Bullied Canadian teen leaves behind chilling YouTube video

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There is nothing sensational about calling suicide murder because suicide is also indeed a kind of murder. Here is another dictionary definition for you

There is no fine print anywhere that says that someone needs to be different than self. Also suicide is also usually not a spur of the moment decision, It is usually a cold and calculated move and hence qualifies to be called a cold blooded murder. It is a willful and calculated destruction of a human. And yes, suicide a is selfish act. No argument would change that. There may be 100s of other things that are selfish and I agree with you on that point, but suicide is also utterly selfish.

I also agree with you that We should try to help someone facing a difficult time, but people cannot help people all the time. At the end of the day, you have to stand up for your self on your own strength when required. Everyone has their own share of problems and some people get a lot bigger share, but Suicide is never a solution any problem. People who haven't too many hardships in life may really sympathize with people who committed suicide, but people who have faced hardships will sympathize with their conditions, but never for taking such drastic decisions. It is the problem that needs to be tackled with, not your own life because the problem is then going to out live you. Alright, this girl was getting bullied and took her own life to put a stop to it, so what is the final outcome? The bullies would move on to somebody else, nothing more.

I have had a couple of direct encounters of cases of suicide and attempted suicide in my life ( one was a batch-mate at college during M.Tech and another a cousin) and I have absolutely no sympathies for their decisions. In my book, any one feeble enough to see suicide as a solution to their problems have no place to survive in this world because at the end somebody can help them to stand up once or twice, but nobody can really help them with their problems all the time.

Suicide is not a cold and calculated move. The usual cause is depression or psychosis which are actual listed disorders in DSM. That should indicate to you that it is not a rational decision in most cases (though there are a very tiny number of suicides for which the causes are philosophical in nature).

Also, think about this. Would you judge and condemn a person who is in extreme physical pain (in hospice care, for example) who chooses assisted-suicide or euthanasia? You have to understand that psychological suffering is no less crippling/painful.

I usually see that the whole consider-suicide-as-murder phrasing of the situation has its roots in religious thinking that a life does not belong to oneself but to a greater being or a greater meaning. That kind of thinking is helpful and a source of strength to some, but not to everyone.

I too have lost close friends (and a family member) to suicide. On my end, there is sadness and a bit of guilt (should we have noticed something and been able to help in anyway). There was immediate anger as well but all of those emotions are mine and I dealt with them. I mourn their deaths but I refuse to brand them as feeble or as having no place in this world.

(PS: In case anyone is interested, this article gives a short list of historical thinking and ideas regarding suicide. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/)