WI - Marshall Girl (15) Commits Suicide

These stories just break my heart. As a childhood victim of intense bullying, I will never forget how it made me feel at the time, and how it has affected my growth into adulthood. I am now 46 years old and still feel inferior and have spent years struggling with depression and anxiety. It is by the grace of God that I have not falled victim to suicide as a result.

That said-I've been thinking a lot about this, with seeing all of the stories about victims of bullying and suicide. I was just reading about a girl in Indiana, Angel, who hung herself from a tree by the school bus stop so that the bullies would see her. This really made me pause for a moment and think about what is going on right now with society.

I guess what scares me, is that there is a possibility that the media and society is now giving bullied children a "cause" to kill themselves for. The Indiana girl left a note blaming the bullies and asking her mother to get justice. It saddens me that Angel felt that the only way to send her message is to take her own life. It made me realize that the subject is much more complex that what it appears on its face.

While victims of suicide and their families certainly deserve our sympathy, I am afraid we are now moving toward "acceptance" of suicide. I was raised a Catholic, so I have been instilled with the fear that if you commit suicide, I will go directly to hell. I'm not sure if I still believe that or not, and certainly don't believe everyone in society believes that either. But that fear probablly kept me from taking the ultimate act, which at the time I was thinking would release me from pain, or send a message, or even get revenge. It forced me into confronting my inner demons because doing so was far less pain that what I would face by taking my own life.

I know for some, this is extreme, and don't necessarily think this is the "answer" to the problem. But my fear is that by becoming more "sensitive" to suicide and victims of suicide, we aren't almost "condoning" it. So I guess what I am saying is that as a parent, I do teach my children that suicide is a sin as great as murder. That it is a sin you cannot be forgiven for, as it is your last act on earth. I also teach them that suicide also punishes those who love you and will forever wreck their lives. I also teach them that no matter what is going on in their lives, they can ALWAYS come to me and I will always have their backs and support them through whatever darkness they are facing.

I realize it isn't that black and white, of course, but I am saying all of this from the viewpoint who has suffered and continues to suffer. I am not trying to bash any victims or their families or place blame. But I am trying to find a dialogue somewhere between "oh just ignore them" and "it's OK to commit suicide because of bullying." Does that make any sense?

Whatever the case, I cannot imagine the grief of these parents. I cannot imagine feeling so despearate as to want to take one's own life.

But I will say this about religion: I think a lot of "religious" people spend way too much time focusing on what others do and what God will condemn and should be spending more time focusing on the hope that faith can bring to your life. It seems as though these poor children had no hope and had no faith and simply gave up. That saddens me.

I really don't know the answers-I am just now starting to try to discuss this and see other people's opinions on the matter. But I am really concerned, as my children are now entering this age group and it is really scary, as a parent, to see what goes on in our society and what our children face.

Finally, I actually DO believe that God may forgive a person who commits suicide, if that person was truly mentally ill and/or were truly not of sound mind. But I hesitate to believe that God will forgive an act of vengence. In my heart, that is the ultimate betryal of the life that He has given to you. That said, I also believe that God does have mercy, especially for children, so I don't think it is black and white either. He will know what is ultimately in your heart, and of course, we cannot judge anyone else. He is the only one who will ultimately decide one's fate. So I am not condemning anyone-I am just trying to state my beliefs and concerns and hope for healthy dialogue on the matter.

My heart goes out to this girl and her family. It sounds as though she had a very rough road and suffered a great deal. I pray the Lord has taken mercy on her and taken her into His loving arms.
 
This must be a huge loss to the whole village. It's a really small town. I live just a few miles away. So very, very sad.
 
These stories just break my heart. As a childhood victim of intense bullying, I will never forget how it made me feel at the time, and how it has affected my growth into adulthood. I am now 46 years old and still feel inferior and have spent years struggling with depression and anxiety. It is by the grace of God that I have not falled victim to suicide as a result.

That said-I've been thinking a lot about this, with seeing all of the stories about victims of bullying and suicide. I was just reading about a girl in Indiana, Angel, who hung herself from a tree by the school bus stop so that the bullies would see her. This really made me pause for a moment and think about what is going on right now with society.

I guess what scares me, is that there is a possibility that the media and society is now giving bullied children a "cause" to kill themselves for. The Indiana girl left a note blaming the bullies and asking her mother to get justice. It saddens me that Angel felt that the only way to send her message is to take her own life. It made me realize that the subject is much more complex that what it appears on its face.

While victims of suicide and their families certainly deserve our sympathy, I am afraid we are now moving toward "acceptance" of suicide. I was raised a Catholic, so I have been instilled with the fear that if you commit suicide, I will go directly to hell. I'm not sure if I still believe that or not, and certainly don't believe everyone in society believes that either. But that fear probablly kept me from taking the ultimate act, which at the time I was thinking would release me from pain, or send a message, or even get revenge. It forced me into confronting my inner demons because doing so was far less pain that what I would face by taking my own life.

I know for some, this is extreme, and don't necessarily think this is the "answer" to the problem. But my fear is that by becoming more "sensitive" to suicide and victims of suicide, we aren't almost "condoning" it. So I guess what I am saying is that as a parent, I do teach my children that suicide is a sin as great as murder. That it is a sin you cannot be forgiven for, as it is your last act on earth. I also teach them that suicide also punishes those who love you and will forever wreck their lives. I also teach them that no matter what is going on in their lives, they can ALWAYS come to me and I will always have their backs and support them through whatever darkness they are facing.

I realize it isn't that black and white, of course, but I am saying all of this from the viewpoint who has suffered and continues to suffer. I am not trying to bash any victims or their families or place blame. But I am trying to find a dialogue somewhere between "oh just ignore them" and "it's OK to commit suicide because of bullying." Does that make any sense?

Whatever the case, I cannot imagine the grief of these parents. I cannot imagine feeling so despearate as to want to take one's own life.

But I will say this about religion: I think a lot of "religious" people spend way too much time focusing on what others do and what God will condemn and should be spending more time focusing on the hope that faith can bring to your life. It seems as though these poor children had no hope and had no faith and simply gave up. That saddens me.

I really don't know the answers-I am just now starting to try to discuss this and see other people's opinions on the matter. But I am really concerned, as my children are now entering this age group and it is really scary, as a parent, to see what goes on in our society and what our children face.

Finally, I actually DO believe that God may forgive a person who commits suicide, if that person was truly mentally ill and/or were truly not of sound mind. But I hesitate to believe that God will forgive an act of vengence. In my heart, that is the ultimate betryal of the life that He has given to you. That said, I also believe that God does have mercy, especially for children, so I don't think it is black and white either. He will know what is ultimately in your heart, and of course, we cannot judge anyone else. He is the only one who will ultimately decide one's fate. So I am not condemning anyone-I am just trying to state my beliefs and concerns and hope for healthy dialogue on the matter.

My heart goes out to this girl and her family. It sounds as though she had a very rough road and suffered a great deal. I pray the Lord has taken mercy on her and taken her into His loving arms.

I'm sorry you have suffered so much.

I totally agree with your post - as a society, we've begun to adopt a mentality of "well of course she committed suicide. She was bullied. Who wouldn't commit suicide in her case?"

In fact, these teens who commit suicide seem to have suffered minor bullying compared to what some kids who are relentless bullied for years suffer. Sometimes, the media assumes bullying when it hasn't even occurred.

It's time we pay attention to teen depression and anxiety, and recognize the role that plays in suicide. Bullying isn't a direct cause, or reasonable reason to commit suicide.

Such sad stories.
 
These stories just break my heart. As a childhood victim of intense bullying, I will never forget how it made me feel at the time, and how it has affected my growth into adulthood. I am now 46 years old and still feel inferior and have spent years struggling with depression and anxiety. It is by the grace of God that I have not falled victim to suicide as a result.

That said-I've been thinking a lot about this, with seeing all of the stories about victims of bullying and suicide. I was just reading about a girl in Indiana, Angel, who hung herself from a tree by the school bus stop so that the bullies would see her. This really made me pause for a moment and think about what is going on right now with society.

I guess what scares me, is that there is a possibility that the media and society is now giving bullied children a "cause" to kill themselves for. The Indiana girl left a note blaming the bullies and asking her mother to get justice. It saddens me that Angel felt that the only way to send her message is to take her own life. It made me realize that the subject is much more complex that what it appears on its face.

While victims of suicide and their families certainly deserve our sympathy, I am afraid we are now moving toward "acceptance" of suicide. I was raised a Catholic, so I have been instilled with the fear that if you commit suicide, I will go directly to hell. I'm not sure if I still believe that or not, and certainly don't believe everyone in society believes that either. But that fear probablly kept me from taking the ultimate act, which at the time I was thinking would release me from pain, or send a message, or even get revenge. It forced me into confronting my inner demons because doing so was far less pain that what I would face by taking my own life.

I know for some, this is extreme, and don't necessarily think this is the "answer" to the problem. But my fear is that by becoming more "sensitive" to suicide and victims of suicide, we aren't almost "condoning" it. So I guess what I am saying is that as a parent, I do teach my children that suicide is a sin as great as murder. That it is a sin you cannot be forgiven for, as it is your last act on earth. I also teach them that suicide also punishes those who love you and will forever wreck their lives. I also teach them that no matter what is going on in their lives, they can ALWAYS come to me and I will always have their backs and support them through whatever darkness they are facing.

I realize it isn't that black and white, of course, but I am saying all of this from the viewpoint who has suffered and continues to suffer. I am not trying to bash any victims or their families or place blame. But I am trying to find a dialogue somewhere between "oh just ignore them" and "it's OK to commit suicide because of bullying." Does that make any sense?

Whatever the case, I cannot imagine the grief of these parents. I cannot imagine feeling so despearate as to want to take one's own life.

But I will say this about religion: I think a lot of "religious" people spend way too much time focusing on what others do and what God will condemn and should be spending more time focusing on the hope that faith can bring to your life. It seems as though these poor children had no hope and had no faith and simply gave up. That saddens me.

I really don't know the answers-I am just now starting to try to discuss this and see other people's opinions on the matter. But I am really concerned, as my children are now entering this age group and it is really scary, as a parent, to see what goes on in our society and what our children face.

Finally, I actually DO believe that God may forgive a person who commits suicide, if that person was truly mentally ill and/or were truly not of sound mind. But I hesitate to believe that God will forgive an act of vengence. In my heart, that is the ultimate betryal of the life that He has given to you. That said, I also believe that God does have mercy, especially for children, so I don't think it is black and white either. He will know what is ultimately in your heart, and of course, we cannot judge anyone else. He is the only one who will ultimately decide one's fate. So I am not condemning anyone-I am just trying to state my beliefs and concerns and hope for healthy dialogue on the matter.

My heart goes out to this girl and her family. It sounds as though she had a very rough road and suffered a great deal. I pray the Lord has taken mercy on her and taken her into His loving arms.

Wow, wow, wow. Amazing point and something I hadn't thought of.

And I'm glad you made it. :)
 
This must be a huge loss to the whole village. It's a really small town. I live just a few miles away. So very, very sad.

If you live just a few miles away then we are only a few miles away from each other!
 

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