Smapti, question: if you had a pet that was old and suffering and about to die – would you have your vet put it to sleep? We treat dogs and cats better in death than we do humans.
As someone who has suffered from depression, let me advise you: do not do this, ever. It’s like telling someone who just got shot to suck it up and stop bleeding. Depression isn’t just “being sad” – it’s not a matter of a “suck it up”. You may not like it, but next time, bite your tongue. It’s an extremely cruel thing to tell someone who’s suffering from it.
This. Smapti clearly has no fucking clue what depression actually is. If depressed people could snap out of it, they’d have done so already.
I had it last year and it turned out to be a thyroid imbalance. I felt sad and weepy for no discernible reason and I’d tell myself not to, but I simply could not help it. A good friend of mine had it after she went through major surgery, and I sure as hell didn’t tell her to just get over it. It doesn’t work that way.
My dad died from complications of ALZ–and in the end, from an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. He had stated clearly in his advance directive that he did not want a feeding tube or any extraordinary measures taken, so we honored those wishes. It’s not that we wished him dead, but he was deteriorating physically as well as mentally. Had he continued living, he would have kept going down, down, down.
You think that allowing a loved one to be let go, even when they wish it, is cruel.
Most of the rest of us say that keeping a loved one alive, suffering, at all costs is cruel.
Obviously, we have very different definitions of what’s cruel.
Wanting someone to live in agony is monstrous and cruel and I cannot conceive of the mindset of someone who would think such a thing.
Once again, you’re merely asserting your values override anyone else’s.
Apply your values to yourself. Don’t impose them on others.
If what you’re saying is “I wouldn’t do that” then we’d all heartily agree. If you say “Nobody else should be legally allowed to do that,” don’t be surprised if we disagree.
As I noted earlier, this is really more of an IMHO topic than a debate. Since it is one poster making unsupported assertions without any factual basis and refusing to acknowledge the views of every other poster, I am shutting this down.
If someone wishes to open a debate on this topic, they are welcome to do so, but there should be some level of facts and logic to support a debate. Otherwise, open this stuff, next time, in IMHO, (or The BBQ Pit).
[ /Moderating ]