HOW ironic that an MP who has publicly called for the condemnation of suicides by young people will now likely face condemnation himself.
The comments were made by Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell in a newspaper column this week.
Mr Flavell, the MP for Waiariki, said young people who took their
own lives should not be celebrated.
Instead, he said, it was worth considering not celebrating these people's lives on marae, and they should possibly be buried at the entrance of cemeteries "so their deaths will be condemned by the people".
However, it appears Mr Flavell is missing the point entirely.
Does he really think that the steps he's suggesting will prevent more young people from taking their own lives?
If young people contemplating suicide are seeking attention, most will feel they will achieve that through the act of suicide. They will be unconcerned with what happens afterwards.
Instead, compassion and understanding is needed for these young people, many of whom already feel isolated.
No one seeks to glorify suicide, but neither will anything be achieved by sending the message to anyone at risk that they will be ostracised even in death.
If this is Mr Flavell's idea of a "hard stance", as he claims, then he's gone about it completely the wrong way.
Mr Flavell's intentions are good - he clearly feels many young people who take their own lives are doing so to gain attention, and the measures he's suggested might prevent some from taking that final, horrible step.
Perhaps he would be better to focus on the issues that lead people to consider suicide - peer pressure and bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, broken homes.
Only when these, and other issues, are addressed will we get any closer to stemming this country's horrific rate of youth suicide.
