Got irrationally angry today...

[bliebblob]

Agreed. I don't know in what context the comic was made, but I feel it's terribly naive. If anything, a lone bystander would be scared of you because you're clearly nuts and who knows what a nutter will do.

It doesn't make me angry though. If anything it strikes me as wish fulfilment fiction. Not unlike saaaay this right here: http://youtu.be/ClDTkYqKP8M

As long as you don't take it as an instruction manual there should be no problem.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah...suicide is a very serious thing, something that you should be careful when depicting, and that comic was crap.

OTOH, I'm led to believe that talking people down from jumping...well, if you don't deal with the underlying problems, you better have another exciting stranger to talk to that guy again in a week or two.

 

[Lightspeaker]

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.

Sorry but you're showing your ignorance so much here.

Objectively I have a good life. I'm not hard up for money, I have a degree and a masters degree and am studying for a PhD, I have friends that I could easily contact and meet up with, I get on well with my family, I have many interests and a variety of talents, etc etc. I have hardships but who doesn't?

Last year I was clinically diagnosed with depression. And let me tell you, the fact that I know my life is objectively pretty good has absolutely no bearing on how I feel about it. If anything it makes it worse because it feels "wrong" to be upset. I've never tried to kill myself but I have had suicidal thoughts from time to time and anything can trigger it. Hell, I spent the whole of yesterday on the verge of tears. Why? Damned if I know, I woke up that way.


Using "why are you upset your life isn't that bad" as an argument towards someone who is suicidal is monumentally ignorant of how depression works.

 

[Thaluikhain]

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.

Sorry but you're showing your ignorance so much here.

Objectively I have a good life. I'm not hard up for money, I have a degree and a masters degree and am studying for a PhD, I have friends that I could easily contact and meet up with, I get on well with my family, I have many interests and a variety of talents, etc etc. I have hardships but who doesn't?

Last year I was clinically diagnosed with depression. And let me tell you, the fact that I know my life is objectively pretty good has absolutely no bearing on how I feel about it. If anything it makes it worse because it feels "wrong" to be upset. I've never tried to kill myself but I have had suicidal thoughts from time to time and anything can trigger it. Hell, I spent the whole of yesterday on the verge of tears. Why? Damned if I know, I woke up that way.


Using "why are you upset your life isn't that bad" as an argument towards someone who is suicidal is monumentally ignorant of how depression works.

Yeah, second that, attitudes like that are useful only if you are interested in making the situation worse.

 

[2xDouble]

You are incorrect. In western society, there is not always someone looking to help you,

Are you saying you don't want to help children, Mr. Pediatrician?

Of course you do, that's why you chose that specialty. You are always someone, you seek to help them, therefore someone is always looking to help them. You may not always be in the right place at the right time to help each specific child, but that doesn't change your intent (and, might I add, legal obligation) to render aid whenever possible.

Furthermore, are you seriously arguing that children shouldn't reach out to each other? Are you seriously stating that children need medical attention instead of positive social interaction? the lack of which is usually the very thing driving depression and suicidal tendency? I sincerely hope not.

No, sir. This comic does the exact opposite of what you claim, "encouraging suicide". It encourages people, children and teens especially, to reach out to each other in times of great need. Think for a moment, why was the girl there? They don't know each other, and know nothing about each other, so she clearly didn't follow him. There is nobody else there, and it's obviously a long way from anywhere, so she wasn't on her way somewhere else. She talks about how hard her life is and clearly something is going on with her father causing her own type of depression. She also openly states that if he were to jump, she would be jumping after him. She was there for the same reason he was, to commit suicide. She pulls him back from the brink because she wanted someone to do that for her; they needed each other before they even knew it.

snip

Comics and stories like this are usually intended to encourage the disenfranchised to seek each other out before it gets to the breaking point, reminding all of us that there are awesome people out there who need help just as much as we do, and that you too are awesome. In helping others, you can save yourself.

 

[Roofstone]

Anna and Toby, if you google it you can read the rest, it is an ongoing comic.

And depression doesn't really respond well to "So what", it is a mental illness that you can't control. I would not use the "Your life isn't so bad" routine around a depressed person. It won't help, at worst it will just escalate the situation.

 

[generals3]

Anna and Toby, if you google it you can read the rest, it is an ongoing comic.

And depression doesn't really respond well to "So what", it is a mental illness that you can't control. I would not use the "Your life isn't so bad" routine around a depressed person. It won't help, at worst it will just escalate the situation.

And that is why I never wanted to become a shrink. I'd probably make it worse for so many people because i just can't stand people making a huge deal of non-issues. (and there are actually more depressed people like that than you'd imagine)

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Cultural relativism pops to mind.

Then the "it's a comic" argument and the "it's for a specific audience".

I used to be like that too; I often thought that depressives (in my school) were just acting silly, I often remembered the harsh as fuck life my mother lived and I thought that others, me included, had no right to complain when people have lived through much worse.

But then I realised that not everyone is built like I am mentally; not everyone is able to handle the same as my mother, so I shouldn't belittle them for it.

If we always acted like this, then we would never be able to indulge ourselves in the slightest because of the lives of the people in the third world, or be able to feel sad at the loss of a relative.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Fine. Even if we said that his reasons were half-way valid for committing suicide, it still doesn't take out the massive unrealistic depiction of someone saving you. As I said before, it would be much better if the person that was about to jump off, thought out his problems by himself instead of some magical person just happening to come by.

Also, it doesn't say he's depressed all the time for no good reason. Something a chronically depressed person would point out. It clearly states that he's depressed because of a couple things. None of which are good reasons to start jumping off bridges.

 

[Saltyk]

Doesn't bother me. I watch plenty of shows and movies with improbable happenings that save the day, or ruin it. It doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Especially if it's done well. There's a difference between, someone literally sprouting wings out of nowhere and saving the day, and that same idea being done well. Like with a bit of foreshadowing that the person had something on their back.

If you don't like something because it's not realistic, you must hate everything in entertainment. None of that shit is realistic or believable. Doesn't stop Die Hard or Star Wars from being great films.

As for the comic, I probably wouldn't have read it if I wasn't trying to figure out what angered you. Honestly, it looks harmless.

Certainly there could be some context missing but we've got some kid who wants to off himself because his life's a bit shit at the moment. The only thing that stops him is essentially a friend made in heaven. Suicide isn't a binary game despite the obvious life-failure, death-success outcome.

In a world of constant social-media stimulation and popularity contests a suicide attempt seems to be essentially the most effective way of garnering support and affection... and that's fucking scary and it's a bad fucking precedent to set. Talk about encouraging destructive behavior.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

 

[Quadocky]

Honestly, anyone in those tender moments can be the embodiment of that woman.

But if are saying that the comic is sending the message "Attempt Suicide and a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl will fall into your lap!" then I would agree that is pretty fucked up.

Though, the more I think about it, this comic isn't TOO bad. I mean, really one would think that the chances of being 'saved' by some random stranger is low... but its not really, and sometimes it doesn't really take that much to help others. Sometimes just a simple hello and bit of acknowledgement can drag people out of whatever pit their in. (not all the time of course, some peeps are in reaaallly deep) That is when you gotta give them a ladder. (Therapy, medication, etc)

 

[Racecarlock]

First off, it's best to calm down. It really -is- just a comic and it's fictional and like most pieces of fiction, of course it's portraying a situation as rather unrealistic or over the top, but so what? To me, the whole point of the comic was that sometimes just being there at the right moment for someone can help out a lot. If you see or know someone on the brink, lending an empathetic ear can go a long way.

Secondly, the kid's reasons and the girl being too good is a rather silly criticism. Who knows how big his sob story could be and who knows how worse her own life could be? She could have it worse than him, but she's clearly an optimist who goes out of her way to see the positive in all things - which, by the way, is scientifically proven to be very beneficial in a vast amount of ways. And the kid's in the middle of the brink and the comic is already long enough as it is. There doesn't need to be some huge exposition about his woes, which would be far more unrealistic than anything. Right, when I'm standing on a bridge about to jump, I'm just going to get down to the nitty and gritty as though this were a psychotherapy session. I highly doubt that.

But that's just common sense. I don't really think that was the point of the comic. I think it was simply made to just tell a heartwarming story.

I'm not saying optimism is bad. And yes, I know. My complaints do seem kinda silly. But honestly, if you want to make an effective comic, I find it's best to base it somewhat in reality. It could have been just as good of a story if the kid had thought of all the good things that happened to him and the nice people he's been privileged to meet. Boom. You get the same effect and more realism. And I thought of that just in less than 10 seconds.

In conclusion, is it kinda silly to make a big deal about this? Probably. But I still think I have a point.

"Realism"

You know, that word actually brings up some irrational anger of my own from the past. You see, someone wanted to put a fuel system in GTA V. Someone else wanted to put traffic laws in GTA V.

Can you imagine how annoying both of those things would have been? Even if they didn't happen often, I would still wonder why I would have to refuel at all or why I should have to deal with traffic at all WHEN IT'S A FUCKING GAME!

Oh, there's the anger.

 

[Doclector]

Probably a bit of fantasy by someone deeply unhappy.

Hell, I've fantasised about something magically making everything better. I spend a good amount of nights before doing something I don't want to do thinking of the slim, slim possibility that the world will change for the better in some way that means I don't have to do it. We're all prone to improbable logic in our fantasies. The only difference is this guy chose to draw it.

 

[lacktheknack]

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.

 

[DjinnFor]

In Pediatric Medicine we deal with hormone imbalance and emotional instability in children quite frequently and treat their conditions accordingly and quite successfully. Children and teen issues should not be confused with adult issues, as there are very different causes and treatments for these problems and it should be handled by those with the education and training to do so rather than " public opinion" on the matter.

Sorry, what subspeciality of pediatrics do you have? I want to know before I make assumptions here.

Because odds are, you're peddling snake oil if you peg yourself as an expert in the treatment of child suicide. And especially if you hold the opinion that you and your colleagues are the only ones qualified to make decisions in such matters. But I don't want to make assumptions about your competency before I hear the basis of your claims, so I'll hold off.

This was a comic about children, and claiming that children who are not even capable of legal consent have a right to choose suicide as a choice, is beyond ludicrous. The prefrontal cortex is not even fully developed until your mid 20's.
They are not capable of using " better judgement" when the part of the brain that controls better judgement isn't even developed yet and their hormone levels are unstable causing an emotional rollercoaster.

You do realize that the claim "y isn't fully developed until x years ergo child cannot do a" is a non-sequitur, right? You understand that brain development is a little more complex than "you must be taller than x to enjoy this ride", right? You understand how being free to make decisions helps form neural decision-making pathways, right? And that this pathway formation is strongest during brain development, right? And ergo how not letting children and teenagers make decisions physically impedes their decision-making capabilities as adults? Right?

Please don't tell me you're a neuropsychologist.

 

[VodkaKnight]

To be honest, it is just a comic.
And some people do see people going to jump and talk them out of it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2323468/Kevin-Berthia-Emotional-reunion-suicidal-man-hero-police-officer-Kevin-Briggs-talked-Golden-Gate-Bridge.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-rescue-suicidal-man-s-bridge-article-1.1466992
Just two examples.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Well, it was boring and very, very poorly written, but I don't quite see to as infuriating as you do.

Except for two parts.

The first was "Chillax." Fuck that phrase with the force of a thousand suns.

I also got pretty pissed off when she she praised Bioshock Infinite to that degree and it was up to the suicidal boy to bring up the first game.

Oh, and I'm fairly sure if he jumped off that bridge, the fall would fail to knock him out long enough to drown him. He would have to forcefully hold his face down into what appears to be very calm water. Even then, there's a chance that after falling unconscious, he would roll over live some more. The guy would have better luck with a brick and a large bowl of soup.

 

[Headsprouter]

Memebase has a relevant video that was added not long ago!


It happens, sometimes. All that relationship "we're gonna be best friends forever" kind of stuff does make me kind of bitter, though. I like this one, because it's real.