It's all a load of Cannonballs in here! This is the virtual Arsenal pub where you can chat about anything except football. Be warned though, like any pub, the content may not always be suitable for everyone.
hugh jardon wrote:What about those who jump in front of trains? Is that deemed acceptable? How about the poor train drivers who are forever scarred with horrific images of blood and guts splattered all over their windscreens for the rest of their lives and often unable to return to driving duties?
hugh jardon wrote:What about those who jump in front of trains? Is that deemed acceptable? How about the poor train drivers who are forever scarred with horrific images of blood and guts splattered all over their windscreens for the rest of their lives and often unable to return to driving duties?
No that isn't acceptable, because you fuck up the train driver's mind and you make everyone else late.
Suicide is a touchy subject for many reasons. My good mate Jim threw himself under a train. It devestated his family. His father went into a deppression that cost him his job and his marriage. And Jim's brother then killed himself a year later as he couldn't cope with the grief of losing his brother.
Whilst I miss my mate Jim very much and think about him every day (sometimes with regret, sometimes anger, but mostly just plain sadness) I understand he made a decision to take his life. But two things that struck me about it;
1. Was he fit to make that decision?
2. Did he think of the impact it would have on his family and friends?
I haven't a clue if he was fit to make the decision. He had gone through a bad spell in his personal life in the months before he died but at the time we all thought it no more than the usual things - certainly not worth dying over.
The impact on his family was terrible. I've always viewed suicide as a cowards way out. When Jim did it I was so angry at him (and still am to a certain extent) but then I don't know what he was feeling at the time he did it.
Did he have a responsibility to think of the impact on his family? I think so. We can all run away from our responsibilities in one way or another (my mate Gary ran off on his wife and 4 kids) but I believe you owe it to your family to man up and make an effort.
As for assisted suicide as pain relief or to opt out once quality of life is gone to shit? I think it must be the individual's choice. But I would express concern again about their state of mind; they may want to die this week but a change in medication (for example) can lead to a change in condition and/or psyche and I'm sure there are people out there alive today that are glad they didn't have the opportunity for assisted suicide.
My dad had a major stroke in 2003. He nearly died and was left partially paralysed and (temporarily) blind and unable to speak. But wonderful rehab nurses got him to a stage where he could speak, see and had improved movement and he lived another 5 years before unrelated cancer finally killed him.
He once told me that in the days after he had the stroke he had wanted to die. He would have opted for assisted suicide, had it been available. But his quality of live improved and he got to see the birth and early years of his grandchildren and that gave him a new lease of life. He would have missed all that if assisted suicide had been available. And we as a family would have missed those extra 5 years with him.
So I guess, yeah, the right to die is a fundamental human right but it also has to be regulated to some degree.
hugh jardon wrote:What about those who jump in front of trains? Is that deemed acceptable? How about the poor train drivers who are forever scarred with horrific images of blood and guts splattered all over their windscreens for the rest of their lives and often unable to return to driving duties?
No that isn't acceptable, because you fuck up the train driver's mind and you make everyone else late.
I was going to mention suicide but you beat me to it.
Also think about the cost implications to the NHS that’s supporting the care. If you want to go rather it’s an unselfish act and could save the NHS millions. You could even be contributing to the funds if you have to pay for it.
Medical grounds seems easier and I think the key would be ‘quality of life’.
Obviously, there would have to be rules around it you shouldn’t have a 15 year old girl that’s been dumped and he life’s now over! Depression is a little harder. But then you have people who really are a waste of space and clearly don’t want to live should be aloud to be ‘referred’ also.
Without wishing to change subject, what about the death sentence?
I’m talking about very serious offenses and those that admit to it.
Again you could say and ‘eye for an eye’ and would save us having to pay taxes on a (sometimes) easy life behind bars. Flipside is seeing that’s the easy route and seeing them rot is the punishment.
I think that if you are imbalanced enough with depression to commit suicide, you are hardly likely to be in a rational enough state to think of the consequences of your actions.
hugh jardon wrote:What about those who jump in front of trains? Is that deemed acceptable? How about the poor train drivers who are forever scarred with horrific images of blood and guts splattered all over their windscreens for the rest of their lives and often unable to return to driving duties?
No that isn't acceptable, because you fuck up the train driver's mind and you make everyone else late.
I was going to mention suicide but you beat me to it.
Also think about the cost implications to the NHS that’s supporting the care. If you want to go rather it’s an unselfish act and could save the NHS millions. You could even be contributing to the funds if you have to pay for it.
Medical grounds seems easier and I think the key would be ‘quality of life’.
Obviously, there would have to be rules around it you shouldn’t have a 15 year old girl that’s been dumped and he life’s now over! Depression is a little harder. But then you have people who really are a waste of space and clearly don’t want to live should be aloud to be ‘referred’ also.
Without wishing to change subject, what about the death sentence?
I’m talking about very serious offenses and those that admit to it.
Again you could say and ‘eye for an eye’ and would save us having to pay taxes on a (sometimes) easy life behind bars. Flipside is seeing that’s the easy route and seeing them rot is the punishment.
marcengels wrote:I think that if you are imbalanced enough with depression to commit suicide, you are hardly likely to be in a rational enough state to think of the consequences of your actions.
Agreed, but then there's others that are beyond help. Constant suicide attempts not only a danger to themselves but to others. Simply given up the ghost on wanting to live or wanting support.
I suppose these goes into the mental case category.
