EDITORIAL — Decisions made in despair

According to a story in this newspaper, a recent fire in Barangay Cubacub, Mandaue City, that left 80 people homeless three days after Christmas wasn’t caused by faulty wiring, electrical misuse, an accident, or carelessness, but by a man who was trying to set himself on fire.

The 54-year-old man was allegedly jilted by the girl he was courting and got drunk last Sunday dawn. While drunk he decided to commit suicide and emptied a bottle of kerosene on himself, intending to light himself on fire. But after trying to set himself alight he somehow only got first-degree burns, but the fire spread to destroy 19 houses in his neighborhood.

Fire investigators are taking his story with a grain of salt and are considering other causes of the fire. But they are also considering the arson angle as the man already issued a sworn statement confirming his actions.

So if we are to believe him, this one rash and ill-conceived decision didn’t just hurt him but also left 80 individuals comprising 23 families homeless during what’s supposed to be the happiest time of year.

There are two lessons we should learn from this unfortunate event. The first being that one shouldn’t turn to alcohol in times of trouble.

Of course, it’s anyone’s business whatever method they choose to assuage grief or cope with rejection, including wallowing in self-pity and intoxicating drink. But they should be made aware alcohol tends to amplify one’s feelings instead of completely turning them around. In short, when someone sad starts drinking hoping that he will somehow become happy, he will only end up feeling miserable instead.

The second is that some decisions shouldn’t be made while one is under the influence of certain substances, including drugs or alcohol. This needs no explanation as there’s no shortage of stories that serve as an example of this. Stories that usually end up in the crime section of the news.

The sad thing about this incident was that many ended up suffering because one person made a few bad decisions.