Gina Gentile and Vanessa Dorwart were killed as a third girl screamed at them to get off the tracks Thursday 25 February.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/loc ... 38982.html

They were depressed at the recent deaeth of Gina's boyfriend (Jan 19), and she had left a note on a facebook page saying “Save a spot for me Pumpkinn.”

I wonder if the pervasive notion that there is a heaven is making it seem to teens that death is not so final, and it is merely a door to a new "life" where all earthly problems are solved.

Atheism is such a positive and life affirming stance, which values this one life to live. I wonder if religion is a risk factor which lowers the threshold to suicide in indoctrinated children ?

Especially when you see the picture on the boyfriend's facebook memorial page...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/RIP-Bill- ... 9491133802

I'd never thought of that before, but perhaps you're right.

Someone should commission a study.

I always thought of suicide as the only self-justifiable event in the universe.

Just sick.....

My brother killed himself over a girlfriend when he was 30, about 15 years ago. What a waste. A permanent solution to a temporary problem.

The two of them killed themselves for the boyfriend of one of them. Were they time-sharing him or something?

Atheism is such a positive and life affirming stance, which values this one life to live. I wonder if religion is a risk factor which lowers the threshold to suicide in indoctrinated children ?

Isn't suicide one of the most despicable sins in christianity? Anyone here who knows what the teachings of other religions have to say about that? (Well, muslims get their grapes, I've been told)

babel wrote:Isn't suicide one of the most despicable sins in christianity?

As is eating shellfish. Religionists pick and choose, though.

If you're highly allergic, you can combine both and make a statement.

Kiwi wrote:

I wonder if the pervasive notion that there is a heaven is making it seem to teens that death is not so final, and it is merely a door to a new "life" where all earthly problems are solved.

Atheism is such a positive and life affirming stance, which values this one life to live. I wonder if religion is a risk factor which lowers the threshold to suicide in indoctrinated children ?

Especially when you see the picture on the boyfriend's facebook memorial page...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/RIP-Bill- ... 9491133802

Stats suggest you are wrong. If you look at this link on youth suicide you will see that the higher rates are Japan and some other European countries that tend to be atheistic.
http://web4health.info/en/answers/bipol ... statistics

Depression has no hope and I doubt afterlife is a concern. That some believe they cannot live without certain people on earth is more important reason than joining them in an afterlife. This girl and her friend were more than likely deeply depressed about life. What her friend was depressed about we can only surmise but misery loves company they say so dieing together worked for them?

This article said there was a third girl who backed out. She was the one who screamed at them. This article (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD9E84O6O0) also talks about how suicide is romanticized sometimes by the young so there are copy cat suicides. Mostly though it emphasizes depression as being the cause. And I am not talking about depression such as having a bitch of a day. I'm talking about weeks or months or even years of depression.

natselrox wrote:I always thought of suicide as the only self-justifiable event in the universe.

Not when you use a train to do it it's not. I have nothing but contempt for people who attempt suicide in front of a train. Some even park their car on the lines ffs, risking the lives of everyone else. It's like committing suicide by flying a plane into a building full of people.

I'm With Stupid wrote:It's like committing suicide by flying a plane into a building full of people.

Sounds familiar.....

I'm With Stupid wrote:

natselrox wrote:I always thought of suicide as the only self-justifiable event in the universe.

Not when you use a train to do it it's not. I have nothing but contempt for people who attempt suicide in front of a train. Some even park their car on the lines ffs, risking the lives of everyone else. It's like committing suicide by flying a plane into a building full of people.

You have a point there.

I wonder if they include euthanasia in those stats?

You might find that suicide seems more of an option when you have the more middle-ground notion of an afterlife...

Religious folk won't generally risk damnation/hell/whateverthefuck.
Atheists won't really want to waste their one shot.
Those with an airy-fairy notion of some non-denominational/spiritual meet-up in the clouds = more likely to off themselves

possible??

oh, and i agree totalyl re:the selfishness of afflicting others by your method of suicide.

Although... if I ever reach certain unenviable heights of old-age and infirmity... I'd love to do it outside Parliament House or the Houses of Parliament in as messy a way as possible.. with a note pinned to my chest;

Sorry for the mess... Vote pro-euthanasia

Suicide- If you're dumb enough to do it, you deserved it.

natselrox wrote:Suicide- If you're dumb enough to do it, you deserved it.

I've gotta agree with you.

I could never, ever, attempt suicide, simply because I know that this is the only life I've got.

andyx1205 wrote:

natselrox wrote:Suicide- If you're dumb enough to do it, you deserved it.

I've gotta agree with you.

I could never, ever, attempt suicide, simply because I know that this is the only life I've got.

Spaceman Spiff (Calvin) to Evil Zorg Queen (Miss Wormwood): "DO YOUR WORST!"

While I don't neccessarily see high suicide rates as a good thing, surely a world where we die on our own terms is better than one where we don't?

juːtoʊpiə wrote:While I don't neccessarily see high suicide rates as a good thing, surely a world where we die on our own terms is better than one where we don't?

I have some memory of suicide being illegal in many countries... Is this still the case?

I don't know if anyone has ever been convicted of attempted suicide? Or if they are automatically considered unfit for trial? Or if in that case the judicial system decides not to kick someone when they're down (it would be a first).

tactik wrote:

juːtoʊpiə wrote:While I don't neccessarily see high suicide rates as a good thing, surely a world where we die on our own terms is better than one where we don't?

I have some memory of suicide being illegal in many countries... Is this still the case?

I don't know if anyone has ever been convicted of attempted suicide? Or if they are automatically considered unfit for trial? Or if in that case the judicial system decides not to kick someone when they're down (it would be a first).

From what I can remember, they can be held in a mental hospital until the doctors decide if they are "fit" enough to rejoin the general population.
Not sure if they're charged money wise. And putting them in jail would just make them more suicidal.

But really, if someone really wants to die, they'll go and do it regardless if the country they live in has an anti-suicide law. The law may be there, but it's still up to the individual to decide if they want to risk any possible consequences of breaking it.

Valden wrote:
But really, if someone really wants to die, they'll go and do it regardless if the country they live in has an anti-suicide law. The law may be there, but it's still up to the individual to decide if they want to risk any possible consequences of breaking it.

But that is the point... The law may have an impact as suicide is by no means guaranteed, especially with over-the-counter pills and potions, so... thanks to the legislation, there is a very real risk that instead of ending-it-all, you would end up strapped to a bed in a psych-ward with severe brain damage (YMMV).

Perhaps, I wasn't clear enough. My post was in response to Utopia's mention that it is better that we live in a world where we can die on our own terms (unless I mis-read his post).

I was pointing out that we don't actually live there, yet... Making euthanasia, and even attempted suicide, illegal mean that you are inhibited in those choices.