Psychological Reports, 1990, 66, 1185-1186. @ Psychological Reports 1990
SUICIDE
POLITICAL ACT DAVID LESTER1
Richard Stockton Irate College Summary.-Several ways in which one may conceptualize suicide may be called political, i.e., the suicidal person seeks to change the balance of power in his group or in society.
Suicide can, of course, be a political act. People have killed themselves to publicize some cause and to attempt to bring about some change. For example, the Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc immolated himself in Saigon on June 11, 1963 as a protest against the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam, following which other people immolated themselves in Vietnam, the USA and elsewhere to protest the political situation in Vietnam (Coleman, 1987). However, suicide can be conceptualized more broadly as a political act, using the word 'politics' in the sense that Laing (1967) uses the word to describe any behavior in which one or more people exert power over others. Writers such as Haley (1969) and Laborit (1970) have argued forcefully that the desire for power and for dominating others may be one of the more powerful desires motivating human behavior, and its effects can be documented quite clearly in suicidal behavior where the suicidal act can easily change the power balance in relationships. Attempted suicide has long been seen as a manipulative act (Sifneos, 1966; Lester, 1968). The attempted suicide is often trying to force certain responses from significant others. Perhaps the lover about to leave will stay? Perhaps he will pay attention to one's distress? A threat of suicide can have equally powerful effects on significant others in changing their immediate response to the threatener. Menninger (1938) described three motives in the suicidal act: to die, anger directed toward oneself, and anger directed toward others. This latter motive is often manifest in obvious efforts to exert power over others. The person who shoots himself, for example, in front of significant others or in such a way that they discover him clearly wants to traumatize them and shape the memory they have of him. The person may be trying to leave the survivors with guilt, and the stigma that attaches to the survivors of suicides adds to their trauma (Rudestam, 1977). The efforts of the suicide may not always be directed to causing others pain. Antigone, in Sophocles' play of the same name, is trying to restore honor to the name of her family and glory to herself by her suicidal actions 'Department of Psychology, Richard Stockton State College, Pomona, NJ 08240
1186
D. LESTER
(Faber, 1970), and Japanese officials who commit suicide often do so for similar reasons of honor. By trying to shape how others will experience them, they are behaving politically in Laing's sense of the word. Counts (1988) too has documented how suicide may be used to change one's image in the social group. In Papua, New Guinea, suicide often acts as a form of social sanction- It has consequences for the surviving kin and for those who are held responsible for the events precipitating the suicide. Counts relates a case of Agnes, a woman who tried to seduce Victor into marriage, against whom the whole village turned. Victor's family rejected her as a bride, and she killed herself. Her suicide changed the feeling in the village, and now Victor and his family were seen to be at fault. Whereas Victor's family had refused to pay Agnes a bridal fee, they were now willing to pay her kin compensation. Victor's kin now faced both the disgrace of having caused Agnes' death and the financial loss. Agnes also removed her shame by k&ng herself. This case shows nicely the dual aspects in the suicidal act of freeing oneself while oppressing others. (Such freeing of oneself may be the underlying motive in cases of fatalistic suicide [Durkheim, 18971.) In another vein, Meerloo (1962) has described psychic homicide in which a person commits murder by getting someone else to commit suicide. More recent instances have been described by Richman (1986) in his cases of suicide taking place in the context of a family, in which members covertly and sometimes overtly communicate and 'force' one family member to kill hmself . In the many ways described here, suicide may be conceptualized as a political act in which the suicidal person seeks to change the balance of power in his social group or, more broadly, in the society. REFERENCES COLEMAN, L. Suicide clusters. Boston, MA: Faber & Faber, 1987. COUNTS,D. A. Ambiguity in the interpretation of suicide. In D. Lester (Ed.), Why women kill themselves. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1988. Pp. 87-109. DWRKHEIM, E . Le suicide. Paris: Alcan, 1897. FABER,M. D. Suicide and Greek tragedy. New York: Sphinx, 1970. HALEY,J. The power tactics of Jesus Chris! and other essays. New York: Grossman, 1969. L m o m , H. L'homme imaginanf. Paris: Union General d'Editions, 1970. LAING,R. D. The politics of experience. New York: Pantheon, 1967. LESTER,D. Attempted suicide as a hostile act. J. Psychol., 1968, 68, 243-248. MLERLOO, J. A. M. Suicide ond mass suicide. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1962. ~ ~ E N N I N K. G E Man R , against himself. New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1938. RICHMAN, J. Family therapy for suicidal people. New York: Springer, 1986. RUDESTAM, K. E. Physical and psychological responses to suicide in the family. J. consult. clin. Psychol., 1977, 45, 162-170. SFNEOS, P. Manipulative suicide. Psychiat. Quart., 1966, 40, 525-537.
Accepted May 15, 1930.
SUICIDE
POLITICAL ACT DAVID LESTER1
Richard Stockton Irate College Summary.-Several ways in which one may conceptualize suicide may be called political, i.e., the suicidal person seeks to change the balance of power in his group or in society.
Suicide can, of course, be a political act. People have killed themselves to publicize some cause and to attempt to bring about some change. For example, the Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc immolated himself in Saigon on June 11, 1963 as a protest against the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam, following which other people immolated themselves in Vietnam, the USA and elsewhere to protest the political situation in Vietnam (Coleman, 1987). However, suicide can be conceptualized more broadly as a political act, using the word 'politics' in the sense that Laing (1967) uses the word to describe any behavior in which one or more people exert power over others. Writers such as Haley (1969) and Laborit (1970) have argued forcefully that the desire for power and for dominating others may be one of the more powerful desires motivating human behavior, and its effects can be documented quite clearly in suicidal behavior where the suicidal act can easily change the power balance in relationships. Attempted suicide has long been seen as a manipulative act (Sifneos, 1966; Lester, 1968). The attempted suicide is often trying to force certain responses from significant others. Perhaps the lover about to leave will stay? Perhaps he will pay attention to one's distress? A threat of suicide can have equally powerful effects on significant others in changing their immediate response to the threatener. Menninger (1938) described three motives in the suicidal act: to die, anger directed toward oneself, and anger directed toward others. This latter motive is often manifest in obvious efforts to exert power over others. The person who shoots himself, for example, in front of significant others or in such a way that they discover him clearly wants to traumatize them and shape the memory they have of him. The person may be trying to leave the survivors with guilt, and the stigma that attaches to the survivors of suicides adds to their trauma (Rudestam, 1977). The efforts of the suicide may not always be directed to causing others pain. Antigone, in Sophocles' play of the same name, is trying to restore honor to the name of her family and glory to herself by her suicidal actions 'Department of Psychology, Richard Stockton State College, Pomona, NJ 08240
1186
D. LESTER
(Faber, 1970), and Japanese officials who commit suicide often do so for similar reasons of honor. By trying to shape how others will experience them, they are behaving politically in Laing's sense of the word. Counts (1988) too has documented how suicide may be used to change one's image in the social group. In Papua, New Guinea, suicide often acts as a form of social sanction- It has consequences for the surviving kin and for those who are held responsible for the events precipitating the suicide. Counts relates a case of Agnes, a woman who tried to seduce Victor into marriage, against whom the whole village turned. Victor's family rejected her as a bride, and she killed herself. Her suicide changed the feeling in the village, and now Victor and his family were seen to be at fault. Whereas Victor's family had refused to pay Agnes a bridal fee, they were now willing to pay her kin compensation. Victor's kin now faced both the disgrace of having caused Agnes' death and the financial loss. Agnes also removed her shame by k&ng herself. This case shows nicely the dual aspects in the suicidal act of freeing oneself while oppressing others. (Such freeing of oneself may be the underlying motive in cases of fatalistic suicide [Durkheim, 18971.) In another vein, Meerloo (1962) has described psychic homicide in which a person commits murder by getting someone else to commit suicide. More recent instances have been described by Richman (1986) in his cases of suicide taking place in the context of a family, in which members covertly and sometimes overtly communicate and 'force' one family member to kill hmself . In the many ways described here, suicide may be conceptualized as a political act in which the suicidal person seeks to change the balance of power in his social group or, more broadly, in the society. REFERENCES COLEMAN, L. Suicide clusters. Boston, MA: Faber & Faber, 1987. COUNTS,D. A. Ambiguity in the interpretation of suicide. In D. Lester (Ed.), Why women kill themselves. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1988. Pp. 87-109. DWRKHEIM, E . Le suicide. Paris: Alcan, 1897. FABER,M. D. Suicide and Greek tragedy. New York: Sphinx, 1970. HALEY,J. The power tactics of Jesus Chris! and other essays. New York: Grossman, 1969. L m o m , H. L'homme imaginanf. Paris: Union General d'Editions, 1970. LAING,R. D. The politics of experience. New York: Pantheon, 1967. LESTER,D. Attempted suicide as a hostile act. J. Psychol., 1968, 68, 243-248. MLERLOO, J. A. M. Suicide ond mass suicide. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1962. ~ ~ E N N I N K. G E Man R , against himself. New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1938. RICHMAN, J. Family therapy for suicidal people. New York: Springer, 1986. RUDESTAM, K. E. Physical and psychological responses to suicide in the family. J. consult. clin. Psychol., 1977, 45, 162-170. SFNEOS, P. Manipulative suicide. Psychiat. Quart., 1966, 40, 525-537.
Accepted May 15, 1930.
