Political correctness contributes nothing to suicide prevention

Political correctness. The plague of modern society. And in an era when freedom of speech is lauded, we can see that speech is anything but free. Yes, the price of speaking one's mind can indeed be very high – especially when the PC brigade are as ubiquitous as intestinal worms in your average domestic cat. You do know that it is now a mortal sin to even mention a woman's appearance? A negative comment is bad; a positive one is nothing short of pure evil - only a proper misogynist would compliment a lady. One day, I witnessed a man holding a door open for a young woman, but the lady rewarded this mannerly act with the most vile, aggressive mouthful of bitterness that I have ever heard. The poor man hadn't a clue where he went wrong. So we don't speak of women's appearance. We don't speak of proper immigration policies. And we sure as hell don't speak of suicide. Not really. You may well list off all the organisations that deal with this heart-wrenching issue. You may well quote all the newspaper space dedicated to this scourge. And you may well cite all the money spent on suicide prevention. But will you really talk about suicide? Are any of us really free to speak our mind and discuss the nitty-gritty of what makes a human being so want to leave this world? Two incidences come to mind: Bertie Ahern's and Vincent Browne's recent comments on suicide. But, you see, we really can't talk about this: the PC bigots are ready to pounce on anyone who refuses to denounce what Ahern said – lock, stock and barrel. Well, I'm sorry, but I believe people's lives are too important. Let's leave our presuppositions and prejudices to one side for a moment and look at what Ahern actually said. Referring to people who had a negative view of the Celtic Tiger economy, Ahern said: “I don't know how people who engage in that don't commit suicide…†Contrary to the popular claim, he did not say that people should commit suicide. One word, enormous difference. But what an opportunity for his opponents; this one statement was twisted and turned to suit the occasion, and most disgustingly, was used more as a weapon against Bertie Ahern than against suicide. What a lost opportunity this was. Ahern alluded (probably subconsciously) to the fact that sometimes people harbouring negative thoughts do commit suicide. And even if this fact was stumbled upon accidently or in a cumbersome manner, could it not be used in a positive way? Could our society not have said: “Yes, exactly…depression can lead to suicide and we intend to do something about it.†But, in true Irish fashion, we kept our mouths firmly shut for fear of saying the wrong thing. A closed mouth catches no flies, and all that self-deluding claptrap. Similarly, late last week, we saw Enda Kenny try to wriggle his way out of a leaders' debate chaired by journalist Vincent Browne like a fly caught in a spider's web. He started buzzing and flapping in a most pathetic, hopeless fashion. Then like the doomed fly believing he could actually escape his fate, Kenny sputtered out the 's' word. And, once again, suicide was used as a political weapon. Deputy Kenny used Browne's remark about suicide as an excuse not to partake in this debate, somehow omitting the fact that for two-and-a-half years before Browne's remark, Kenny consistently declined an invitation to appear on Browne's show. Kenny responded: “I have been in hundreds of homes across the country where the tragedy of suicide has inflicted pain and stress and deep tragedy on families.†Unfortunately, Mr Kenny, so have many of us. But for fear of saying the wrong thing and ending up on the wrong end of someone's rant, again we let the opportunity for a frank, open discussion pass us by. Mr Kenny has been in hundreds of homes that have been affected by suicide...that's it then…nothing more to be said. Apparently, Browne suggested that Kenny go into a dark room with a bottle of whiskey and revolver. Does anyone actually believe that Vincent Browne wanted Enda Kenny to kill himself? Okay, it was a flippant remark; People do make flippant remarks. When we realise our remarks may have hurt someone, we apologise. My father's way of keeping order among seven kids was to say, 'Stop that or I'll cut your head off', and my response to constant demands from my children is to 'Go jump in a lake'. Children know the difference between figurative and literal language – so why do adults pretend not to? We need to be free to talk about this awful issue without fear of saying the wrong thing. The PC bigots need to shut up and let free speech flow. Not all that flows will be nice – but flow it must.