Sports writer kills himself, leaves behind website describing how and why

Pasteton

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That wasn't his logic at all.


And the negative consequence would be...?


Nobody's "stamping an age on it". The reason 60 worked for Martin was explained on his site (under the 'Why 60?" section if I'm not mistaken).
How do you keep missing my point? Let me make this very clear for you -
If I decided to shoot myself at 40, created a manifesto like his, and had a long explanation for my rationale under a title 'Why 40?' then this is totally ok with you?

What about if I shot my retarded 10 year old kid and put an explanation under a title 'Why I killed my retard kid' for you to read? Still ok?

Tell me where to draw the line please
 

chaos

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Enlighten me.
Survivors consider suicide "worse" because of their perspective of it, as I said in the other post they internalize what happened and view it from their own vantage point. The pain, suffering, hopelessness, and despair you mention could apply to any number of different kinds of death. With suicide people make a decision and the survivors are left to reckon with that decision, and inevitably interject themselves into the process.
 

Tanoomba

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How do you keep missing my point? Let me make this very clear for you -
If I decided to shoot myself at 40, created a manifesto like his, and had a long explanation for my rationale under a title 'Why 40?' then this is totally ok with you?
Absolutely.


What about if I shot my retarded 10 year old kid and put an explanation under a title 'Why I killed my retard kid' for you to read? Still ok?
No. That's murder. you can make decisions about your own death, not someone else's.


Tell me where to draw the line please
I guess we established "murder"?
 

Tanoomba

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Survivors consider suicide "worse" because of their perspective of it, as I said in the other post they internalize what happened and view it from their own vantage point. The pain, suffering, hopelessness, and despair you mention could apply to any number of different kinds of death. With suicide people make a decision and the survivors are left to reckon with that decision, and inevitably interject themselves into the process.
Of course! But with Martin's web page, he has the greatest amount of influence possible over their "vantage points". In any case, he has a far greater degree of control over how people view his death than he would have if he had just waited for it to happen. He didn't just abandon those close to him to "reckon with that decision" on their own, he took them by the hand and gave them a guided tour of not only his death but his entire life! As strangers we could see this as egotistical and selfish but don't you think those who knew him might appreciate that a lot more?
 

chaos

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Of course! But with Martin's web page, he has the greatest amount of influence possible over their "vantage points". In any case, he has a far greater degree of control over how people view his death than he would have if he had just waited for it to happen. He didn't just abandon those close to him to "reckon with that decision" on their own, he took them by the hand and gave them a guided tour of not only his death but his entire life! As strangers we could see this as egotistical and selfish but don't you think those who knew him might appreciate that a lot more?
Some might, and some might view it as insulting. Of course the survivors are left to deal with it on their own. So he wrote some shit down, each one of them will interpret that shit from their own perspective. That is all reaction to death is. He basically wrote a really long suicide note. And everyone left alive deals with his actions.
 

Pasteton

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Tanoomba;332733 said:
Absolutely.


Ok I think we're done here.
And the point I was trying to make is that people who feel they are done with life, regardless of age 40 or 60, maybe need some fresh perspective or insight to shake up their point of view a little, since, humanity in general has proven time and again to have very bad decision making abilities. But I guess I should instead be supportive of their views since its after-all, their right. Thanks for that.

My depressed 30 yr old friend who's discussed suicide several times, usually I try to snap him out of it. Next time I will put a warm hand on his shoulder and say 'that is YOUR prerogative, bro. Just be sure to put up a website detailing your rationale so others can understand and appreciate your freedom of expression as a suicidalist. Tanoomba has your back too'
 

chaos

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I was just listening to This American Life and they had a woman on who was 72 working in the court clerk's office, just an average menial job, and through just being present she managed to help free a wrongly convicted man who had been in prison since 1984 for a rape he didn't commit. It made me think of this guy and all the people in this thread basically arguing that his life is over so whatever.
 

Tanoomba

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Some might, and some might view it as insulting. Of course the survivors are left to deal with it on their own. So he wrote some shit down, each one of them will interpret that shit from their own perspective. That is all reaction to death is. He basically wrote a really long suicide note. And everyone left alive deals with his actions.
What do those left alive have to "deal with"? We're all going to have to "deal with" the deaths of everyone we know who dies before we do. It's never easy. Never. At least under these circumstances it was controlled and explained. If you're just gonna keep coming back with "Yeah, but it's still hard for those he left behind", I'm going to keep coming back with "Yeah, but italways is."


Ok I think we're done here.
And the point I was trying to make is that people who feel they are done with life, regardless of age 40 or 60, maybe need some fresh perspective or insight to shake up their point of view a little, since, humanity in general has proven time and again to have very bad decision making abilities. But I guess I should instead be supportive of their views since its after-all, their right. Thanks for that.

My depressed 30 yr old friend who's discussed suicide several times, usually I try to snap him out of it. Next time I will put a warm hand on his shoulder and say 'that is YOUR prerogative, bro. Just be sure to put up a website detailing your rationale so others can understand and appreciate your freedom of expression as a suicidalist. Tanoomba has your back too'
Dude, I don't want you to think I'm mocking you. This is a very valid point. When i told this story to my mother she said "He might have yet found his true love who could have opened a whole new chapter of his life", and sure, he might have had god knows how many new and unique and worthwhile experiences left in his life. But that will always be true, no matter how people die.

As for your 30 year old friend, he is very simply a radically different case in every conceivable way from our Martin. Remember, as I've already pointed out his was not a "one-size-fits-all" solution. Is your friend's mind deteriorating? Does he have no one who depends on him or needs him? Is he satisfied with what he has done with his life? Is he leaving some kind of legacy he can take pride in? In all likelihood, the answer to all of these questions is "no". You're saying "If it works for 60, it should work for any age, otherwise you're a hypocrite." I'm saying it's not the age that's the deciding factor, it's the highly subjective cumulative set of circumstances that lead someone to make that kind of decision. In Martin's case, he described those circumstances in great detail and managed to make sense while doing so. You don't have to agree with it (I doubt he gave a shit about your opinion), but as far as suicides are concerned this is the way to do it that's both the most beneficial to society and the most respectful to loved ones.
 

Pasteton

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Some things in life are not subject to pure logic, or to a 'highly subjective cumulative set of circumstances'.

You don't know my friend at all, or what he's been through. For all I know, if I explained it to you in detail, maybe you'll decide that the 'criteria have been met' and he gets your stamp of approval for suicide.

What if my friend had huntington's, and knew he would become demented and die soon? What if someone was on deathrow, and knew they would die soon anyways, and would save us all cash if he managed to off himself a bit early? There are so many 'subjective cumulative sets of circumstances' I can create where suicide seems like a sound choice.

So should I approve or disprove, on a case by case basis, when someone of sound body and mind kills themself? Based on some as-yet undecided set of complex variables? There's no end to this madness. To me, it makes much more sense to say, hey, you know what, you don't know what's coming in life, and as long as you have your faculties with you, don't insult those less fortunate(ie, already dead) by tossing in your chips prematurely.
 

Tanoomba

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So should I approve or disprove, on a case by case basis, when someone of sound body and mind kills themself?
Yes. Yes you should.

Based on some as-yet undecided set of complex variables? There's no end to this madness. To me, it makes much more sense to say, hey, you know what, you don't know what's coming in life, and as long as you have your faculties with you, don't insult those less fortunate(ie, already dead) by tossing in your chips prematurely.
See, I don't see any insult to the dead at all. They had nothing to do with Martin's decision, nor should they have. Despite death being literally the only guarantee in life, it's an extremely difficult (if not impossible) topic for human beings to come to terms with. We each try to make sense of it in our own highly personal ways (well, those of us who don't let religion tell us how to do it, anyway) and, not surprisingly, many of use come to vastly different conclusions about what death means to us. For Martin, nothing was more terrifying than a death he had no control over. Maybe you don't get that, maybe I don't get that, but to him that meant a lot and helped shape his decisions about how to end his own life. As much as you act as though he's pushing some kind of pro-suicide agenda, his view of death ("Might as well go out on my own terms") makes no less sense to me than your "You don't know what's coming, so why quit now?" perspective. Neither is more valid than the other, except in your respective minds.
 

khalid

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It made me think of this guy and all the people in this thread basically arguing that his life is over so whatever.
Yeah, that is my issue with this guy and his "defenders". His life wasn't anywhere near over. He could have done some good with his life if he had wanted to, instead he just quit. WHICH IS FINE, just don't try and turn him into some hero. Guy was just a quitter, albeit a very thorough quitter of everything.
 

chaos

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What do those left alive have to "deal with"? We're all going to have to "deal with" the deaths of everyone we know who dies before we do. It's never easy. Never. At least under these circumstances it was controlled and explained. If you're just gonna keep coming back with "Yeah, but it's still hard for those he left behind", I'm going to keep coming back with "Yeah, but italways is."
You seem to be of the opinion that the explanation just wipes away any undue negativity or stigma that goes along with suicide. You keep saying something along the lines of "it's never easy", and that is true. But it doesn't always involve a choice on the part of the deceased that the living will never fully understand. He's a grown ass man, or was, and he can do whatever he wants with his life. He wants to throw it away, go for it. But I don't have to like or support the idea of what he is doing here. Writing the world's longest suicide note doesn't change my impression of what he did. He threw away a gift that others would kill for. He's an asshole.
 
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I think you just want a bad guy, so you decided to interpret what I wrote in that context and put some words in my mouth like that whole "tough it out pussy" thing. I didn't judge, I laid out how I feel, and chose to tell a pretty personal story about a guy who I admired really for what he put up with. I don't know if I would have made it through everything he did without succumbing to suicide. Tuco specifically brought up debilitating diseases which is why I even brought that up.

Of course something is wrong with a person who wants to kill themselves. Do you think that is a natural thing, to walk around thinking about suicide because of simple things like "i'm getting old?" That is kind of a weak criticism to say "something is wrong."
So, are all soldiers in all the world's militaries also mentally ill since they have the capacity to end another human being's life?
 

Numbers_sl

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I love how people hate on suicide because it's 'selfish'. The entirety of modern western capitalism, our fucking way of life, from love to work to everything in between, isbuilt on selfishness.
You and your thoughts on Marxism need to stick to your day job.
 

Numbers_sl

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second this, saw my grandmother deteriorate from cancer, chemo aggressive treatment sometimes just passing is a better bet, i was a pussy at 12 but i couldent face my grandmother in her final moments and now i regret that so much it kills me.
I'll regret to the day I die that I couldn't face my grandmother or grandfather on their deathbeds.