Good morning, folks.
I am dismayed. A member, whose identity I will not share, made a really tasteless joke here about suicide a couple hours ago. And a few members actually "liked" that post.
So let me tell you a story. A few years back, I met a Bunker member (@aubtiger10 RIP) during the AU@MIZZOU trip. (@au_goat and his wifey were there as well.) Anyway, aubtiger had somewhat recently at that time survived a suicide attempt. He'd been in therapy for months after that, as you'd expect, and had found new meaning in The Bunker after that. It was a place that made him feel better — the banter, the bullshit, the commiseration, the fellowship.
He told me that he really hated the whole "kill yourself" joke that pops up here on occasion. And he explained that the goal for him was to never let those ideas into his head — then people here were joking about suicide and it really sucked for him. That made me sick to my stomach. I've been really against that joke ever since, though I didn't feel comfortable telling this story at the time. This is his story. Rusty died in May. So I'm mentioning it now.
I'm not mad at folks who have joked about suicide in the past. I'm not mad at the person who did it this morning. It's become a kind of standard message board meme that isn't written as a direct joust; it's an attempt at humor.
I'm just asking that we STOP this particular type of mockery. It's not cool and there are many other ways to be funny. I know this because I read hilarious stuff here every single day.
I'm asking this of you on a personal level. No more suicide jokes. They can mess with people in a very real way and I know, deep down, none of you want someone else to actually consider suicide due to something you've written.
Peace and love,
MGMT (not the band)
I am dismayed. A member, whose identity I will not share, made a really tasteless joke here about suicide a couple hours ago. And a few members actually "liked" that post.
So let me tell you a story. A few years back, I met a Bunker member (@aubtiger10 RIP) during the AU@MIZZOU trip. (@au_goat and his wifey were there as well.) Anyway, aubtiger had somewhat recently at that time survived a suicide attempt. He'd been in therapy for months after that, as you'd expect, and had found new meaning in The Bunker after that. It was a place that made him feel better — the banter, the bullshit, the commiseration, the fellowship.
He told me that he really hated the whole "kill yourself" joke that pops up here on occasion. And he explained that the goal for him was to never let those ideas into his head — then people here were joking about suicide and it really sucked for him. That made me sick to my stomach. I've been really against that joke ever since, though I didn't feel comfortable telling this story at the time. This is his story. Rusty died in May. So I'm mentioning it now.
I'm not mad at folks who have joked about suicide in the past. I'm not mad at the person who did it this morning. It's become a kind of standard message board meme that isn't written as a direct joust; it's an attempt at humor.
I'm just asking that we STOP this particular type of mockery. It's not cool and there are many other ways to be funny. I know this because I read hilarious stuff here every single day.
I'm asking this of you on a personal level. No more suicide jokes. They can mess with people in a very real way and I know, deep down, none of you want someone else to actually consider suicide due to something you've written.
Peace and love,
MGMT (not the band)
