Closed books, closed minds

[unixronin]

From rosencrantz23:

Unfortunately, to the kind of people who ban books, shutting out unapproved ideas sounds like a really good ... well, idea.

Comments

Re: dammit, I have to split this again ...

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

Eden was not deeply miserable, and she didn't hate her life.

She had a sudden and severe psychotic break. She left a long, sad, rambling note explaining that she had suddenly realized that aliens were trying to take over her body in order to control the earth. She decided that the only way to save mankind, her family and everyone she loved, was to destroy herself so that the aliens could not enslave us all. She acted with great courage and sorrow, because she hated to die.

I feel so proud of her incredible self-sacrifice, and so intensely sad and angry that it was completely unnecessary. If she had used a less-lethal means of trying to commit suicide than shooting herself in the temple, she might have been hospitalized and treated and be alive today.

Many times depressed people have passing moments of intensely suicidal feelings. If they have access to a firearm, they are likely to "successfully" kill themselves. If they only have access to less-lethal means of suicide, they are more likely to survive the attempt and to get treatment for their depression.

I agree that if someone in basically sound mind should have the right to commit suicide, perhaps because they are terminally ill, or in the very early stages of irreversible dementia, or in severe and untreatable pain, or out of deep guilt for a crime committed, or for whatever "sane" reason they may have. But most psychiatric illnesses are treatable; most moments of suicidal ideation do pass; and most people who survive a suicide attempt are ultimately grateful that they did survive.

Re: dammit, I have to split this again ...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

It's particularly rough when things go that way, and you KNOW the person wasn't thinking rationally at the time....