Parallel worlds.
A week ago I had an appointment scheduled midtown and Ilya needed to go to Niagara. I said: 'not a problem, take the car and I'll take the TTC'.
First thing I saw when I entered the subway train:
"Are you thinking about suicide?".
Well, actually, no, but after I read that, I started.
(However, thinking about suicide might be quite a norm after not being in TTC for a while..)
Is that ad actually normal? I understand that there is no such a thing as 'norm' these days, but is that the right approach to help those who are actually thinking about suicide?.. And those who do not think about it, is it normal to see every day that ad on their way home/work/elsewhere? I assume that after a while people stop paying attention consciously, but what about subconscious?
Today I read one of my friends post about teen gays in small russian towns. It was about one teenager who is actually quite in a state of starting to think about suicide. And as much as I do not like all those 'hypothetical talks' recently, I wonder, would that Toronto subway ad made more good or harm for him?. Long time ago I watched an interview with one girl - she had anorexia and she was able to cure herself. I remember she said that people who tried to bring logic to someone who has anorexia would never help - as it's a psychological disease and at that point brain does not accept any ideas except for an idea to be super-thin. So, logic simply wont work for them and even death seems to be acceptable - as long as they will be thin.
Thinking about suicide is a psychological state too. So, maybe there is no need in such an aggressive ad which, from my point of view, can affect more people who do not think about it rather than those who really need help.
Plus we live in a constantly changing world. New second is a good enough reason for another portion of news to appear. Our attention period is 3 seconds. For 3 seconds we only can read "Are you thinking about suicide?", Next!
Maybe I am wrong - maybe I live in a shallow world driving every day and only see sunshine from my car interior. Maybe my brain become soft and refined by observing the beauty of the city. And maybe the message has been delivered correctly.
Different words trigger different people.
Nature is smart and loves us and that is why it made us very adaptive.
That's why it's so important to get out of the system once in a while. That act sharpens our sensitivity. Getting out of the comfort zone does extend our minds. And it definitely let us see parallel worlds around. But I am not sure if it's always good.
In my average day I do not see people with anorexia or teen gays from homophobic countries. I do not think about suicide. However, I know that these things exist. And I understand the importance of talking about them and taking actions to improve our world. I just do not think our methods are right.
Mind the gap.
