if you had the choice to be born would of chosen life?

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To all you no's, what's your rationale for not wanting to be born, yet wanting to continue living (since we all have the option of leaving this world whenever we choose)?

i wouldnt describe myself as a happy person, and I have wished not to have been born many a time. But i voted yes, because 1) what else is there? and 2) I have had some good times, and there are many pleasures in life.

I'm not all the no's, but I'm one of them.

a) killing one's self is actually very, very difficult
b) I'm here now, and with enough patience, won't be later
c) you never know, maybe something amazing and life changing may occur between now and my death (AKA hope)
d) I can do bits and bobs here and there to help folks
e) religious beliefs, or put more correctly, suspicions

I think in most, if not all cases, it's not really a "rationale".


It is the biologically-determined self-preservation instinct which is intact in the non-suicidal.

You do realize that there's a biology to suicidality right?

Not all those who are clinically and/or circumstantially depressed commit suicide, or even, contemplate it.

And not all people who commit suicide (or at least attempt it) are clinically/circumstantially depressed.

Thats a fair question. I don't nessecarily want to continue living. I have responsibilty for raising two kids at the moment. Depriving them off of a father wouldn't be fair for them. Plus religious beliefs.

Yes. Although she doesn't read these boards I think my mum would be more than a little insulted if I had said 'no'. Particularly as my cousin committed a very bloody suicide on a railway line about 18 months ago.

By that comment, I was merely referring to the fact that I can't promise my view would be changed - nor can I promise I would be able to understand other people's views.



You raise a very good point here. I believe my own lack of understanding, however, is in the fact that - although I feel I've suffered alot - I would not say I have suffered to the point of having lost the will to live just yet. This is, ofcourse, considering I spend all of my time inside a house on a computer looking on everyone - including friends - with envy and spite due to their ability to exit the house freely without fear of getting in any form of trouble. My belief is more of a one that, if in bother, blame what's causing the bother rather than life itself, so to speak, and adapt accordingly. For example, whenever I leave the house I end up getting bothered - so I remain inside and gain a hatred against those who've wronged me; I used to previously work against authority as a child, swearing and such, but now I consider myself to be an Authoritarian - always submitting to authority instead, due to my own adaptation. For this reason, I tend to view those who would prefer to die to be "giving up" on life, so to speak. As if there was a bright light at the end of the long, hard tunnel and they just decided to turn and walk in the opposite direction because it was easier.



I guess my use of words was a bit drastic, I agree. By "lack of sanity", I was referring more to needing to find reconciliation within themselves via external help (e.g. a psychologist). I should learn to choose my words far more carefully next time, as not to offend.



I never claimed I was better than anyone in any way because of my views. Rather, I claimed that I am somewhat uneasy (I need to choose my words more carefully, as "disgusted" was clearly the wrong word) by the fact that people would rather choose death over life.



True, we live in a corrupt society. True, we have a huge social stigma in a world that requires social interaction. True, people may use and abuse that stigma in so many ways. Other than that, you need to look at the environment around us, the possibilities we could achieve etc. In this respect, despite our stigma, I would most certainly prefer to have Aspergers rather than give it up. It gives me in-depth knowledge of various topics Neurotypicals refuse to even delve into. Thus, I find myself knowing far more about various topics that could benefit myself and others than Neurotypicals know. That, alone, makes me glad to both be alive and have Aspergers. The thing is, although our live may be a meagre 70 or so years and has no meaning, people should learn to make the best of it while it lasts. If you die, then what? No-one knows. You may just remain rotting in a grave, feeling nothing, or it may just begin the cycle all again - making your death just another pointless, yet painful, choice.



Indeed. It should hate the stick and, possibly, the owner. thus, it will work against both. On the otherhand, it shouldn't consider ending it's own life just because it's owner is causing it suffering. Rather, it should go against the owner.



It depends on the reasoning as to why you visited Malaysia in the first place, quite frankly, and how you view it. For example, if you went there for the mere scenery, then you can always merely view it in an optimistic way - "Oh, well maybe I have been robbed/raped and confined to my bed with an illness - but will that stop me from looking out of my hotel window at the beautiful beaches below?". Not to mention, in the cases of an accident happening, it seems almost assured you would recieve some sort of compensation for it. I could elaborate further if there was any reasoning as to why you would wish to go to Malaysia other than that you've always wanted to see the area. As for life, again, there's the optimistic view. At least your not blind, deaf or have been stabbed to death yet. At least you can communicate with others easily, at least your better off than other people etc. There are people starving to death in third-world countries, and yet even their hope of a better life hasn't been shattered yet. Just my thoughts.



In rationally-based reasoning, regardless of emotion, I go back to a previous argument of "Well, at least you can benefit others/the human race - even if you would feel better off dying. Living has the potential to be more productive for society than death". If you want something more emotional, on the otherhand, there is the whole argument that you can find happiness in everything if you view it optimistically etc. and by being dead, you no can no longer view anything optimistically because, well, you don't have a thought pattern/brain/mind to do so.



Active and Passive Euthanasia is considered illegal in most countries, thus is the reason why hospices are set up. How can those with a very painful terminal illness make a rational decision when, ofcourse, they are in intense pain? Pain, in such circumstances, can blind a person's better judgement - which is what most people have learnt, causing the legality of euthanasia to remain illegal.



Ofcourse, no. However, this can also be counter-argued - is there any such law in the universe that suggests life has a potential to be bad?

It's like 20 years ago I did something. I shouldn't have done that, but I did, so now I must live this way.

23 years ago I was born. It wasn't good idea, but I can't go back in time. It's too late. So now I'm alive. I don't want to die and eliminate my genes, because it would be more stupid.

Last edited by Valoyossa on 20 Jun 2010, 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'd love to be Regina Spektor. She is oh so lovely.

I'm undecided. My life isn't "bad" but had I to do it over again, I wonder if it would have been worth it.

I can say that learning about and understanding AS has made life much more bearable. Before that I did not know why everything was so hard for me.

Being choosy topic

Each and every human who has ever been born alive has something to contribute, and of course some contributions are more noteworthy than others, depending on points of view. Death is permanent, and when I think about the infinity before i arrived and the infinity after I leave I think for me it was a good choice to continue.

life could be what you make it not really sometimes you have no control over things that happen

I would also like to go to Malaysia.

But alas, now I have to go off and stack firewood.

So if this is true, then some of us are genetically wired to be incapable of following through, no matter how bad things get? Not even if we were being tortured, or perceived that we were? That is a disturbing thought. I think there must be some tipping point for everybody where the self-preservation instinct disappears. For my own peace of mind, I hope so.

On a related note, I just read the story on the singer-songwriter Vic Chestnutt in the latest Spin. Thought-provoking look at a suicide that was both inevitable and surprising.

When the Bottom Fell Out (This is only part of it. Worth it to read the whole thing.)

Tough question, I would say no. Reason being is that I would not want to go through all the pain all over again. I've also decided to never have kids, because of the high probability that they'll end up like me.

That being said, I've decided to just make the best of my life. I can't see myself committing suicide, I'm just trying to find some way to contribute to society while I'm here.