I Can't Think of a Non Offensive Title Because Everything About Death is Offensive to Someone

I’ve broken up Emmanuel’s argument into three main parts for myself, two of which I disagree with, and one of which I agree with.

 First part: I understand where everyone is coming from in saying that Emmanuel’s piece is classist and ablest. It’s clear that he has a huge amount of privilege and has been fortunate enough to do the vast majority of the things he’s wanted to do in life.  Very few people are so lucky. It’s also clear that he values life from a predominantly capitalist framework. He stresses “contribution” and “productivity” as if the only reason for living is to get a paycheck and continue to provide money for one’s family.  This is something I absolutely disagree with and have taken offense to. There are plenty of incredibly important contributions older people make to the lives of the people they care about, and can have as much of a capacity to enjoy life as a younger person.

 Second part: It’s absolutely unacceptable to say that someone’s life is worthless when they can no longer hold a job and make money, or when they are more dependent on others than others are on them. I was sitting there shocked to read someone’s words saying that they think becoming disabled is the worst thing that could happen to them. By saying he would rather die than be uncomfortable, he perpetuates the notion that disabled people don’t contribute to the world, that they don’t have any kind of autonomy, and arguably, have less personhood than nondisabled people.

 Third part: The one part I do agree with is his stress on the individual nature of his argument. He never says that this should be the stance that everyone takes. He says blatantly that it’s natural to reject his belief because we’re programmed to want to live as long as possible. Although it’s difficult to separate Emmanuel’s argument from the many problematic things we’ve brought to light in our posts, the one take away I’ve gotten from this article is that there are people who don’t agree that dying is the worst thing that can happen to a person, and that it is the individual’s job to decide when they’re ready to do it. I want to preface this by saying, like Emmanuel did, that presently, I am young. This is how I feel right now and I cannot predict what I will feel when I’m 75. However, I find comfort in knowing that there are other people who don’t feel guilty for being okay with dying. I don’t think it’s a terrible thing to let yourself die when you feel you have nothing left to give and aren’t happy anymore. I think this stance will get some push-back, but it’s not even a real argument I’m making. I just predict that if I’m sick for a very long time I won’t be the kind of person to prolong death if there’s no reasonable evidence that my health and quality of life will improve.