The stigma of suicide

The Stigma of Suicide

David Lester

            Last week, I revisited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. I was last there 15 years ago and, in the first poster back then, there was mention of the resistance by the slaves against their slavery. The poster mentioned acts of destruction of the slave owners’ property, and the poster also mentioned suicide. That word acted like a neon sign to me, and I soon published an article on suicide in slaves.

            The re-modeled museum no longer has that poster, and it makes no mention of suicide.

            I think a similar avoidance of the mention of suicide is found in institutions centered around the Holocaust. Yes, suicide occurred, and Konrad Kwiet and I have written books on the topic, but those involved in Holocaust centers prefer to avoid this topic.

            We know that suicide has always had stigma associated with it, and this stigma persists. I think that suicide is typically viewed as acts made by people who are psychiatrically disturbed. The prevailing view today is that almost all suicides have a psychiatric disorder, with the implication that such people cannot make rational decisions, a position that I strongly disagree with. It is also viewed as a sign of weakness, another position that I strongly disagree with.

            But it understandable that, if you hold both positions, suicide among those that the institutions are honoring is something that institutions would prefer to ignore.

            A pity.