Actually when someone commits suicide the general feeling seems to be “What a weak, namby pamby, loser they must have been”. Though I’m sure some can find the amusing aspect of anything.
As to the OP, people love justified deaths and are scared of those deaths that seem so unpreventable. If a smoker carks it of lung cancer, people who have never smoked can think “Phewwww that will never happen to me”. When a non smoker drops of the same thing they are frightened because they no longer feel “protected”.
Same goes for any cause of death. If we follow the rules we are supposed to be safe. When someone who follows the rules dies we are frightened.
Well I usually feel a lot of sympathy for the people left behind by suicide. I’m sure some can find a way to be dismissive of anything. As far as the “embarrasing masturbation accident” comment goes, it’s true. From here.
“Ms Yates says she’s bidding to overturn the New South Wales’ coroner’s ruling that the INXS star committed suicide. Ms Yates, who was previously married to Sir Bob Geldof, wants the coroner, Derek Hand, to overturn his findings and deliver an open verdict. She’s told Britain’s Channel 4 television network that she believes Hutchins accidentally killed himself while trying to perform a so called auto-erotic sex act.”
I’d find it interesting if we could find out what caused the long cancer in the present case. If, for example, her parents and later housemate were heavy smokers, it might be a tiny peice of evidence that SHS does cause cancer.
(Please forgive me if I am reasonable again. When I was a kid, Walter Cronkite read a report on the CBS Evening NEws saying that the dogs of smokers died earlier than the dogs of nonsmokers. That pretty well demonstrated that smoking was a killer for me. I may have been six years old.)
Well, if you were to cahnge your first one to something more along the lines “How about people who engage in risky unprotected sex with multiple partners, regardless of sexual oreintation, who die of AIDS?” Then I would say yes, even a family memeber would have and has gotten less sympathy from me because of it than they otherwise would have. I’m not saying they get no sympathy or even little sympathy, but somebody shot in a corss-fire versus someone who gets shot playing russian roulette, who is going to get more sympathy from me?
Yes. People who do drink heavily are something like 7 or 8 times as likely to contract cirrhosis as a nondrinker, but the risk is still there even for a lifelong teetotaler (where DID that word come from, anyway?)
Cirrhosis is basically scarring of the liver and is a symptom, not a disease.
My grandfather had severe cirrhosis despite being a life-long teetotaler and very upright sort of guy. When he found out, he was humiliated because he knew people would automatically assume he’d been a secret drinker. Consequently, even the family didn’t know until he was hospitalized and near death.
So it’s important for people to realize that not all illnesses with seemingly common cause come from that cause. And is my grandfather’s death more tragic than the death of a chronic alcoholic? Damn straight.
I don’t think that a smoker dying of lung cancer is any less tragic than it happening to a non-smoker.
But I for one wouldn’t want everyone assuming I had been a smoker if I died of lung cancer. (Although in my case it’s a non-issue since I’m not famous, so the only people who’d hear about it if I died already know I don’t smoke.)
Personally, I think it’s a good thing that the media is trying to prevent people from leaping to the wrong conclusion. I don’t think the implication is that it wouldn’t have been sad otherwise. Although, given that there are some people out there who would view it as her fault that she died if she had smoked, don’t you think it’s good that they know the truth?
I knew what he meant but my point is that cirrhosis isn’t something you catch like a disease, it’s a symptom of other diseases or lifestyle choices. And my other points are relevant to the discussion as well.
bizarre. I’m getting that there’s a second page to this thread, but everytime I click on “page two” or “>” , I get back to the OP, I clicked on reply just to see if I’d see another post, but no. hm. It probably smoked it’s way to an early grave.
I know what he meant, my point is that cirrhosis is something you catch like a disease but rather a symptom of other diseases or unfortunate lifestyle choice. And my other comments are also relevant to this discussion. So I’m not sure where you’re going with your dismissive “OK, thanks”.
My apologies if this post shows up twice, the thread is behaving strangely.
Most medical references I’ve encountered call it a disease, including the American Liver Foundation (and if anyone would know, I’d think it would be they):
In any case, I said “contract” not “catch”. They are not synonymous, except in lay usage. You contract cancer, you don’t catch it.
I’d always thought of it more as like bronchitis, but I see your terminology is correct. Yeah, I guess it’s be pretty analogous to cancer. Not caught like a cold but caused by other things. Predominately, drinking with cirrhosis and smoking with lung cancer.
Thanks Tim, you gave me a perfect place to jump on my ‘hobby horse’ and sink the spurs in deep.
Media intent… It is not about helping the people, getting relevant facts out or anything, it is just about making money and spinning it to their own agenda.
Headline: “Motorcyclist gunned down by gang banger on 43rd Street.!!!” Mr. Joe Blow was killed today ‘While riding without a helmet’ after being shot by a member of the ‘Shoot anything that moves’ gang of 43rd street …
All of us have different lines of where we go from tragic to not so tragic but to ascribe good intent to the media for it’s portrayal of the event is just an indicator of your gullibility. IMO
IMO, they are not helping anything by constant reminders that the lady was a non smoker, they are not intending to he helpful but are intending to spin - control - put forth their agenda and continue their attempts to feed themselves, control us, on our stupidity …
YMMV
*:: I am sure that there is some good, honest, upright and creditable ‘media’ out there, I just have not it mush yet. I do keep looking… :: *
Well, I guess you can chalk it up to the weaknesses of written communication. You appeared to me to be trying to answer his question about the meaning of a word. You were in fact actually attempting to clear up a mistaken idea about cirrhosis (although it was not Q.E.D. who had this mistaken idea), which could be useful to someone who was wondering. But since the actual written wondering pertained to a different word, it looked strange and pedantic.
Apologies if you took offense. I actually had not intended to cause it.
You know, it’s very odd how angry that comment made me. I’m usually almost annoyingly mild-mannered. Must be residual emotions over the death of my granddad. Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t meant to be as sanrky as it sounded to me initially.
