To the Editor,
I attended a Representative Hagedorn Town Hall meeting in Winona in early September. I’ve been haunted ever since by his response to a citizen who was asking if he was aware of the relationship between gun ownership and suicide. Mr. Hagedorn’s response was that he believed that “people who commit suicide go to hell.” Why I’m haunted by that response is that as a Vietnam Combat Veteran I have had friends that committed suicide after returning from that war. Approximately 20 veterans commit suicide EACH day! The rate of suicide for our returning military veterans has been at or above that rate for at least the last 10 years and they are all “going to hell”? They’re all bad people of some kind? Any suicide, either by a veteran or by a troubled friend or relative, is a terrible loss.
It’s incredibly important that we have a Representative who cares not only about our returning veterans but the families of suicide victims as well. Writing them all off as “going to hell” is appalling and beyond cruel!
Kevin Kelleher
Houston, Minn.
Gary Moulder says
Listening to the talk, my interpretation is that he was trying to express that he took the issue of suicide seriously, and seemed to express his own strong conviction to illustrate how seriously he was obligated to see it. While these days mentioning your religious convictions is a deadly sin to those who object to religion, it is a gross misunderstanding to think that these convictions stem from a lack of care or compassion for others. To patently interpret Hagedorn’s remark as lacking compassion is not exactly honest. Strong convictions against suicide are expressly directed as a statement of resistance to the acceptance of suicide as an answer to the feeling of hopelessness.
ERL says
Kevin,
I watched a video of that town hall after reading your letter and I want to thank you for your service. But I’m not talking about Vietnam, I’m talking about now. I did not serve in the armed forces, but our son did. When you look at a photo of his basic training pals, half of them are gone — some in action, many afterward by suicide. How people like Hagedorn can dispense “Thank you for your service” like candy at a parade, then casually (or with a chuckle) dismiss real life and death issues is mind boggling. Those who serve their fellow citizens every day and put them above litmus-test results of narrow political views are what make America great. Thanks for reminding the rest of us the importance of caring action to express that thanks.