Senicide (Killing of the Elderly) Among The Eskimo Peoples

Into The Blizzard To Die

I remember hearing about this custom as a boy.
An elderly person among Eskimo tribes would leave the safety and warmth and love of their igloo and family to die because they were no longer considered useful.

This seemed to me an act of great inhumanity.

When an old person was no longer deemed to be a contributing member of the society, they either voluntarily committed suicide, or were "encouraged" to do so.

"How cruel and terrible can these people get," I remember approximately thinking to myself.

Still, I must admit a part of me, a part that didn't like the way my Grandparents would be impatient with me or boss me around, wondered about the actual usefulness of old people in their agedness, and whether or not, maybe it wasn't so terrible in fact.
It was a small part of me, but one, which I must say, popular culture does not dissuade a great deal with its overt emphasis on the beauty of being young and the mad pursuit of defying old age and the horrors of being condemned to a senior's home, forgotten and abandoned by your loved ones.

Abandoned in a senior's home, or "Encouraged" to commit Suicide.
How thin is the line between the two?

Certainly true love is absent in both instances.
True, deep, love wouldn't abandon anyone, ever.
The connection between truly connected human beings is too strong to even consider abandoning another.

Times of Scarcity

Senicide or Assisted Senicide wasn't the norm by any means.
It was an act of desperation when times were lean.
Often times the elderly person would voluntarily kill themselves to cease being a burden on their family.

Even in times of scarcity, there were tribes among the Eskimo peoples who found the whole idea repugnant and wouldn't allow their elderly to die regardless of the circumstances.

The situation among some tribes though could be terrible when an Elderly person was "forced" to die.
Buried Alive.
Thrown into the sea.
Locked out in the cold.
Starved to death.

What is quite painful to contemplate is that undoubtedly this practice wasn't confined to the Eskimo people.
Elderly people throughout human history have always been bullied by the younger, and continue to be so.

The question is : Why?
and as always the answer is the same :
"All Human Problems Can Be Traced Back To Hurt Human Feelings."

Acts of unkindness committed by the elderly to their young are never forgotten unless they are forgiven.
Old wounds.
Unresolved pains.
Their seeds give bitter fruit.

Hunger : In today's world?

Deprivation of basic human drives ( air. food. shelter. sex.) can cause human beings to do powerful things, both remarkable and horrible.

I understand that extreme hunger could create the custom of the elderly committing suicide among the Eskimo peoples.
It saddens me greatly, but, I understand.

Now Humanity no longer has that particular difficulty.
We produce plenty of food for everyone.
Why then is there still hunger?

Some say, "Human beings are just greedy."
Others, "That's just the way it is. Things will never change."

I say, again, it is because of hurt feelings which haven't been expressed and healed.

When the African guerilla soldier steals the wheat donated by the U.N from hungry villagers at the behest of local Warlords, he does it because he is afraid of being hungry himself, he is angry at having been forced to fight in bloody wars, angry at having had his own loved one's killed, sad at all the violence he is experiencing.
The poor man (or, very likely, boy) is a mass of pain and suffering.
That he takes away food from other hungry fellow human beings is understandable.
When human beings are in a state of extreme emotional pain, their behavior is a perversion of their nature.

Why then does the U.S.A have an embargo on Cuba?

Hurt feelings?
Yes.
Truly, all human problems are the result of unresolved hurt feelings.

Strong Old People : White Hair, Yet Still Powerful And Very Much Alive

Vision.

Human beings are powerfully influenced by the vision we have of ourselves and that others have of us.

A change is required in the way Humanity views old age.

I want to be a strong old man.
A wise old man.
An old man full of love for humanity.

How?

Healthy Food : Young people raised on junk food garbage will become infirm, diabetic, old people. Garbage food must be GONE from our society.

Purposeful Lives : Young people who spend their lives doing jobs which neither inspire them nor promote their growth will become old people who do not feel they have acquired meaningful experiences to share with their younger fellow human beings. Humanity Must come to insure that All human beings are engaged in a role which is challenging and fulfilling. It is too horrible and sad to see a human being become an old person who does not feel they have anything meaningful to give to their people.

Expression of Feelings : Young people who do not express their pain, become old people who have committed all sorts of actions against the ones they love resulting from unexpressed pain and hurts. Then their young ones are full of resentment and angers of their own and the bonds are strained or absent all together. Humanity Must become whole for the 1st time in its history and that comes from Expressing Feelings : and openly and freely.