I just wanted to make this to rant a little, I hope this is the right catagory.
I've noticed how the media blames this forum for peoples suicides and it pisses me off! It's society that's the problem, among other things. NOT this place! This place is amazing for venting and finding safe ways to ctb etc. It doesn't cause suicides, society does, this place just helps those who has already made the decicion to do it safely. Idk, media sucks sometimes, ngl!
Sorry if I didn't word it well, I just hope it makes sense atleast. Feel free to delete if not allowed.
What's your thoughts on this? I'm curious to hear!
I just realised I wrote "thus" instead of "this" on the title. Oopsie!
Why does the MEDIA do it?
Because the media is an attention economy. It wants to get clicks and views. And a headline like "Evil forum responsible for the suicides of teens" is a real attention-grabber. Media and journalism are a competitive industry. And most just want to find the thing that will grab the most attention.
Beyond that, it's also not an easy thing to advocate for in public. It's very easy to paint someone who's pro this forum as a callous sadist who wants children to die. So even if they wanted to talk about that stuff, it would not be very easy to do. Let alone find a mainstream media outlet willing to run a piece like that. Not to mention the harassment they might get or, hell, potentially the lawsuits.
It's also not so easy for people, especially people who have never suffered from depression, to understand it. The concept that sometimes suicide might be the right choice for some people is not an easy one to digest. And it is not straight-forward to a lot of people. Especially when it comes to younger people CTBing. The idea of "life being desireable" is just kind of taken for granted by most people, it seems to me. And if someone doesn't feel that way it's shocking to them and (they think) all those people are is delusional people who need to be talked out of it or fixed or something. I think that's the instinctive way a lot of people think about it. Suicide is still a taboo, don't forget.
And then I'd add on top of all of that, in my opinion, this forum DOES operate in a moral grey area.
I firmly believe in the right of people to do what they want with their bodies, including ending their lives if they feel that's right. I believe that if you don't have the right to die, you don't have the right to live. You'd have the obligation to live.
That being said, I also believe (and this is also backed up by evidence) that many people with depression or who are suicidal at one point or another do get better. And can live long and happy lives. People can go through a dark period they come out of. Or they can get the help they need and get better. Or any number of other, similar things. Recovery does happen, genuinely. And if people can recover I want them to recover. And I don't want them to go through with CTB.
Basically, both of the things I mentioned come from the same central belief. I believe that the value of life is not inherent but dependent on the value the person gets out of it. A person who is happy and satisified and has purpose has a life that is very valuable and should be preserved. A person who hates their life, it's constant suffering with no chance of recovery and they want to die... I think it's fair that they want that. So if you have a person like that, I don't object to the idea of this site helping them to end it. But if you have some teenager who's never been to therapy, going through their first depression and all they need is some therapy and some antidepressants and in 2 years they'll be happy as can be... I DON'T want this site to help them end it. Because they can still get so much value out of their life and that'll be thrown away in that case.
The problem is that we cannot determine that for someone else. We can decide whether we want to help either way but that's all.
It's also fair to say that this website isn't just about exchanging ways to end things. It's also about getting support on a forum of like-minded people where you're not afraid of anyone calling 911 on you or something like that. And that's a valuable thing. Because the normies have made it intimidating to talk about things like suicide because they might have you committed or something or not understand at all.
I wouldn't be surprised in that context if this forum also prevented at least some suicides by giving people a safe outlet among like-minded people.
So, basically, I think it's complicated. The media wants attention-grabbing headlines and doesn't want to get sued. Suicide is still a big taboo and many people don't understand it. And on top of that this forum, I do think, operates in a real moral grey area. Where it may help people who really are in a hopeless and painful situation end it, but it may also accidentally help people end it who could have recovered and lived happy lives.
I think the real goal of normies should be to make this forum obsolete rather than ban it. Get rid of your first impulse being to try to call 911 to have someone committed. Make suicide a less taboo subject to talk about. Make mental healthcare free at the point of service. Make sure people don't end up in financially impossible situations through a better social safety net. And make sure that doctor assissted euthanasia is possible for people who want it. So it can be assessed whether they are really hopeless or not.
