Killing yourself is selfish

1. Introduction- I will argue pro, that "killing yourself is selfish". I will first refute Con's arguments, and then procede to offer a few of my own. 2. Refutations of Con's- a. To start outright, if one dies as the result of an accident then it is not suicide. To say one 'killed themselves' implies that they chose to end their own life, an accident doesn't imply the same willful death. Therefore this is not a justification to vote con, as accidental death is not suicide. b. Next, when one is bullied we must realize that there are many avenues of help they can pursue. They could speak to a teacher, a parent or other relative, a friend or even a counselor to help remedy the problem of bullying. However, when instead of dealing proactively with the problem they take their own life, they leave their loved ones to suffer. Killing oneself as a result of bullying is selfish as it takes the easy way out of a problem and puts that burden on others. Furthermore, when the solution to bullying is to take one's own life, one sacrifices the opportunity to overcome the bully and speak out about their experiences to other people. I may have taken my own life as the result of having been bullied in middle school and high school had I not heard stories from other people who had been in the same position I was. c. Finally on the issue of mental illness, we must clarify the nature of the mental illness before proper refutation can be done. I ask my opponent clarify as to whether they mean those who are mentally retarded, those who suffer from such things as depression schizophrenia and dissociative Identity Disorder[1] or another interpretation of mental illness that I have not thought to covered here. However even without the desired clarity I still contend that suicide is selfish based on the same logic as my refutation of Con's bullying argument. When one kills themselves because of a mental illness, they not only leave their loved ones to suffer as a result, but they throw away the opportunity to help others overcome that same illness. [1] . http://www.webmd.com... 3. Pro's Constructive- a. I will begin with some basic analysis of the term 'selfish'. Princeton WordNet defines selfish as an adjective, meaning "concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others"[2]. It is a terms used to describe the actions of those concerned with their own desires before the desires of others. It does not always indicate a negative action, but simply one which focuses on oneself more than another. [2] . http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... b. Based on Con's opening statements we can conclude that killing oneself is selfish; the examples provided by Con point to pleasing the desires of the one committing the act of suicide. They no longer wish to live for whatever reason and so kill themselves irreverent to the desires of their friends and family. And while this is certainly a tragedy, it is the epitome of selfishness. c. Finally I want to make the argument I use so many times throughout of my opponent"s refutations as a constructive argument for myself; when one chooses to end their own life as opposed to helping others who have been in the same situation as them, it is selfish. One reporter from the Globe and Mail[3] makes this point fantastically as she shares her story of being bullied in. Or the anonymous youth who shared his/her story on the Huffington Post[4] about having been bullied. Their stories as well as countless others have helped people overcome bullying. They let others know they aren"t alone and that there is a way out. When one chooses to end their life instead of overcoming the problem they face, they throw away the opportunity to comfort those in the same situation as them. That is incredibly selfish. [3] . http://www.theglobeandmail.com... [4] . http://www.huffingtonpost.com... 4.