without thinking of its consequences.

Reply 18

xxjenny05xx

I think that people are thinking about committing suicide need help and support from professionals. I myself can not imagine what must be going on in the heads of these people, its a shame that they see suicide as the only way out. It must be devastating for the people that love and care for someone who must actually do it.

Reply 19

ChocoCoatedLemons

17

Original post by miser

Wow, that must've been terrible to listen to. Hope it didn't affect you too much.

It just affected how I viewed her death. When she did finally die, I was upset, but relieved, so I guess it helped me realise that it really was her time. And it really cemented my opinion on suicide.

Mind you, she was 90. Fair enough. :rolleyes:

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