Let's talk about Logan Paul.

     For those of you who haven't heard about this situation here's a very brief overview. This week Youtuber Logan Paul uploaded a video of himself in Aokigahara Forest (suicide forest). The video shows a partially blurred body of a suicide victim while Paul and his friends laughed and made jokes about dead bodies. He has since removed the video and released an apology.

    I wasn't going to talk about this situation but the more I'm seeing this story I feel like I need to address it. I didn't want to talk about Logan Paul and his disgusting video because I didn't want to give it any more momentum. I'm aware that I'm not a huge presence online but the more everyone talks about him the more relevant he becomes, whether it's negative attention or not. All that aside, this needs to be addressed.

     If you have read anything I've written you probably already know how I feel about this situation. As someone who has struggled with mental illness, I'm disgusted by the entire thing. From the actual filming, to the decision to upload it and then the "apology". I am angry and I could go on a rant about how he's a terrible person but what does that solve? If we all bash him and don't actually talk about why this is so disturbing in a few weeks this will be forgotten and nothing will be accomplished.

      The glamorizing of suicide forest has been going on for years. I don't know if it's because it's in Japan and we think the neon colored culture we see in photos makes suicide forest cool or we've just become desensitized. Either way the people that die there are still people. People struggling with mental illness. Take away all the stories and legends and look at this place for what it is. It is a place that humans, people just like you and me go to end their lives. The popularity of suicide forest turns these people into numbers. They are no longer people with families and friends, they are now a part of this fantasy that we glorify. Japan and suicide have been talked about in the same sentence for so long that we forget that they are individual people and their stories matter. Suicide forest has become a tourist attraction, as if it isn't real, like it's just another crazy thing to go visit in Japan.

     Videos like this make a joke out of mental illness and suicide. This mans story now becomes part of click bait for views. His story of losing his battle is completely lost for internet fame. He becomes a prop, because again they're in Japan in the famous suicide forest. His body is no longer a dead body, it's part of the tourist experience.

     I think there is a point in the careers of "internet stars" when they become detached from human connection. They forget that real people are watching their videos and they have a huge responsibility. Especially with channels like Pauls that are made up mostly of children. We are in the middle of an mental illness epidemic, more specifically with  juvenile suicide. So now you have made those children who are already having issues and that look up to you feel worse about themselves.

     In his apology he talks about wanting to start a healthy conversation about mental health. If that was his intention he would not have been making jokes and laughing. I could have understood if he went to suicide forest and was moved by it and wanted to open up a conversation about mental health and self harm. That’s not what is happening here. He wasn’t sorry when he filmed it, he wasn’t sorry when he uploaded it and honestly his apology felt more like a “sorry you feel that way” kind of response. He realized that he had to say something and spin the situation. There are so many ways to approach the subject of mental health and this is not one.

     I hope that if there is a shred of a silver lining in this situation it is that this opens up a real conversation about mental health. Maybe the more conversations this sparks, the more people will open up about their own issues. I worry about the people that this sends backwards in their treatment and journeys. I will be completely honest, even as someone who has owned their issues, this had an effect on me personally. I have almost been that man many times and I have lost too many to suicide. It shouldn’t be taken lightly and it shouldn’t be made into a joke.

     If you are reading this and you are having issues with your mental health talk to someone. Do not let stunts like this make you feel bad about yourself or deter you from getting help. There is no shame in struggling with your mental health. You are not alone.

Suicide hotline

1-800-273-8255

Or text CONNECT to 741741