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NYPD on Twitter: "We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased." (See guidelines before posting)
- Thread starter JB2448
- Start date
Ain't this the fucking truth
People will mock, ignore or think people with mental illness are "annoying", and then when they die its "oh, I feel really bad."
If someone comments about taking their own life in a jokey fashion, maybe it is just a joke. But when it's a recurring thing in someone's behaviour it becomes a real cry for help.
People generally don't being up suicide unless they are also ideating. It's a thing to take seriously and not just dismiss as a stunt for attention. Joking and talking about suicide in a casual way can just be a way for someone to normalise and make it easier for themselves to cross that mental barrier, where there's no turning back from.
People generally don't being up suicide unless they are also ideating. It's a thing to take seriously and not just dismiss as a stunt for attention. Joking and talking about suicide in a casual way can just be a way for someone to normalise and make it easier for themselves to cross that mental barrier, where there's no turning back from.
I had to stop watching from then onwards. The internet is a crazy place
Damn
User Banned (1 Week): Ignoring staff post, inflammatory derailment
RIP hype fella, may he find the peace he never could in this world.
The mods here are far worse than the GAF mods ever were. Besides Cerium, the lot of them are ban-happy power-trippers who continue to expose themselves one after the other.
The mods here are far worse than the GAF mods ever were. Besides Cerium, the lot of them are ban-happy power-trippers who continue to expose themselves one after the other.
Absolutely. I know it really isn't the time to talk about stuff like that so this will be the last I mention it but looking through the previous threads about Etika and seeing the responses really pisses me off. Even worse is that from what I can see none of them have had any kind of warning for what they said. It doesn't feel consistent at all with the rest of the site and I'm not sure why certain users are able to just get away with what they posted.
Ableism has always and will always be against the rules -- we action these types of infractions frequently. It is enshrined in our guide alongside racism, sexism, sexual orientation etc:
A lot of our staff have first hand experience with the burden of mental health woes themselves. Multiple staff members have disabilities. These are personal issues for a lot of us.
I've seen ERA do wonderful things for people like Talal in the past. It's just, don't solely rely on a message board for help
I understand where you're coming from. There have been a lot of hostile and harmful reactions to Etika's health issues on this forum. But we shouldn't discourage efforts to correct that within the community.
I never heard of this kid until the news came out that he was missing. I have no idea about his background other than the video I just saw that was his final goodbye. Very sad that his life ended this way.
I'm pretty sure, as someone who often needs help with depression and suicidal tendencies, the thing driving people away from seeking help here is actually an administration that refuses to enforce any form of consequences for mocking those calling for help.
RIP, Etika.
I remember stumbling upon one of his reaction videos and just being struck by the guy's energy and effortless charisma. I'm gutted by this news and the manner in which his situation was treated here and elsewhere. His life shouldn't have ended this way, surrounded by so many people who cared for him but feeling like he had nothing to live for. We all need to be kinder to each other. Our words online matter.
For the first time, I feel ambivalent about being an Era member. I hope that "meta-commentary" will not be used by the staff to shut down conversation about what happened in this case. It was shamefully permitted to go on and one of the mods even engaged in it. Never again.
I remember stumbling upon one of his reaction videos and just being struck by the guy's energy and effortless charisma. I'm gutted by this news and the manner in which his situation was treated here and elsewhere. His life shouldn't have ended this way, surrounded by so many people who cared for him but feeling like he had nothing to live for. We all need to be kinder to each other. Our words online matter.
For the first time, I feel ambivalent about being an Era member. I hope that "meta-commentary" will not be used by the staff to shut down conversation about what happened in this case. It was shamefully permitted to go on and one of the mods even engaged in it. Never again.
No need -- any thread discussing moderation is an instant lock
etc etc
It's a practice carried over from the old site
As someone very currently diagnosed with spiraling depression, I'm all for it, but I'm also all for it to keep that discussion out of this thread. There's plenty room in the rest of the board, without steering this thread about the death of a person into metadiscussion and (probably) a good amount of name&shame if things go wrong.
I think the system failed him too.
When they had to knock down his door, I thought he would get extensive time in a place that could help him.
He didn't.
Then he got in an altercation with a police officer.
Surely then, he would be in a place for an indefinite amount of time that could help him.
He wasn't.
When they had to knock down his door, I thought he would get extensive time in a place that could help him.
He didn't.
Then he got in an altercation with a police officer.
Surely then, he would be in a place for an indefinite amount of time that could help him.
He wasn't.
It was only a bit for a few weeks but I'll never forget how entertained I was by the antics of Young Ramsay.
BROOOOOKLYN
:(
BROOOOOKLYN
:(
This is shockingly true, even compared to the replies in the first thread after he went missing.
Yeah it really sucks because, just another person who had been like this as well. Would be Mac Miller and his music and his general tone was he needed help but yet nobody bothered to do so. In my opinion, If someone makes jokes about suicide and or their being overtly dark/edgey with their captions or their general tone with their messages, most times it looks like attention seeking, but it's really just them asking for help for someone to talk to about everything going on with them. People always need a place to vent to and I know this from experience of being completely silent about all my issues till it hit a point where I tried to take my own life. I'm in a much better place now, and I can't stress enough that keeping problems to your self only works for a small while till it implodes and causes a lot more damage to yourself. For most people it's difficult to gauge, but in Etika's case I mean this was basically being screamed at the top of his lungs and tattooed on his forehead that he needed help, and almost everyone just stood and watched.
Oh my God....
That's awful. Oh man! This is horrible!
I heard about then finding an unidentified body late last night and figured that was it.
Mental illness is no fucking joke, I honestly hope people can learn from this.
This news really has me feeling a bit down today. Depression can really be contagious sometimes.
I've had suicidal thoughts as recent as a few months ago and while I tell myself it's something I would never actually go through with, never say never. Currently not on any medication although some friends have suggested I do so. I keep telling them at the end of the day I'm okay, and I can handle this. It is true you can't force somebody to get help if they don't want it, I can speak from my own stubborn experiences. On the other hand, last year I felt great and it was one of the best years of my life. I know all too well how up and down mood swings can feel.
So sad to hear this news and it's awful that he didn't get the help he clearly needed.
I really don't wanna point fingers so I'll be avoiding that for now, and I'm not talking about internet drama but rather the people who were in positions to help him and must have seen warning signs. The system clearly isn't working when awful stuff like this happens.
It sounds like he was a good guy overall and he helped people out through some tough times. "Cancel culture" is far too extreme these days and I hope people learn that a few rough moments don't negate all the good he's done for people.
There are serious lessons to be learned from this.
Hopefully his passing helps people to be better and have more empathy.
That's awful. Oh man! This is horrible!
I heard about then finding an unidentified body late last night and figured that was it.
Mental illness is no fucking joke, I honestly hope people can learn from this.
This news really has me feeling a bit down today. Depression can really be contagious sometimes.
I've had suicidal thoughts as recent as a few months ago and while I tell myself it's something I would never actually go through with, never say never. Currently not on any medication although some friends have suggested I do so. I keep telling them at the end of the day I'm okay, and I can handle this. It is true you can't force somebody to get help if they don't want it, I can speak from my own stubborn experiences. On the other hand, last year I felt great and it was one of the best years of my life. I know all too well how up and down mood swings can feel.
So sad to hear this news and it's awful that he didn't get the help he clearly needed.
I really don't wanna point fingers so I'll be avoiding that for now, and I'm not talking about internet drama but rather the people who were in positions to help him and must have seen warning signs. The system clearly isn't working when awful stuff like this happens.
It sounds like he was a good guy overall and he helped people out through some tough times. "Cancel culture" is far too extreme these days and I hope people learn that a few rough moments don't negate all the good he's done for people.
There are serious lessons to be learned from this.
Hopefully his passing helps people to be better and have more empathy.
The mod demoted himself. The staff didn't even warn him. He should have been banned.
Exactly. I felt less secure in my own mental health after reading some of those past threads -- the repeated assertions that the symptoms of mental illness are just the real person being unmasked were incredibly nasty -- and I don't think those concerns are a matter of unfair vitriol. This forum has become a less safe place for a percentage of the community and wanting to say that doesn't make us vindictive.
The fact that such ignorance has been allowed to foster and grow unchecked -- let's just close the thread instead of having a productive discussion about it, that's reserved for this other thread over here that the offending uninformed users will never partake in -- is a symptom of the overall cultural problem with even talking about issues of mental health at all, let alone speaking about them in a respectful or healthy way. The idea that we can't talk about it even here, that we should just keep moving it to other threads where the people who need to see this shit won't ever have to confront their own ignorance and the harm it actively does to others, is not actually helpful in any way.
Do they feel bad? Okay. They should. One man very obviously clearly openly showing how hurt he was doesn't need to be the thing that lets someone know that cries for help should matter. All the people reading those threads who might be in a similar place can see your words. Think about that next time. Be better.
I hope he is in a better place now.
I'm gonna miss his reactions to the Directs, especially to Smash.
I'm gonna miss his reactions to the Directs, especially to Smash.
I realized this a while back myself. I was checked into the emergency room because I was misdiagnosed with bacterial spinal meningitis, and I cracked a really, really dark suicide joke in front of the triage nurse in an attempt to keep myself from completely breaking, and for the rest of the time I was in the ER I had a literal guard stationed in my room who would not leave, even after the diagnosis was rescinded, because they flagged me as a risk to my own safety.
Doctors can't afford to play the 'it was just a joke' card when someone is in crisis, and the doctor who talked to me after the diagnosis was removed basically chewed me out while at the same time playing super kid gloves because she couldn't be sure how much of it was just me trying to cheer myself up and how much of it was sincere ideation, especially thanks to my history of depression and anxiety.
RIP Etika. As dumb as it sounds, I'll think of him everytime I read attack on titan now. In his suicide message he expressed regret that he would never get to see the ending. It fucking sucks. I cannot imagine what his family is going through. They have lost 2 children.
It is not a dramatization or entertainment that this rule was applied to everyone except for one notable exception.
It is not a dramatization or entertainment that this rule was applied to everyone except for one notable exception.
I never watched Etika, but my condolences to his friends and family. Its incredibly saddening, and Im sure internet culture didnt help matters any. Rather than being too down though, Etika brought a lot of joy to people's lives, and that is something to be remembered for. He may be gone in body, but will live on through people's heart. They say you die twice. Once in body, and once in name, but Etika won't be forgotten as he has touched millions of people. He will be remembered.
RIP
RIP
This is absolutely heartbreaking. I can't even begin to describe what I'm feeling. I barely saw any of his content, but this is something terrible to happen to anyone.
Absolutely. I'm completely disgusted by how the mods have been handling this situation. I know I'm most likely gonna get temporarily banned for this, but they've fucked it up big time. Era is a place of help and support most of the time, but letting people who mock mental illnesses get away scot-free just because "he's a bigot and this is definetely one of his stunts"? Fuck that. A lot of stuff needs to change if we don't want this to become another disaster like GAF.
There are a lot of issues here that deserve to be discussed in the open, and that for some reason aren't allowed to be. But that mental health thread was pretty alright, at least back when I read it almost a year ago by now.
Someone just tried again and made a very detailed thread. And it still was locked: https://www.resetera.com/threads/we-need-to-openly-talk-about-moderation.125550/
So tell us then what are we allowed to discuss?
Prior GAF mod transgressions ranged from literally doxxing people, scamming forum members out of money to fuel drug habits, or literal pedophillia.
The mods here have issues but let's not get crazy here
that's buried in a post from 2017. the rules Era links to under "terms and rules" say "abusing or harassing other users, including but not limited to the posting of racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic content" only and does not reference disability. if it is indeed against the rules, it's time to start enforcing them. how about banning people for the "r*tard" slur instead of just warning them. how about saying calling someone who has been public about their mental health struggles a "psycho clown" is not acceptable. how about actually enforcing that rule that apparently exists (not within the terms and rules section of the site, though)
okay, and I can tell you as an Era user that has suffered from mental illness the horrible bullying and ableism on this board has brought me to tears and triggered some pretty nasty stuff. don't try to pretend there isn't a problem
there is nothing to be proud of with the way this board has treated people with mental health issues. why is "r*tard" not banned, only warned? why are there no rules against ableism in era's official Terms and Rules, only buried in a post from 2017? why can you call someone with mental health issues "psycho clown" with zero consequences, and then when you point out that bigotry you get banned for derailing a thread? there's no point trying to whitewash the problem. Era needs to learn because I am not joking when I say i have felt very severe pain at the attacks on disabled people i've seen on this site allowed to flourish. the site can't keep saying "we're perfect, we don't tolerate anything" when there's now a mountain of evidence that this ableism has been tolerated and swept under the rug
I'm guessing his brother passing had a lot to do with this story.
Honestly, yeah I agree. Sucks to say but I see a lot of resemblance to what GAF was as we got closer to the end.