Gutless, stupid?! My god, a man has died here. Most likely suffering greatly for reasons we will never know. Show a little respect for a fellow aviator.
Having barely survived many bouts of gun type depression over the years with my partner in and out of non-Hodgkins, near death and "cured for now", and deceased because of Parkinsons, I will tell you that depression KILLS and when you are in that state of mind you have very little understanding of your emotions and actions.
I was lucky my friends were there to take the edge off, I was lucky they insisted I see a shrink, I was lucky I got control of my suicidal thoughts through Cymbalta - the only anti-depressant that worked quickly and did not require increasing doses to finally fail.
Anyone who wants to blame someone for suicide (other than the scum like the Boston Marathon bombing type of people) has NEVER experienced what it is like, how you think with it, how you can't really rationalize in that state of mind.
I would hate to see someone commit suicide, but I would NEVER BLAME them, the truth is that they can't see a rational world, I know I was out of that rational world. Every morning I woke up and thought, This would be a good day to die."
I've recovered and am dating the rabbi that brought me out of it; life can return to normal, be happy and worthwhile but you can't see that, you can't realize that when all you want to do is die.
People with the level of depression as the pilot who killed himself are even sicker than people with Stage 4 cancer, they can't see reality while the cancer patient can.
Been there, almost done that and glad to be healthy again, Bunnie
Thank you for this. coming from a very similar circumstance it's so hard to admit to others because of the stigma associated and lack of understanding an illness such as this.
I have a feeling this pilot shot himself to end things with surety. Who knows what other personal conflicts were going on, but having struggled at that edge myself what's held me back is the damage it would do to those who've loved me.
Perhaps in crashing his plane, or setting up to crash before the final act, he hoped it would just appear that he crashed and would maybe burn up any evidence of his action and hide that it was self inflicted.
As was said, the state of mind in those moments is so far from reality. It's especially tragic that he was finally overcome and committed to it. I'm sorry for him and those in his life who now live on without any answers themselves.
I agree with WeatherWise that it was a stupid thing to do while in the air ,not caring about others on the ground. 90% of the time suicide is a very Cowardly Act.
Sad...yes. But this "fellow aviator" showed little respect for anyone else he might have put at risk for his selfish act. Shoot yourself or crash the plane- pick one.
Ah, but the President has even referred to it a Obamacare in speeches. He can take pride in finally making some headway in our business-first, people-last healthcare morass.