Readers shared their thoughts on teen suicide and the 2016 election. Here are featured comments from discussions on www.srpressgazette.com and its sister websites.
HOW DARE THEY
I don't know you from Adam, but my heart breaks for your loss. I could not imagine the pain your family is going through.
How dare all of these condescending people judge you and your family without knowing you! How dare they think their lives are better than yours and this would never happen to them!
I just pray that God gives you peace, and I am here if you need a new friend.
Miss Lynn
IT’S ‘DIED BY SUICIDE’
So sorry for your loss. We lost our son, Drew Winkler, Memorial Day this year, May 30. He was 26 and left behind two boys under 3 years old.
We know how you feel; losing a child unexpectedly and to suicide is unimaginable. No one can truly understand if they haven't gone through it!
We stopped saying he committed suicide because that makes it sound like he committed some wrongful act. We say he died by suicide or died by PTSD suicide.
Rebecca Winkler
THAT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU
So very sorry for your loss. I know how you’re feeling. We lost our son six years ago. He was 22 — never thought it could happen. I still have my grieving moments. He was a great son and I miss him every day.
I grew up in Jay and it's a small town, and I know how it is, but you gossiping people there, I hope you never have to experience something like this.
So, before you start talking, remember that could have been someone close to you.
Glennette Williams
MOVED DUE TO GOSSIP
Am so sorry to hear about your daughter and can only imagine what you are going through. I am from Jay and now live in Orlando — that (small-town gossip) is one of the many reasons I moved. I will send you prayers as you heal.
David Wright
THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END
Don't let the negativity steal any part of you grieving your daughter from you.
Sadly, there are those people who want to make assumptions and say hurtful things. If only they knew the pain of losing a child; I feel like, if they did, those hurtful things wouldn't be coming from them…
Today marks five years since we lost our oldest daughter at 22. We lived in Jay for a few years of her childhood; I hope that you're comforted, even just a little bit, when I tell you, the path you're having to walk stinks, it hurts and it scars, but there really is a light at the end. You're not alone.
Amy Sobrito
PRAYERS FOR BRIEF GRIEF
You poor woman; how awful that this has happened to you and your family. And it saddens me that my hometown, which I've been a part of from birth, would treat anyone that way. I pray that your grief is brief and you remember the love that you shared with your daughter
Belinda Michelle Hawthorne
WHO WON THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE?
Elyse Winters: Trump, because it was more issue driven and Chris Wallace kept them on track, as I knew he would.
Why was she (Hillary Clinton) agreeing — nodding non-stop — when Trump was calling her out? Is she wearing an earpiece again — she cannot even think on her own.
Dana Kelley: Trump. He speaks from the heart and not like a trained puppy.
Barbara Nims: I can tell who lost! All the precious unborn babies that will be killed if she (Hillary Clinton) becomes president!
Ashley Hallett: Me. Because I watched “Gilmore Girls” instead.
Tammye Horne Welch: It sounded just like the last debate.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: SPEAK OUT: Readers on teen suicide, final presidential debate