|
People who want to commit suicide are largely left to their own devices. Unless you're institutionalized, detained, or jailed, you're free to obtain the supplies needed to complete the act painlessly. To me, the stigma of suicide is indicative of a broader flaw in the application of the value of life in society. Religious influences are fundamental to this stigma. Population has exploded in recent centuries. There's simply no way that everyone wants to be here, and exactly zero of us chose to be here (as far as we know, there is no pre-existence, and thus no opportunity to choose to be born). As the notions of consciousness and existence are an enigma and will continue to be so for the foreseeable, the safe assumption is that every life is "valuable", that suicide is always "wrong" and if you're suicidal you must be "mentally ill" and need to "seek help". It's unacceptable to simply not wish to exist anymore, regardless of your grievances about your own existence or existence in general. And, given that society now places more importance on each individual life, we grieve more than ever about premature deaths, something that was commonly accepted in older times. Combined with an interconnected information society, it seems that suicide in the west is quite forbidden, considering the real impact it has on the survivors (loved ones, followers of celebrities, strangers, etc). |