I'd like to brainstorm at least somewhat clever responses to the ever-so-bingo retort: "So why don't you just kill yourself then?"
Couple of mine:
REVENGE
You needn't condone life to accept yours.
And you needn't accept yours to enjoy things.
Because I'm not a crack addict living in a Dumpster. (But my kid could be.)
Couple of mine:
REVENGE
You needn't condone life to accept yours.
And you needn't accept yours to enjoy things.
Because I'm not a crack addict living in a Dumpster. (But my kid could be.)
Because suicide is fucking hard and scary. That's *why* I'm AN. Because undoing the imposition is not at all trivial, so I view procreation as unethical.
ReplyDelete-nonAnon
zactly! Death is what makes life such a mess; without death there might be some meaning to it after all. As it is, we NEVER get to hear the end of the story.
DeleteWhat if existence was just one long-arse rendition of 'Wedding Song' for the hypothetical immortal?
Delete"Death is what makes life such a mess; without death there might be some meaning to it after all." I disagree, it's likely that immortality might lead to even MORE meaninglessness. What exactly is the end game for a biological organism?
DeleteMRDA: It already is one long-arse rendition of "Wedding Song" for the species. Rev.: Yes, according to Greek religion. But isn't religion meant to make us feel better? That might have just been the Greeks' way of consoling themselves for not being gods. (You're probably right, but I'm playing the devil's advocate for the sake of my point: One of the terrible things about death is that is messes with our addiction to stories [cf Sarah Perry]. There will be all kinds of stories playing out around you as you die and you won't get to hear the end of them. As an immortal you'd get tired of all variations on the stories, so... there's no winning, I suppose.)
DeleteThe species isn't an actual entity, though, so the individual members of such can skip the loop...to some extent...through being finite.
DeleteBecause my suicide would cause uspeakable pain and problems to my family, who already have more than their share. And I don't even have children or a spouse/partner. Chances of a failed attempt no matter how high the odds of sucess.Plain old fear induced by the DNA/will to live/whatever... Others have answered this question far better than I could.
ReplyDeleteBecause someone needs to be here to remind you ignoramuses that "Dumpster" is a brand name that should be capitalized.
ReplyDeleteBecause I am waiting for you to go first.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to live or die, so it follows that I have no inclination towards fulfilling both sentences.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I found my "meaning" ('purpose' is meant) in life: to be a blight upon it, sow desolation and die taking even bigger my part of the world with me.
Because there's no obligation to do so.
ReplyDelete