When I found out about Elliott Smith’s recent suicide, I initially felt a tinge of shock. It was sad. People all over the country were talking about his death. I read somewhere that Smith was considered a hero. Up until he stabbed himself in the chest, that is.
Maybe I’m just a bitter, savage, uncaring type of guy, but I’m growing terribly bored of the sad-genius who puts himself out to pasture.
Don’t get me wrong, it is never a good thing when someone dies. Death is the ultimate tragedy. But I feel no sympathy toward someone who gives up and takes their own life. The world doesn’t need whiney self-loathing heroes anymore.
It’s time to evolve.
Why should we put these people on pedestals? “Oh, they had it so bad.” Yeah well, so do a lot of other people, but they don’t kill themselves. They push through. To me, the people who transcend misery and strife are the heroes.
Take Johnny Cash. Here’s a man who, like Elliott Smith, had it rough for much of his life; battling with drugs, love, loss and the music industry until the end. Unlike Smith, Cash pushed through the good and the bad. He made it to the end. To me, he was a hero. His death was a true loss, an honest tragedy.
Elliott Smith’s death wasn’t a tragedy; it was a fashion statement. A cliché. A shame.
His suicide mimics the most famous of rock star suicides: Kurt Cobain. I remember the sinking feeling I had when I heard the news. I remember it was raining and I listened to Nirvana for a week solid. At some point during my tribute I thought about Cobain’s daughter. I grew angry at Cobain for leaving his daughter with that witch of a wife, Courtney Love. His daughter will never know her father, except through his songs, MTV footage and magazine articles. It was then that I lost all respect for Cobain. I wondered how a father could do that to his family. I kept asking, “Why?” In any event, I took down my Nirvana posters, stopped listening to his music and looked for higher ground.
Unless you are terminally ill, you have no reason to take your life. Feeling sad does not cut it. When you end your life purposely, you hurt everyone around you. You are simply perpetuating the cycle of misery.
Now, after reading the countless letters, poems and tributes to Elliott Smith online, I find myself in the same boat I was in when I heard about Kurt Cobain’s death. Smith is selfishly perpetuating his misery.
It is still a mystery why Smith took his life, but one thing is certain — his albums sales will climb after this. Perhaps they already have.
I’m not saying Smith had that in mind, but I’m not ruling it out. Consider the record sales of Cobain, Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon), Bradley Nowell (Sublime), Layne Staley (Alice in Chains) and countless other rockers who died — they went through the roof.
In any event, Smith’s suicide was uncalled for. Any suicide is uncalled for. I feel no pity for someone who gives up. I look up to the people who overcome.
I can remember a good many times when I was younger that suicide seemed like a viable option. But then I realized what I have, and how I would be hurting the people around me. I realized what I would be giving up. I realized how time heals all wounds. I realized that life is good. And to this day, I feel that. In fact, I think each day that I am alive, life gets a little better.
If Elliott Smith realized this, maybe I would be raving about his upcoming double album. Now, however, I’m not even going to buy it and further perpetuate the sadness. I would rather celebrate the beauty of life because death comes for us all soon enough.