Maybe you’re a fan of mocking “participation trophies” and the generations who got them. You think it softened them and raised their expectations so significantly that they feel entitled to winning at everything without actually earning anything. And maybe that’s true. There’s no denying that the youth of today are quite a bit different than those of generations past. But then again, so was the previous one. And the one before that.
Today, the pace of change is moving so much faster, but I’m not entirely discouraged. I think we’ll eventually come out of this “wild-wild-west” period of social media mayhem. People will get smarter about how they engage in life on-line, and we’ll move on to the next thing.
But this recent episode of The Daily by the New York Times tells me we still have a ways to go. It details the Times investigation of a website dedicated to suicide. Not its prevention, but rather, as an [alleged] honest look at it — a place for people to go if they wanted to learn more about it. What it was like. How to do it.
And there’s evidence that several people followed through. And there were others on the site who encouraged them along the way. It’s both heartbreaking and infuriating that there are people in the world who take their life views to the point of cheerleading the death of people who are hurting. I am sad for those who are driven to the point of taking their own lives. They have lost hope. But I am disgusted (if that’s a strong enough word) with those who cheer them on. They, too, have no hope. It’s just that they don’t know it.
Listen to the piece from The Daily and think about it. Suicide may be the choice of some, but it is never right. It is never something to be cheered. And if one is without hope, they should look to the one who is our hope.
If you would like to know more about him, let me know. And if you ever come to the point where you would consider suicide, let me or someone else know that too. People care.