OT - "National Suicide Memorial" - Good or Bad Idea???

this is from a reply I recently posted to a member of the Men With Lymphedema Yahoo Newsgroup who had lost a brother to suicide 8 years ago):

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I'd like to share something here, now that it's been brought up, that I
have been thinking about for many years now. I wonder what your thoughts are
on the subject.

Although I have not been personally touched by anyone who has committed
suicide, I know many of my friends have been, and it has been devastating to
some of them. Back then I had wondered about possibly creating something like
a national suicide memorial, akin to the deceased Vietnam Vets wall in D.C.
or the Cancer Survivors "Walk" (park) in K.C. built by the H & R Block
family. I would envision it as a wall with the names of victims posted on it and a
section dedicated to their surviving family members and friends that they
can go and try to get at peace with themselves.

When I mention the memorial idea to people who have not been touched by a
suicide victim, they seem at best indifferent or at worst appear to scoff or
ridicule the idea. Those who have taken their own lives (for no matter
what the reason) seem to be held in contempt by so many people as having taken
"the easy way out" and such. I don't view it like that, and I see the
memorial as more a way of keeping them "alive" and of comforting their family
members and friends still living.  A death of a person is still a loss to others in their orbit, no matter the method or reason.

What do you think?

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Scoffer here, to be 100% honest. I can see memorializing cancer victims or vets, they truly are victims and had no control over their situation. Suicide, while it certainly isn't "the easy way out" its also not an honorable thing to do no matter how bad things get. IN MY OPINION it really cheapens the whole memorial idea. If it was family memebr or friend absolutely do something special for them within the family

IN MY OPINION, you cheapen humanity with your ignorance.

Paul, A very serious issue, no doubt. The ignorance on many people to the realities of the suicidal is profound. Any education, which a memorial would provide, would be a good thing. One of my businesses in a non-profit trade association for people who work in the wireless industry in Texas. We had the very unfortunate event of losing one of our own to suicide this past year. In his honor, we started a memorial scholarship foundation in his name which will be perpetually funded. Check it out, if you are interested www.txwa.org JP

To be honest, I do not think it would be a good idea for several reasons. Most of the general public do not fully understand mental illness and the effects that both it and depression or other chemical or organic inbalances have on the human mind. I have never embraced nor understood how people consider suicide a "coward's way out". I know that in my life I have had adversity, depression, and bad times, but never so severe that I would consider ending my own life. A person must feel so overwelmed with pressure, desperation, and depression that a coward could never take a life, especially his own. If they were truely a coward, one they would stop short of committing the act and two, they would be an attempted suicide, not a suicide victim.For these reasons, a national suicide memorial probably would not or could not be embraced my mainstream society.

Bad

I think that most family members of people left behind feel like the person who committed suicide did something very selfish, foolish, and hurtful to the remaining family members.  In our society it is not something that most people want to "honor" with a memorial in the same way as veterans.  You seem to see them as "victims."  While they may be disturbed and depressed, it is not the same thing.  To me, the true "victims" are the ones left behind.  Just my 2 cents... MLF

Many of our local newspapers have a published policy not to write up stories about suicides. The thought is that to do so could glamorise or glorify the act and the ones who do this and perhaps to encourage the acceptability of doing so. The impact of suicide is devestating and wide ranging far beyond the person who does this. They feel that such a published story would be too emotionally sensitive and could be considered a painful invasion of privacy to family, friends, co-workers, classmates, social circle, etc. They do publish obituaries but refuse to include a discription of the manner of death. I have had a high school classmate, a brother of a co-worker and the father of a nephew's girlfriend commit suicide and I would say that such a monument would create an outcry of rage and resentment at the idea of treating someone who hurt so many the same way you would a war hero. Sorry, I think it is a bad idea. Rich