Unforgivable sin of 'suicide by lifestyle'

THE EDITOR: Policemen in the US will tell you that there is such a thing as "suicide by cop." This is when an individual aims or pretends to aim a weapon at officers in order to get them to fire on him and so end his life.

In TT we have something akin to this. We can call it "suicide by lifestyle." Of the hundreds of people that are killed each year, a large proportion are those who choose to involve themselves in the criminal and/or gangster lifestyle. They will tell you that they "not afraid to dead." They certainly are not afraid to kill others. Even those who are not killers themselves know that they are participants in a deadly industry where bodies drop like flies and the swift punishment for any infraction or perceived infraction is death.

Many young people today do not want to get old, which they equate with suffering. "Live fast, die young" seems to be their mantra. However, "suicide by lifestyle" is suicide. It is a grave sin and they will answer to God. Some even say it is the unforgivable sin. Is it really worth chancing it?

JOANNE K JOSEPH

San Fernando