Lot of tragedies in Waterford this week

fade2black

Added to the ones we already know a chap has commited suicide in bausch & Lomb today. Apparently he works in the lab and injected himself with something to be found later by the management.

Thoughts are with his family and friends.

lilmissprincess

My aunt works there. He injected himself with the cleaning fluid.
RIP

marky4

any 1 know this guys name

Roen

The name is Brian Hunt. Details still not fully known about the whole affair.

mike65

God, there are no secrets in Waterford are there?

Mike.

fade2black

Of course not Mike.

lilmissprincess

It is Waterford. Explain why you thought it was possible to keep something secret??

mike65

I did'nt, it was a more general 'shug' at the state of affairs when a personal tragedy is over the web in a day or two being discussed and names named.

Mike.

merlante

mike65 wrote:

I did'nt, it was a more general 'shug' at the state of affairs when a personal tragedy is over the web in a day or two being discussed and names named.

Mike.

I dunno, I take a different view. If people are aware of suicides then it draws attention to the issue. I know of someone who killed himself in Dublin and it was so hushed up I only heard of it through Chinese whispers after the person was buried, despite the fact that this person was popular and well known to a large group of people. I don't agree with this whole thing of letting someone disappear... Bloody eerie if you ask me.

Plus the fact that people jump on front of trains in Ireland quite a bit but it's hushed up for 'family' reasons and maybe so as not to give other people the same idea. But I don't think that suicide is something that should be hushed up.

The media are forever moaning about road deaths. Papers like the Irish Times are trying to turn it into a national obsession. But twice as many people die from suicide and nothing is said about it.

If someone I knew, or particularly if a friend who I'd maybe lost touch with killed themselves, I'd want to know they were dead, and I'd want to know how they came to be dead. If someone posts their name on a board like this, great I say, everyone knows. No more need be said. Nobody who reads it is going to make a fool of themselves with a comment like, "So I haven't seen Roy in ages, how is he getting on?" on front of friends or family.

Just my take on it.

Besides, all the gossips will know about it anyway. It's only right that 'normal' people be told as well.

Dilbert75

I suspect the difference is that road deaths are something that are seen as having the potential to be reduced by enforcement of laws. Suicide, by its nature, is a deeply private act.

The most common thing you'll hear from the family of a person who dies by suicide is that they never realised the person was (so) unhappy. I've heard it in suicide cases around here. Generally being the last act of quiet desperation, its not something that people planning their own death tend to discuss with others.

I've also heard it said that once somebody planning their own death has figured out the mode of their death, they reach a state of calm as there is nothing left to sort out. Hence the appearance of normality in the time leading up to the death.

So what does society do about suicide? People need to take better care of each other really. Everybody needs somebody they know they can confide in, to discuss their problems with, to turn to when they're in need. Life is so fast & busy for everyone these days that people are getting left behind.

They often need a professional resource to help them when they're at their lowest point. A young mother who, along with her two young children, died by suicide in the south east last year was said to have turned to the health board for help in the hours leading up to their death. There was nobody on duty to speak to her. The three died less than half a mile from the hospital where they'd presented.

But the suicide problem is not going to be an easy fix, solved by putting Gardai in fast cars with speed guns and high-viz jackets on the roads 24 hours a day.

When I read the name of the poor guy who died in Bausch & Lomb, I too thought it sad that he was named. I appreciate the point made by Merlante though. Its a tough question - I suppose once its a straight reporting of a fact, then its acceptable. Any sensationalisation of such a story would definitely be in bad taste.

merlante

I dunno, I think people who work to prevent suicide are under the impression that the numbers could be drastically reduced, similar to road deaths, if certain steps were taken.

In any case, road deaths are becomming a national obsession in Ireland. In other countries, murders are the national obsession, or obesity. That is not to say that road deaths aren't important, but the point I was trying to make is that it is a peculiarity specific to Ireland at the moment that it is almost a barometer for avoidable human death. (Almost daily column in the Irish Times on the subject and regular mention on RTE.) Contrast this situation to suicide, which is considered too contentious to talk about, despite claiming about twice as many annual casualties.

Personally, if I died for any reason, I'd prefer people knew about it. Rarely has hushing things up ever done any good. Especially in Irish society!

Dilbert75

merlante wrote:

Rarely has hushing things up ever done any good. Especially in Irish society!

That's a fair point