Should non-suicidal people be allowed to joke about suicide?

[noname223]

Not sure if this thread would not be better in off-topic. Though it is related to suicide a lot.

Recentely I heard two people joke about suicide. I know both of them a little. They don't seem to be suicidal, depressed etc. For me they seem to be usual neurotypicals. I know maybe this assumption is not good or overhasty. I observed them during the joke. The one person often makes somewhat edgy jokes. (This was the person who dropped the joke.) It was something like. "Damn this is so boring let's commit suicide together." I was really interested how the other person would react to that joke. I looked in the person's face. It looked quite mischievious. The person seemed to like the joke. Probably because it was a joke about a prohibited/stigmatized topic. Not sure what the exact respond was but the other person liked the joke.

I am not sure how to feel about it. When I heard the joke I had the feeling damn this is quite ironical. I am just sitting next to them and I really had serious thoughts like "why not committing suicide? Why am I still here?"

Maybe I should not be too butthurt about it. Always when people talk in public about suicide I am scared it triggers me. Statements as the ones of my dad (You are too smart for suicide etc. ignorant stances) can make me pretty mad.

I think the joke had no evil intention. I would rather be mad if they were strictly against assisted suicide. The joke did not hurt anyone. And I should not get too offended by it. It is more important that these people get convinced to change the cynical assisted suicide laws in my country. (It is complicated in my country. Lets say we need the support for the implementation of the highest court ruling concerning assisted suicide.)

Do you think non-suicidal people should have the right to joke about suicide? Or should only affected people do jokes about this topic?

 

[Message In A Bottle]

Can't really bring myself to care honestly - I'm not one to get offended over jokes, unless there's ill will behind it.

 

[Lullaby]

I'm not sure. I think we don't ever really know what someone's going through. I feel like if I openly joked about it, the people around me would be insanely surprised since I hide my depression very well.

I know people who aren't as depressed as me but will joke about jumping off of a building when entire stressed or just went through an annoying situation, and that's just their way of coping. I almost feel like it's become pretty normal, at least for younger people, to have this dark sense of humor as a way to help them deal with these feelings.

It doesn't really bother me, I say whatever helps them. As long as they're not directing it towards other people.

 

[DPJ187]

Can't really bring myself to care honestly - I'm not one to get offended over jokes, unless there's ill will behind it.

Could not agree more, jokes are jokes you dont need experience to joke about something although it can be funnier if you have first hand experience. It's sad I dont find any jokes funny anymore, even ones that should be, i can't laugh. I stopped laughing and it wont come back

 

[Niko66]

"allowed" and "having the right" aren't the words I'd use precisely, this goes for a lot of topics really, people are brutal to others when they themselves don't understand the circumstances, be it mental illness, suicide, autism, racism, disability, LGBT+ issues, body image, stereotypes... could go on forever but there's no great way to restrict people from expressing themselves nor we really know how they really feel inside, IRL a lot of people who don't know me very well think I am non-chalant about things while in reality I just repress my emotions. Best we can do is hope to educate and that one day more and more people will treat others with respect and dignitity, maybe even empathy.
I do personally find it quite hurtful when people mock others for things outside their control, not so much the topic of suicide to be honest, not even in the ugly corners of the internet do I stumble much on tasteless jokes about suicide, most people who joke about suicide seemed to have some first hand experience themselves, there's no real punch line in the same way that people can easily put down others for their "lackings".
Misery is an universal experience for humans, so it doesn't get to me the way say a perfectly healthy person joking about disabilities would.

 

[noname223]

"allowed" and "having the right" aren't the words I'd use precisely, this goes for a lot of topics really, people are brutal to others when they themselves don't understand the circumstances, be it mental illness, suicide, autism, racism, disability, LGBT+ issues, body image, stereotypes... could go on forever but there's no great way to restrict people from expressing themselves nor we really know how they really feel inside, IRL a lot of people who don't know me very well think I am non-chalant about things while in reality I just repress my emotions. Best we can do is hope to educate and that one day more and more people will treat others with respect and dignitity, maybe even empathy.
I do personally find it quite hurtful when people mock others for things outside their control, not so much the topic of suicide to be honest, not even in the ugly corners of the internet do I stumble much on tasteless jokes about suicide, most people who joke about suicide seemed to have some first hand experience themselves, there's no real punch line in the same way that people can easily put down others for their "lackings".
Misery is an universal experience for humans, so it doesn't get to me the way say a perfectly healthy person joking about disabilities would.

I have made other experiences with insulting comments about suicidality on the internet.
I have seen many clickbait articles about people who have ctb.
On youtube I read disgusting comments about a right to die activist who has killed himself. (Something like I hope he is now in hell. And others made tasteless jokes.)
Moreover the comments on gore websites (they also show suicides) must be be disgusting.
Furthertmore I think about some social media posts I have read.

 

[FuneralCry]

I personally do not think it is appropriate to joke about suicide at all, there is nothing funny about suffering so much that you want to die. How can anyone laugh at anything in a world as horrible as this. To me, personally it would be wrong to find anything funny at all. Life is only suffering and misery.

 

[Niko66]

I have made other experiences with insulting comments about suicidality on the internet.
I have seen many clickbait articles about people who have ctb.
On youtube I read disgusting comments about a right to die activist who has killed himself. (Something like I hope he is now in hell. And others made tasteless jokes.)
Moreover the comments on gore websites (they also show suicides) must be be disgusting.
Furthertmore I think about some social media posts I have read.

I guess I've been a bit "lucky" on the topic, I'm sorry you have had to read such things, the internet is capable of bringing out the ugliest in people to the spotlight.
Sadly there's not much we can do about it, YT comments are one of the places I try to avoid like the plague, same with most of Reddit, I haven't even gone to 4chan but I am sure I am too sensitive to reading certain things to even try. As for social media, tbh the first time I see an ignorant or hateful post from someone I just snooze them forever or delete them.

I know I can't change people and I know they don't care about how I feel so all I can do is minimize my interaction with the people with whom I want nothing to do with and that's the only advice I can give. At the end of the day, they don't care if we read them or not nor how we react, but we do have the right to feel bad, offended or whichever reaction it is that they evoke and likewise to express it back to them, to someone, to no one, to simply feel them. I choose the avoidance route, but I have some admiration for those who have it in them to confront people about their beliefs and harmful behaviors.

To your title's question I just think there's no good answer because how could we even begin to restrict people from talking about something or how can we even tell for sure what's going through their mind, we would be going into places more harmful things than tasteless jokes.

 

[Al Cappella]

Sure, as long as they're actually funny. Nothing worse than someone who thinks they're being funny but clearly isn't….

Besides which, it gives folks a chance to be morally outraged, and god knows they love that…

 

[Ta555]

Didn't read your whole post but short answer: yes. Let people joke about whatever they want. Who cares? If the joke is bad no one will find it funny and they'll look like a fool. George Carlin, one of the greatest stand up comedians of all time, has a great routine about suicide that made me crack up so much and he's not suicidal. Look it up, it's hilarious.

 

[Crazy4u]

Honestly i laughed when i read the joke. I would never joke about suicide or anything (serious personality) but some suicide jokes are funny

 

[Pluto]

I quite like jokes like the OP's because it implies there is underlying understanding for people who CTB. Humour can be a means of delivering a positive message. I've even had exchanges like that with colleagues at work, though they don't know that I'm actually serious, so to me it's a joke within a joke.

As for ultra-toxic corners of the internet, it is a choice to go there, and an unwise one at that. I have no issues with YouTube comments because the content I consume is all quite wholesome, relating to engineering and such.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

There are plenty of worse things to joke about than simply wanting to die and if some non suicidal people happen to be able to make a clever or even relatable joke about it then I don't really see the issue. Unless they're directly joking about someone in particular being suicidal or joking about the situation that makes them suicidal then I don't really think it's a big deal.

 

[Moonomyth]

I want them to normalize suicide and weaken the ability of other people to detect a mental health crisis based on suicide jokes. Hell yes, they should be able to joke about it. The advantages of more people doing it as camouflage is obvious.

 

[watchingthewheels]

Do you think non-suicidal people should have the right to joke about suicide? Or should only affected people do jokes about this topic?

The "right"? Whadday gonna do, sue them? Gag them?
You don't have to approve, or associate with them, or provide them a platform on your dime, but you can't deny them the right to say stupid shit on their own.