"Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide", add additional options?
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 1:50 amThe Issue
The nation is in mourning after beloved cultural icon Johnny Brazeau was found dead of apparent suicide in his Tasmanian beachhouse. New details have emerged that his eccentric and happy-go-lucky public persona was masking chronic depression, thrusting mental illness into the public spotlight.
The Debate
1. “Clearly, Mr. Brazeau was suffering from severe depression,” says world-renowned psychiatrist Dr. Marlon Rubin. “This is symptomatic of a deep-seated epidemic of unreported mental illness across Arab League. Mental health services have been underfunded for decades, and it is about time that the government stepped in to provide proper mental healthcare for the nation. We desperately need evidence based CBT, more psychiatrists, and proper education to finally rid ourselves of this stigma surrounding mental health. You can’t put a price on the nation’s wellbeing.”
2. “Johnny Brazeau’s death is a tragedy, but we all know his songs contained subliminal pro-suicide messages,” says moral crusader Sierra Allen, who is well known for egging blasphemers and burning effigies of politicians. “People across Al Hiwariyya al oula now know that an idolized national treasure selfishly took his own life. What kind of message does that send, especially to kids? This shameless act is only going to convince them that suicide is cool. Suicide must be made illegal, and only the ultimate punishment will deter people from this sin. We need to teach our children that life, regardless of how much you’re suffering, is always the answer.”
3. “Haha, the freak finally did himself in. That’s very droll,” laughs insensitive city worker Ashley Fraser, who was recently laid off for making countless inappropriate jokes on the job. “Yes, of course people are down in this nation, but if you want to cheer us up, give the people a tax cut. Stop wasting money on welfare and all this mental health rubbish. Give us our money back, and we’ll make ourselves happy.”
4. “It’s a tragedy of course, but also an opportunity,” suggests professional spin doctor Elmo McDuck, handing you a bottle of fake tears. “If we play our cards right, we can create a distraction from hard-to-sell government policies. Make a speech with a single tear rolling down your cheek and visit the widow to bring a wreath and a spontaneous hug. We can make bad news work to improve your public image.”
5. Dismiss Issue
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Dismissing issues feels worse than answering them, and I've probably only dismissed a handful so far. Up till now, the dismissals felt natural enough, as if I didn't care to make a decision, since I didn't care about the issue too much. So cool, dismissed. Encountering this one was different. I care very much about suicide, but none of the options align. Option One is for people who care, but not everyone puts stock in psychotherapy, not everyone has new age inclinations. The options make it so you either care, and want to help through psychotherapy, or you don't care, are rude/prude, and want to further your own goals.
Perhaps an option which wants frames the nation as sympathetic, and wants a solution to suicide indirectly. Create more parks, lessen workplace related stresses, create more opportunities for communal bonding like investing in festivities, strengthening national pride through whatever avenues, etc. I believe that if a person genuinely feels loved, feels like he belongs/is needed, and has purpose, he won't suicide even in hellish conditions. He'd have something to live for. It's more important to create such a condition than to try to (often falsely) convince a man that the world is sunshine and rainbows, just look it at a different way, and/or take these pills. That, and a bit of old-fashioned grit. I'm not the greatest wordsmith, so I don't know what an additional option ought to look like, I just think it'd be cool if there was one. I'll write one, since I'm asking for it, but I'm not advocating for it in particular, just something.
My option:
6. "Johnny Brazeau’s death is a tragedy. We'll never know exactly what led him to take such a drastic action, but if someone with such wealth and adulation commits suicide, maybe the deep-seated epidemic isn't unreported mental illness, but the structure of our society. All this mumbo jumbo about "Mental Health" and "Psychotherapy" is just Ivory Tower geezers and virtue-signaling teens driveling on. We need to create an environment where every [X]ian feels loved, needed, and appreciated. I'm not sure how exactly we'd go about this, but for starters, why not create a Department For Suicide Prevention By Making The Nation Awesomer. Sure it'll cost he taxpayers a pretty penny, but it's worth it.
EDIT
Looks like this is a pervasive problem at NationStates. Either you spend money on psychotherapy bullshit, or you don't care about depression. Got another issue which has the same problem with choices.
https://nsindex.net/wiki/NationStates_Issue_No._62
The nation is in mourning after beloved cultural icon Johnny Brazeau was found dead of apparent suicide in his Tasmanian beachhouse. New details have emerged that his eccentric and happy-go-lucky public persona was masking chronic depression, thrusting mental illness into the public spotlight.
The Debate
1. “Clearly, Mr. Brazeau was suffering from severe depression,” says world-renowned psychiatrist Dr. Marlon Rubin. “This is symptomatic of a deep-seated epidemic of unreported mental illness across Arab League. Mental health services have been underfunded for decades, and it is about time that the government stepped in to provide proper mental healthcare for the nation. We desperately need evidence based CBT, more psychiatrists, and proper education to finally rid ourselves of this stigma surrounding mental health. You can’t put a price on the nation’s wellbeing.”
2. “Johnny Brazeau’s death is a tragedy, but we all know his songs contained subliminal pro-suicide messages,” says moral crusader Sierra Allen, who is well known for egging blasphemers and burning effigies of politicians. “People across Al Hiwariyya al oula now know that an idolized national treasure selfishly took his own life. What kind of message does that send, especially to kids? This shameless act is only going to convince them that suicide is cool. Suicide must be made illegal, and only the ultimate punishment will deter people from this sin. We need to teach our children that life, regardless of how much you’re suffering, is always the answer.”
3. “Haha, the freak finally did himself in. That’s very droll,” laughs insensitive city worker Ashley Fraser, who was recently laid off for making countless inappropriate jokes on the job. “Yes, of course people are down in this nation, but if you want to cheer us up, give the people a tax cut. Stop wasting money on welfare and all this mental health rubbish. Give us our money back, and we’ll make ourselves happy.”
4. “It’s a tragedy of course, but also an opportunity,” suggests professional spin doctor Elmo McDuck, handing you a bottle of fake tears. “If we play our cards right, we can create a distraction from hard-to-sell government policies. Make a speech with a single tear rolling down your cheek and visit the widow to bring a wreath and a spontaneous hug. We can make bad news work to improve your public image.”
5. Dismiss Issue
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dismissing issues feels worse than answering them, and I've probably only dismissed a handful so far. Up till now, the dismissals felt natural enough, as if I didn't care to make a decision, since I didn't care about the issue too much. So cool, dismissed. Encountering this one was different. I care very much about suicide, but none of the options align. Option One is for people who care, but not everyone puts stock in psychotherapy, not everyone has new age inclinations. The options make it so you either care, and want to help through psychotherapy, or you don't care, are rude/prude, and want to further your own goals.
Perhaps an option which wants frames the nation as sympathetic, and wants a solution to suicide indirectly. Create more parks, lessen workplace related stresses, create more opportunities for communal bonding like investing in festivities, strengthening national pride through whatever avenues, etc. I believe that if a person genuinely feels loved, feels like he belongs/is needed, and has purpose, he won't suicide even in hellish conditions. He'd have something to live for. It's more important to create such a condition than to try to (often falsely) convince a man that the world is sunshine and rainbows, just look it at a different way, and/or take these pills. That, and a bit of old-fashioned grit. I'm not the greatest wordsmith, so I don't know what an additional option ought to look like, I just think it'd be cool if there was one. I'll write one, since I'm asking for it, but I'm not advocating for it in particular, just something.
My option:
6. "Johnny Brazeau’s death is a tragedy. We'll never know exactly what led him to take such a drastic action, but if someone with such wealth and adulation commits suicide, maybe the deep-seated epidemic isn't unreported mental illness, but the structure of our society. All this mumbo jumbo about "Mental Health" and "Psychotherapy" is just Ivory Tower geezers and virtue-signaling teens driveling on. We need to create an environment where every [X]ian feels loved, needed, and appreciated. I'm not sure how exactly we'd go about this, but for starters, why not create a Department For Suicide Prevention By Making The Nation Awesomer. Sure it'll cost he taxpayers a pretty penny, but it's worth it.
EDIT
Looks like this is a pervasive problem at NationStates. Either you spend money on psychotherapy bullshit, or you don't care about depression. Got another issue which has the same problem with choices.
https://nsindex.net/wiki/NationStates_Issue_No._62