2010-10-05, 03:17 PM
I'm going to have to disagree with you, Eos, because you're basing your ambivalent treatment of this recent string of suicides off what I like to call the "logic of global awareness," the idea that we may all have our "issues" or "problems" here or there, but they're nothing compared to those faced by other people around the world, and thus shouldn't be given as much credit/thought due to the global frame of reference.
It's a conversation I had with one of my best friends, the daughter of a psychologist, who argued her side (which I completely agree with) very well: just because we (ex. anyone who can post on an internet forum) have the opportunities of a great lifestyle doesn't mean problems, stresses, or instigators of depression are "overrated," "overly dramatic" cries of selfish egotism. Just as easily as you made the assumption that Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington bridge because he was a "drama queen who was being stupid and overreacting" (which, by the way, you have no frame of reference to make in that you didn't know him personally and thus cannot judge his personality as the leading motive) can I make the assumption that he lived the short 18 years of his life constantly barraged by messages from his faith, friends, teachers, peers, even family that "homosexuality is a complete abomination and he would be worth more dead than alive," etcetera etcetera. From a psychological standpoint, the very realization that a video of you committing the most heinous degree of this sin was viraled around the internet for the world to see would be enough to tip you over the edge.
Now of course that's an assumption like yours, in that it assumes what kind of life he lived with regards to his relationships in society. But the bottom line is that because it is unknown whether he was a selfish drama queen or an individual who felt truly trapped, the only conclusion that can be made is that he needed help, and none was given. Instead of berating people for seemingly insignificant or overhyped psychological issues, we should be out helping them, listening to them and being there when they need us the most. After all, there's less of a suicide history in helping others than in criticizing them.
It's a conversation I had with one of my best friends, the daughter of a psychologist, who argued her side (which I completely agree with) very well: just because we (ex. anyone who can post on an internet forum) have the opportunities of a great lifestyle doesn't mean problems, stresses, or instigators of depression are "overrated," "overly dramatic" cries of selfish egotism. Just as easily as you made the assumption that Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington bridge because he was a "drama queen who was being stupid and overreacting" (which, by the way, you have no frame of reference to make in that you didn't know him personally and thus cannot judge his personality as the leading motive) can I make the assumption that he lived the short 18 years of his life constantly barraged by messages from his faith, friends, teachers, peers, even family that "homosexuality is a complete abomination and he would be worth more dead than alive," etcetera etcetera. From a psychological standpoint, the very realization that a video of you committing the most heinous degree of this sin was viraled around the internet for the world to see would be enough to tip you over the edge.
Now of course that's an assumption like yours, in that it assumes what kind of life he lived with regards to his relationships in society. But the bottom line is that because it is unknown whether he was a selfish drama queen or an individual who felt truly trapped, the only conclusion that can be made is that he needed help, and none was given. Instead of berating people for seemingly insignificant or overhyped psychological issues, we should be out helping them, listening to them and being there when they need us the most. After all, there's less of a suicide history in helping others than in criticizing them.