All these lives that make no sense
From a
legal standpoint? I think it's rather a strange notion to prohibit suicide itself. However, there are other reasons to consider, as well.
For instance, there is the
practical. And in this, any number of considerations apply. In the first place, someone has to deal with the corpse. While this problem might be solved by
Futurama-style suicide booths, or any number of dystopian facilities, the notion of profiting from and promoting suicide as a private entity strikes me as repugnant. And, perhaps as gallows humor, I would point out that if the state administered some sort of suicide facility, the government would find some way to screw it up.
Here's a pretty debate that is predictable in the capitalist mode: suicide and life insurance. But what of failed suicide attempts? If you freaked out in your teens and tried to slice your wrists, should you be prohibited life insurance when you're forty and are looking to take care of your spouse and children?
Should failed suicides even be allowed to have children?
Oh, here's one: Imagine your best friend is preparing to take the trip. You know this, so you plead against suicide. When the moment comes, do you physically restrain him from cutting? Do you slash at the rope and try to breathe life back into him? Do you induce vomiting to force him to vomit whatever is left of the pills?
And then, having saved his life, do you face criminal charges or a civil complaint for a civil rights violation?
And then, of course, there is the
human aspect. Let me count the ways ... on second thought, I think I'll skip it. Suffice to say that, while the question of family is often at the root of suicidal tendencies, I have seen the effect of a parent's suicide on a child. It's not good, and it's certainly not fair. And, if you've ever heard someone say, "Hurry up and jump already! You're holding up traffic and I'm late for work!" well, I would hate to think of these people as virtuous. After all, they may hate their job ninety-nine days out of a hundred, but if they get to see some sorry son of a bitch jump from a bridge, suddenly they love their job and want to get there on time, so just freakin' jump, already!
I don't object to physician-assisted suicide, and would even go so far as to endorse the general concept of euthanasia. But emotional suicides are a trickier question. I have a tremendous amount of respect for those who wrestle with the question of their own life and death, and wish fervently that society would treat suicide with greater consideration and dignity, but even I would intervene on behalf of the living experience. This is a bit doctrinal, I think: surrender to the absurd seems a poor choice. But it's also instinctive: despite having considered suicide myself, I find years later that any number of fairly small things—kind drugs, a good lay, a certain day in the park with a friend—are enough to justify the fact that I continue to live. And, of course, there are larger things, such as my daughter, that state the case unequivocally. Perhaps I am one of the lucky ones. Or maybe enjoying warm sunshine on my skin is a sign of weakness. But as far as I can tell, every day brings
something that, if I stop to think about it, would make me glad I stuck around. Even if it's just a creative wanking fantasy.
Certainly, one might show me a suicidal who would truly be better off dead, but as one who opposes the slaughter of murderers and rapists, it seems a difficult proposition that I should look upon one whose only "crime" is eternal sadness and say, "Fine, you have nothing left to offer anyone. Go ahead, go away."
Floater, "Possum's Funeral/Endless Ii"
Goodbye friend.
The world no longer needs you.
You were so kind to lead the life you left behind.
And thanks again,
From all of us who had to feed you.
With this burden off our backs
We'll be sublime.
And from the world, you corrupted,
And almost forced to change—now that your through,
We can bury you.
And we'll be fine ....
.... The heat has a taste.
It tastes like a flame.
You drink up the flame and it burns your flesh away.
And in the city of clouds,
You're just a face in the crowd.
But you take up your place,
And you throw yourself away,
Everyday of your life.
Well, take a breath, and take a seat, and take your medicine.
Close your eyes, and cauterize the wound you're opening.
Well, all these lives, that make no sense:
All along we cry in our defense.
And all of us go down slow,
And then we rise again.
And just like a tide on the sea,
We lower and rise again.
Well, and the days go by and the nights all feel the same.
And the beast in your eyes slowly becomes tame.
Someday you will change.
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
This world has gone and drug us along,
And nothing's the same, and it will never be again;
It's never gonna be the same.
And all these lives that make no sense:
All along we cry in our defense.
All of us go down slow,
Then we rise again.
But just like the tide on the sea,
We lower and rise again, and again.
I said,
The days go by and the nights all feel the same.
And the beast in your eyes slowly becomes tame and dim.
Someday never comes.
The snake strikes
To give
Life!
(The sutra is clarified, the Serpent it strikes.
The tail is its target in the circle it bites.)