Korean Job Discussion Forums

Hyeon Een · Joined: 24 Jun 2005

Suicide through violent means such as jumping off a cliff or shooting oneself in the head may be many awful things, but one thing it is not is cowardly. I hear this Mod Edit non-stop from N. Americans and I'm not sure where they get it from.. some kind of childhood indoctrination? A successful catholic outreach program?

Jumping off a cliff and landing head first is pretty much the bravest thing I can think of. I find jumping off cliffs into safe deep water pretty scary even though I know I'm gonna live.. suicide? It may be sucky but it is NOT cowardly.

I guess I understand the argument when you're talking about a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of pills. That is a very chilled out mellow way to kill oneself and depending on the circumstances could be cowardly I suppose. Cliff jumping though.. that is anything but.

The next person I meet who tells me suicide is COWARDLY is getting a slap. It takes balls of steel to jump off a cliff no matter what you leave behind.

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Jumping off a cliff does take some balls for just a moment............

....but living on and dealing with your problems and not giving extraordinary grief to those you leave behind, that takes real balls.

VanIslander · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject: Re: Suicide is not cowardly

DorkothyParker · Joined: 11 Apr 2009 Location: Jeju

I agree with the previous posters that those who choose suicide have unfortunately chosen to run away from life rather than go forward bravely in spite of their challenges.

However, I would neither call suicide brave (as it makes it seem glamorous) or cowardly (as it seems to add insult to injury for people who are already feeling weak).
I really wish our culture had a better way of dealing with mental illness. The stigma surrounding it is just as bad as suffering silently a lot of times. :/

With that said, I think stabbing yourself in the heart is still sort of hardcore (if you're Elliot Smith). And, though it may be unrelated, I fully believe in an individual's right to die.

Robot_Teacher · Joined: 18 Feb 2009 Location: Robotting Around the World

Suicide is reckless and irresponsible as you can get, especially if you're a celebrity, executive, or a leader of some sort where it's going to effect more people than your immediate family. It's not acceptable and should be looked as the greatest shameful thing to do besides murder and rape. A real leader doesn't destroy themselves nor others; they build themselves and others. I hope Korea realizes the former president ultimately set the worse example after the mourning passes.

doublejj · Joined: 28 Apr 2009 Location: sparkling

It's time for Svend Robinson to man up and take a hike up a mountain.

roknroll · Joined: 29 Dec 2007

It's one thing to express thoughts on a particular suicide, as the one being alluded to here, and quite another to generalize to all suicides. I'd agree with RT concerning the case in question here (although I'd add that it's not viewed the same way here). I wouldn't want to really comment on a case whereby the individual suffered from manic depression nor an individual suffering greatly from an incurable terminal illness and wants to die with dignity vis a vis assisted-suicide (to name a couple).

Not sure that the method in itself warrants any special status ('brave' way to go or 'cowardly'). The fact of the matter is, I'm sure, that a person would black out before they hit the ground. On the other hand, someone overdosing may spend conscious moments gagging on their vomit (sorry for conjuring up an image of that).

Joe666 · Joined: 19 Nov 2008 Location: Jesus it's hot down here!

I don't believe anybody has the right or capacity to judge what an individual might be feeling at any one time. Regardless of the mode, the simple idea of ending your life has to boggle the mind. Jumping or narcosis.

A severely crippled person
A suicide bomber
Someone who did nothing wrong
A leader who did wrong
A mentally sick person
An innocent person wrongly accused

The reasons could be endless. Is one any better or worse than another? Has anybody done something out of character or shamefull, due to odd circumstances? It's easy to say X or y and pass judgement. Do you really know what you are capable of?

JMO · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

flakfizer · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 11:09 pm Post subject: Re: Suicide is not cowardly

ED209 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006

What confuse me is why they put a suicide watch on death row prisoners?

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

It's cowardly. Period. The end.

OP, are you going to slap someone because they disagree with you? That's lame.

Hanson · Joined: 20 Oct 2004

Joe666 · Joined: 19 Nov 2008 Location: Jesus it's hot down here!

ED209 wrote:
What confuse me is why they put a suicide watch on death row prisoners?

To die alone and not be part of the spectacle. A death sentence is pretty much a show for selected people to see. How many people commit suicide with others around?

Hanson wrote:
Why do Kamikaze pilots where helmets?

For radio contact. You still need to talk to your boys prior to the dive.

Sleepy in Seoul · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:48 am Post subject:

To the OP - you've obviously never had to clean up the mess left behind after a suicide. Someone I worked with once had to deal with a suicide where the person started up a chainsaw on his kitchen table then dropped his throat on it. Blood everywhere.

I would consider each suicide on its merits... not very long sometimes, but I would consider them. However, for the person who commits suicide simply to escape problems and merely leaves all of them plus the mess behind, I have nothing but contempt.