Not all cultures have considered it selfish or morally wrong. Some have assisted suicide these days and I think the trend for that is growing.
Why is suicide considered selfish? If your like 80 or something and rely on your family for care. Would it not be a burden off of them?
Submitted 2 hours ago by Patnou@lemmy.world to [deleted]
Comments
mushroommunk@lemmy.today 2 hours ago
Ariselas@piefed.ca 2 hours ago
It’s a really complicated issue once you take religion out of it, at what age is it ok? does someone have to be in poor health? are they leaving friends and family who love them? MAID when someone has a terminal illness is a mercy, but it’s not for everyone.
However, when I think of my friend’s death, she was healthy and only 45 when she left us. I’m an atheist who’s read enough existentialism to respect her wishes, but I’m also sad for it. I don’t believe her decision was selfish, she was obviously dealing with things she couldn’t resolve , I just wish she could have found some sort of contentment in her life.
Patnou@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
I always kind of wonder about Hunter S Thompson. If he had something that would be a burden. The world lost a great mind that day.
Ariselas@piefed.ca 1 hour ago
The good doctor was in poor health, but he left us his words and we can’t let the bastards win.
Signtist@bookwyr.me 2 hours ago
It might be a burden off of them, but would being relieved of that burden outweigh the added burden of being without you? The reason suicide is selfish isn’t because there aren’t reasons you being gone might benefit someone, it’s because you’re making the assumption on their behalf that your absence would be better for them than your presence.
Your life is part of other people’s lives, just like their lives are a part of yours. Any unilateral decision to suddenly end those relationships is selfish. Imagine if someone you loved just stopped talking to you out of the blue. Even if the relationship had been strained, they’re still someone you love and now they’re just… gone. It sucks, and knowing it was a conscious choice they made makes it suck even more.
That’s not to say there aren’t reasons to be selfish sometimes (though such reasons are few and far between in a situation as absolute as suicide), but being selfish for a good reason is still being selfish.
andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 2 hours ago
There best way to understand suicide is as a form of intimate partner violence: suicide is a form of murder in which the relationship between the victim and their killer is that they are lifelong partners who share a body.
Imagine if you learned that your grandmother had been shot and killed in her bed by your grandfather, who left a note explaining that he had determined that this was in the best interest of everyone involved and then surrendered himself to the police.
The sense of shock and loss would be tremendous. The fact that the killer is someone close to you, who insisted that the killing was intended to be merciful doesn’t alleviate the sense of betrayal. You would still be hit with the trauma of great, sudden, unexpected loss.
isleepinahammock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 hour ago
Have you lost a close relative? Have you personally lived that pain?
When people call suicide selfish, they’re not talking about your infirm 80 year old.