Death and suicide
Several folks are posting about the untimely suicide of a commenter on several blogs. While I did not know the person personally, it is a horrible loss to anyone. My thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends. At the same time, people in Utah and Philly go off and shoot up a business park and a mall.
Now: Stand the fuck back, because I have no idea how big this goddamned thing is going to get.
The availability of guns wasn’t the problem here, as feinstein et al would have you think, nor is it.. well, fuck, it’s one thing and one thing only: Mental health.
When you’ve been up close and personal with people with mental health issues, you understand the difficulty and the devastation. You also understand that a large number of mental health issues can be treated pretty successfully. The problem is, and always has been, the stigma attached to mental health issues. Nobody wants to admit there might be something wrong with them.
WAKE THE FUCK UP AND LOOK AROUND YOU. There are people you know who are having those thoughts, believe me. Your neighbor, your mom, your cousin, your son. There are people you know who need your help, some help, somebody’s help.
A lot of this shit is preventable, people. No, I would NEVER accuse anyone of allowing this to happen, but I hope that this wakes everyone up who reads here, to the idea that they could be a little more aware, a little more alert for the danger signs. And yes, sometimes (as was apparent in this case) there ARE no warning signs. But be more aware anyway. And if you are having those kinds of problems, yourself, don’t be afraid to ask someone. Don’t be afraid to get help.
Jesus Christ on a cracker, folks. Life is fragile enough.
It’s always like a shot out of the dark, but in retrospect the obvious signs are always there. Suicide-by-cop. “He was always a quiet boy.”
My sympathies to the family.
My husband committed suicide almost 10 yrs ago.
…and, you’re right, getting help should not have the stigma our society attaches to it.
I suspect you are talking about Stilleto.
Good advice Og but I ask you this: how do you know somebody is having those thoughts…and what can you do about it?
I had a few bad words with Stilleto. I will be honest, I personally did not like him. But he was not deranged or a mental case. He believed what he said and most times he had a valid point of view.
It sounds like he knew what he was doing too….he wasn’t “calling for help”. He had a purpose and he did it. Based on the conversations I had with him I think he knew exactly what he was doing and why. Based on what I have read from other bloggers, I would not be surprised at all if he meant to devastate both himself and others. He was not an idiot; he must have known what his death would do to his loved ones. I admit this is all conjecture on my part; I don’t know him well enough to comment with any authority except to say that he was not a loon or an idiot.
You can’t help some people Og. Just like you can’t rehabilitate some murderers. I don’t know why our young people are killing themselves. Or others. It would be nice if the gun grabbers admitted ignorance too, and started looking for real solutions.
“You can’t help some people Og”
Okay. So let’s just not try at all.
I’m not saying that. I am saying that sometimes you CAN’T help them. Maybe I should just STFU.
Sorry everyone.
Sure, there are people that won’t accept the help, there are people that can’t be helped- but you never know unless you try.
Try.
I’ve never known anyone to refuse a person’s cry for help. That’s not to say there aren’t a##holes out there who would, but I hope I never meet their sorry butts. But those who are hurting need to reach out to the right people. When you’re so young, you’re blind to that. I wish our young’uns would look to the elders in society. I wish I had.