To Write Love On Her Arms
I'm breaking away from band plugging and sharing good news to share something that troubled me today. I wrote a short letter to CNN.com tonight. I'm posting it here to share my thoughts with you in the (very likely) event that CNN will not cover this topic.
Here is my letter sent not more than 5 minutes ago:
"Today Carousel Mall hosted its latest public suicide. There have ben several people who have jumped to their death from the upper levels at the mall in Syracuse, NY. I have been fortunate enough to have not witnessed any of these events firsthand, though today was almost the first.
After a day of preparing for classes that begin next week at Syracuse University, I was on my way home. With the area construction I found myself on a detour near the mall so I stopped into the post office in the mall at about 6:15 or 6:30 pm. Down the corridor and one level below me was the end of a journey that began 21 years ago and 6 stories above. That journey ended minutes before I walked into the mall.
What disturbs me more than the public suicide is the limited media coverage this event is receiving. Most coverage is in the form of user comments on the story at Syracuse.com, though the credibility of these sources is weak at best.
I know there is evidence that reporting of suicide through media outlets leads to increased suicide rates and for that reason these stories fail to make it past the gatekeeper at the newspaper/tv station. I feel that today's tragedy offers CNN the opportunity to shed some light on public suicide and suicide prevention.
Carousel Mall is not the only mall to witness these events as the Mall of America has had several as well. This is an issue readers worldwide need to be exposed to.
It is also an opportunity to showcase the organizations like To Write Love On Her Arms (www.twloha.com) that use music and musicians to put people in need, in contact with trained professionals.
I urge you to follow this story.
Thank you for reading and thank you for caring."
Today haunts me and I did not see it happen. I'm up at 1:30, can't sleep and thinking of the event and the friends that I've lost to suicide. I'm off to write to TWLOHA to see if I can offer them some space at my stage of the NYS Fair.
Here is my letter sent not more than 5 minutes ago:
"Today Carousel Mall hosted its latest public suicide. There have ben several people who have jumped to their death from the upper levels at the mall in Syracuse, NY. I have been fortunate enough to have not witnessed any of these events firsthand, though today was almost the first.
After a day of preparing for classes that begin next week at Syracuse University, I was on my way home. With the area construction I found myself on a detour near the mall so I stopped into the post office in the mall at about 6:15 or 6:30 pm. Down the corridor and one level below me was the end of a journey that began 21 years ago and 6 stories above. That journey ended minutes before I walked into the mall.
What disturbs me more than the public suicide is the limited media coverage this event is receiving. Most coverage is in the form of user comments on the story at Syracuse.com, though the credibility of these sources is weak at best.
I know there is evidence that reporting of suicide through media outlets leads to increased suicide rates and for that reason these stories fail to make it past the gatekeeper at the newspaper/tv station. I feel that today's tragedy offers CNN the opportunity to shed some light on public suicide and suicide prevention.
Carousel Mall is not the only mall to witness these events as the Mall of America has had several as well. This is an issue readers worldwide need to be exposed to.
It is also an opportunity to showcase the organizations like To Write Love On Her Arms (www.twloha.com) that use music and musicians to put people in need, in contact with trained professionals.
I urge you to follow this story.
Thank you for reading and thank you for caring."
Today haunts me and I did not see it happen. I'm up at 1:30, can't sleep and thinking of the event and the friends that I've lost to suicide. I'm off to write to TWLOHA to see if I can offer them some space at my stage of the NYS Fair.
posted by Ulf at
9:35 PM
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