UPDATE: Late Sunday night I received emails from friends of an artist who expressed suicidal ideations on his public social media page. I published one of the emails after the break.
I also receiving an email from the artist accusing me of making him feel “extremely uncomfortable” and invading his privacy.
I wrote this post with the best of intentions which was to get the word out to someone close to him in the hopes that they would intercede and get him the help that he needs.
In his email, he said he is seeking counseling to help him cope with his issues.
He didn’t say it, so I will: Thank you to everyone who left heartfelt messages of hope, love, and encouragement on his page. I was deeply moved by the outpouring of love and compassion for your fellow man!
Hello,
I am contacting you in regards a blog post that submitted to the Sandra Rose website. The post includes an artist who is on the brink of suicide. Although the post was for encouragement purposes which is very understandable, it can be embarrassing for the victim. From my observations, your blog is usually dedicated to celebrity gossip, and political matters which makes the particular circumstance even less befitting to the site. In the context of gaining mass support for circumstance, suicidal thoughts and attempts usually do not take that particular route. Suicide is very personal and should be handled carefully, and approaches for prevention varies by person. An argument may be that his initial post weren’t private, but some people use social media to vent which is very normal. The comments were very encouraging, yet deemed generic because people were told to comment and did not do it out of free-will. I can imagine the negative attention it will and already has brought because some will think it is a hoax. For future references, I think contacting the person involved directly and just showcasing his work to show appreciation would be more genuine. I would highly appreciate if the post is removed, and in future make better decisions on handling serious matters like suicide. I hope this email is not taken out of context and it is fully understood. This is not to offend nor attack you or your blog and I hope your journalism endeavors are successful.
Best Regards,
Kam
