Suicide is a choice towards ending one's "mortal" existence. Only that individual can know the circumstances of their intent, even when a message or "evidence" is left behind. It obviously changes nothing, pertaining to the deceased's reason, for anyone else to know. When others say "If we can find out why they did what they did, "maybe" it can help someone else." this is simply a justification for pursuing such information.

When we learn to be primarily "listeners" vs. self-focused "talkers, people who are considering ending their life (and at times others, in conjunction with), as well as all people, will have an increased chance of not making decisions for wrong or incomplete reasons.

Is committing suicide the same when it is done by someone who can no longer stand the pain of a terminal illness or someone who straps a bunch of explosives on his or her body and tries to kill off innocent people?  There are people who are suffering with physical pain or psychological pain that is so intense and there often to seems that this pain will never get better.  Should this person continue to live in this extreme pain if he or she can longer tolerate the pain?

  Albert Camus, famous for his suicidal thoughts, said, "There is only one true philosophical question, whether life is worth living." Ah, but you did not ask whether suicide itself is acceptable but rather, in doing it, am I brave? or cowardly? If I do it because I'm old and feeble and a drain on my loved one's resources, couldn't that be seen as brave? If I do it slowly through bad habits I know are sapping my life, is that brave for sticking around to face my karma? If I choose to stand in a city street and immolate myself in order to bring attention to some social ill, is that a "better" suicide than if I hang myself because a boy doesn't like me? Suicide is a powerful statement. All of us consider it but only about one in 10,000 actually does it. It is not an easy thing to decide to do, because no matter how many bad things you are leaving behind, you're also leaving this amazing world without having a clue what's next. Maybe suicides should be less brave about marching through the big black door.

     So, is suicide brave or craven? As each person must answer for himself the essential questionof whether life is worth living, those who say no shouldn't be judged for their choice. Personally, I think the answer is to plant more flowers and watch how much they sweat being alive.

"to die: to sleep. No more: and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shoks that flesh is heir to... Who would fardels bear to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered countryfrom whose bourn no traveler returns puzzles the will" The Tragedy of Hamlet, Act III Scene 2

Hamlets famous speach is a great description of this dilema. Life is harsh and dificult, but for most the unknown is far more frightening. Most people who are more afraid of the unknown then of the harsh realitys of life, most people who find the realitys to harsh and the unknown less thretening dive in (kill themselves). Those who are suicidal are on the edge, this is were Hamlet finds himself. But no mater weather one choses to live or do die its basically a decition that reflects what they find to be most pleasing or rather less difficult. It is neither cowardece nor bravery, most decitions we make we chose the path we see most apealing and this is no different.