Comments on: Help For a Suicide Hotline

By: anon

anon — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 22:10:36 +0000

I’m new to the site, as in just found it today. 1800suicide saved my life. No question about it. I was way messed up on booze and painkillers sitting with a shotgun in my lap. I dialed the number out of what could only be called gallows humor. I mean… 1800suicide…It just seemed a little too convenient. I didn’t even think it would connect to anyone. If it hadn’t, if there hadn’t been someone to talk me back into reality… They didn’t try to solve my problems, they just told me not to shoot myself. They didn’t call an ambulance and further complicate my life, they just told me not to shoot myself. Really calmly, for an hour.
I really can’t believe that a national suicide hotline would be concidered a bad idea, an unecessary idea… If the federal govt. isn’t responsible for funding things that concretely improve the lives of all citizens at no detriment to others (I assure you that what I bring to the economy will greatly outweigh the cost of my phone call throughout my life) then the responsibilites of the federal govt. should be expanded.
A govt. that prevents death seems like an oxymoron and that makes me wonder why we bother having them at all.

By: Marksman2000

Marksman2000 — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 13:25:07 +0000

He has more important things to do with our money than save people’s live here, like taking other people’s lives over there.

By: little light

little light — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 06:50:03 +0000

It’s a cheap program, jere, that saves a lot of lives and improves quality of life for people in this country. There would be plenty of money for it if it weren’t being used to put projectiles into people or money in a small group of pockets.
You could argue that it’s not the federal government’s job to improve quality of life, sure. But when the program already exists, it’s known to be highly effective, and it cost the government a pittance, it’s just rubbing salt in the wounds of defunding everything else from public broadcasting to college funds to also say, well, hey, those suicidal folks can go take a flying leap, y’know?

By: tesla

tesla — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 20:35:04 +0000

Must be they’re hoping it’ll get replaced by a bunch of community-based (translation: Christian…and proselytizing!) volunteer groups. Or, they’re hoping that government group can listen in and start a pariah list. You know sooner or later that’s coming.

By: everstar

everstar — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 17:53:57 +0000

jere said:
What makes you think the federal gov’t is responsible for funding suicide hotlines?

Because it’s nice to have a national resource for people who need help and don’t know where to turn instead of hoping individual states will decide to provide it?

By: jere

jere — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:03:09 +0000

What makes you think the federal gov’t is responsible for funding suicide hotlines?

By: Sophist

Sophist — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 01:43:40 +0000

Culture of life my ass!

By: flea

flea — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 00:38:02 +0000

I read this and yelled, “Jesus Fuck!”

Then I ran out of things to say and just spluttered furiously.