I’m not a fan of Anthony Bourdain.
Not because I don’t like him; simply because I’ve never actually seen any of his work.
Anthony Bourdain was a food and travel critic with a popular show called Parts Unknown on CNN.
You can just ask my wife: I watch a lot of food-related stuff on YouTube. The voice of Gordon Ramsay has been heard from my kitchen on many occasions. But Bourdain’s show I simply never got around to watching.
Well, it was reported this morning that Bourdain killed himself at the age of 61. His friend Eric Ripert found his body in his hotel room while they were in France working on an episode of his show “Parts Unknown”.
Anthony Bourdain, a gifted storyteller and writer who took CNN viewers around the world, has died. He was 61.
CNN confirmed Bourdain's death on Friday and said the cause of death was suicide.
"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the network said in a statement Friday morning. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time."
CNN's Anthony Bourdain dead at 61
Is suicide a crime?
I heard about this incident by [this tweet[(
) by CNN.https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1005047217839902720
- CNN
I wanted to share some of the comments on this tweet because it brings up a question that, honestly, I didn’t even know was a concern to most people.
One thing to keep in mind is that these accounts are ALL verified (blue checkmarked) media employees in one form or another, and many of them work CNN, also. So it appears that this “death by suicide” vs “committed suicide” narrative is at least in some way manufactured, because these sorts of narrative pushes don’t just pop up so strongly so suddenly unless there’s something behind it.
My thoughts
Suicide is probably one of the saddest things I can imagine.
I’ve had my own struggles with depression, and the act has come up as an option on occasion throughout my life.
The problem that these folks have is that the word “committed” has a criminal connotation; “committed suicide” conflates to “committed murder”. And I can understand how people could see that as insensitive and inappropriate.
But is suicide, technically, considered a crime?
I looked it up, and according to http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Suicide:
Under modern U.S. law, suicide is no longer a crime. Some states, however, classify attempted suicide as a criminal act, but prosecutions are rare, especially when the offender is terminally ill.
And this really is something that varies greatly state-by-state.
According to Wackwitz v. Roy:
We are aware of only one legislative enactment that addresses suicide as a crime. Code § 55-4 provides that "[n]o suicide ... shall work a corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate." Thus, although the General Assembly has rescinded the punishment for suicide, it has not decriminalized the act. Suicide, therefore, remains a common law crime in Virginia as it does in a number of other common-law states. See, e.g., Southern Life & Health Ins. Co. v. Wynn, 29 Ala.App. 207, 194 So. 421 (1940); Commonwealth v. Mink, 123 Mass. 422 (1877); State v. Willis, 255 N.C. 473, 121 S.E.2d 854 (1961); State v. Carney, 69 N.J.L. 478, 55 A. 44 (1903); State v. Levelle, 34 S.C. 120, 13 S.E. 319 (1891), overruled on other grounds by State v. Torrence, 406 S.E.2d 315 (S.C.1991).
To constitute suicide at common law, however, a person who takes his own life "must be of years of discretion, and in his *865 senses." 5 William Blackstone, Commentaries *189; accord Plunkett v. Supreme Conclave, 105 Va. 643, 646, 55 S.E. 9, 10 (1906) ("`To constitute suicide at common law the person must be of years of discretion and of sound mind.'"). This common law rule comports with a contemporary definition of suicide. Suicide is defined as "the deliberate and intentional destruction of his own life by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 2286 (1981).
So, as we can see, this is not a simple answer. There are many factors that constitute weather the act of suicide constitutes a crime.
Personally, I fail to see how it could be considered a crime, or how a government could even enforce it in the places and under the circumstances in which it is.
My body is expressly my own property, and as such I should be allowed to do whatever I want to do with it, up to and including killing it. This is the hard-nosed NAP (non-aggression principle) part of my personality.
Even then, thought, I find it difficult to simply accept the act of suicide, as there are many cases where the one killing themselves have responsibilities to others, such as a spouse or children. Considering that, I find it to be very immoral to kill yourself when there are others who have invested time, effort, resources, and love into you, only for you to just up and kill yourself. That’s simply unfair.
I am a husband and a father, and even though I have my moments where it seems like life is simply unbearable for one reason or another, I quickly realize that my life is not just my own alone: if my wife knew I was going to eventually kill myself, do you think she would have invested these last 5 years in me? We have a baby on the way: don’t you think it would have rather chosen a man that was going to stick around even when - perhaps especially when - times got hard? It’s really unfair to her, and to my children, too: don’t you think they’d rather grow up with their birth father around, especially when the cause of his death was by his own hand?
Hmm…
I suppose it could be that suicide is a crime, as there are often responsibilities - often legal responsibilities - that are left unsatisfied. So, in the sense of contract law: yes, you are breaking the contract - whether it’s a marriage or a debt or even a job - by killing yourself. But it seems rather foolish to call it “murder against the self”. That would be like accusing yourself of theft because you ate a sandwich that belonged to you. Stupid.
Anyway, I’m curious to know what you think. Tell me in the comments.
If anything, if you're feeling suicidal, please reach out to someone you trust. If you don't have someone like that in your life, there is a hotline you can call at 1-800-273-8255, or feel free to talk to me.
Rest in peace, Anthony Bourdain...