Guest Post by Dawn Willis "Suicide" is not a dirty word!

Go f*cking hang yourself stupid cow.”

Is #Clarkson humour really funny? #mhuk #whatstigma

“SUICIDE” is not a dirty word!

Jeremy Clarkson, what a guy! How funny he is, don’t you love his sardonic wit, and sarcastic humour? Well apparently a lot of people do and many think it’s fine for him to make comments during an early evening BBC magazine programme, watched by families, on the subject of people who take their own lives in rail suicides.Indeed when I had the audacity to say “that’s not OK” both on here, my weblog, and on my Facebook I was astounded by the level of support for Clarkson, and how people told me to understand his humour, and that he didn’t mean anything by his remarks, it’s just sunny funny Jeremy.Considering his comments came in the same week in which we heard of the tragic suicide of a high profile sports personality, the comments were in particularly poor taste. However when you stop to think about how many suicides there are in the UK alone every year, and it’s thousands, it is reasonable to assume that someone watching ‘The One Show’ that evening was themselves affected by the death of a loved one in such tragic circumstances, and that makes me, as a human being, cringe with horror.My blog received more hits in one day than ever (really), over 2000, and it also received some of the vilest comments I’ve ever had, one of which was to tell me to “Go fucking hang yourself stupid cow.”

There were remarks suggesting people with mental illness should be sterilised, locked up and more..I’ve blogged for a long time now, and I’ve both worked in mental health and have direct experience of a mental illness, an illness which has seen me attempt to take my life on several occasions. The guilt I feel retrospectively for both feeling and attempting suicide is tremendous and doesn’t go away, it’s something I have had to come to terms with.Suicide is not something to make light of, and it’s most certainly not painless, whether for the person who loses their life or the people they leave behind.Jeremy Clarkson has enormous influence on young men, the tragic irony? Suicide rates are highest amongst young men.

Yesterday I spotted a comment here which suggested that the BBC should dock’ Clarkson’s salary and donate it to The Samaritans, and I thought what an inspired thought clever comment maker – so…I’ve made a petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/clarksonsuicidecomments/It was interesting to learn (from Twitter pal) that The Samaritans are already working alongside Network Rail on the very subject of rail suicide: http://www.samaritans.org/media_centre/special_reports/network_rail_2011_review.aspxApparently today in ‘The Sun’ there is another tirade from Clarkson on this subject. If you feel strongly, as I do, that his behaviour is capable of causing ‘hate crime’, then I would hope you feel able to contact the newspaper and say so!We cannot underestimate the level of stigma against people with mental illness, and the subject of ‘suicide’. It’s not a dirty word! And we will never know how many lives are saved by the people who give their time to Samaritans every day.If you are upset and affected by Jeremy Clarkson’s comments please talk to someone … maybe The Samaritans!

If you would like to talk to someone on the phone, call:
08457 90 90 90 in the UK and Northern Ireland
1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland

To write or email: http://www.samaritans.org/talk_to_someone.aspx?gclid=CIqw9tnp5awCFaEntAodp3DGMw