Quote Originally Posted by Martin View Post
I have a lot to say here.

Firstly, I'm appalled by the lack of humanity and respect in this thread - I understand Alpha is busy but this is pathetic sniping at one another and I thought the people on here were better than that. I'm ashamed to see the responses regarding the Amanda Todd situation, and how judgemental some of you are towards her - a 12 year old child that was coerced into flashing herself to a stranger, and whom suffered for a number of years as a result. No one is mentioning the fact the stranger who did this stalked her, and made her life a living hell. Of course some responsibility lies with the parents for not taking her bullying seriously enough but to tarnish her and her family in such a way is reprehensible and wrong.

For those of you whom claim that suicide is cowardly - your personal experiences are responsible for that opinion. I think you're almost entirely wrong. I usually am a balanced person but this subject inflames me so much that I can't possibly sit on the fence. Instead of viewing it as shameful and despicable, try viewing the event as what it truly is - a cry for help if it fails or a f**king tragedy if it succeeds. The casual disregard for human life in some responses of this thread sickens me to my core. I understand some of you are angry with the decisions family members/close and loved ones take in choosing to end their life and I understand the pain that would cause. you see it as selfish and self-serving. But how can you stigmatise someone who has clearly decided that their only other option, for whatever reason is to end their own personal suffering? How dare you deny them the free will to exercise whatever choice they make that allows them freedom from their own personal demons, for the sake of making you feel better? Your flippancy in some of these cases shocks me and saddens me. I'm truly shaken by some of the what I deem to be disgusting comments in here.

Mental illness has been brought into this. I abhor mental illness as an excuse to commit any suicidal act - the assumption that a person has to be mentally ill to want to kill themselves is a falsehood. I'm not denying its a factor in possibly most cases but to use it as a blanket term is also, wrong. I have contemplated suicide on many occasions. I have struggled with confidence issues, the loss of my father, the delayed reaction/grief of his death and the break-up of my family. I have been told I am worthless, that I have no place in society and I have been bullied and beaten up in my formative years. I have been shamed, mocked, abused in various forms, physically and mentally throughout my life, and financially I lived below the breadline for a number of years. I have worked harder than most and continue to do so to achieve some happiness in my life, and I battle with diagnosed (by several medical professionals) episodic depression, although this was a long time after my suicidal thoughts.

Some of you would mock and belittle me if I had had the bottle to end my life. I would have added to the statistic and you wouldn't have given me a second f**king thought. I would be another point in your endless sad little arguments. I am angry, upset, and just have such little faith in the compassion of people whom I thought were friends of mine. Some of you will dismiss this without so much as a glance over what I've written. Some of you need to take a long hard look at yourselves. I'm not replying to any of this, I'm done.

Your reasons are yours and yours alone, and you can't lump others into what YOU personally went through. That's the problem with suicide threads, there's a myriad of reasons as to why someone would do it and none of them are the same and everyone takes it personally. Although I missed the part where anyone on this thread has said that they've wanted their loved ones to stay here alive, miserable and in torment and pain. Honestly? Where did anyone say that? I know I mentioned I would have liked to keep my FIL alive and get him the help he needed.

So really, people should have just let you exercise your free will and kill yourself? By that logic you should never have been given help, people shouldn't have intervened and then the world would be a MUCH shitter place because you sir, wouldn't be in it. You never would have been diagnosed, help would never have been given. All those are interventions designed to prevent someone from killing themselves, should those things not exist? I will agree to disagree with you as I can't see your logic. Intervention and help is a good thing, I'll never see it as anything other that that.

Leon - The Amanda Todd situation is a conundrum. I understand the anger from people for sure, she was no angel. But her actions didn't mean she deserved it. There seems to be such a divide between thoughts on her. Either "Angel" or "Saint" who persevered through so much but couldn't take it anymore and the others who feel she was a slut and that's what one gets when they whore themselves out.