Former Teacher Posted Tragic Suicide Note on Facebook Before Killing Himself (VIDEO)

maandag 23 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Rebecca Stokes 1 hour ago

A former high school teacher took his own life last week after posting a suicide note on Facebook. Sources say the man, Christopher Swanson, 41, was despondent after losing his teaching license and may have been obsessed with a former student.

His body was found in front of a fountain on the Mercyhurst University campus in Erie. Police say he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In previous Facebook posts, Swanson had mentioned that his former student was now a freshman at Mercyhurst, but that is currently unconfirmed. 

The tragic questions: If Swanson was so open about his plans, why did no one reach out to help him until it was too late? Did no one read it? Did no one take him seriously?

In addition to posting on Facebook, Swanson also had a website where he discussed the turns in his life that he believed had contributed to his increasing feelings of hopelessness. Chief among them, his belief that his former student would never reciprocate his feelings.

Adding to this tragedy is that in spite of his website and Internet activity, Swanson was unable to connect with resources that could have provided help. For all its size, the Internet can still be an exceptionally lonely place. What a tragedy.

His death prompted Mercyhurst President Tom Gamble to reach out to the university community via video. Gamble implored people to turn to their faith in this troubling time.

What would you do if you thought you saw a suicide note online?

Please call 1-800-273-8255 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in case you are worried about yourself or someone else.

Image via Michael Schreifels/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rebecca Stokes

Rebecca is a writer who lives in Brooklyn with her cats. She is probably even at this moment spilling food on herself.

More
?

reacties | | Read More...

Parents Found Guilty of Killing Adopted Daughter Despite Their 'Christian' Excuse

dinsdag 10 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Kiri Blakeley 2 hours ago

Religion is no excuse for killing your child. That's the message that abusive parents Larry and Carri Williams got when they were found guilty of first-degree manslaughter when they let their adopted child, Hana, die in their backyard from starvation and hypothermia after reportedly following tactics outlined in a Christian parenting book called To Train Up a Child. Hey, just because you label something Christian doesn't mean it is. What's that saying? Lipstick on a pig is still a pig. And beating and starving your child is not Christian.

Hana was adopted from Ethiopia and believed to be about 13 years old. Hana was forced to stay in the couple's backyard -- apparently as part of cruel parenting rules that the couple got from the book. She died of hypothermia aggravated by gastritis and malnutrition. Her body was rail thin, covered in bruises, her head was shaved and lumpy, and she had evidence of physical abuse.

The Williams' defense team called this "questionable parenting practices" and said they didn't necessarily equate to a crime.

WRONG.

Horrifyingly, the couple had seven other children in their home -- all have since been removed. One of their other adopted children, Immanuel, testified that the couple beat them with belts and switches. As punishment, they were hosed down, forced to sleep in closets, and made to listen to the Bible on tape and Christian music.

The level of hypocrisy here is obscene. Christianity, like all major religions, is founded on principles of love, caring, forgiveness, and treating others as you would like to be treated. Unfortunately, religion is often perverted and those basic tenets are bent and twisted into something grotesque and far from the original idea behind them.

Religion is never an excuse for abandoning your critical thinking, compassion, and basic humanity. And the justice system recognized this. You don't get to kill someone and then say, "These were just my ways of parenting." You don't get to torture someone and say, "That's my religion."

Mankind's basic religion is kindness and do unto others. Anything that deviates from that is just perversion of religion. Unfortunately, all of this comes too late for Hana. But her death allowed the other seven children living in this hellhole to escape.

Do you ever hear people perverting the ideas of religion?

Image via KIRO7

?

reacties | | Read More...