The Korean government's misplaced solution to suicide

Having lived several years in San Francisco I am somewhat familiar with attempts aimed at preventing suicide. With the Golden Gate Bridge being the most popular spot in America for a swan song dive, authorities spent $50 million on netting to prevent the dearly departing from becoming the dearly departed.

I thought this was a waste of money --if people want to kill themselves, then they should be allowed to do so. Though there is the reasonable argument that the netting would pay for itself over the years with savings on search and rescue efforts post jump, there is nothing preventing people from jumping down onto the net and taking a leap from there instead.

In a similar vain to San Francisco's attempts to curb suicides, South Korea, the suicide capital of Asia, is moving to ban search engines from excepting search queries such as, "suicide,'' "suicide methods,'' "group suicide,'' and other terms pertaining to the solo goodbye. And just as in San Francisco I see the government poking its nose into another area it has no business in and will have little effect on.

The South Korean government is also moving to ban internet suicide forums (I imagine that chat room must brimming with good cheer) due to a recent rise in group suicides. One wonders if this will actually increase the suicide rate as suicide surfers grow frustrated with the inability to get quality search results.

Interestingly, when researching the topic I found that males in South Korea are twice as likely to commit suicide as females. Considering the disproportionate ratio of men to women here, I think the government is really missing out on a chance to level the playing field for women. I am surprised that women's rights groups aren't holding candle light vigils at city hall protesting government infringement on their bid for equality.

All joking aside, while I think it is none of the government's business, it is an intriguing problem. While I was unable to dig up good numbers on South Korean suicide, the numbers in the USA are quite startling:

• Suicide takes the lives of more than 30,000 Americans every year --that is someone committing suicide every 18 minutes.
  
  
• Suicide is now the 11th leading cause of death in America.
  
  
• For every two victims of homicide in the U.S. there are three persons who take their own lives.

• There are now twice as many deaths due to suicide as to HIV/AIDS.

• At 53.7%, firearms are the most popular form of suicide in the States, followed by hanging. Jumping from extreme heights accounts for less than 2%.

Oh, another thing: if you are really serious about offing yourself, jumping in front of a subway is not a good option --it has a 67% survival rate as opposed to jumping in front of a train with 10%.

It will be fascinating to see how this new preventative policy by the South Korean government plays out. Will it cut down on suicides? Probably not. Much like the netting on the Golden Gate Bridge, people will simply crawl out onto the net (the online one) and find others whose eyes are also on the ultimate demise.

While I support a person's right to show themselves the door, I do so with one caveat: Before you head for the exit, I ask that you come see me first.

Since jail time is not a concern, I can help you plan some sort of bank heist --with the proceedings going partly to charity and partly to me. Afterward, you are free to do whatever you want. Think of how great you will feel that moment before you make a final payment on the farm, knowing you helped someone out.

But, before contacting me you really should call one of the many services available and talk it out first --you might find something worth living for. If not, you can reach me here at my blog.

Since I lost my ass on Washington Mutual stock, I see them as a prime candidate for my plans.