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Young shouldn't get worked up over someone calling suicide a disease

Rep. Don Young claims that an uninformed Wasilla High School student had the "gall" to claim that suicide is a disease.

"Suicide is a mental illness, it's not a disease. That's No. 1," Young told an audience at the Palmer Senior Center the next day, defending his behavior during the school session.

"And then he had the gall to say that suicide is a disease. It is not a disease. It is an illness. A lot of times that illness should be recognized by a support group," he said.

Young continued his diagnosis by linking suicide to government "largesse" in Alaska and made other comments that are far more dubious than the silly argument over illness and disease. This was not medical school. It was high school.

As someone who has long been known for stretching the meaning of the language in any way he chooses -- witness "Attla the Hun" or "Pribilof's dog" -- Young should be forgiving of those who have the gall to say that suicide is a disease. He isn't licensed as a language enforcement officer.

In Webster's New World Dictionary, the first definition of disease is "any departure from health; illness in general."

And the first definition of illness is "the condition of being ill, or in poor health; sickness; disease."

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What you have here are synonyms. A disease is an illness and an illness is a disease. Or a disorder.

The University of Washington School of Social Work says this: "The great majority of people who experience a mental illness do not die by suicide. However, of those who die from suicide, more than 90 percent have a diagnosable mental disorder."

There is room to argue about Young's behavior and that of the three students that he says were being disrespectful in the Wasilla encounter. Respect works both ways for people of all ages.

But it makes no sense to expound at length on whether suicide is an illness or a disease. They were talking about the same thing.

The "Congressman for All Alaska" should have listened more that day instead of worrying about the exact words used to describe what everyone agrees is a scourge. Passing off political prescriptions as simple solutions is not helpful.

If he wants to get angry and raise his voice, let him do so about the tragedy of lost lives.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Dermot Cole

Former ADN columnist Dermot Cole is a longtime reporter, editor and author.

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