Discussion The REAL reason why society is against suicide...?

[it's_all_a_game]

I think I figured out the real reason why our society is so anti-suicide. People want to pretend that life can be wonderful for everyone, if only they try hard enough or just work harder, or whatever. Of course, this isn't always the case by a long shot, or else over 130 people wouldn't kill themselves every day in the U.S.A. alone. So, they portray suicide as this awful thing because they don't want to face the harsh reality that some folks would rather be dead than alive. Does anyone else agree with me on this?

 

[Alwaysbadtime]

Yes, I think they can't relate because their existences are tolerable and overall good. I think they lack empathy. I'm surprised 130,000 people a day in the US don't kill themselves. I see low paid workers with no benefits smiling and carrying on...I see stacks of applicants for a 12 dollar an hour job also with no benefits and not even full time. I pass by ugly dilapadated hellholes and wonder why the fuck they are still going...

 

[Sprite_Geist]

The wheel cannot spin without a rodent.

 

[weepingfree]

This is a brilliant point. The American belief that something better can always be achieved, that every disease can be cured, that one can be young and beautiful forever... it ties into all that.

Suicide has associations that I don't like: giving up, not achieving goals, or the worst thing in the US... FAILURE.

It also has a lot to do with the Christian philosophies that are beneath everything in the US. For most of the Middle Ages in Europe, suicide was scorned... I heard that suicide deaths were sometimes not buried with other people. So even though that changed some in the Enlightenment, suicide is still not accepted in Christianity.

Christians address suicide by their favorite method: not talking about it and pretending it doesn't exist.

 

[Freelyffe88]

I think it's a lot more sinister than that. I think it's because we are slaves and don't own our bodies. The war on drugs further proves that point, where it is against the law to put something in our own bodies and can be put in a cage for it. I think a large portion of the general populace are programmed/mind controlled/brain washed to believe that suicide is illegal due to morals/ethical concerns and they fall in place with what the status quo is without any ability to critically think on the matter. While those who own/control us have sinister motives... they want to maintain complete control over us.

 

[Pluto]

There are many reasons, but many have been touched on here.

The Bible writers have expressed pro-life views (so I presume; I don't have a specific reference)
The economy needs more tax-paying wage slaves, preferably procreating so there can be 'expansion' via more slaves (at the expense of mother nature, and for the benefit of the upper class)
People worship success, love 'pep talk' and don't want to even acknowledge that there is such a thing as an honest person failing
People deliberately delude themselves into forced positive thinking as a strategy to inflate their own mental health
People are afraid to talk openly about death, nor to think independent of the groupthink cultural narrative

 

[lugerepair]

I think society is against suicide mostly because it makes people sad when someone they know commits suicide. They would prefer it didn't happen. It makes them feel guilty, like maybe they could have done something to prevent it. Of course, I don't think basing one's decisions off of other people's feelings is in general considered to be a good thing. I think it's considered to be poor boundaries. But people don't usually apply that to the decision to commit suicide, for some reason.

Also, people assume that if you want to kill yourself then you must necessarily have something mentally wrong with you and not be thinking clearly. Therefore, in their view, you need treatment, not death. I suppose I can kinda see where they're coming from on that one. In some cases that is indeed the case. Probably is the case for me whenever I'm suicidal. But just because treatment exists doesn't mean the person can afford it or that it's otherwise accessible to them. So what are they supposed to do then, just keep suffering?

Also of course as others have mentioned there is the Christian thing.

EDIT: Also, I think in capitalist societies we have this idea that anyone could be anything. That there are no limits to what one could become. The poorest person can theoretically become a billionaire, and vice versa. So in other words, why are you killing yourself when it could get better, why are you killing yourself instead of going back to the grind and climbing the ladder? Of course, the issue is that the chances of a person from a poor background becoming a billionaire are extremely, extremely slim. So close to zero as to not really be worth considering. Yet that is what people uphold as proof that our current economic system is wonderful and the best possible one.

 

[Mm80]

Great points.
I think it creates fear in people and a dark curiosity.
We are all told that life is a gift, live it to the full, cherish every second. Never give up. All the cliches.
And then we see people who are saying no thanks and life isn't worth living.
This deeply penetrates the bullshit that most people have been living on for their whole lives and secretly, many will empathise and understand. It unsettlles people as it makes them ask real questions about life and challenges their deepest assumptions.

 

[meetapple]

I think people want to think that thy somehow deserve what they got and that luck didn't play a factor in their success. But the truth is that luck plays a huge role, as we know. People are born with higher I.Q.s, in more affluent countries, with or without disabilities, etc. Also, people want to think they are in control of their lives. Suicides show that there are circumstances that can't be overcome or are not worth trying to be overcome.

 

[who doesn't matter]

I couldn't agree more. It's all pseudo morality and stuff. "You should not kill yourself, it's wrong." But the actuality is that no one wants to take the blame. The reason why we all are here, the reason we want to kill ourselves, the reason we started this life on a CHECKMATE. No one wants to listen to those reasons because then you would have to take the blame and work to make things better. Who wants to do that? So, they opt for the next best thing - blame it all on the victim and Voila! Problem solved.

 

[Seiko]

Because that's one less taxpayer.

 

[FuneralCry]

I agree. Many people do not want to accept the fact that life can get that bad that somebody wants to leave and that situations can be truly hopeless. As humans we are programmed to survive naturally and work through our problems. The acceptance of suicide would shatter this delusion that life is always worth living. Society wants to keep people alive as they need workers as well.

 

[Sebuet]

Suicide is destruction of government property

 

[sanguineblade]

It's money...
A lot of elders 60+ would consider VAD or euthanasia if it was easily available and medical profit seem to be a nice thing for the companies

 

[Moose.000]

I think none of them have their own thought process. They're too afraid to think for themselves. Whatever gains them the most acceptance is the bandwagon they'll jump on. If 100 people were standing in a room, one had a gun to his or her head and explained all his or her problems and ailments to everyone, 1 person may be brave enough to understand and agree with the suicidal person. Once all the sheep seen more than one person disagree or get angry at the supporter they'd all jump on the bandwagon, even if initially they understood and sympathized with the suicidal person. It's nothing but a selfish "feel good" stance.

 

[Curiousoutlook]

The government dont want people to die because we people are the one who is driving the economy making them money. We are the modern day slaves. They want to control us. Without the people, there's no economy.

 

[The Lonely]

Sick people would eventually suffer some indirect and subtle pressure in order to ask to die. That would be made by the beneficiaries of this person death…

With laws pending in this direction this folks would even feel impelled to Ask to die(…) Even tough if they wanted to live longer.

Sick people are by definition: vulnerable people!
And as society, our job is to create laws in order to protect the vulnerable(…)
So..

I can see the Ethic "issue" about this…. :(

 

[Versailles]

The system will always strive to avoid suicide at all costs because this supposes the failure of society, a society incapable of meeting our expectations, where none of us are important, except what we can produce or contribute, otherwise, you will be marked as scum, but he doesn't want you to kill yourself either.

 

[NeverReallyHere]

Irvine Welsh sums it up pretty well in Trainspotting. He was writing about using heroin, but it could just as easily have been about suicide:

"Society invents a spurious convoluted logic tae absorb and change people whae's behaviour is outside its mainstream. Suppose that ah ken aw the pros and cons, know that ah'm gaunnae huv a short life, am ah sound mind, ectetera, ectetera, but still want tae use smack? They won't let ye dae it. They won't let ye dae it, because it's seen as a sign ay thir ain failure. The fact that ye jist simply choose tae reject whit they huv tae offer. Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fuckin junk food intae yir mooth. Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total fuckin embarrassment tae the selfish, fucked-up brats ye've produced. Choose life.

"Well, ah choose no tae choose life. If the cunts cannae handle that, it's thair fuckin problem. As Harry Lauder sais, ah jist intend tae keep right on to the end of the road..."

 

[loopylou]

Because people are selfish. Would rather you carry on living in pain because they don't want to lose you

 

[Flippy]

I think in some ways it's similar to the psychology that people have concerning social/financial inequality. If we look at who holds the wealth in the world, we find out that 1% have (I believe I read this recently but may have to edit if I've misremembered) more than the 99% combined. The only valid response to people like Jeff Benzos or Elon Musk is to ask, "Why the fuck do we tolerate these people hoarding the majority of the money in this world???!!!". The appropriate response to having the awareness to ask this question is to become furious that we have a system that supports this and demand change. But then again, most people buy into the idea that "Someday, I will be stinking rich too..." Then decide that redressing the balance might mean that they might be undermining themselves and their future wealth.

What do I mean by all of this?!

Well I think it's the same willful ignorance and naivety playing out. If we accept that people may have valid reasons to want to end their lives (some of those reasons intertwined with the inequality in capitalist society) then we might have to admit that society is like the biggest most shitty pyramid/Ponzi scheme in just about every context imaginable.

Honestly, I think sometimes this needs to be accepted as the only alternative the way things are going is either, let people leave this world in peace and dignity when they have had enough of pretending it's all so fantastic. Or, prepare for the most severe revolution in human history!

 

[CatTheBus5689]

As others have mentioned it's a lack of being able to empathize with people with depression, they just simply haven't been in that position. It's like a person from a rich, or hell even middle class class trying to imagine what it's like to be poor. They understand starving feels bad and it must be scary to not have a home but that's all they can think of and even if they can imagine it, they will never understand it. They will never understand the constant and mind consuming hunger, the sheer terror of having no safe space to retreat to, the looks people give that tell them they are sub human, circumstances that can happen to anyone and the sheer hopelessness of not being able to do anything about it. There are just some things that people will never understand until they experience it themselves, hell most people only understand what they have personally experienced. So no I can't imagine the average person being able to even comprehend even a fraction of the pain people with depression and suicidal intent feel.

Another big reason is that people romanticize life a lot. Sure life can be hunky dory and there are always chances and opportunities, but that's not the case for everyone. Some people get life handed to them, some people get to work for it, then there are people who seem to be born to be life's favorite flesh light and get used and abused their whole lives. We also seem to value human life as if it's some divine gift, we put down animals so they don't suffer and it's considered selfish and ugly to try extending their lives for the owner's sake, but when it comes to humans it's the other way around. Sure I would say a human is worth more than a cat or a dog but when there is no hope for recovery or value to that person and not even they want to live what's the point in imprisoning them in life? At that point put them down like you would any other living creature. People just don't like the idea of death or losing loved ones and force that mindset onto others, not that they really need to since it's a very common mindset for most normal people who still have hope in life.

At the end of the day most people just don't understand or they don't care to understand. Sometimes it's just pure selfishness.

 

[Kattt]

I've agreed to report several people. I believe it's a kind of instinct

 

[Lost Magic]

Yes 100%. Society likes to pretend everything will get better and stick a bandaid on the problem. They never properly tackle the root causes of suffering. It is such a superficial world we live in. Better of dead.

 

[ITSCHRISHERE123]

I think I figured out the real reason why our society is so anti-suicide. People want to pretend that life can be wonderful for everyone, if only they try hard enough or just work harder, or whatever. Of course, this isn't always the case by a long shot, or else over 130 people wouldn't kill themselves every day in the U.S.A. alone. So, they portray suicide as this awful thing because they don't want to face the harsh reality that some folks would rather be dead than alive. Does anyone else agree with me on this?

Yes I agree, suicide is often a taboo topic because people would rather think that this world is "positive" or there's much to live for. So they'll rather be in the dark because the reality is. That it's not for most people.

 

[PeaceDeathLove]

I believe that the real reason Suicide is considered taboo is due to the massess not being willing to accept their own mortality. Voluntarily opting for death makes it painfully obvious that the charade of life must come to a grinding halt.

It is we, the members of the community, who are willing to confront life and it's impermanence in its raw state.

Yes 100%. Society likes to pretend everything will get better and stick a bandaid on the problem. They never properly tackle the root causes of suffering. It is such a superficial world we live in. Better of dead.

I agree. But this begs the question, how is it possible to eradicate all suffering without eliminating life itself?

 

[WoodyOak]

They need people to `feed the machine`
If there`s no one left then who`s gonna do all the dirty work and pay all the taxes?

 

[BreakTheCycle]

"Suicide is illegal because it's a crime to destroy goverment property"

 

[everydayiloveyou]

People are usually pretty open to the idea that people who are old and severely disabled should have the right to die. I think that's a result of our internet age -- it's very easy to see a video of some old lady on her deathbed or read the symptoms and survival rates of terminal illnesses and think, "woah, I would hate to live like that. I get it now."

It's just hard to translate those feelings towards the mentally ill. It probably has something to do with the huge stigma against mental illness. There are people who don't believe they even exist.

I always found it weird that people will admit they don't want to work or be friends with a mentally ill person, that they don't believe the mentally ill, that they actively avoid them, etc... but it's wrong that they commit suicide and they aren't capable of making that decision for themselves, but a heavily medicated elderly person experiencing disability for the first time is.

People realize that their discriminatory behavior is a choice they are actively making, and part of what makes the suffering and prognosis of mental illnesses so bad is the reaction of others -- the social isolation and debilitation in work and school. It's easy to claim that we aren't capable of thinking for ourselves or judging our situations, rather than acknowledge our right to die -- or even worse, admit that decreasing the stigma and expanding/improving mental health and social services would reduce suicide as people can get the help and support they need.

 

[doesntevenmatter]

I think a lot of it is probably the two biggest things that make the world go round - money and control. The government is fine with taking the life of someone who took another, but they don't want you to be able to take your own. That's a no no. Just more hypocrisy that is this world.

(Coming from U.S. perspective, of course. I know a lot of things are different in other countries.)