Suicide & Suicidal Talk & How the Elder's Respond

by skeeter1 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  trueblue

  I am not real sure how it works but pretty sure doctors and such by law it is mandatory to report to propper athorities if they suspect someone to be of danger to themselves or to anyone else, I know when I seen a shrink one time told me the conversations were confidential unless the shrink thinks the patient may harm themselves or someone else, so would not the wording in the "Sheperd the Flock of God" book be in violation or violate federal law? Because the book tells the elders to just record it and put in a confidential file... and "IF" they have a question about a case to contact the branch office.

  It should read Obey the law of the land and contact the athorities pronto if you have questions, or if you do not, do not pass go, go directly to jail...
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  sabastious

  A disfellowshipped person commits suicide . . . chicken & egg.

  On a purely logical basis, yes. But through the use of the science of psychology one of the two can be reasonably ascertained. Often times people with personal crisis turn to external stimuli (sex, drugs, rock and roll etc) before crying out for help. If a person in personal crisis is purposefully isolated from their support group and then commits suicide what has occurred is provable manslaughter.

  But forget outright suicide for second. Some people shrivel up and die after getting disfellowshipped. I lived in a trailer park a few years ago and there was a disfellowshipped person living there. I paid him 5 bucks a month to mow my tiny lawn. He was definitely on some hard drugs as there was meth and other drugs being sold in the trailer park down the street. I only put this together in retrospect, if it occurred to me then I probably would have tried to help him. He died of unknown causes in his house before I could pay him for the last time he mowed my lawn.

  The dead man had a brother too and he lived in the trailer park as well. I went to the same congregation as him so we were kind of friends. He had a checkered past and came in the organization and had to give up his family for it. After his brother died 20 yards away from his house he went into crisis himself. He must have felt guilty for shunning his brother until he died. Then he started drinking again and taking pills and got himself disfellowshipped. I remember him coming over and telling me that our relationship was over. He was very adamant about it, but I tried to break the rules when I could. I could never "get" to him as the indoctrination was so strong as he'd basically sacrificed his brother to his religion. I know I would have had a hard time forgiving myself too. He still lives there to my knowledge. He has one of two choices: clean up and go back to meetings or befall the same fate of his brother.

  The Watchtower has so much blood on their hands it makes me ill to think about it.

  -Sab