Lows

I was decidedly unimpressed to learn that the Evening Standard and The Times published photos of a woman committing suicide. They not only published a photo of her standing on the top of the building preparing to jump but also of her as she plummeted to the ground. Apparently a passer-by took the photo. I don’t know the circumstances of it ending up in the hands of the press but I cannot imagine what would justify giving it to the media, or for them publishing it. A friend of the woman who died has made a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission.

To me, pretty much the worst photos published about 11 September 2001 were those of the people who jumped to their deaths from the twin towers rather than remain trapped in the building. Showing anyone at the most desperate point of their life strikes me as unjustifiable. It couldn’t necessarily be avoided when images were being broadcast live on TV but there is a level of editorial decision-making when it comes to publishing something in the newspapers. Apparently the media have now agreed never to publish those photos again.

Anyway, I was thinking about that story, as they were talking about it on the radio this morning. However, it became a bit more pertinent to me at lunchtime today when I met up with a friend for lunch. C is one of my best mates and we meet up pretty much every week for a cuppa and a chat. She had phoned me earlier in the week and we’d chatted briefly. She’d mentioned that her mum was really depressed and it had come on very suddenly a day or so before Christmas. Without going into the circumstances, it seems that a couple of days ago her mum decided that suicide was the only option. Fortunately, it worked out so that she didn’t go through with it but these are still very dark days.

We just sat there and talked about it. My friend’s mum doesn’t want to see anyone at the moment, so C doesn’t know whether she should go home or not, in case it makes things worse. She is also trying to support her dad and her brother, who are wondering what to do. Normally there is at least a trigger for her depression but this time it seems to have come from nowhere.

Depression can be triggered by something specific or seemingly nothing. It is also something that you cannot come up with a one size fits all solution for. Some people respond to medication, others need counselling and so on. But anyone who reaches the point of even contemplating suicide doesn’t need images of others’ plight broadcast for all to see.

I don’t know why I continue to be surprised by the new lows to which the media can sink, but once again they have surpassed themselves.