With the recent passing of an amazingly talented musician, Chester Bennington, who I grew up listening to thanks to having a badass mother who jammed Motley Crue, Linkin Park, Evanescence, etc. I was given good exposure to good music at a fairly young age.
I am so thankful to have had years of listening to Bennington and Linkin Park’s music and for the world to have heard his smooth voice with the alternative music behind it. If you have no idea who Chester Bennington is, he recently became the former lead singer of the alternative-rock-metal whatever genre you want to label it, band Linkin Park, who does the theme song for the Transformers movies; “What I’ve Done,” “New Divide,” and “Iridescent.” After a celebrity passes, everyone feels the need to put their two cents in on the topic, especially when it comes to suicide.
Chester Bennington was 41 when he passed away July 20, 2017. It is reported by the Los Angeles County Coroner the suicide was by hanging. Thoughts are with Chester Bennington’s family and friends in this difficult time. He will forever have a positive impact on the music industry.
Now, everyone has their own opinion on whether suicide is selfish, and here are my thoughts:
Suicide is absolutely not selfish. You never truly know what is going on in someone else’s head. Even if they leave behind a family, even if they leave behind an animal, do not blame to the decedent. Everyone screams and screams “be kind” when someone commits suicide because they feel that they are doing their part, which honestly, they’re putting in effort, but being kind still may not be enough. There are every day struggles that you may not know about. There may be many demons they are fighting. Them choosing to end the fight is their decision and is not to be judged by any of you.
Now, I am in no way saying that suicide is the answer. I will always give the advice to get help if you need it. Find a listening ear. If you do not need a listening ear, be one. Be a shoulder to cry on. I will always sympathize with the families of those who lost someone to suicide, but I will never blame the decedent, because I will never fully understand what they were going through, and neither will you. I do not care if you think you have it worse, or you’re in a similar situation and you’re doing alright, it’s still not the same. It will never, ever be the same.
There may never be warning signs, there may never be any indication that someone is fighting a battle. When someone is suicidal, they do not want to end their life, they want to end their pain. They do think of the consequences of their actions. They do consider what they are leaving behind. They do consider how everyone else will feel. They think of their family. They think of their animals. But to them, all of these aspects are outweighed by their pain and their suffering.
So before you judge a decedent or a survivor on their suicide or attempted suicide, consider the battle they were fighting. Consider the fact that they saw no way out. Consider the fact that they see the world differently than you do. Take a second and consider that they did not see the light at the end of the tunnel in this world.
For those who are still struggling, reach out there will be somewhere there for you.
For those of you who can lend a helping hand, do it.
For anyone who needs someone to talk to but don’t know where to turn, the National Suicide Hotline phone number is 1-800-273-8255.