Letter to the editor

A quietus made ... Is no sin

Jim Stiles May 12, 2008 From the print edition
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  I think it is worth remembering that for every "crazy" person who kills himself, there are many more suicide victims who show no evidence of "craziness"at all. I've lost three dear friends to gunshot suicide. None of us saw the signs, and indeed, they were hard to detect. But maybe, as the world itself becomes more frenetic ... as our society itself becomes "crazier,"we have an obligation to try harder. I know I wish I had.

Finally, while editor Jonathan Thompson's introductory remarks were, in most respects, well-considered, calling it "self-murder"made me wince. When one of my friends died, a misguided minister came to visit and asked if he could say a prayer. He prayed for me, my family, her family and friends. And then he said, "Amen."

I asked, "What about the woman we just buried?"He replied, "I can't pray for her - she made her own choice." Suggesting that suicide is a sin is hardly comforting.

Jim Stiles
Monticello, Utah
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