Slashdot Mirror
Internet Suicide Pacts Surge in Japan
darkmonkeh writes "The number of Japanese who killed themselves in online suicide pacts rose sharply last year, according to the BBC. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and the pacts may appeal to those scared to die alone. These Japanese internet 'suicide clubs' accounted for at least 26 deaths in the last 2 months."
Good to see the Japanese people enjoy having a right to privacy :P
What affect will this have on the American economy? I mean, the Japanese are killing themselves, does this mean lower competition for jobs here?
Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and the pacts may appeal to those scared to die alone geez, i thought killing urself was scary enough....
Clearly movies predict the future http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312843/
Anyone else find it fitting that this comes right after the thread about Darwin? Natural Selection sure works wonders
I have to wonder, what is it about Japanese culture that produces these people in such high numbers? In America, they'd listen to emo music.
I have hunches but no evidence. Could somebody explain this tragic issue?
Tyler Durden: The first rule of Suicide Club is - you do not talk about Suicide Club. The second rule of Suicide Club is - you DO NOT... Wait a second, never mind about the rules.
The majority of suicides in Japan are young girls. Part of the reason is because in the culture of Japan girls are considered inferior in many ways.
The majority of suicides in the US are young boys (~86%). I'm not trying to start a flamewar but I think our culture has reversed and that the suicide rate is a good metric. Young boys who have problems in education are considered inferior while if a young girl has a problem she will get all the help she needs. ~60% of new students in our colleges are women and men are being pushed to the side as if they are inferior. Eventually we may get to the point where France is (for example, ~70% of all new judges are women). Many people like to pretend that this problem does not exist. The US and Japan have the same problems, except they affect different genders.
It happens when you have everything, life becomes pointless (no dreams, no motivation no nothing), like in a mmorpg when you have everything it becomes boring after a while.
So... 34000 Japanese killed themselves in 2003, and last year less than 100 people committed suicide as part of suicide clubs.
1 in 340, or 0.3 percent of suicides are accounted for by this?
People like to be horrified by the idea, but resources would be far better focused in pretty much any other way than worrying about this.
500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
Oh, we slashdotters have known about them forever. We call them nightclubs.
This sort of thing is self-regulating.
The ______ Agenda
Upon reading the title I was immediately reminded of Paranoia Agent, and now have that song stuck in my head...
Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
We'll be staging a group sucide next friday. Bring your own CAT5.
eventually just die off.
Get your suicide online, at www.eSeppuku.com
You better be careful hikikomon might happen to you, dudes. Actually that isn't even funny though, AT ALL. I don't think suicide is funny.
I am a firm believer that that phenomenon, such as too much time spent on the internet is not a good thing. To be a recluse is not a good thing either. As to why modern life is harder for the Japanese I am assuming it has to do with what a contrast modern life is compared to traditional Japanese culture. I just saw a blurb on 20/20 about the youth in Japan and how ignorant the kids are there...13 to 22 year olds are doing things like eating in public on the street, stuff that seems super normal in America, but in Japan it is frowned upon. So the culture clash of more traditional Japanese values and how modern society is, maybe those people are lost as to where their place is, which direction their country is going in and how to meld all of it together to form a healthy and productive society. Eh, they just need some ice cream. I am also a firm believer that ice cream makes everything better, especially *green tea ice cream
They have so little land. They're all packed in there tightly. Scientists have done experiments with rats where they give them enough space and resources for 50 of them, start them with 10, let them breed, and then let nature take its course. What happens is that eventually they start fighting over resources (predictable) but also get mental illnesses at a much higher rate. They also started engaging in self-destructive acts. I think we see the same thing with Japanese people now. What, 130 million people in a (mountainous) area the size of California? They all have to be wage slaves because there's no cheap land to move to when your job gets shitty, so they just have to "take it". Problem is, a lot of them can't take the high stress that the wage slave-drivers try to milk out of them. "We got 30 people who can replace you. Work harder!" Yeah, you can probably imagine how it feels. It doesn't help that the Bank of Japan's policies are keeping the economy in the gutter by inflating the money supply so your same shitty wages buy you less and less.
Rank my idea: http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/node/531
Is that they never get out - see the sun or get excercise. 30 minutes a day wards off all types of ailments, including depression (when was the last time a psychologist prescribed this?)
I heard in China that they have mandatory exercise (in some parts, like around 20 minutes a day) throughout the day, including outdoor community facilities which people are encourage to use. I wonder how Japan, especially Tokyo, is in this regard - especially office workers.
I think they would charge per-attempt.
Show this to your friends and family that don't know what a real hacker is
Obviously, All the japanese are infected with Toxoplasma!
one of the big factors in japanese suicides is the competitiveness and pressure placed on the students in the schooling system.
I, for one, welcome our technologically superior yet suicidal Overlords!
1 ... 2 ... 3 ... .. LOL l0s3rz
*watch webcam as everyone commits suicide*
OMG they actually did it
Having lived here awhile now, the idea of suicide in Japan is completely different from what it was in America. There are a couple things you have to keep in mind:
A) Mental illness is heavily stigmatized
B) Suicide is legal and only vaguely stigmatized
Oh, and if you kill yourself by jumping in front of a train (I don't know how many times I've sat on a train where we couldn't move until they cleaned it off), your family has to pay Japan Railways for the cost of repairs/cleaning. So, if you're crazy and hate your family and work 70 hours a week, suicide doesn't seem that bad, really. Nobody seems to care that much about it either. People always laugh and joke when the train comes to an abrupt stop.
Internet suicide is old news here. Just like your silly "cellular phones" and "computers". Telepathic communication is the new thing.
Japanese are, on average, in better shape and longer-lived than Americans - and that goes for teens and young adults as well. Before worrying about Japan's high suicide rate, perhaps you should worry about this: in addition to a suicide rate of 12 in 100,000 persons (most recently measured in 1997), America also has a death by _homicide_ rate of 7 in 100,000. By comparison, Japan's rate is only 0.6 in 100,000.
There's more: American servicemen are constantly raping, murdering, and accidentally running over Japanese citizens, but we hardly ever hear about that.
So what's worse? The country where a higher percentage of people take their own lives because they can't deal with what the world around them has become, or the country where one in 14,000 people dies at the hand of one of his or her countrymen and which exports rapists and killers?
You do the math.
-- Let him who is without spelling error ignite the first flame --
Certainly I think you raise a very good point, but there is a fundamental difference between east and west that nobody so far has touched upon, and it is important. We have a large stigma against suicide - in Japan that doesn't really exist, from what I understand. And there is a reason for that difference.
Put simply, Western spirituality is about how human beings relate to a divine being (God, Allah, etc.), but there is an assumption that human beings are not themselves divine. Eastern spirituality is about understanding how human beings are divine - they have part of the divine in them. So, ending your life in Western spirituality is a source of judgement and damnation at the hands of the divine, whereas ending your life in Eastern spirituality is in part setting the divine part of you free - hence, no ill spiritual aftereffects, and no stigma.
Robert B. Marks
Author, Demonsbane in Diablo Archive
Then I visited East Africa where I found a priviledged few among a sea of poverty and hopelessness. But what struck me is the ease the Africans took life as. They seemed to be happy, always thinking that the following day would be a better one. They even shared the little they had, something very rare in a major city in the USA for example.
This makes me wonder....What is it that we in the west miss out? Why is it that suicide rates in the so-called first world are significantly higher than those in the third world? Can we still call ourselves developed? I doubt.
Where is the world going?
Of course, they could always market the book as a haunted guide book. You know all those stories always start with someone kill themselves.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Is it? Any details about the movie. Do any of them hang themselves? The movie's photos don't show enough. Does it have engrish subtitles?
You just pulled that out of your ass, didn't you?
The majority of suicides in Japan are older men, peaking at 71.1 people per 100,000 for men in the 55-59 age range. This is not particularly surprising, considering the pressures on men of that age (higher chance of being made unemployed, older parents to look after, higher rate of divorce, lower chance of promotion, etc.).
Young girls don't even come close; the 15-19 year old female suicide rate is 5.6 per 100,000.
Further statistics available here.
Yo, we're normal high school kids. Get over the stereotype. We may look funny or listen to weird music, but hey, wasn't that the goths a few years back when everyone poked fun at them? We're as human as you. Don't let a few rotten apples ruin the whole bunch.
I for one welcome our CAT 5, green tea ice cream eating, and no suicide pact OVERLOADED WITH BULLSHIT....
But why be an overlord and try to control people? I think hurting people or yourself is just wrong, being mean is just wrong unless you are evil and provoke people all the time for fun. Yeah, not nice. Sometimes people need to go off by themselves and want their space and privacy respected. The Japanese are definitely structured on that type of society. This is also a society that has Geisha's though.
Did you slashdot guys post nasty things about the Suicide Pact crowd in Japan and make them want to kill themselves? LOL I doubt it, but you know, maybe it was easier to not live life than to live with what they were living with. If you understand that, that means you might actually be *gasp* HUMAN
I'm willing to do my part. Please e-mail me... I'll make a suicide pact with everyone who is interested, and I promise to kill myself each and everytime you kill yourself. Please mail me a PDF of your death certificate, and I'll do my part within an hour of receipt of your message.
Japan has always had a high risk of suicide. The movie, as well as some cultural knowledge, show that.
The term Hari Kari is really Hara Kiri. That's when a samurai or warrior would be dishonored in his actions, and would rather kill himself than bow down to a new ruling party or to shame.
Then, in the 1800s, when Japan moved for industrialisation, objective sucess became key. Most Japanese never switch careers.Success became the new standard. Someone who had great wealth or power would commit suicide over an incident that would bring them down.
Combine all this with a new, semi-anonymous network, and you can have suicide parties. Just like in California about a decade or so ago, when they all died together.
"I'm a well-wisher, in that I don't wish you any specific harm."
... that will die out in a year or two.
http://outcampaign.org/
... I wouldn't want to be part of any suicide club that would have me as a member.
A guy walks into a bar... well, I forgot the joke, but the punchline is that he's an alcoholic.
Your Rights Online: Internet Suicide Pacts Surge in Japan
what the fuck does people killing themselves at the same time as other people using the internet have to do with my "rights online"?
Actually, public support and encouragement for exercise here in Japan is quite common. It's a matter of culture. One of the first things I'm always asked during the "introductory conversation" (which varies little from person to person) is what kind of sports I like to do. Kids and adults are encouraged to exercise. Many communities have very well-appointed civic community centers with gyms and pools and martial arts classes (public funding for something like that isn't seen as something evil and socialist here). There's a holiday called "sports day" when local schools have athletic festivals and people go out to join in and watch, etc. Employees at many companies here do morning calesthenics every workday. Public parks are full of people playing team sports, even way out in the suburbs. The public TV station, NHK, has little 10-minute exercise bits throughout the day for housewives (yes, this is Japan), elderly folk, and other homebodies to do if they want to join in. And perhaps the biggest thing: Japanese people walk. ALL the time. I live in the distant outskirts of Tokyo and every time I have a friend or relative come from overseas, I need to warn them to get in shape because the first few days here are going to involve lots of walking up and down subway stairs, from station to location, etc. There's a reason people here are generally thin. Not to mention: oodles of bicycles everywhere, used as transportation by a sizable fraction of the public.
Exercise may be a generally good thing for mental well-being, but I don't think that's a factor that negatively distinguishes the Internet recluses in Japan from those anywhere else. Are the Internet recluses here still more likely to be out of shape? Sure. But I think the background level of fitness here is pretty good, so even those outliers are probably in better shape than, for example, geeks in the US.
PLZ JOIN SUIXIDE CLUB.
(*) They have high suicide rate
(*) They have some of the lowest fertility rate, and have -ve growth of population
Their economy, and workaholic schedules, heavy competition are some of the factors to blame. They are some of the most stressed workers.
You can destroy the Samurai, but you cannot destroy the Samurai inside man.
//just saw The Last Samurai
Oops...false dichotomy. I suppose libertarianism blows your mind too.
So maybe this wasn't a misunderstanding?
http://www.engrish-store.com/ihatmystshir.html
When I saw this the episode "Happy Family Planning" of Paranoia Agent, I thought it was just the author's twisted plot device. But it turns out this happens for real. Who knew?
Or perhaps we have a case of life imitating art?
Leave it to Japanese to LARP Somtow Sucharitkul's Mallworld.
--
make install -not war
If these girls are going to kill themselves no matter what. First I would ask them to get help. Second, I would have them commited to help.
:(
Third... if all else fails. Lets just have one giant fuck-fest. Let's just enjoy one moment of pleasure. Besides, we can't have chicks die virgins. Such a waste.
Life is not for the lazy.
I've read, on a few different occasions, the hypothesis that the high rate of suicide in Japan is due to the heavy work ethic there. Working hard is good, but from some things I've read, they just overexert themself, at least as I see it as a working American.
As I understand it, failling is frowned upon much harsher there, culturally, than it is here in America.
Also, did anyone think of the anime "Paranoia Agent" while reading this? It just made me think of one of the episodes half way through (6 or so) where the old guy, the younger guy, and the little girl made a pact in some chat room to get together and commit suicide.
Out: Cute, high-tech, 'Hello Kitty' backpackets with built in tablet PC's.
In: Using those backpack touch screens to plan suicide with 40 year old American men pretending to be other Japanese Schoolgirls online.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
Some of the culturally insensitive postings by slashdot readers is a bit disturbing. Having lived in Japan for several years, it is clear that Western morals regarding suicide do not necessarily apply in this complex and ancient culture.
In addition, readers need to do their homework before posting factual errors or made-up numbers regarding its prevalence. More than 40% of the suicides in Japan are motivated by health-related reasons (older people whose health is failing). These suicide pacts comprise a very small percentage (less than 1%).
Anyway, below are some statistics from 2003 in an article that appeared in The Japan Times on July 23, 2004:
"A record 34,427 people committed suicide in Japan last year. (2003)
The figure, up 7.1 percent from the previous year, remained above 30,000 for the sixth consecutive year, the National Police Agency said in a report released Thursday.
The report says 8,897 people killed themselves over financial difficulties, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier and topping 8,000 for the first time since the NPA began keeping statistics on suicides in 1978.
Suicides motivated by financial difficulties accounted for a quarter of all suicides in the year, comprising the second-largest group, compared with 11.2 percent in 1994.
Almost 60 percent of the suicides in 2003 were by people in their 50s and older, it said.
Health reasons were the motivation for the largest number of suicides in 2003, prompting 15,416, or 44.8 percent of the total, to take their lives. Some 8.5 percent committed suicide due to family problems.
Men accounted for a record 72.5 percent of all suicides in 2003, contributing to the wider gap -- 6.97 years -- between the average life expectancies of men and women, as released earlier this month by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry."
Good to see Americans enjoy having the right to shooting themselves in the head and drinking themselves to death.
Nor of 'hare kare', nor of the dozen other mispronounciations Americans toss off when they want to point out how odd Japanese people are.
It's Hara kiri. Hara = stomach / guts, kiri is the noun form of kiru, 'to cut'.
Your local grammar nazi at work.
-- Let him who is without spelling error ignite the first flame --
Ah it's just a hype. Such suicide clubs don't tend to survive. In the end all those clubs stop existing anyway, that's probably why they are suicide clubs... (Don't mod this as informative)
it is mostly that the problems are supressed or ignored until it becomes very dangerous. If you look in the media there, there is alot of disturbing stuff that doesn't seem to reflect daily life at all, until it shows up in the news. I saw a post on /. recently about American neoslaves working themselves to death while Europeans enjoyed vacations twice as longs as ours, but what about the three months of rioting in France about the lack of jobs for the youth? Despite the incredible flamewars during the 2000 and 2004 elections, there was no violence. In the US, the media and popular culture often exaggerate minute aspects of life and make them seem like a crisis, which then the public focuses on like sheep (there's a reason what you watch on TV is called "programming"). The same thing happens with all this Newage (rhymes with sewage) crap going on here. Take terrorism for example:
US population: 295,734,134
9/11 deaths: 2,986
Number killed in Iraq (DoD confirmed as of Jan. 5, 2006): 2,182 total deaths
Number killed in Afghanistan: 259
Number of people killed by anthrax attacks: 5
TOTAL TERROR RELATED DEATHS IN USA: 5,432
Number of murders in the US in 2003: 16,528
- Americans are three times better at killing Americans than people
who are suicidally deperate to kill Americans.
Number killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2001: 42,443
- Cars are eight times more deadly than terrorists.
Vietnam War deaths: 58,226
American deaths in WWII: 400,000
% of Americans killed by terrorism: 0.0018367849279109593754233320932781%
Osama is a pussy. How about a War on Cars, or a more efficient use of the hundreds of billions of defense dollars? Let's target the real threats, like leaky dams and cars.
The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it. - William Gibson
Hmm... I thought the first rule of suicide club was "Are you connected with yourself?"
that was a good movie, if you can take it...
Actually, it's very very on topic for this post. It's all about following trends, and knowing who you are and what you want. Most people don't, and fall prey to other things.
Also the most blood I've ever seen in a movie... wow.
Ce n'est pas une signature automatique.
... made Cthulhu cry in his sleep.
First, what do you know of samurai? Do you know that they don't exist, at least not in the form idealized by Westerners, and have not for nearly 100 years?
Second, _kamikaze_ pilots died out with the end of the Second World War. Any pilots you have seen crashing into buildings have been insane Arab fundamentalists or drunken American idiots.
Third: You only know of suicide clubs because of this story, you great steaming pile of hikikomori putrescence. What about the various American religious cults of the past twenty years? Yes, it's odd to commit suicide with other people so you don't feel lonely; how much *more* odd is it, then, to do so in the hopes that your soul will live forever on a great comet?
You know nothing about Japan; I'd wager you know less than that about English grammar (and you an Aussie!), which is why you have no friends here.
Me, I have no friends because I hate you all.
-- Let him who is without spelling error ignite the first flame --
My Father was the most psycho craziest man I ever new, being an MS Psyc Parole Officer Ex Military Ex Cop. I disowned him and didn't hear from him til he died 7 years later by a violent car chase (Which made me very happy), and pistle wipped her, and shot her several times as she ran away right in front of a church and splattered his own brain on the pavement. The bitch definitely deserved it, it fits the end to the long story, and its a way to go!
After living here for about 6-7 years, and working in a Japanese office environment, suicide is the result of the non-violent way that the Japanese have dealt with getting rid of people you don't like.
The Japanese are no longer a violent race of people after the war, having said that, they are no less at peace with themselves or with others. Since they refuse to use violence, they have had to use other ways of controlling others - and the result is that the Japanese have evolved into a race of people who have learnt to push people's emotional buttons to defend themselves and get what they want.
The fact is, if you can mentally make a person turn on THEMSELVES - then you don't have to kill them. You feed them guilt, you over work them, you deprive them of sleep, you bully them, you ignore them, you socially ostracize them... all the while faking a smile at them and telling them that you like them.
OK, so someone gets angry and tries to use violence.... socially ostracized, arrested, lose your job, nobody will employ you, have a nice homeless life.
This is what the younger generation has been fighting against by refusing full term employment. This is why you have a nation of recluses. This is why some people are bumping themselves off.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
(Note: Ive been living in Japan for several years).
Suicide rates in Japan are high simply because in this culture, some things are considered worse than death. Suicide is a valid solution to many problems, and sometimes even considered a brave and honorable display of self-sacrifice. It has been this way since ancient times - look it up.
Now, I also wish they would stop, but its silly to blame it on living conditions of the Japanese, which are in fact, among the best in this planet, even for the people living in the country side growing potatoes.
I guess the Japanese just have a penchant for killing themselves
...But with all the internet fraud out there, I'd be worried about the other guy not upholding his end of the deal...
...they need a pay-pal type thing...a sort of "death-pal", which says that if you don't kill yourself, we'll send people to finish the job.
There are tens of thousands of American servicemen in Japan. Their crime rate is typical of that of men their age. Simple math, however, leads to "constant raping, murding and accidently running over", just because of the large number of people you are talking about.
The only difference is that the media in Japan squeals ten times as much when a gaijin commits a crime as when a native Japanese does the same. In short, you are falling for Japanese bigotry. There is a reason we "hardly ever hear about it" - because it is perfectly normal!
If you don't understand why, here is an example:
There's more: African-Americans/Hispanics/soccer-dads are constantly raping, murdering, and accidentally running over Alabama citizens, but we hardly ever hear about that.
No, I'm pretty sure he didn't start first. You're were just using shock tactics to cause emotions and try to make other people hate America too.
Yes now utilize your fance grammar ju-jitsu and make yourself feel better.
I found an interesting story from The New York Times (no registration needed when I just checked) last year about time obsession that caused the train wreck. It was an interesting read.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
So?
26 people commited suicide on the Internet. How many people called into suicide hotlines and finished the job on the phone?
How many people wrote a note?
So the Internet allows people to find people like themselves... this is pretty logical. Disturbing? Not really, unless nobody plans to find the root cause of their suicides and blames it on the Internet.
Egregious grammatical errors. To wit: characterizing my "America-bashing" as *not* rlevant, grautuitous(sic), and 'a troll'.
Egregious spelling errors describing egregious grammatical errors?
I don't believe this is trolling. I think this is a serious statement.
If we are basically a grown up germ, where is the purpose in life? What's the point in living, when dieing seems easier. That's the question that philosophers have tried to answer for the last century.
Idiots.
*envisions a quote*
"We're monitoring all communications made over the internet that may involve suicide club formation, thanks to this new law. It's really for your own good."
oh right you're queer
Oh God, someone insulted your favorite country. Boo hoo! Go smack your pud to your fucking manga, white boy.
I wonder if this surge has to do with the movie Suiced Club. One of the craziest movies I've seen in a while 54 high school girls suddenly commit suicide in an internet pact and then people all over begin to follow suit. I like the part with the glam goth rocker singing about killing yourself. The movie was scary and then that part bagan and I cracked up laughing.
Let's see. On my birthday (two days ago), I lost my job, injured my arm, got dumped by my girlfriend and had to spend 1.5 hours burning gas trying to find parking in downtown Montreal. This is on top of working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for this company (an Internet startup) and being assured, less than a week ago, that I would be the last person to be let go if anything went wrong.
I'm not suicidal, but I know why people would be. Thinking about suicide helps relieve some of the stress from a situation like this. It is a sort of mental shortcut to shifting one's mental frame, giving an example of a way to get out of one's current conundrum. I can only imagine how hard it would be if I had an expensive house to pay for, or huge credit card bills - oil on the fire I guess.
I guess I proved my own point ^_^ And besides, isn't meta what /. is all about?
-- Let him who is without spelling error ignite the first flame --
Obviously the solution is for the Japanese government to go to Yahoo, MSN and Google and tell them to censor searches for Suicide and Suicide Club.
As gratifying as the above jibe might be in light of recent stories about all the search engines and ethics...
I read a story in Wired Magazine about Google, I want to say 4 years ago. Anyway, the articles author mentioned that Google had these displays up that showed all the searches flowing through and how they resolved. The author noticed one go by which seemed to be from someone needing suicide counseling. The author said Google was wired to redirect some searches so that the searches returned links to places where they could seek help.
I would hope whomever writes such redirects would get around to Japanese soon.
I blame their written language. It's made me want to at least hurt myself on countless occasions...
All my typical joking aside, when you have to know 3000 characters that are typically printed so small that 60% of them are basically impossible to tell apart, just to be able to read a college textbook (And god forbid you wanted to get into a GOOD college) suicide seems like a far less masochistic path. (Especially given the average Japanese teenager's outlook on life and its value.) It's that Japanese work ethic. I mean, they have a word for 'death from overwork'...and they don't mean that shit figuratively.
They really need to lighten up...but I'm terrified that if they do, all important advances in consumer electronics technology will cease. <_<
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
Beautifullllllll......
(Hawaiian music)
Man#1 (Michael Palin) Aye! Very fussable, eh? Very fussable bit, that? eh?
Man#2 (Graham Chapman): Grand meal, that was, eh?
Others: Yes, wonderful, yes very good..
Man#2: Nothing like a good glass of Chateau le Shlasseler, eh, Guissay?
Man#3 (Terry Jones): Oh, you're right there, Robidaier.
Man#4 (Eric Idle): Who'd 'ave thought, thirty year ago, we'd all be
sitting here drinking Chateau de Shlasseler, eh?
Man#1: Aye, in them days we was glad to have the price of a cup of tea!
Man#2: Aye, a cup of cold tea!
Man#4: Without milk or sugar!
Man#3: Or tea!
Man#1: Aye, in a cracked cup and all!
Man#4: Oh, we never had a cup. We used to have to drink out of a
rolled-up newspaper!
Man#2: Aye, the best we could manage in those days was to suck on a piece
of damp cloth!
Man#3: Aye, but we were happy in those days, though we were poor.
Man#1: Because we were poor! My old dad used to say to me: Money
doesn't buy you happiness!
Man#4: Aye, he was right, I was happier then and I had nothing. We
used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the
roof.
Man#2: House! You were lucky to live in a house! We had to all live
in one room, all twenty-six of us, no furniture, half the floor
was missing, and were all huddled together in a corner for
fear of falling!
Man#3: You were lucky to have a room! We used to 'ave to live in a corridor!
Man#1: Oh, we used to DREAM of living in a corridor. It would have
been a palace to us. We used to have to live in an old
water tank in a rubbish pit. We got woke up every morning
by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us!
House! Huh!
Man#4: Well, when I say house, it was only a hole in the ground
covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us!
Man#2: We were evicted from our hole in the ground. We had to go and
live in a lake!
Man#3: You were lucky to have a lake! There were a hundred and fifty
of us, living in a shoebox in the middle of the road!
Man#1: Cardboard box?
Man#3: Aye!
Man#1: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a paper bag in
a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the
morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread,
go to work down at the mill, fourteen hours a day, week in, week
out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home, our dad would
thrash us to sleep with his belt.
(slight pause)
Man#2: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at six o'clock
in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of damp gravel,
work a twenty-hour
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Ive heard of a number of different explainations for this actually
:. therefore you are commiting murder/attempted murder.
1. you are a human (i suppose that is debatable), you are killing/attempting to kill a human
2. it was inspired by religous reasons.
3. they are worried about you hurting others in the process.
so there are 3 possibly explanations..
and remember like the song says "suicide is silent".. (except for maybe guns)
--
ShoeLace
-- Shoe Lace
Suicide pacts encourage people to commit suicide, while in normal conditions the person could decide not to do it at the last minute. But in a group, this could result in peer pressure conditions. Encouraging someone to commit suicide is equivalent to killing him.
That's the way of the summo wrestler
I suspect the peace that prevailed during the 2000 and 2004 elections occured more due to ignorance rather than by informed tolerance. People will riot in LA because one man was mis-treated by the police, yet there was no-riot in our *democracy* being blantly mis-treaded and manipulated (by diebold)??? It is sadly amusing that Clinton was nearly impeached for having a little fun during business hours.
Look at where most of the oil goes: energy/heating and transportation. So why do we continue to waste it? Even the recent Lexus commercial seems to make fun at all the attempts at electric cars in their effort to advertise their gas-guzzling "hybrid" SUV. If we adopted the European sensibility and transportation systems, we could reduce gasoline consumption by 75%, and be independent of the OPEC, etc, etc.
Yes, oil consumption is rising exponentially, so some might argue that a few cutbacks won't buy much time.. But I fear the world will work itself into such a frenzy that countries will be obliterated (perhaps economically) before the remaining oil/new energy sources is/are found.
I saw an interesting exhibit in Houston museum. It talked about the measures we were taking to save energy, be environmentally-friendly, etc. One item talked about a novel concept in california, where special lanes were designed exclusively for "vehicles carrying more than one person".
WHY is the concept of carrying more than 1 person inside a 5000lb SUV/ 4x4 Truck, etc such a novel concept??? WHY??? WHY?????????
Something about your comment reminds me of transmetropolitan
"I so badly want to kill everyone in this room right now. Even the children...
Especially the children."
Gotta love the spite.
Alot of silly Anti-Japanese comments I'm seeing here. I doubt any of these people have ever been to Japan or met a Japanese person.
The Japanese are an amazing people, they cherish work ethics, integrity, and family values.
If anything, the higher suicide rate is due to the huge dignity these people have. Becuase they are so dignified, they are more ashamed of failure than Americans (for example) might be.
The rest of the world could learn alot from the Japanese people. Remember, they've been over there for ~10,000 years, and substantially civilized for ~1500. They might just know something that us Americans haven't learned in our few hundred year reign.
That being said, I hate chopsticks.
Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead!
Give 'em a twist, a flick o' the wrist...
Too bad those people are not qualified to receive Darwin awards. XD
I love how a bunch of white dorks who watch anime, listen to j-pop and beat off to tentacle rape suddenly have this vast insight into the culture of japan. STFU dorks.
In Communist Russia 1st post has you.
Don't be selfish... Heaven needs many many virgins. After all, every dumbass Palistinian who gets on a bus or walks into a fast food place with a bomb wrapped around his waist expects to get 72 virgins. They got to come from someplace.
What do you expect? That there is a virgin factory in Heaven? That the angels can just crank them out like DVD players? Hell no. They come from earth, just every one of the dumbass shaaheeds who blows himself up.
You just gotta feel sorry for the dumbass shaaheed who blows up a day-care center or a convent. "Yes," the master angel at the gate says, "here are your virgins. First come, first served. Yes, I realize that they are all either 2 years old or 65 years old, but they are virgins. You got what you came for. Don't like it? Well, fool, you should have thought of that before you walked into the day care center with a bomb. and you might want to make yourself scarce when their parents get up here. Paybacks a bitch, and eterity's a long time. Move On! Next!"
did. I can't remember a car accident, but I do remember hearing about deaths and rapes in Japan. You are right, the crime rate for the soldiers here in Japan is typical for their age group. People who blather about this stuff are falling for typical anti-American crap. (Not that there are not legitimate reasons to criticize the US, but it drives me nuts that 90% of anti-American arguments are such childish nonsense that I can find no other words for it but bigotry and hypocrisy).
According to TFA, 91 is the number of suicide pact-related deaths in Japan in 2005. That is, 91 out of the entire population of Japan (around 130 million) died via suicide pacts (which encompass only a portion of total suicides). The 2003 data quote in the article gives a more realistic rate of ~27 per 100,000 and the WHO lists the 2002 average rate at 24 per 100,000.
We should be looking at the overall Suicide rate for Japan. Consider Japan's population. Japan is seriously overcrowded.
----
More than 34,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2003
And I believe the various wars around the world are a bigger problem than US domestic homicides. So the fuck what? Neither are germane to the discussion. Bringing either up in a discussion of Japanese suicide is simply obvious trolling.
Conclusion: the Empire squashes the Federation like a bug. Accept it.
"I have to wonder, what is it about Japanese culture that produces these people in such high numbers?"
When you says these people I am going to assume you means suicides in general, and not just suicide clubs. First of all I want to say that 26 people in 2 months having died in suicide clubs, is likely FAR below the number that actually happened with clubs, and is definitely far below the number of actual suicides.
I take the train in Tokyo to work everyday often, probably once per week, a train that I am riding on is delyed due to a "jishin jikko" which basically means self death incidient. Suicide is common in Japan. As to what cultural aspects influence this, not being a cultural expert, I can only guess at several.
1) Historically suicide was a way to maintain, or regain your honour. Honour and spirit are very important in Japanese culture. It is more important to the older generation than the younger generation, however, the younger generation cannot help but having these ideals ingrained into their subconscious.
2) Group thinking. The Japanese are extremely group oriented. The group is more important than the individual. Being ostracized by your group, and being in a position where you have let your group down can be extremely painful. It can be painful in any culture, but in Japan it is something more. There is an expression in Japan that says "The nail that sticks out must be hammered down!" This means that everyone should be alike and that anyone who is different should be forced to comply or exiled. For people who have never been in a group, or have been exiled from a group, the idea of joining a group again, where you are understood if even for a short time, could be a big motivator to join a suicide club.
3) Pride. Japanese people are very proud and adverse to failure. There have been cases where people have starved to death rather than go onto any kind of government assitance. There are very clear cultural rules regarding what is proper or improper behaviour and people would rather literally die than break some of those rules and be shamed in front of their friends and family.
4) Gaman suru! Gama suru essentially means to endure. In Japan, it is expected for people to endure hardships. To silently put up with tough situations and keep going. This is seen in many aspects of life here, whether it is pain, tough business situations, or the loss of a loved one. When the pressures get too high, it is hard to be able to talk to people and often suicide is seen as the easiest, most honourable out.
5) School system. The school system here is incredibly competitive. The study ethic here is higher than anywhere else I have seen in the world, and the pressure to perform is incredible. Students often finish school and then go to a private school for more intense training in the evenings. Getting into a good university here is the hardest part, and it can determine your life. Pressure and failures at school are huge stresses on the students, and it is often easier to kill yourself, than to admit failure.
If you look at the reasons above, and combine them together, it paints a better picture. There are probably reasons I have missed but I think the picture I have drawn is essentially correct. I have been in Japan for 6 years now, and am getting married to a Japanese woman in April. When we have children, I won't want them to go through a typical school in Japan.
Cheers,
CB
Is it true that 98.2% of all statistics quoted on Slashdot are made up on the spot?
The highest suicide rate...
and the highest consumption of raw/undercooked meat.
hmm.
Rich Gentlemen Hide - The Existential Comic
If everyone is committing suicide then who is going to stick around to organize the "clubs"?
You laugh, but in america, you are a number.
Let me translate that for you:
America cares about your FICO score and the amount of your assets ONLY.
That's it.
Now. America and Japan are both very materialistic societies. (My wife is Japanese, from Japan, so I know).
American society, however, does make some allowance for "weird" and "geeky" people. In Japan, watch out if you don't toe the line. Otaku is a bad word over there (it's changing, ever so slowly).
In Japan, your criteria for "success" and "who you are" is "what high-school and college did you graduate from?"
In the US, you can change you FICO over time, and you can make more money over time. In Japan, you can never change your less-than-perfect educational achievements, so some people feel they would rather die than live a lifetime of ridicule and shame, forever to live in the shadows of those who have "excelled".
My wife was pushed to excel by her parents. She rebelled. She didn't kill herself. She left Japan. She said she could never "live" there. It's a good thing too.
I had 25 japanese at my house last night, from 1.3 year old to 40 year olds. They love Japan because it's their homeland. They love America because they feel accepted.
If the Japanese have their own children killing themselves, they should look in the mirror.
"Piter, too, is dead."
For real, internet and computer addiction can kill you. Computers are crack cocaine. People stare at these boxes like they were tv sets, becoming dull, fat, and depressed. They think they are doing work, but in the end, they're productivity is a big fat zero, and they wake up old and grey in the end and all they have to show for their life was moving bits around... albeit by the billions... still nothing but bits.. which are nothing in themselves, no more than the state of a light switch is off or on.
What Intel never wanted you to know in the 80's...
I could preach down to you and prozelytize, but alas, the addict, its me.
The TFA explains that governments are trying to suppress online suicide clubs - sites where people talk online about their plans and ideas and desires; the people are supposed to have a right to talk about pretty much anything. Classified correctly, IMO; it's not anyone's else business but those people themselves.
First of all to those who joke..its not a joking matter. To those who advocate suicide awareness groups, discussion, and prevention..my props to you. Just wanted to say how devistating suicide can be, not only to the obvious victim, but also to family and friends..My brother took his life last summer, he was an American..genious student..had everything going for him...needless to say it was devastating. I hope people will not treat suicide as taboo, as it is a seriously impacting decision that can be prevented. Please consider your comments before posting.
...you don't have time to get all 'emo'. We may have made ourselves richer but happier...? Not necessarily.
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
If encouraging suicide and murder were moral equivalents, then telling people that heaven, nirvana or reincarnation awaits would be as bad as stabbing them.
Wait, I think I see your point...
ATTACK!
Look to history and more specifically, Bushido for hints as to why this is so pervasive in Japan. In a culture where family honor, achievement, and self mastery are values are pitted above all else - it's no surprise that in this ever increasingly bizarre and f&$#ed up world things like this are happening. Again, I second the comment about Darwin - not in a rude way, but in a very real sense... this is a very blatant example of modern natural selection at the top of its game.
Get your Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool Here for FREE! - http://fedora.redhat.com
26 death in two monthes. Big effing deal. There is more death per auto (unwanted death) per DAY. Heck those sort of suicide pact doesn't even begin to make a dent in the extrem majority of normal (lonely) suicide of 99+%. But, hey, it is internet so slashdoter are "concerned". And it is Japan, so prejudice come out of the wood. There are probably even more death from preventable things like AIDS or heart failure per DAY (again unwanted death) than internet pact suicide (wanted death).
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
Thank you very much ^_^
-- Let him who is without spelling error ignite the first flame --
These Japanese internet 'suicide clubs' accounted for at least 26 deaths in the last 2 months.
...and the date on the article that says that is Tuesday, 7 December, 2004, 12:08 GMT.
oh right you're a coward
Top then for you, because we all like them.
per 100 000 people.
1 Lithuania 42.0
2 Russia 37.4
3 Belarus 35.0
4 Latvia 34.3
5 Estonia 33.2
6 Hungaryk 32.1
7 Slovenia 30.9
8 Ukraine 29.4
9 Kazakhstan 28.7
10 Finland 24.3
Considering how isolated many folks are in today's society, and with that being a trend that's only going to increase, it's time to stop treating suicide as a taboo subject. I'm not advocating Futurama-style suicide booths or anything, but clearly you are going to be completely unable to prevent someone from killing himself if that's what he desires. If you place a quick, painless assisted suicide as the last optional step in a treatment program, then maybe these people who are scared to die alone will stop seeking out other suicidal people to reinforce their desire to die, and instead will get help from people qualified to give it.
If it turns out they really do want to die, it's going to happen anyway, so you might as well make it as humane, comfortable, and discrete as possible.
For a site who claims to be against FUD so much, it's sad to see the basic myth of Japans high suicide rates hasn't been checked against actual facts. Also it's sad to see users commenting adding yet more FUD to the equation (like suicides being very common among japanese girls, not true). Check the facts please.
The reason no one at my office kills themselves must be because of the weekly fistfights.
Brilliant analysis, sir.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
The number of internet users has gone up in japan.
It's also been estimated that Japan under-reports its suicide numbers, among other things.
They can't wait any longer for the PS3.
im just kidding.
I had a suicidal phase in my early twens. I tricked myself through it with the Steppenwolf trick (Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, good classic novel): "If killing myself is the only option left, I might aswell carry on and see what comes out of this bizar nightmare."
:-) .
That was a smart idea. My life hasn't improved (it was very good back then allready), but my perception of it has. Thruth is, suiciders are, in a way, pittyfull, self-focused 'sissies'. I'm glad I didn't do anything stupid back then.
That said, I've read alot from people who where clinically dead and came back and have stories to tell about other dead people they met. That's simple put and getting it right would take to long, but check out the books from Raymond Moody, George Ritchie and Robert Allan Monroe if your interested in the details. All these people basically tell the same things you can find in the tibetan and egyptian books of the dead. Some of it is very interesting indeed.
The most scary and insightfull piece detailing on suiciders after death I've found just the other day though, in a lecture from Rudolf Steiner (early last century philosopher and anthroposophist/theosoph). Curiously enough it sort of emphasises what I've found out myself about being suicidal:
(roughly translated from the german original)
[...going into detail of afterlife and the initial difficulties in shedding ties to the physical world after death (aka 'purgatory')...] "Amoung the various emotions man carries throughout his life is an underlying joy of being alive, a joy of life in general, of having a physical body. Thus it is one of the most intense feelings of loss not having a physical body anymore. Now we see the misery and pain all those people feel that have come to death by suicide. While with dying naturally, the seperation of the three body [he's talking physical, etherical and astral body, anthoposophical 'techno-babble'] is a relatively easy one - even with a stroke seperation and death is prepared - sudden seperation of these in a heathly condition by a violent death - such as that of one commiting suicide - causes an imediate intense sence of loss, that causes terrible suffering. [...] The commiter of suicide starts for a scary search of the suddenly withdrawn physical body. It is a terrible fate. Nothing can be compared to it."
And then comes the really interesting part:
" Some may now say: 'One that wants to commit suicide doesn't long for life within the physical body - otherwise he wouln't have ended it'. That is an illusion. It is especially the suicidal that longs to much for the joys of physical life. But because circumstances he's finds himself in deny him those joys he longs for, that's why he chooses death. And that's why the misery of loss due to the lack of a physical body is exeptionally intense for those who commited suicide."
Makes a scary sort of sense, doesn't it?
Bottom line: No matter if you believe in Afterlife or not, don't kill yourself purposefully. It could be that an exeptionally painfull walk though purgatory is waiting for you. And once you find out if there is an afterlife or not by killing youself, it will be to late
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Maybe it was this movie -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312843/
Its US title is "Suicide Club", and has a lot of eerie similarities to this story.
There is a famous case of a guy who tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat in early 19th century England. He failed, was patched up, tried, convicted and hanged. But his self-inflicted throat wound reopened under the rope, allowing him to breathe although hanging by his neck. So he didn't die. That was no good, so they cut him down and smothered him with a pillow or something.
I have forgotten what the moral of the story was...
I know that this is also the case for most of Europe (except certain remote regions of Transylvania).
According to NationMaster, Japan has completely average suicide rates: 25 males/100,000 people per year and 12 gemales/100,000 per year. For the US the figures are 19.8 and 4.4, for Russia 74.1 and 13.3.
a l
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/hea_sui_rat_m
Someone should check their figures before posting crap.
Since people join, learn the techniques and are gone, it is important to recuit new members to the service. Some parents criticize how young people are deluded into thinking that they are helping their family too, but they often stand behind with the mess. To this issue Harry Kearrie has no comments but suggests parents to look to the Japanese legacy of honor in understanding the new wave among the youth.
:-) = I am happy
:^) = I am happy with my big nose
C:\> = I am happy with my OS
So, yes, Japan has a notoriously high general suicide rate. You disagreed with GP by pointing out that Kazakhstan and a handfull of other countries have higher rates than Japan, but that hardly refutes GP's assertion that Japan has a notoriously high suicide rate.
"Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them." -- David Brent
Well, from an evolutionary stand point, ... well - they just got taken out of the gene pool.
any combination of genes that produces a suicidal organism,
that destroys itself before reproducing
Perhaps after a time suicides will drop off, because all the 'suicidal tendencies' genes have been removed from the population?
A typical 'Western Christian' view of suicide by young people is that it is an act of selfishness,
because of the unlimited needs in society, for a person who has been fed, raised, and cared for by
their parents, to suddenly decide to die - that's such a needless cause of suffering to others and a
waste of resources. Not to mention the tragedy of what the dead person is going to miss out on in life.
In the USA if a young man is having a hard time making it, they are usually encouraged to join the military,
to toughen them up and grow up, learn discipline and responsibility. (and get training and money for school).
This applies only to the endless poor in America,
rich senator's kids don't go to Iraq, they go to the spa and party in nightclubs.
Actually, suicide isn't illegal in the US; it's attempted suicide that's illegal. It's the only crime where an attempt is an offense, but success is not. Which may say something about the "crime".
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
Here's my chance to open a chain of convenient suicide booths!
Thank you for commenting - it always is good to get input from somebody "on the ground floor" as it were. However, you are very mistaken about my sources. My information about Eastern spirituality came from "The Masks of God" by Joseph Campbell, and I made the link from spirituality to suicide based on a documentary about the Kamikaze pilots of World War II, and the rituals they used to prepare themselves for death, and what they believed would happen after they died.
However, my own first-hand experience with Japanese culture came at the hands of a Japanese exchange student and fellow writer who is still a very good friend of mine, and it amazed me just how gentle and courteous the man was - and how much honour and saving face meant to him. To a degree, we Westerners wear our emotions on our sleeves compared to the Japanese, and it would be very dangerous to say that we know what is under the surface (after all, remember the surprising brutality that appeared in World War II and the Japanese Empire, which would seem entirely out of character for such a polite and courteous society).
Robert B. Marks
Author, Demonsbane in Diablo Archive
Are you saying that in the US, coroners are prone to voilate medical ethics by lying to the family of the deceased about the cause of death when they suspect suicide? I'd love to see a source for that wild speculation. I'm going to happily assume the source to be "gnasher719's ass" until you provide a linky.
By the way, life insurance typically does pay out on a suicide after the policy has been in force for a minimum of two years. Therefore, I'm going to happily ignore what you wrote about life insurance because you are simply misinformed on that point.
So, yeah, what was your point there, big guy?
"Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them." -- David Brent
No, but they are pining for the Fjord's.
Who finds this funny, for God's sake?
I was in like, 2 or 3 of them, but I had the hardest time with staying in the group. I mean, within 2 or 3 weeks of joining everyone just stopped talking to me, it really made me feel left out, I can't figure it out!
Do people just not like me or something?
disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
The first rule of online suicide club is...
www.maru.ne.jp
But in a group, this could result in peer pressure conditions. Encouraging someone to commit suicide is equivalent to killing him.
Or the reverse... If the majority bails out at the last moment, then the person who would have gone through might change his mind.
Secondly, are you suggesting that there is no free will involved with the person who is commiting suicide? I mean unless you put the gun up to their head and push the trigger, I can't believe you are negating their true free will. Unless their depression has caused them to have no control or free will (as in they have become a philosophical zombie) and are subject to any suggestion and incapable of having a say in your reality.
Then again...
Would you want to live a life like that?
(of course this speculation and the assumption that we really have free will in life to begin with)
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
Sorry... got karma to burn..
"I have as much authority as the pope, I just
don't have as many people who believe it" - George Carlin
The US has the similar destructive internet society supporting anexoria in young women. Those people cant really converse in real life, but internet groups allow them to exchange techniques, particularly ways to resist medical personnel who try to change them. Somehow extreme thinness gets hardwired into one's maturing sexual persona, and becomes almost impossible to change.
...the Caribbean area. That sure must be a good place to live! I think there is a lesson here...
I swear, if I hear one more story about how fscked up the Japanese are, I think I'm gonna kill myself.
Who's with me?
"In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user. You've got your own newsgroup, alt.total.loser." -Weird Al
I would seriously like to know the top reasons behind such a thing...because from my point of view Japan is one of the greatest countries in the world to live. You've got the best technology, the best video games, and it's legal to have sex whenever you want, even if your married...so what gives? Video games + sex = never want to die, that practically is heaven to me...
I don't think these people know how good they have it...
Since Catholics consider suicide "unforgivable," which I assume means the bouncer will toss you from the Pearly Gates, do they get a free pass on this?
When East Germany rejoined the West, stress and suicide rates shot up to match the values in West Germany. It's worth researching and reading about. It's an interesting case because it basically involved no variables other than political system; the populations were otherwise identical.
Is freedom worth the stress, mental illness and suicides? Interesting question.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Mr. Praline: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this Japanese what I met not half an hour ago in this very chatroom.
...
Sysop: Oh yes, the, uh, the Japanese Blue...What's,uh...What's wrong with 'im?
Mr. Praline: I'll tell you what's wrong with him, my lad.
'E's dead, that's what's wrong with him!
Sysop: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.
Mr. Praline: Look, matey, I know a dead Japanese when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
Sysop: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'!
Remarkable chatters, the Japanese Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!
Mr. Praline: The plumage don't enter into it, does it? 'E's stone dead!
Sysop: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!
Mr. Praline: 'E's bleedin' demised!
Owner: No no! 'E's pining!
Mr. Praline: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This Japanese is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-CHATTER!!
Defining Statistics and Social Research
It is very possible that these people can be very creative or smart and are in a temporary rut. Or it is also possible that they have somekind of illness like bipolar or manic depression, which is treatable.
It's possible to be very creative and smart and in a rut, and never produce anything worthwhile in your life simply because you don't want to. The government doesn't have the right to force you to be creative, or to punish you if you aren't.
Plus, I bet that almost all of them have friends or family that would be very upset with this.
There are countless things you could do that would make your friends and family very upset, but that's not sufficient reason to make them illegal.
That's a great movie. I thought of it right away too when I saw this article.
I recall that the suicide rate in the Pacific Northwest was much higher than the average. Blame perpetual overcast during the winter, weeks of unbroken rain, high latitude ==> long nights
Then the coffee craze hit and the suicide rate dropped.
'course, the HOMICIDE rate went up by a similar amount.
The caffinated are less depressed, but a lot twitchier.
Hi Claus,
You are correct. I have thought about the frequency I personally experience and once per week is high. I have only personally encountered 2 delays this year that I know were jinshin jiko, and we are already mid February. I tried looking up some stats regarding the rates, but they are extremely hard to find, even in Japanese.
I ride the Keihin Tohoku sen, and I used to ride the Chuo. When I was on the Chuo line, I remember being delayed quite often. I think part of my overzealousness stemmed from the fact that my train rides these days are very short (only two stops!), and I am still getting delayed fairly regularly.
I don't think the delays are always line specific though. I know I have been delayed on the Kehin Tohoku line for suicides on other connected lines.
Thanks for pointing out my error.
Cheers,
CB
It must be the increasing use of Linux. I had to configure a linux system last week and by the end of it I was ready to commit suicide.
In Japan, despite being much bemoaned and having newspapers and TV stations taking long morbid looks at suicide, suicide clubs and the reasons for it. Suicide is not illegal, committing suicide on the JR tracks at Shinjuku Stn or some other busy trainstation or other venue is illegal only because you are upsetting the schedule and costing time, effort and money to the business or taxpayer. Other than that it's not a crime and is quietly encouraged by the government in the case of the elderly infirm, drug abusers and the mentally insane.
Fish....More than just sushi
Japanese suicide pacts may be caused by a conflict of physiology related to the vision startle reflex.
t m
_ can_do.htm
. htm
n .htm
m
m
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4695864.s
Do you remember Shawn Woolley who committed suicide believed to be caused by Everquest Addiction?
The problem was discovered when knowledge workers using the first close-spaced office workstations began having mental breaks. The Cubicle solved that problem, 1968.
But the "special conditions" that allow exposure to Subliminal Distraction are so simple they can be created almost anywhere. Incorrectly situated computer workstations would allow the same mental breaks to happen. If the mental event contains psychiatric symptoms of despondency suicide is a likely outcome.
These mental breaks have happened on Russian space missions, Soyuz 21, and in Antarctic scientific stations. ("Bold Endeavors," Stuster, "Through the First Antarctic Night," Cook)
Visit:
http://visionandpsychosis.net/ - and start by performing the psychology experiment on the Demonstration Page.
http://visionandpsychosis.net/a_demonstration_you
http://visionandpsychosis.net/Astronauts_Insanity
http://visionandpsychosis.net/Everquest_connectio
http://visionandpsychosis.net/College_Suicides.ht
There is a condensed site outline on this page. It is about the history of Dissociative Fugue but the material is the same.
http://visionandpsychosis.net/Missing_Students.ht
Can someone please send an invite to Osama?