If you want to know, I was attempting to make a serious point.
A point however that was tinged somewhat with a traumatic memory as I was
speaking of a real event, which occurred on 24th December 1998, where I had
exhausted all of the arguments not to commit suicide and was about to set
off on my final journey to Wales, to die in lake Vrnwy.
This was a significant event in my life as travelling to lake Vrnwy every
Christmas was already an annual ritual, and this pilgrimage in a complicated
way did have a disability related etiology.
It is an event that I now revisit with renewed intensity. It was my brothers
intervention that stopped me from killing myself, as by co-incidence he
phoned me up just as I was about to set out, and with a similar urgency,
told me how depressed he was on that night, for what appeared to be the same
reasons, reflecting upon the things he had not achieved in his life, an also
grieving for the loss of our mother who had died the year before.
What irks me, is when suicide is put into a mental health context, because
to me suicidal intent is a part of life it has it's rationality, it's not
abnormal, not beyond the pale, and all that more to be concerned about
because of that.
Now there are ways of speaking and writing, and sometimes I don't speak or
write, I put these things into context in video. That I have done with that
incident and made a very powerful video, which unfortunately I had to remove
from youtube because I didn't have a licence for all of the music. It was
intended to be a powerful warning about suicide.
I'll tell you something else, I once pursued a complaint all the way to the
ombudsman about our local mental health services who could not cope with the
fact that people under stress swear.
Did you not know that swearing is in effect meta language, it is dealt with
from a different part of the brain, that is why coprolalia can still occur
in tourrettes even when language is damaged.
Someone reminded me of war, and the context of remembrance Sunday. Well I
don't know, are they familiar with the songs and jokes of those who endured
the world wars (and indeed who are at war today) sprinkled with expletives
which serve a very particular personal, and cultural context.
Yes look at it academically, there is a reason for everything, and if you
shut your mind to the content of something because it is offensive to you,
then you offend the cause you are shutting yourself off from.
War is obscene, and suicide is not painless, why should one not use strong
language about these things?
Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List [mailto:DISABILITY-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sharon Hennessy
> Sent: 15 November 2010 03:56
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Larry's last posting
>
> Hi there
> I"m emailing the list owner, and everyone, including Larry to ask that
Larry
> please try to keep your postings more academically and disability related
- my
> understanding of this site is that it is more for serious discussion and
sharing
> of events and views and not for rather inappropriate ramblings - perhaps
there
> is another site for this available.
> Thanks for considering this - maybe the list moderator could send us
> all a copy of the list guidelines.
>
> Thanks, Sharon , Seattle, WA, US
>
>
>
> I
>
>
>
>
> ________________End of message________________
>
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