What do you think of the statement "A suicidal man is a bad investment"?

It sounds kind of mean and insensitive. It treats humans as if they are money-earning objects, not human beings.

That it is very short-sighted and self-serving.

It depends on whether you are planning on loaning him money or betting he will jump.

It’s merely a phrase.

“A suicidal man is a bad investment”?

Depends on how you look at it.

A soldier goes to war. In a sence that is suicidal, knowing his purpose is to fight to the death.
But the end result is freedom for his home and family.

No going to war is not suicidal, being suicidal is different than putting yourself in a degree of risk. Cops put themselves in harms way everyday, and they don’t want to die. I have laid myself down with the intention of dieing, and no matter what anyone did, I did it anyway. Something had to change, and it did, so now people, when they help me, it does what it’s supposed to. Helps, and possibly becomes mutual.

It’s a true statement. Humans make good assets, suicidal ones are bad assets because they will probably destroy themselves and ruin your investment in them.

@daloon Humans indeed aren’t mere objects, they are conscious, thinking beings. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be assets.

It’s a little campy.

I like camping, I remember one time someone tried to teach me how to fish, you know, to feed me for a lifetime, well, I didn’t catch anything and had to eat the bait

True, if getting a return on an investment is the goal.

I think people have a hard time getting around the wording, instead of realizing what wisdom is in this statement.

Totally depends on the suicidal man. Can he be helped? Can he recover? Does he want to? If the answer to those is “yes”, I’d call that a sound investment. Saving a life is never a bad thing.

Well, if we substitute “self-destructive” for suicidal, I don’t think that is necessarily true. A person can be highly competent and do a good job even if they think little or nothing of themselves. A person who is nothing may still want to be something.

I suppose it depends how far you’ve gone. If you’ve completely given up, even in your heart of hearts, it’s time to buy a gun or save your meds. Whatever.

But a suicidal man could be a very good investment if you can bring him back to, if not a sense of self-worth, at least not being dragged down by a sense of no worth. Like me.

I secretly think (or at least hope) that I have something to give to others, even if I publicly say I believe I’ve got nothing. It’s just a protective mechanism—saying the worst about myself before anyone else can say it. But anyone who regularly gives me a very tiny touch of appreciation (not too much, because that isn’t believable, and I could never live up to it) would probably find me to be a very good investment.

Suicide may be about alleviating the pain. But feeling like one is valuable, or being convinced by others that one is valuable (i.e., not just saying people appreciate you, but giving convincing reasons) can also alleviate the pain.

On its own, not very much.