Should normal people even have an opinion on suicide?

[Circles]

So I keep reading articles and threads on Reddit and it just pisses me off so much how normal people feel like they should have an opinion on suicide when most of them never been suicidal to begin with. I'm tired of the toxic positivity bullshit they spout over something they'll never understand. Like if you never been suicidal before let alone feel what it's like when you're actually planning on going through it then you shouldn't have an opinion on it. I know I may sound like I'm gatekeeping suicide but whatever. What do you think, should they have an opinion on it or not? Like the saying goes 'Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.' lol

 

[Lost Magic]

Yeah, it's true. I don't think anybody can truly talk about this subject unless they have went through it themselves. It is only natural for people to not want others to kill themselves, though, unless they have a pact. It's such a taboo subject in society and nobody seems to want to address it properly. It's a sad reality.

 

[DynamicDepression]

To me, you have to understand the subject at hand before you're entitled to have an opinion on it. An overwhelming majority of the time, pro-lifers refuse to understand suicidality and will villainize suicidal people. I don't think they are deserving of having an opinion on it any more than creationists are deserving of having opinions on evolutionary biology.

 

[No Entertainment]

I think the problem is not people have opinion. But people have opinion and forcing their opinion on others.

 

[Rogue Proxy]

Funny thing is the typical human doesn't even have its own thoughts or feelings (about death and suicide). It just mindlessly mimics the majority's opinion(s) for sake of conformity. This further invalidates their words about the subject. Another issue is how the average human experiences suicidal ideation and/or attempts and gets "treatment" for them. Unfortunately, the average human has limited and selective empathy and minimal to nonexistent critical thinking skills. Therefore, it wrongfully assumes that every single suicidal individual can overcome these "aberrant" thoughts and actions by putting countless hours of effort into these "tried-and-true treatments."

 

[wljourney]

I think the problem is not people have opinion. But people have opinion and forcing their opinion on others.

Very much this.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. However if they are not affected they should also be wise enough not to go around pushing their opinion on others.

 

[Anxieyote]

So I keep reading articles and threads on Reddit and it just pisses me off so much how normal people feel like they should have an opinion on suicide when most of them never been suicidal to begin with. I'm tired of the toxic positivity bullshit they spout over something they'll never understand. Like if you never been suicidal before let alone feel what it's like when you're actually planning on going through it then you shouldn't have an opinion on it. I know I may sound like I'm gatekeeping suicide but whatever. What do you think, should they have an opinion on it or not? Like the saying goes 'Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.' lol

My sister is a self-proclaimed "anti-suicide advocate", and the extent to which she tries to help is slapping a sticker on the back of her vehicle (which is the anti-suicide symbol apparently?? I have no idea, because I'd never seen it before, and she had to explain to me what it was).

So in the off-chance that someone happens to be very suicidal one day and is driving on the highway, they will hypothetically see that sticker on the back of my sister's car, understand what it means ("suicide bad"), then pull over on the side of the road, and have a 'hallelujah' moment because…sure

This is how much thought the average non-suicidal person is devoting to the subject.

 

[wljourney]

My sister is a self-proclaimed "anti-suicide advocate", and the extent to which she tries to help is slapping a sticker on the back of her vehicle (which is the anti-suicide symbol apparently?? I have no idea, because I'd never seen it before, and she had to explain to me what it was).

So in the off-chance that someone happens to be very suicidal one day and is driving on the highway, they will hypothetically see that sticker on the back of my sister's car, understand what it means ("suicide bad"), then pull over on the side of the road, and have a 'hallelujah' moment because…sure

This is how much thought the average non-suicidal person is devoting to the subject.

Oh if it only was that easy… lol
Stickers for all!

 

[WorthlessTrash]

No they should not. Their opinion is way to biased since they tend to lead lives that are at worse content and at best amazing. They don't know how unlivable some situations are.

 

[Nolan96]

Not letting anyone who hasn't been suicidal have thoughts on the issue is kind of culty. But it's also fair to recognize when people are just throwing out whatever coping mechanism idea first comes to mind to push away a problem they don't know how to wrap their heads around.

 

[FuneralCry]

I personally do not think that people should share opinions about something they do not understand. People who are not suicidal themselves would be unable to know what it is like, so I guess their opinion would be based on assumptions.

Many non suicidal people seem to live under this false belief that life is always worth living and that suicide is something wrong and must always be prevented. I feel like these types of beliefs just make things worse for suicidal people. I wish we lived in a world where everyone accepted how horrible life really is and euthanasia was legalised everywhere. It frustrates me that it is so difficult to leave this world.

 

[Doombox]

Look how many men have opinions on abortion and not a single one of them will ever have one. I don't think you can stop people from having opinions and airing them. We don't have to read the articles and threads full of toxic positivity, though. I accept that the nonsuicidal can never understand us. I don't even think people who know me in RL would understand, even if I explained it to them in detail, because this is taboo; it goes against our very biology to kill ourselves.

 

[whatevs]

These normies, man, when will they learn?!

I think the problem is not people have opinion. But people have opinion and forcing their opinion on others.

True . And that's how politics works in a nutshell.

 

[hellispink]

I think they shouldn't say their opinion or impose them on others. Prolifers think we are obligated forced to live just because they lie to themselves and want us to do the same. I respect those who like life but they usually don't respect us. And the truth is they will never understand the agony of living with cbt thoughts every minute and second of the day.

 

[MelancholyMagic]

Yes, I think everyone should have an opinion on suicide. Just not a pro-life opinion.

 

[Brianiskillingme]

Not unless they walk a mile in our shoes. I watched a You Tube video of a very sick man passing peacefully with N. Most of the comments were nice but there was a few who called him selfish, coward etc. Again this man had several things that were killing him slowly, walk a mile in his shoes, then judge.

 

[ornitier199]

Not that it matters either way.

 

[sunsetting]

Sure. Even better if it isnt the generic "dont give up" opinion.

 

[obafgkm]

I think many people become suicidal because they don't have much say in their life. The "normal" people control everything, including the suicidal thoughts of other people.

 

[y'ffre]

Do people really think about suicide for even a couple of minutes?
If so why is everyone telling the same nonsense? For example, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
How can everyone have the same opinion?
Why can't a "normal" and "healthy" person say something like that yes committing suicide impulsively is a bad thing but If someone doesn't want to live and can decide that rationally they can die and It's their choice. Or If someone has chronic pain and there is no solution they can say I feel bad for him/her but I understand that no one wants to suffer.
No, I think most people are afraid about explaining their opinions about this topic.

 

[want2dienow]

don't wtf you mean by normal.
doesn't matter who, anyone can have an opinion on anything. that's the point of it being an opinion not a fact
Know the difference.

 

[Ringo]

I don't care if they have an uninformed opinion, taking them into account is something else, like when Nick Fury said "I recognize that the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it.". Things would be easier if people paid attention to the facts and reasoning instead of the bullshit spouted by your average YT or Twitter opinionologist. Say "suicide bad! don't touch it!" and posting the respective numbers and links for them is enough, if you kill yourself don't say I don't try to avoid it!

The people most determined to force their unfounded opinions about suicide on others is usually because that helps them not to think about the whole picture, it is easier to lock yourself up in a psychiatric ward than to treat the problems that cause suicidal ideation. An important point to be able to cope with depression is to be able to redirect yourself to a better lifestyle, something that many suicidal people cannot and rather than continue suffering, they prefer to rest, It's logical and even more humane than keeping someone slowly dying until their body collapses.

 

[Sick of it all]

Unless you suffer from suicidal thoughts then your opinion is invalid with me. It's easy to tell someone not to ctb but that comes from someone who has never been in your shoes. We all have our reasons and most of us have not done it because there is no easy way to do it. Getting over self survival is hard, especially hard when you want to die all the time. So I ignore the people who armchair quarterback without having an inkling what they are talking about. My 2 cents.

 

[Lily (Osako)]

I think the problem is not people have opinion. But people have opinion and forcing their opinion on others.

This! Exactly!

 

[Rounded Apathy]

Maybe my perception is skewed as I feel like I'm here for reasons maybe too different than many others, have not experienced this backlash myself (yet) and maybe this is too off the mark, but at least for those who are in such a place for reasons that might be either remediable or mitigated by the support and efforts of others, yet aren't...I wish people would step up instead of just talking big. Don't sit there and tell me to get/seek help/other reasons for living, help me do this. Help me elevate my situation, or watch as the efforts of not one but many fail, share in my sorrow, and realise that perhaps there is nothing to be done.

I imagine this approach would simultaneously help many who are suffering, for either a long or short while, as well as help those who aren't understand why we are and why we want out.

 

[Lily (Osako)]

I'll admit to once upon a time being adamantly anti suicide. I had lost a few very close friends to suicide so I only saw it through the eyes of a person who missed people I loved and was sad.
But then I took myself out of the equation, bc it wasn't about me, and I realized they clearly had their reasons and it wasn't my place to question those reasons nor was it my place to agree or disagree with them.
I wish we could get people to look at it from that point of view.
It's rather arrogant for people to believe they know what's best for another person, particularly when that belief is to force another to live in pain and suffering.

 

[want2dienow]

I think the problem is not people have opinion. But people have opinion and forcing their opinion on others.

No can force anything on you. You allow it, then flip it around by saying this.

 

[Hookah-smoking-cat]

"Normal people" have anxieties & insecurities as well.

 

[Grav]

Anyone can have an opinion. They just aren't always equally valid. Expressing an opinion on something they haven't "lived" is fine, it forms a basis to get talking to each other if intentions are to communicate. Just shouting at someone for anything is garbage to be avoided. This applies to almost anything in life.

 

[lionetta12]

I struggle with not getting offended when someone who's happy and have it easy try to insuniate that they know what I am going through and offer their opinions on this topic, which is usually the good old toxic positivity speeches.