Response #5 to the Craig’s List suicide note, edited heavily for grammar, spelling, and syntax (believe me, the original was not nearly this coherent):

Date: 2003-09-25, 10:53AM

I didn't come to work and intend to cry because of a complete stranger’s post. Your post has really upset me, not only because you sound like the template of what a human should be, but because you don't see that YOU do make a difference.

I realized today that life isn't so bad . . . so my tires were stolen yesterday and I was really pissed, but today I realize that tires aren't really that important. What's important is health, friends, and happiness, and from the sound of your compassion, you have your health and friends. Happiness is something you seek, and when you don't find it, you have to search for it. This is a big world and it's out there. I've been in your shoes and I'm sure a lot of people who read your post have felt the same pain.

My recommendation to you is stop and realize that living here in this rat race is not it, and it brings a lot of us down. Living in general is not easy. Take a trip, enjoy the beauty of nature and perhaps join the Peace Corp. where you contribute and see the fruit of your kindness everyday. You will see very early on how people like you make a difference. Please at least look into it.

Thinking of you all day today.

Not a bad response, nice simple sentiments, just the usual projection and failure to step inside the suicide’s shoes, despite saying she’d been there before. How does she know that he doesn’t see that he makes a difference? But there’s a simple innocence to how this response is written that disarms the clichés. The clichés have no arms. I did laugh at the Peace Corp. part, though. That was funny.

"I’m gonna kill myself"
"No, don’t do it! Join the Peace Corp.!"
"Hm, I hadn’t thought of that!"
"Please look into it."
"OK."

It really doesn’t mean anything to a suicide when you compare him or her with the situations of other people in the world. Seriously contemplating suicide requires reaching a state of self-absorption that renders such comparisons meaningless. It also requires some level of a depression-like mindset that makes preaching happiness and beauty pretty useless, too. The “life is hard” speech got old a long time ago.