Suicide

Suicidal people attempting to help other suicidal people, could be likened to the phrase: “the blind leading the blind.” The blind do not help each other “see,” but they can help each other to better cope with blindness… probably better than any sighted person could.

It’s the same with suicidal depression. A typical “happy person with few problems” is not going to understand suicidal depression well enough to help a suicidally depressed person to better cope with it; because the “happy people” do not understand it.

Some of us do “care” about the world, and the people in it… but many of us are incredibly bitter, jaded, cynical, /because of/ the world, and the people in it.

Your insinuative premise is that A) we don’t care, and B) not caring makes us “bad” … and that is both inaccurate and offensive.

It’s as if people think it’s okay to insult us for not caring about what those who cause us problems, demand we “care about.”

There is “a point” in caring about others. It’s just not one that’s easily explained. And it doesn’t matter whether or not there is “any point.” Caring doesn’t require a purpose. Likewise, suicide doesn’t mean we don’t care. It means we can’t deal with the way things are, knowing we can’t change it.

I’ll agree on the “save yourself” part, though.

Who would ever want to live a life in which you always need someone to “save” you? The self is the only one who can save the self.

Thanks Dawg. I actually agree with what you said about not “being offended,” but instead feeling a sense of pity.

There’s a subtle but important distinction to be made, here, in that, while i’m saying something “is offensive,” that doesn’t necessarily mean that “i feel offended.” Imagine Dr. Spock stating that he finds something inaccurate and offensive. I meant it in a more… clinical, vulcan, observational way. And i do often pity those who commit an offense borne of ignorance. Doing things that upset people, just because you don’t know any better, is pretty sad. Doing things that upset people, because you /don’t care to know/ any better, is “offensive.” I realize this is a quite common occurrence, and so unless it’s something serious, i rarely take it personally… though i still like to point out that certain things “are offensive,” so that, perhaps the person wants to know that, and will learn something, and choose to act differently in the future. Or, they will blatantly reject the lesson, drawing the line between us, and identifying themselves as someone who does not want to learn. And no one has time for people who don’t want to learn. While it’s tempting, i have no time for being personally offended by such offenses. I usually just chalk it up to “that’s just how people are,” frown in disappointment, shrug, and move on.

I’ve been feeling very frustrated lately. I’m seeing lots of evidence of a misguidance pandemic. I mean… i guess i always knew it was there, but ‘here’ it’s emphasized. It’s just more reinforcement for my very generalized theory that “misguidance leads to increased suffering.”