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Not related to the link, but why do people say "die by suicide" now instead of "committed suicide"? Suicide by definition is killing yourself, taking your own l
by silicon2401 5y ago
Not related to the link, but why do people say "die by suicide" now instead of "committed suicide"? Suicide by definition is killing yourself, taking your own life, i.e. taking deliberate action to end one's own life. The passive wording of "died by" seems entirely contradictory to the definition of "suicide", as if the person didn't actively do it themselves, in which case it's not suicide.
- cldellow 5y agoI think the language of "committed suicide" and "attempted suicide" are holdovers from the time when suicide was a criminal offense. Some mental health advocates have argued that that language is needlessly stigmatizing, and prevents people from talking about the root issues that can lead to suicide. Accordingly, many newspapers have changed their style guides.
- drewcoo 5y agoBecause, according to the link, the claim is that he was bullied into it. Probably like Aaron Schwartz, to tie it back to HN interests.
- silicon2401 5y agoI guess I just don't see how that changes anything. Semantically, if you do it yourself, it's committing suicide. I would say "committed suicide due to bullying/depression/etc". The matter has no impact on my life, just found it a curious change that I've only noticed recently.