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From: rh@mit-eddi.UUCP (Randy Haskins)
Newsgroups: net.suicide
Subject: Re: More thoughts
Message-ID: <307@mit-eddi.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 24-Jun-83 03:08:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.307
Posted: Fri Jun 24 03:08:59 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 24-Jun-83 23:07:35 EDT
References: ittvax.779
Lines: 29

Pressure (or perception of pressure) causes people to be flakey.  
At MIT, we think that we have a lot of pressure.  I have run
into several people in my four years here who talked about 
suicide (including a sophomore girlfriend I aquired in my first
month here.  Boy, was I in over my head!!!), but none of them
ever did it.  Earlier this year, we did have a real suicide.
It took everyone completely by suprise, because he seemed so
well-adjusted, successful academically, etc.  HE never talked
about killing himself.
   My point is, people who talk about it don't really even 
want to try it, and it is generally accepted that most people
who try it don't want to succeed; they're just crying for 
attention.  Pardonez-moi l'insensitivite, but I think that
people who talk about it are complete cowards.  They want
serious attention (like the kind attempted suicide usually
gets) without having to face any danger.  I've learned to
disregard it, or if I know them well, tell them that they're
full of bull-puckies.  I've also found that telling someone
(I used this on the first girlfriend) that if she tries to
slash her wrists that I will stop her and then break her
arms; that makes the person realize that suicide is not a
game and that people can get hurt.  I don't know that this
would work on someone who really wanted to die; I've never
met any people like that.  All I've ever run into have been
the self-pitying, snivling (sp?) types.	

	Life's too short anyway; I'd never shorten it
	Randy