Suicide is Not an Option

Suicide is becoming more and more popular in the news.  People are unable to deal with a problem so they believe that the only way to solve it is to remove themselves from the problem, and from among the living.  Some examples of people unable to deal with their problems are Tyler Clementi and Mark Madoff.  Tyler committed suicide after his college roommate released a video on the Internet showing him having a "relationship" with another man.  Unable to cope with the fact that he was outed so horribly, and unwilling to face his parents, he killed himself by jumping off a bridge.  Mark, son of ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, had to deal with not only being B. Madoff's son, but quite a few lawsuits that would ruined him.  He hung himself with a dog leash in his home with his young son sleeping next door.  Both men chose to end their life instead of facing their problems.  Tyler's parents were crushed to learn he committed suicide, but when they found out that he was afraid of their reaction to finding out he was gay, they were heartbroken.  Madoff, unfortunately, was surrounded by the hatred of his father, and some of the victims believe that he should have killed himself sooner.  This "solution" is a common theme among books.  Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' end in a double suicide because neither believed that they could live without the other, and if Romeo just tried to deal with his grief he would have discovered that Juliet was still alive.  In "The Awakening" Edna Pontellier was a spoilt, rich woman who tried to have everything she wanted.  She had a devoted husband and two children, but that wasn't enough for her.  She wanted a new life with another man, and when she was denied that life she decided that she would not go back to her husband.  She went for a swim in the ocean and never came out.  Another book with this outcome for the main character is Okwonko from "Things Fall Apart".  Okwonko was a violent man who demanded to be seen with respect, or else.  Nothing was more important to him then his honor and standing within the village.  When his village was introduced to the ways of the white-man, he felt threatened because he was nothing in the eyes of the white-man.  If the white-man's culture took over his own, he would be left with nothing.  Okwonko tried to lead a rebellion against the white-man, but it immediately failed and caused shame to be associated with his name.  Instead of trying to cope, or change villages, or anything else, Okwonko kills an official and hangs himself immediately afterwards.  These characters and people all decide that their problems are too great and there is only one option left to them.  If everyone decided that when life got tough, they should kill themself, then there would be more funeral homes than McDonald's.  Nothing is solved when someone commits suicide because; family is left with their debts, family must deal with grief, insurance will not payout so all the payments were for nothing, and the funeral costs hurt their family even more.  So the immediate problem is 'solved', but then more problems are created for the people who are left behind.