Had an interesting conversation with ali and yusuf yesterday night. Well this is the scenario.
Lets say that you were being chased by this homicidal madman armed with kitchen knives, along with his pack of famished wolves. You ran and ran till you ended up at the edge of a steep cliff.. he has you surrounded.. and you have no steam in you to put up a last fight. death is certain. an excruciatingly painful and gruesome one. What are you going to do?
Now given the stipulation that you cant defend yourself in any manner.. will you submit to your fate and let yourself be mauled and sliced to death or will you choose to jump over the cliff? Its a very high cliff with jagged boulders at the bottom ( which means its certain death also la ..aiyo)..
now to rephrase the question, will you get urself murdered or will you commit suicide? its a zero-sum situation. Bear in mind that the killer didnt want you to jump, he just wanted you for dinner.. so the suicide option is purely by you. think abt it for a while..
anyway the reason, i asked is coz ,(gonna sound like some pro-euthanasia dude but i am not!) we have all been groomed to think that suicide is not the way in any case.. furthermore my religion condemns it. its a huge sin. but sometimes we have to look beyond the word itself. i mean suicide(or its other related forms such a mercy killing) is not an easy decision ( unless u are zonked out or drunk dead). a very practical example, not well to do families burdened with loan sharks, unemployment and a few kids(not exaggeratin) with very special needs such as Down Syndrome or Autism or any handicap.. which requires extra cash and attention from the already zapped to the bone parents.. how? there have been parents who either killed themselves or killed the child to save themselves some agony.. we from the outside point of view, easily comment " what kinda parent would do such a monstrous act". To be honest i used to be one of them, till i felt how difficult and emotionally straining it can get to care for a child with special needs unless u got the facilities.. dun worry, i am still strongly against suicides but when it comes some "special" case studies, i really dunno wat to say. Or to feel. Its like u know its wrong but somehow u can understand but still gotta condemn it. hope u catch my drift.. I jus pray that GOD grants all these ppl stuck in these special circumstances a way to cope with their burden... cos the "special child" is in no way the parents fault, and an offspring is still an offspring.. no 2 ways abt that, he still deserves the love any normal child gets.
Now comin onto the topic mercy killing you gotta meet this guy affectionately known as Doc.Death by his patients or more like late patients. He is Philip Nitschke.. wanna know more abt him .. jus go to http://www.smh.com.au/specials/euthanasia/index.html, really dunno how to react to this guy.. He even came up with his own invention for suicide called COGen (Carbon Monoxide Generator)
Realised that i am jumblin up my thoughts again.. so gonna stop now.. any comments?
10 comments:
just emphasise, the focus is on the question on bold.
I will definetely bring myself to jump provided someone can clarify that in this situation its not sinful.
But even it is sinful, how to bring yourself to stay and endure such toture? I dont want to see my body getting sliced by him and at the same time my meat being chewed off by dogs! do u remember the scene from "SIN CITY" where the cannibal specs guy get eaten by dog?
unimaginable!
ya, so what will you do in such situation? get yourself totured painfully and have a very slow death? or jump off?
ok...you've got two questions.
one about the homicidal wolfman scenario and two, mercy killing.
so one question is suicide: right or wrong? sinful or not?
and
second question is mercy killing : dignified death or assisted murder?
First Question: I'll probably jump cos i'm pretty sure i wont be in any position to do the maths on what is right or what is wrong, which one involves less blood or which one more. The scenario is the same for the countless numbers who fell to their deaths from the burning twin towers. You just jump. If God's going to be arguing with me when i reach the pearly gates on why i shouldnt have allowed myself to be hacked to death,i really wouldnt want to spend eternity with someone who's going to be that nitpicky. i think God's alot more understanding than we give him credit for. Ofcourse the case is straight forward for those who commit suicide for trivial reasons. Thats wrong.
Second question: toughie. Best bet is to go with the bible and say mercy killing is after all, killing. So ponna thappu. With cases like Teri Schaivo, i think we need to understand that all cases are unique and need to be met with certain considerations: Who is going to pull the plug, family or government? Is there any chance of returning to normal? What are the patients final decision or living will in cases like this, registered in a court of law.
The funds should never be a question, because the day we value life in dollars, we've pretty much lost the plot. But easy to say. I will probably write a will saying that in the event i go brain dead or doctors dont give me a chance, my family should be allowed to pull the plug.
cheers
I'll fight the bugger who tries to eat me, till death!! Or direct the wolves to him and let him get eaten!!
Mercy killing is a very complex deal, dude. Folks who are on living with help from the machine are basically dead, right? Wrong, some people say. The definition of "dead" varies with many doctors, hospitals and individuals. So it's a tough call when, why and who pulls the plug on a loved one. It's a case by case thing and no one answer fits all.
I think special kids are exactly that, special, and it's God's test to someone when He gives a child like that. You need extraordinary patience to see the specialness in a child like that. You're tested physically, emotionally and spiritually. "Do I really need a son or daughter like this?" would be the main question. But such tests make a man more than what he is, and that is our ultimate spiritual goal, to control our base feelings, our weaker sides, and construct a resolve that brings us to a higher spiritual plane. God has infinite Mercy; to attain a state in any small percentage of this Mercy would be a success.
Having said that, the common man is weak, and he does what is the easy way out.
this is the problem, we are able to analyze and comment on the various situations and its infinite possibilities linked with these 2 topics , simply becoz we are on a different plane.. we can recap the bible and the Qur'an and various other holy text to churn out an answer.. but to be realistic, if we were to be caught in these 2 case scenarios, would we be able to contemplate to such a degree of whats right and whats wrong? like caleb said, at that instance you won't be thinking abt it.. which eva method that saves you the butt load of pain will seem as divine intervention. and like wat jalees said, common man is weak.. but one thing is for sure, there does not seem to be a black and white answer to this kinda questions.
just a thot: if we were to encounter a situation as to havin multiple kids with severe disabilites coupled with the common man's daily problems (which is gonna eat away at your spiritual and mental resolve like an ant's wornout path on a boulder )... or being faced with a situation where its either u decide to end ur life or someone else ends it for you..(when u have no bloody choice.) would we really contemplate wateva we discussed earlier on? or jus follow the gut.
and jalees the jumping off the cliff is jus and example..there are far worse situations then the example i gave.. a loved ones life could be held in barter for urs (this is not a tamil movie scene but it really has happend.. maybe in countries with ethnic cleansing etc...) how da?
Bartering one's life for another... man, that is one of the most nightmarish things that could ever happen to anyone. It's not a normal event; such an event happens during extraordinary times (like ethnic cleansing, war, etc). I say that if it meant to happen, having exhausted all possible means to escape that situation (fighting, escape), it will happen. And that that time, you'd never know if you gave your life in vain or not. But I say, right now, in my current mood and situation and frame of mind, that I'd die fighting and trying to save the loved ones than go down without a fight.
Okay let's loosen up a bit here: anyone wants to watch Ghajini a second time? I can't get enough of "Oru Maalai" and "Rahatulla" song sequences. And I've done up my hair like Sanjay Ramasamy. Now all I need is a very tight wool-knitted red sweater.
watchin ghajini a second time in the theatres.. jus to get pissed with the endin , no da.. but i dun mind a VCD or a DVD.. hopin to get one with an alternative ending like that in Kaaka Kaaka
when someone gets hold of ghajini, pls lend me. and jalees, i have yet to pass u "the message" dvd!
btw, jalees, u said that you'll fight till your death.
if given a chance, yes ofcause I will too will fight for it, the scenario here is that u cant. lets not into details as to why, cause there may be a thousand possibities. one such example, u are tied up in ropes but u are able to roll over the cliff.
so try choose between this 2:
1. stay and get totured to death?
2. roll over the cliff?
shaniz was saying that from one angle it is actually not suicide but murder even if you get off the cliff cause the murderer brought u to that point. so it will not be called suicide but murder.
what do say?
shaniz, did i quote you correctly?
I guess like what Caleb and Ali had said, we won't know how we would think or feel in such a state. If I were to be in such a situation, I wouldn't be thinking straight and all would be going in my mind is that God don't give me such a horrible death. High probability is that I'll jump the moment I reach the end of the cliff. BUT not to escape a more painful death but would be in the hope that miraculously I'll survive somehow. Trust GOD and leap. It's up to him to decide what happens to me next.
As for the special kids, who are we sympathising man? They should be the one to feel sorry for us. When we reach our creator, they are the ones who don't have to answer for their sins cos they know no sins. Straight to paradise man! We are the ones who have to worry about our daily doings and how we are gonna answer for the endless things we do unthinkingly everyday. If I had a special kid, and I mean it. I would feel blessed that I am the mother of a kid who is (by God's grace) confirmed a place in paradise. The efforts and struggles put in would all be worth it one day.
yes yasu, think i will jump also.. but as for the special child.. to be very honest, dun think i can be as noble in thoughts as way u mentioned.. coz i AM a common man, if it were to happen to me, most probably , will be spendin alotta time doubtin my faith in GOD, after gettin that settled, will be trying to let the reality set in, then i will be makin arrangements to accomodate his special needs.. along with learnin how to love him for who he is and stop pityin him or myself..its gradual thing ma..after which i will come back to my creator to beg for strength to handle everythin,.
hmmm...i wouldnt mind catchin first half of ghajini la...
think will wait for vcd!
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