If you've been watching the headlines in the last day or two or have an active Facebook News Feed, you may have seen references to this teenage transgendered person’s suicide.
Among the person's suicide social media posting was this:
I was an angsty teenager once. I don’t know this personally but I’m sure being convinced you are the wrong sex and having issues with your family only make things even worse and even more painful. I hope anyone experiencing this kind of emotional pain receive support and don’t turn to suicide.
But this person’s experience, and the meaning they tried to give their death, had me thinking today about a bigger trend I’ll call ‘social just suicide’.
I first really noticed this trend with the Aaron Swartz case in 2013. If you aren’t familiar with Aaron Swartz, he broke US law to help free some information (scholarly journals) that he, and others, felt should rightfully be public. I generally agreed with the validity of their stance. Aaron was arrested and prosecuted aggressively for breaking a law he felt was unjust. He ended up not being able to deal with the consequences of his actions, be them right or wrong, and committed suicide.
When the Swartz death broke I was appalled by the hero-worship I saw in certain corners of the internet. Swartz was a ‘hactivist’ and one of the creators of the RSS feed standard. He was well known. Because of the debate around whether the law was moral and whether the prosecutor was overstepping their discretion, I could tell many people felt his suicide was noble.
I have personally known a few people that have committed suicide or walked the line with drugs and ended up dead by their own doing. I can’t deny that sometimes I get angry at them, but I generally feel sympathy for people that commit suicide. They are obviously in great distress and emotional pain. I do think it is a sickness or disease and they need sympathy and help.
What seems to upset me though, is when the press gives extra attention to the social justice reasons behind their suicide. People have lived injustice in so many ways by taking stands for their beliefs. People like Gandhi, Nelsen Mandela and Muhammad Ali suffered in prison because of their stances. Countless others like Martin Luther King died against their will for trying to take action against social injustice.
So today my unanswered question is, can and should people ever be martyrs if they commit suicide? Do we really want to revere those who throw away their life? Why do I feel so upset about this act and the media attention around it?
Asian cultures have a unique perspective on suicide, from Japanese glorification to buddhist monks self immolation. Previously I had read a letter to Martin Luther King by buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Nanh, on the self immolation of a monk during the Vietnam war. I recommend reading it in it’s entirety but here’s a couple passages.
It is hard for me to say whether the monks that have self immolated in the past have done so truly in the spirit of hope and selflessness and not in selfish defeat. I’m not sure I can justify their actions much more than other people’s suicides, but for some reason I do consider their actions through a slightly different lens, as they have devoted their lives to destroying their sense of self rather than living in our culture of self-worship via social media.
I’m left unsure whether there is ever a reason to respect people who commit suicide with a desire to change society, regardless of whether I believe in the change they are promoting. While I have sympathy for their depression, I would much rather praise, glorify, and give attention to people that stand for something in their life rather than just in their death. I’ll go so far as to say that I think letting their death promote the social justice message they push will encourage other suicides and foster weakness rather than strength to overcome any real injustices.
Anyway, just my ramblings today. Almost time to meet up with friends and celebrate. Curious to hear anyone else’s thoughts.
Among the person's suicide social media posting was this:
Quote:Quote:
"My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year," she wrote. "I want someone to look at that number and say 'that's f---ed up' and fix it. Fix society. Please."
I was an angsty teenager once. I don’t know this personally but I’m sure being convinced you are the wrong sex and having issues with your family only make things even worse and even more painful. I hope anyone experiencing this kind of emotional pain receive support and don’t turn to suicide.
But this person’s experience, and the meaning they tried to give their death, had me thinking today about a bigger trend I’ll call ‘social just suicide’.
I first really noticed this trend with the Aaron Swartz case in 2013. If you aren’t familiar with Aaron Swartz, he broke US law to help free some information (scholarly journals) that he, and others, felt should rightfully be public. I generally agreed with the validity of their stance. Aaron was arrested and prosecuted aggressively for breaking a law he felt was unjust. He ended up not being able to deal with the consequences of his actions, be them right or wrong, and committed suicide.
When the Swartz death broke I was appalled by the hero-worship I saw in certain corners of the internet. Swartz was a ‘hactivist’ and one of the creators of the RSS feed standard. He was well known. Because of the debate around whether the law was moral and whether the prosecutor was overstepping their discretion, I could tell many people felt his suicide was noble.
I have personally known a few people that have committed suicide or walked the line with drugs and ended up dead by their own doing. I can’t deny that sometimes I get angry at them, but I generally feel sympathy for people that commit suicide. They are obviously in great distress and emotional pain. I do think it is a sickness or disease and they need sympathy and help.
What seems to upset me though, is when the press gives extra attention to the social justice reasons behind their suicide. People have lived injustice in so many ways by taking stands for their beliefs. People like Gandhi, Nelsen Mandela and Muhammad Ali suffered in prison because of their stances. Countless others like Martin Luther King died against their will for trying to take action against social injustice.
So today my unanswered question is, can and should people ever be martyrs if they commit suicide? Do we really want to revere those who throw away their life? Why do I feel so upset about this act and the media attention around it?
Asian cultures have a unique perspective on suicide, from Japanese glorification to buddhist monks self immolation. Previously I had read a letter to Martin Luther King by buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Nanh, on the self immolation of a monk during the Vietnam war. I recommend reading it in it’s entirety but here’s a couple passages.
Quote:Quote:
The Press spoke then of [the monk's death as] suicide, but in the essence, it is not. It is not even a protest.
In the Buddhist belief, life is not confined to a period of 60 or 80 or 100 years: life is eternal. Life is not confined to this body: life is universal. To express will by burning oneself, therefore, is not to commit an act of destruction but to perform an act of construction, i.e., to suffer and to die for the sake of one's people.
Suicide is an act of self-destruction, having as causes the following:
- lack of courage to live and to cope with difficulties
- defeat by life and loss of all hope
- desire for non-existence (abhava)
This self-destruction is considered by Buddhism as one of the most serious crimes.
It is hard for me to say whether the monks that have self immolated in the past have done so truly in the spirit of hope and selflessness and not in selfish defeat. I’m not sure I can justify their actions much more than other people’s suicides, but for some reason I do consider their actions through a slightly different lens, as they have devoted their lives to destroying their sense of self rather than living in our culture of self-worship via social media.
I’m left unsure whether there is ever a reason to respect people who commit suicide with a desire to change society, regardless of whether I believe in the change they are promoting. While I have sympathy for their depression, I would much rather praise, glorify, and give attention to people that stand for something in their life rather than just in their death. I’ll go so far as to say that I think letting their death promote the social justice message they push will encourage other suicides and foster weakness rather than strength to overcome any real injustices.
Anyway, just my ramblings today. Almost time to meet up with friends and celebrate. Curious to hear anyone else’s thoughts.