Today, two of us went out to walk by the beach in Massachusetts State Park. (Google Maps Satellite) The river (actually a giant lake) is ~750 ft wide and very deep. There's a Boat Club with several ramps. It is a beautiful serene place.
We noticed we were the only two people in the park. As we approached the beach, we nearly collided with a man (Hispanic / Middle-Eastern, 20-30 years old) swiftly walking behind us. It appeared that he was late for a meeting. The man was wearing a thick black winter coat (backwards), big boots and heavy backpack.
The man ran onto a narrow boat ramp. I thought: "What is he doing? Waiting for a boat?" The man was ~140ft away from us. He was pacing back and forth on the ramp. Suddenly, he stopped, turned and fell backwards into the river. He wailed one last time. Then his head submerged into the deep water below.
Guy from the Boat Club ran onto the ramp. He looked down into the river and yelled: "Motherf--ker!" He quickly ran back into the Club shouting to his fellow employee: "Call 911!"
Within ~10 minutes, an armada of police and EMT arrived on the scene. We counted 50+ officers and emergency personnel, two divers, three ambulances and two fire trucks. It took them almost an hour to locate the guy's lifeless body in the deep waters and bring it onshore.
I felt completely numb. I have watched many gruesome videos on LiveLeak (people getting electrocuted, shot, fall from roof, run over by cars, airplanes crashing and burning, etc). In those instances, innocent people died by accident.
But I hate people who kill themselves. This guy was in his prime. Yet he was a coward. He could not deal with his problems, so he decided to "unplug" himself. Now his parents, siblings, girlfriend will be suffering. What a waste.
Let me remind you: You are not alone. Everyone has dark thoughts. This is Satan whispering into your ear. Pray to God. Don't give up. Never give up. If you have bad feelings, reach out and let someone help you. Don't be a coward. Do not commit suicide. May God bless you.
Kinda bothers me when someone criticizes someone for committing suicide and calls them a coward. For one it's just not a good word to use. Ending ones life and risking eternity in Hell or purgatory or as a ghost- I can't call people that do this cowards. Sure they ran away from whatever in life became too intense to handle but we have no idea what exactly they felt like inside or what it's like inside that person's mind.
I once heard someone describe their mental issues in a really good way, saying that living inside their own mind was like living in a very dangerous neighborhood. For some people, it's harder than we can imagine.
Agreed. And to also say you hate them.. Yes suicide is wrong. But have some compassion, you truly do not know the thoughts running through their head.
Could of had family in Turkey?
If OP can't swim that seems even more suicidal, so, not that weird. I can swim but I'm definitely not a good swimmer, it's pretty much impossible for me to be able to help in that circumstance either.
Yes, I agree that if somebody’s not a good swimmer, or is it being that cold could be detrimental to your health it would be a deterrent
But to call somebody else a coward for committing suicide, and then refusing to even run over to the edge to see if they’re OK, or even consider, jumping into help them, to me that is who the coward is.
Agreed. OP doesn’t know if this guy had a family, siblings, girlfriend, or friends. He may not have. Many people are alone in this world and have absolutely no one.
As for reaching out for help. Ending up in a psych ward after asking for help makes it worse and destroys any trust/hope. It’s a risk many aren’t willing to take because why would they want to be involuntarily be pumped full of psych meds? People lie to get out of these places.
I’ve often said that in my opinion it takes a strong constitution and somewhat of a brave person to do something like that if you will! To me Coward doesn’t fit the description in most cases! I myself have lived through many horrors that for most would of been enough to push one’s mind off a cliff , bridge or pier! By the grace of God I never attempted and often joked I was to much of a coward to do something like that . So I agree for many reasons they are not cowards it actually takes a lot of balls ! Of course there are always the acception , and my heart breaks for anyone so desperate to do this !
Agreed with everything you said… I have been there. Many times. Too many times and am sure, that if not for God’s Hand on my, I would not be here today.
From the outside, I had an enviable life but no one knew anything then surface stuff.
If anything, we should feel pity for the loss of a soul that couldn’t see their way through and say a prayer
Some of the people who end their lives this way are yes mentally unstable, mentally ill , but many aren’t , they were perfectly fine until some tragic situation entered their lives and they felt as though they could no longer deal or process through the pain that manifested from the situation. For some it’s physical , chronic pain , others emotional and of course mental. there are also suicide demons speaking to the vulnerable or desperate, the devil has all kinds of ways to destroy humanity. Yes it’s extreamly sad , it’s natural for those left to feel angry as they work through their grief , the ones dealing with the loss have the right to heal in their own way and I’ve never heard any of them use coward when expressing their anger and sadness . It’s a tough go to tragically kill yourself , it’s a form of murder , murdering the life that caused oneself so much anguish ! Compassion is a force that can change and save lives ,,, yes we must be kind and pray for those hurting.
Yeah brave is exactly the word I wanted to use but I self-censored myself out of using it haha.
So true. The novelist, David Foster Wallace, temporarily stopped his meds, then went back on and they stopped working. Nothing he tried after that apparently worked. He must have been in tremendous pain.
Yep. The judgement is unreasonable, and reactions usually just as or more selfish than they claim the act itself to be, as if the person were property to be held caged for the emotional and moral satisfaction of others' egos.
Yes, that's a whole 'nother part of it I've always completely agreed with it. They call the person selfish but really they're the ones pretty much saying that they want the person to continue enduring whatever soul crushing feelings they're dealing with for a full lifetime just so that they (the accuser of selfishness) don't have to lose someone.
Same here. Life's value is extremely under appreciated these days it's sad. I was and am still suicidal. Still dry firing in my mouth, not every day anymore but I got the muscle memory down. Anyways, the things they went through and how deep it affected them I would never understand and vice versa. But I know that anything it was, it was something horridly unexplainable and immeasurable,something beyond tremendous. They are far from a coward.
I hope you hang in there buddy. There's been a couple of few-month stretches where I woke up seriously contemplating it each morning as well.
Do you believe in God and an afterlife? What pretty much keeps me going is thinking of it like, we (depending on age, but for me) just have a few more decades of this bullshit life on Earth to plow through and then we get to experience something probably amazing beyond our current minds comprehension. And while I think it's a little unlikely or at least not probable that suicide is such a sin as to deny entry to the cool kids club afterlife, it is possible so let's just get through this and die naturally just in case.
I did find God. More of a informational thing than religious, I study the Quran and I have a Bible (NKJV). Saved my life and proved to me there is indeed much more to this than what I thought before. Its hard to imagine myself 10 years ago before God, it doesn't feel like me but the memories are real. Impostor syndrome is real now.
The next journey is tough but with God at my side I have the guidance I can trust. I don't believe in death, I think death has been corrupted to mean what it means today to deter losing bodies in an industrialized society. How else would a society or governments survive?
The meaning of life varies by locales. In rural areas it tends to be valued and cherished, but in Cali you can get ran over and the other party is gone in a hit and run. Some feel negatively of suicide while others are praising it like it's a grand moment. Some are saving lives, while some are sacrificing them or themselves. I think the selfish ones are the ones still alive and commenting on the loss.
To understand life is to understand death. For there to be light there has to be dark, cold and hot, death life is all consciousness. Sure, there's more to it but it's all the same thing.
I sure won't kms soon. If I do I have a DMS to help protect innocent children in California and other states. I am with God at my side so eternally I have the guidance I need and trust. Its not the same battle everyday, so no guarantees I'll be here tomorrow but God bless all of yall. My life is complete, you are all more of a patriot than quite a few of the soldiers I served with who were only there for money and tiktok videos.