The Texas Suicide Prevention Council and Mental Health America in Texas have launched a new website aimed at suicide prevention among teens. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers and in the state of Texas an average of six people a day kill themselves.
There's nothing funny about suicide. I've had 8 friends kill themselves and I'm still angry at every one of them. If you see someone feeling down, talk to them. It's not always teenage moodiness, and it's not always teenagers. A personal story is in the permalink.
When I first graduated college and worked on the GOP presidential campaign I met the coolest lady every. I loved her. She was a great volunteer and so pretty and a laugh always came easy to her. After the election, her husband decided to divorce her. Being the prick he is he was fighting to get everything and leave her with nothing. After a year of this pain and humiliation amongst her friends she went into the garage and turned on the car. Her son, the same age as me, found her dead that afternoon. It was like hearing my own mom had killed herself.
That was 14 years ago and I'm still angry. I'm angry at her for not being strong enough to see an out, and I'm angry at her husband for being such an asshole and even now I wish I could come across him just once...in a dark alley...with a lead pipe.
All of her friends knew the emotional pain she was going through, but we're all so busy with our own lives and dramas noone stopped to really help her. She was the 8th person in my life to commit suicide.
The others were:
It's been a long time since each of these and I can still see them and my heart still hurts to lose them and I'm still pissed at every one of them. You can make a difference between life and death if you dare to become involved in other people's lives and show human compassion and genuine love for other people.
I will say the one thing I have learned from losing so many is that I know life is worth living. No matter how crappy things may get, they will always get better. It's also why I think I'm so brave. I'm not afraid to live my life as I see fit. I know it doesn't last long and by God, I'm gonna make the most of it while I'm here and if you don't, it's you that is losing out on the greatest gift God gave.
I've shared my father's sage advice here before. When the going gets tough and you're feeling mighty low, as yourself, "What's the worst thing that could happen? They kill me. Well, that's probably not going to happen. Even if they do kill me, the good news is that they probably won't eat me." Anything after that is cake.
I never insinuated John Edwards was gay because of a post headlined You Better Work. Sounds like you are projecting.
PD,
1. You title the Edwards post with a RuPaul lyric that ends "work it, girl."
2. You make a point of showing Edwards on the cover of a new magazine with a parent company that has a history and brand identity as a magazine for women.
3. Your referring link is to a gay site.
4. You say, "I know I don't have to say anything about this because you thought the same thing I did." (wink, wink)
5. Your preceding post was about outing politicians.
6. All of this comes at a time when Edwards is being caricatured by the right wing attack machine -- most notably Ann Coulter -- as a sissy / pretty boy / "f-ggot."
And now I'm "projecting." You couldn't be more wrong, but whatever. It really isn't worth the time or effort to try to reason any more with you.
To think that I contemplated buying ad space on your site at one time.
There's a reason why the comments on your blog seem to have dropped way off.
Long time reader signing off for good...
Thank you.
Wow, and to think that TGOSH was actually contemplating buying ad space on this site at some undisclosed time, boy, now that hurts.
I think TBAG was a little too frail for this site, he won't be missed. Well, that is until he comes back under a new name to whine
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Pinkdome,
I'm confused. You rightfully lament the death of your high school classmate who was viciously taunted as a "sissy." But then you give John Edwards the RuPaul treatment in a recent post ("You better WORK!").
How do you reconcile the two?
The whole "I'm gay friendly so I can say it" excuse doesn't hold water in my book. Some of the most harmful images of African Americans are spread by hip hop artists, although that certainly is not their intent.
I asked you the other day to take a look at yourself about this and you responded with a flippant remark. You seem to be more contemplative today. Perhaps you will now reflect on my point.