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0 pointssuperuser210y ago0 comments

The very act of calling a suicide prevention hotline is solid evidence that the caller does not truly want to die.

The point isn't that people should die, it's that they should choose. Compelling someone else's continued consciousness is absurd and, depending on the subjective experiencing of being inside that person's head, can be among the cruelest forms of torture. Just as it would be to fail to help someone who wants to stay alive.

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DanBC10y ago· 1 in thread

> The very act of calling a suicide prevention hotline is solid evidence that the caller does not truly want to die.

This sentence is proof that you do not understand suicide and have not read modern information about suicide.

Since your misinformation is dangerous I urge you to do some reading before talking about something that you clearly know little about.

Suicidality is complex, but "calling a hotline is solid evidence someone doesn't want to truly die" falls into several of the myths people spread about suicide:

http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/myths-about-su...

Myth: People who talk about suicide aren’t serious and won’t go through with it.

Myth: People who threaten suicide are just attention seeking and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Myth: People who are suicidal want to die.

Myth: If a person is serious about killing themselves then there is nothing you can do.

superuser2OP10y ago

Taking steps to avoid death is trivially a signal that in some way a person wishes to avoid death; whether that side of their internal conflict will prevail is another matter and, of course, not at all certain. But it is 100% within the bounds of respecting their agency (and, I'd argue, a duty) to help someone who is fighting to stay alive do so. The argument is that suicide hotlines don't imply a paternalistic "all citizens must keep breathing at all costs" ideology because they require the voluntary step of asking for help, and someone who asks for help can be meaningfully said to want it.

>Myth: People who are suicidal want to die.

I agree that this is not true in general, but to say that it is never true is more of a philosophical position (the topic of this thread) than the measurable science fact you're making it out to be.

> something that you clearly know little about.

I can find many responses to this, but none of them civil.

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