Got irrationally angry today...

[Gottesstrafe]

I'm just browsing stuff on FunnyJunk today, having a few laughs. Then I get to this [http://www.funnyjunk.com/channel/feels/Friends+from+Great+Places/XyawGKl/]. At first glance, this seems like a great comic. But the more I thought about it, the more bitter I got.

In the end, it just reminded me that this world is a dark place. It won't save you. The odds of coming across someone that cool right at that moment are astronomical. Further, this kid is committing suicide because some kids pick on him and he's got a harsh mommy. SO WHAT?! He thinks he has it bad. And this girl, she's too good. A lot of people spent a good chunk of their lives trying to find someone like that. And he just catches the attention of one right away.

Maybe we should all look for the nearest bridge to jump off of and wait for someone amazing to hug us and tell us everything will be alright. Maybe bake us some chocolate chip cookies too and then we'll all ride off into the sunset on our big ****ing rainbow unicorn. No, I don't accept it. It's too good. And his plight is too pathetic for me to sympathize with.

Look, I know exactly what you're thinking. It's just a comic, right? Definitely. And I've been trying to get myself to ignore it but I can't stop thinking about how grossly unrealistic it is. Anyway, sorry for the rant but I felt like I had to write this to get it out of my mind...

*sigh*

Meh. Yeah, the (fictional) kid's reasons for contemplating suicide seems petty to us, but I'm going to cut him some slack since he looks young. It doesn't seem like he's being aggressively stupid (eg. asking your friends to bury you in the sand so you can "be like Gaara" and then suffocating to death) or narcissistic (eg. thinking suicide will immortalize you and "really show those guys"). He just seems depressed. When you're a kid, you have no concept of perspective, you don't really have enough life experience or knowledge of the world around you to draw from. He probably doesn't even have a concept of what it's like outside his hometown, let alone the rest of his life. Family... school... friends... that's pretty much the big three of your childhood. If he's (seemingly) deficient in all three, I can understand why he feels everything is pointless and/or hopeless. I had a great childhood, who am I to call him out on his (perceived) lack thereof? Don't get me wrong, I still think it's INCREDIBLY STUPID, but I understand his motivation. And the girl? C'mon, he appears to be in/near a big city. Someone is going to see him. The reason why he is just perched on the edge in the first place is because he wants to be talked down from there, otherwise he would've just jumped immediately. And this:

Maybe we should all look for the nearest bridge to jump off of and wait for someone amazing to hug us and tell us everything will be alright.

When you're trying to talk down a suicide, you'll say anything to get them down. You don't necessary need to mean it or even have a working knowledge of it. You don't even need to stick around when it's over. YOU JUST WANT THEM TO STEP DOWN. The girl's connection with him isn't necessarily "convenient", it's desperation.

THAT BEING SAID: I hated the writing in the comic and the forced sentimentality it failed to convey. Forced sentimentality (as in half-baked or lazy forced sentimentality a la one of Adam Sandler's more recent pandering fun-for-the-whole-family comedies) is one of my pet peeves, either go unapologetically all out with it or make it subdued enough that I would believe it could happen in real life. Do the Ghost from Christmas Future trope. Replace the girl with an older guy (college aged or older) and have him casually leaning against the rail next to the kid disinterestedly. Have him not attempt to even stop the kid, but relate how petty the kid's reasons are for wanting to commit suicide. Have him then launch into an explanation that sometime in the future the kid will grow up, make up with his parents, gain friends, go away to college, find someone he loves, find hobbies he likes, and maybe even find fulfilling career prospects and how he will look toward to the future. Something along the lines of how time changes everything, hindsight makes fools out of all of us, and that there will be both good and bad times etc. Then have him walk away and while the kid asks "How do you know all of this?", to which the guy will turn around and say "Because it's already happened to me." before disappearing.

 

[Evil Smurf]

What's wrong with a nice story that ends well? It's almost heartwarming and I see no reason to diss. Calm down OP.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I don't doubt someone would try and talk a person out of suicide, but to make a connection, too? Pfft.

Miracles are for the fortunate.

It's more likely the saved person would be locked up in jail, or an institution after being brought down by cops, and cut off from the person that saved them, and soon afterwards, pumped full of pills that destroy their mind. Maybe used as guinnea pigs for anti-depression pills.
And the person that saved them will probably get on with life since in all likelihood, they don't care beyond saving a life. A connection would be highly unlikely.

Depression is something I'm familiar with. It's physical pain, too. I get aches in my arms, and wrists some times, from being just so damn sad.

Sometimes you do just need someone to talk to. The internet can help with that, especially if one feels like there's no one that they can relate to. The internet makes it infinitely more likely to meet someone with similar interests.

I'm not going to say "get your shit together" or something like that, but at time the only person you can rely on is yourself. Somehow, inner strength must be harnessed, and built.

 

[SKBPinkie]

Oh man. The internet has turned cynicism and apathy into a fucking art form.

It's just a comic. You either like it or you don't. Getting pissed off over something that's sincere and nice is just... I have no words for it. Honestly, I'm glad that there do exist stories out there with happy endings. I've no idea why people nowadays are obsessed with grimdark bullshit; it has come to the point where a happy ending is not a cliche anymore.

 

[Aeonknight]

You're saying that you're upset because a story that normally has a tragic ending ended up having a happy one? -__-

Also, you'd be STUNNED - STUNNED, I say - at the number of suicides that were "thwarted" by a random passerby.

You complain that his plight is too pathetic? Maybe he has mental illness. You complain that the girl is "too good"? Why don't you strive to be like her instead? The comic is clearly holding her up on a pedestal, maybe you should take note. You complain that it's all "too good"? Do lottery winners phase out of existence due to their sudden uptick of fortune?

Only on the Escapist do I meet people who find things that are meant entirely to be "feel-good" and they somehow get upset because of it.

Hence why I stopped posting. This site's forums literally breed depression/angst.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

This comic desperately needed this punchline. I really was expecting her to push him off.

I don't know. The whole thing just kinda seems silly, but then again most people don't actually commit suicide to die they do it scream for attention or some shit. I don't know. comic was kinda cute though, but it reminded me pathetically about all those suicide fics I wrote in my teens *shudder*

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Another person demanding "realism" in a fictional work. What a world we really live in. BTW, kids can be depressed too, and a personal hell is just that, personal hell. Also you might want to consider kids don't have enough life experience to see that their lives may not be as bad as they feel.
Takes an outside point of view for anyone to see through their own shit thinking sometimes. Most of us in the world don't really give a fuck about other folk who "have it worse" than us because we're too damn busy dealing with our own shit. Age isn't really a factor. It takes a lot of willpower and outside support to put aside one's own perspective and attempt to see a different point of view. And not everyone has the tools or the support to do that, regardless of how you or other folk would want to quantify their situation against someone else who "has it worse".

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

All I have to add to what others have said is that the phrase "Get over it" doesn't work on people with actual depression. I'm not saying "it may make things worse, but it could also make things better; it's a coin flip". I'm saying that it does nothing to help. At best, you'll end up with a pissed off person. It's up there with assuming that truly depressed people walk around in tears all the time, or that you can easily spot a depressed person. Trust me, we can get quite effective at becoming Stepford Smilers.

 

[SadisticFire]

[quote="GrinningCat" post="18.832818.20352492"

Really, though, if you're getting this bitter and irrationally angry over a comic, I would recommend some sort of psychotherapy as that doesn't sound very healthy.[/quote]
Probably a hyperbole. But that's really nothing. I get near wall punching anger when I hear someone slurp or the sound of water being poured into a container.(Not a hyperbole) It might be that my father got pissed at me over it, but shrug
OT: I mean, you got angry over a comic. It might seem silly, but a lot of things are. See what I said above. It really isn't that bad, just avoid it if it's going to piss you off. It's one of the reasons why I didn't go on the Japan summer trip, because it's polite to slurp there so I would've just fuckin' flip shit. Also why I couldn't play pokernight 2.
At any rate, just avoid it and think nothing of it.

 

[hazabaza1]

I'm just browsing stuff on FunnyJunk today, having a few laughs. Then I get to this [http://www.funnyjunk.com/channel/feels/Friends+from+Great+Places/XyawGKl/]. At first glance, this seems like a great comic. But the more I thought about it, the more bitter I got.

In the end, it just reminded me that this world is a dark place. It won't save you. The odds of coming across someone that cool right at that moment are astronomical. Further, this kid is committing suicide because some kids pick on him and he's got a harsh mommy. SO WHAT?! He thinks he has it bad. And this girl, she's too good. A lot of people spent a good chunk of their lives trying to find someone like that. And he just catches the attention of one right away.

Maybe we should all look for the nearest bridge to jump off of and wait for someone amazing to hug us and tell us everything will be alright. Maybe bake us some chocolate chip cookies too and then we'll all ride off into the sunset on our big ****ing rainbow unicorn. No, I don't accept it. It's too good. And his plight is too pathetic for me to sympathize with.

Look, I know exactly what you're thinking. It's just a comic, right? Definitely. And I've been trying to get myself to ignore it but I can't stop thinking about how grossly unrealistic it is. Anyway, sorry for the rant but I felt like I had to write this to get it out of my mind...

*sigh*

You do realize the comic was just saying that the right person could shine light on another's bismal day, right? You are taking the comic too literal and getting mad over this? Seriously? It is a cute little comic, nothing insulting in anyway whatsoever.

Also a little tidbit: Comic's generally aren't realistic.

Yup.
Getting mad over the hidden meaning or whatever of this kind of comic is just silly. Dislike it all you want but getting angry because it's unrealistic and somewhat uplifting is real silly.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

We're all Mary Sues in our fantasies. He just drew his. All that BioShock talk sounded like bullshit though.

 

[MattRooney06]

I can see what you're saying but I'm not sure I agree, I read it and just kind of took the little story, I'm not sure it's even meant to be a comment on real life or anything like that (despite how idealistic it is), To be honest I think some people may be reading into it a little too much...or hey, maybe I'm not reading into it enough I guess.

I quite liked it really, it was pretty sweet, and I thought it was pretty well written. But you know, opinions and all that, maybe I liked it so much because I'm a huge girls blouse >.< lol

 

[Right Hook]

I found the comic to be rather shitty, the dialogue offered nothing of value but I see no reason to really get upset over it. Sure I understand being frustrated that you've not had success with finding a great girl and you've been strong enough not to jump off a fucking bridge because of it. I don't think the passerby had to be female though, just someone who paid enough attention to the lonely man on the edge. Taking a lame comic and getting angry at it because of its narrow focus just seems like a waste of time. Clearly not written for you, it was written for those optimistic, sentimental types who are probably already in safe, average relationships and just like seeing a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Children do have the right to choose suicide. Everyone does. Don't believe me? Try and take that right from them. You'll find it's extremely difficult to do so, unless you strap them to a bed 24/7, and then you're taking away far more than their right to suicide.

I don't know what jurisdiction you're in, but legally I don't think that's true.
And morally, even if you considered your life of no value and the damaging effects on your friends and family to be of no consequence, at the very least by jumping off a bridge you'd be polluting the water and causing a public nuisance.
It's not really a justifiable decision.
Especially for a young (i.e. not fully developed) person, who are mentally unstable by definition.

I didn't say people are justified in doing so, just that the decision is theirs and theirs alone.

I know that suicide is illegal almost everywhere in the US. Almost no one is ever prosecuted for it, because if you succeed, you're dead, and if you fail, people don't want to rub salt in the wound. I'm all for compulsory counseling, after the fact, if there is evidence that the person in question is suffering from mental instability.

That's completely contradictory. You're saying that people have a right to choose suicide, but if they attempt it and survive they should receive mandatory counselling? So then, people don't have the right to be left alone to kill themselves? Or they do, until they actually try to do it, and then the right is taken away? What happens if they don't attend mandatory counselling?

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Also, I immediately read into it way more than you did. Anna isn't real. She's not a living person.

She's death, come to grasp the guy's soul.

By talking him into "playing" with her she is actually convincing him to jump off the bridge. The end of the comic where he seems to have found a dream girl, he's actually dead, convinced at last that suicide was indeed the end of all his problems.

Or she could represent insanity. Appearing at the moment of utmost desperation to make the guy escape into a dream fantasy world and making his problems disappear. Like Sucker Punch, but without it being a really shitty and boring movie.

I have no soul apparently.

What I like to think happened is that the girl is a representation of the boy's split personality that he develops in desperation and he really does go back to school and kick the crap out of the bullies and perhaps even injures them so much as to kill them. Sort of a Fight Club deal but with teenagers.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

And here I thought I was about to see a racist, homophobic, sexist comic or something.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

As I took extra special care to specify, "if there is evidence that the person in question is suffering from mental instability", than counseling should be compulsory. Sick people should be healed, right?

That really comes down to how you define mental stability. I assumed wanting to kill yourself would preclude the possibility of being considered mentally stable.

I really can't imagine someone being like, "I'm a perfectly normal, upstanding father of two who is of sound mind. I think I'll just hang myself now. I sure am glad I'm not depressed or anything or someone might try to stop me!"

 

[Yuuki]

It's when a completely healthy and privileged teenager with caring parents and a decent life goes into suicidal depression anyway, that's when I feel they need to be slapped in the head instead of being given "consoling kind words" etc.
I can sympathize with people suffering from mental disorders, or having violent/abusive parents completely twisting their mental state as they grew up...they genuinely need external help.

However if you don't fall into the above categories and STILL somehow get depressed enough to commit suicide, I won't stop you. Feel free to get eaten by Darwin -_-

 

[Vale]

I want to commit suicide every time i dont do everything perfectly or dont get perfect scores in uni or lose a match in LoL or stub my toe or drop something or remember my father dying or remember that i am a worthless shit who will never know human company and nobody cares about me because i am wrong and shouldn't exist and i creep out everybody and i look disgusting and everything is disgusting about me and i should just die already jump off a roof get a knife slit the jugular

There.
Did that sound reasonable to you? I sure hope it didn't, because even I realise it's demented gibberish. But there you go, those are some of the thoughts going through the mind of one suicidal person. It's not reasonable, it's not really justified, and it's certainly not understandable. I'm not saying mental illness is the only thing that can lead one to suicidal behavior (and i'd say, suicide is entirely reasonable in certain situations eg. you sustain some injury that cripples you horribly and permanently or whatever), but you should probably treat suicidal people with a degree of acceptance. It is more difficult to fault somebody when mental illness makes their decisions... less deliberate. No, thats not the right term. It is certainly quite deliberate, its just not according to the accepted rules of behavior and thinking that a healthy person would act upon. I dont know how to put this without sounding patronizing and condescending, i really dont. Someone can probably explain better.

 

[default]

Meh, it wasn't even well written. Quite pathetic in fact. Not worth getting worked up about my friend.

When I was in that situation myself about 10 months ago I was talked down by a random older woman who just so happened to be passing by. I didn't want to go with her, but I felt like I couldn't step off in front of her. She didn't really talk to me, just made me walk with her to hospital where I spent nearly 10 hours alone in a corner of the emergency ward crying my eyes out and being treated like shit by the nurses before my mother found out and drove two and a half hours down to get me. I fucking hated it there. I asked so many times if I could leave, just to go home, but their 'duty of care' enforced me to be held there and I was told I would be sedated if I continued. We had to talk the psych on duty into letting me go, and I've had to live with my parents since with ongoing treatment (both pharmaceutical and psychological).

I mean of course this comic is a work of fiction, but it's so stupid, so cheesy, so unrealistic and dumb it's not worth getting worked up about. Kind of insulting in a way..