US Suicide Rate Surges To Highest Level In Almost Three Decades, Says Report (bbc.com) 381
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BBC: The suicide rate in the U.S. has surged to its highest level in almost three decades, according to a new report from the CDC. There was no explanation for the rise but some experts have pointed to increased abuse of prescription opiates and the financial downturn that began in 2008 as likely factors. The report did not break down the suicides by education level or income, but previous studies found rising suicide rates among white people without university degrees. CDC reported on Friday that suicides have increased in the US to a rate of 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986. The overall suicide rate rose by 24% from 1999 to 2014, according to the CDC. However, the rate increased 43% among white men ages 45 to 64 and 63% for women in the same age-range. In 2014, more than 14,000 middle-aged white people killed themselves. That figure is double the combined suicides total for all blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. The suicide rate only declined for only two groups: black men and all people over 75.
It's simple actually.... (Score:5, Insightful)
With the press, political garbage, continued military actions, bad economy and the apparent focus on material wealth- who would expect a different outcome?
People need stability, security, and community to really thrive. This country has not promoted those values.
This shouldn't be framed as a political or religious problem- it's a lack of decency. It means that as individuals we've simply stopped caring. Societies rise and fall based on how people treat others on a daily basis. We treat each other badly. Some people will decide to leave. Some will take their lives. Some just take it. Those who complain are called whiners.
You can in fact beat a person to the point where they prefer death. The beatings in the USA are done by a million paper cuts.
So, worse than the Depression? Plague? Holocaust? (Score:5, Insightful)
Most of history was a worst time to be alive than right now, for the average person at least. It just somehow always seems to be fashionable to claim that "things were always better in the good ole days". It's just stupid cliche' bullshit from entitled brats.
Maybe modern diet? (Score:5, Interesting)
Most of history was a worst time to be alive than right now, for the average person at least. It just somehow always seems to be fashionable to claim that "things were always better in the good ole days". It's just stupid cliche' bullshit from entitled brats.
One form of depression comes from low serotonin.
The metabolic pathway goes: 5-HTP->Tryptophan->Serotonin
Note that corn-fed stock (chickens, turkey, and such) is lower in tryptophan than free-range stock
Perhaps our modern diet is lower in tryptophan that our bodies are evolved for?
Serotonin (and all other neurotransmitters) are sent from one neuron to another, and then reclaimed. The reclamation process isn't 100% effective, some small amount is lost in the process, but the end result is that the brain doesn't make Serotonin very fast. It doesn't need to, because it expects to lose only a little during reclamation.
(This is the mechanism of SSRI antidepresants: they interfere with the "reuptake" process.)
If you have a job or environment that requires creativity, you may be exercising your Serotonin pathways a lot, leading to low serotonin. This is why the stereotype of "artist" includes dark, moody, and prone to suicide.
Maybe the rise in suicide is due to our fast-paced life that demands more creativity from many workers (such as programmers), while at the same time presenting us with lower Serotonin precursors such as Tryptophan.
Just a thought, probably isn't be true.
It's almost certainly due to the financial downturn and rise of prescription opiates.
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Given that SSRIs are known to sometimes (for reasons unknown) cause suicidal ideation where there was none before, and the way we tend to hand those out like candy, I would say those are far more likely than the opiates to be causing a rise in suicide.
Interfering with serotonin is probably the cause. (Score:5, Interesting)
Given that SSRIs are known to sometimes (for reasons unknown) cause suicidal ideation where there was none before, and the way we tend to hand those out like candy, I would say those are far more likely than the opiates to be causing a rise in suicide.
I'm currently exploring the theory that a) there are 4 forms of depression, each caused by low levels of one category of neurotransmitter, and b) the first form is caused by low serotonin.
My working theory is that SSRI's sometimes fail because either a) the depression is due to a different transmitter, and/or b) SSRI's won't help if you have little or no serotonin to begin with.
This could be why SSRI's sometimes increase the chances of suicide. The cure would be for the patient to make more serotonin, not to interfere with its proper workings.
Another form of depression is from low dopamine. The two types are similar, but can be distinguished. Serotonin is the "happy" transmitter, and low levels are associated with dark moods and suicide, while dopamine is the "reward" transmitter, so low levels are associated with tiredness, low energy, and the feeling that tasks are pointless.
I suspect that a survey or questionnaire could be used to identify the particular type of depression a person has, and given the results lead to a specific treatment of one of the transmitters.
I'm still researching, but this one proposed mechanism seems to explain a lot of things in the literature. Most notably, that depression appears to be a resource depletion disease.
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SSRI can cause suicides because the way they start to work - it usually takes several weeks for them to begin suppressing the mood part of the depression, but the lack of drive goes away much earlier. Many depressed people, especially younger ones, are only held back from the suicide by the avolition caused by the said depression.
I personally was very lucky - SSRI has worked from day one for me. Although for the first 6 weeks its suppression of my depression was very fragile - as long as nothing triggering
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Do you suppose that there is a form of depression that is somehow treated by opiates?
I think that might actually explain why some people are able to take pain medication for its prescribed purpose and not fall into patterns of addiction, while others are easily addicted and can't stop. Those who are able to use it as prescribed don't have whatever imbalance leads leads to easy addiction, those who are easily addicted have an imbalance it somehow addresses.
There's probably a third category, people with no m
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What's terrifying about this approach is that it denies the quality of life issues at the heart of many depression cases. A person can be depressed because of feeling isolated, extreme guilt or unworthiness, having no purpose in life that suits their nature, or some form of emotional trauma. Chemicals will only distract from the actual healing that can only take place by slow, progressive inner work and finding the courage to change their life circumstances. The solution to depression can very often be foun
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Sure, there's situational depression, and I'm not sure we've got meds for that. There's also depression that's not about anything, which is something some people just didn't understand, and the meds do well in those cases.
Exactly what does chemical imbalance have to do with feeling broken or like a victim? My heart attack didn't make me feel that way, and the fact that I got excellent treatment and am on meds for it doesn't make me feel like there's no real hope. I really don't think it would have bee
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My vehemence comes from seeing depressed folks prescribed medications when it is not at all clear that they actually need it. And their healing and overall life possibilities are hampered as a result. I have one friend who committed suicide while on meds due to a badly thought-out prescription -- this after months of work on his personal problems and cleaning up his alcoholism.
I did not mean to imply that this is true for everyone, or for you. My apologies if it sounded that way. I'm sure there are valid ca
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The cold, hard fact is that drugs are cheap and talk therapy is expensive, which is why drugs are much easier to get than talk therapy. I'd say that pretty much everyone with serious depression should have talk therapy and be evaluated to see if that person would benefit from the meds. I wasn't clicking with any of the therapists in my HMO, so I went outside and found someone who worked for me. It was pretty expensive, even with partial insurance coverage. I'm fortunate in that my wife and I earn a lot
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You're right about talk therapy being expensive. I consider myself lucky -- I had the right people, teachers, helpers that could see what was going on for me and give me the appropriate advice, hug or kick in the ass, without having to pay through the nose for their services. If only we lived in a more humane society! But then I think human consciousness creates conditions like depression to teach us how to be more collectively humane (pardon the Schopenhauer-ian digression).
Of course it's not like I consid
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Most of history was a worst time to be alive than right now, for the average person at least. It just somehow always seems to be fashionable to claim that "things were always better in the good ole days". It's just stupid cliche' bullshit from entitled brats.
One form of depression comes from low serotonin.
I think this increasingly being questioned. example [sott.net]. I didn't read that particular lilnk, but there are lots of others like it.
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That largely depends on how you choose to selectively interpret the data.
On the one hand, we have much better contact with the world, and a lot more stuff. Household chores are certainly easier now.
Some people have good healthcare, some would be better off with the town witch from the Middle Ages than what they have now (read, nothing). People today are in a lot more debt than in the past, and so cannot get by without a job for any length of time. They have nowhere to store up food for hard times. In that s
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Hear! Hear!
And once you get in to health care and insurance, even a simple question, fundamental to every other financial transaction, "What does this do and what will it cost" is a nightmare journey through bizarre alternate realities which ultimately comes down to you'll have to sign here and agree to pay in order to find out how much. Even when you do pay, nobody can actually swear that there won't be any more surprise bills. And BTW, even if it's an unmitigated disaster, you will be expected to pay in f
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Most expensive land is urban or suburban. Desert and other useless land miles from nowhere is almost free. Fertile land is more expensive, but undeveloped land in e.g. Indiana is under $4000 per acre.
Tractors for a small plot are the sort of thing you buy at Home Depot for $1500.
If you've got a cushion of money to ride on and are only trying to meet expenses and feed yourself, a couple of acres of intensely farmed land suffices.
Re: It's simple actually.... (Score:2)
Re: It's simple actually.... (Score:2)
There is a political movement to paint a whole generation as lazy and self centered instead of manning up and realizing stuff is broke and unfair in society. For people who have it don't consider it a luck or a bles
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"This shouldn't be framed as a political or religious problem- "
I beg to differ, atheists and agnostics being now the second largest group behind Christian Evangelists, lots of people don't believe anymore in 'sins', suicide included and are not afraid to pull a stop if they have enough.
I'm living in a country where euthanasia is allowed and my patient-will has precise steps when I want to get killed painlessly by my doctor and I can tell you, it's very comforting to know that I won't have to suffer at my l
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Well, unfortunately you're wrong. Rotting organic material actually does release a lot of CO2.
Re: It's simple actually.... (Score:2)
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"Just helpless"
I would say hopeless rather than helpless. Sometimes they go together but often they don't
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I don't think it's any of that. I think it's just plain drug abuse, which isn't helped by the fact that drug abuse is so demonized, and often by people who themselves have abused drugs. I'll bet that if you correlate drug abuse rates by race like they are doing with suicides, and charted both over time, you'd probably see them follow one another closely. Drug abuse is difficult to track without any sort of conviction or anything like that though, and if you admitted it to any body that collects this informa
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And yet the more you commit suicide, the fewer hours you work.
It's amazing how the universe stays in balance.
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How the hell did this get moderated as a troll?
Do that many Slashdotters really think it's OK to behead those who don't believe in your Sky-Daddy in exactly the same way as you do? Or hack them apart in the street with machetes [bbc.com], for that matter?
What the fuck is wrong with you people?
This Submission... (Score:5, Insightful)
...should probably include a hotline number.
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...should probably include a hotline number.
Ask Seri.
Hotline numbers and other resources (Score:5, Informative)
US: 1-800-273-8255 is a 24/7 suicide prevention hotline, which also advises people dealing with a suicidal loved one or friend.
http://www.suicide.org/interna... [suicide.org]
For US active duty military and veterans:
Veteran's Crisis Line:
1800-273-8255
Press 1
or text 838255
confidential chat available at: www.veteranscrisisline.net
Specifically for support of trans* people, http://www.translifeline.org/ [translifeline.org] has a US hotline number +18775658860 and a Canadian toll-free number +18773306366.
For LGBT teenagers and young adults, http://www.thetrevorproject.or... [thetrevorproject.org]. They also have a hotline number, 866-488-7386.
If you're a friend or bystander, these are relevant.
Suicide threats on social media:
http://www.suicidepreventionli... [suicidepre...feline.org]
If you're in the US this is a guide to reaching emergency services outside your own area: http://firstaid.about.com/od/c... [about.com]
Immediate steps you can take: http://www.helpguide.org/artic... [helpguide.org]
Gee, wonder why (Score:5, Interesting)
Since '10 you wanna guess how many companies I've interviewed for? 0. Exactly 0. Nobody even wants to interview a 50+ person, let alone hire them. I've got 30 years experience with embedded systems. I've written several Linux device drivers. I've written 3x more for systems other than Linux. I've designed systems from back of the napkin descriptions. I'm pretty good at maybe 10 languages, expert in 3-5. Biggest of all, I understand the importance of SCM and bug tracking.
I'm not gonna shoot myself or anything, but I've got friends my age in the same boat I'm in. Unemployed for years, no health insurance, no income, nobody wants to interview us. Our golden years are looking like fools gold to us.
Re:Gee, wonder why (Score:5, Insightful)
I finally made it to Social Security, which is a little better.
The worst part is going from being a creative, contributing member of society to an over-the-hill guy that nobody needs. The most depressing thing is knowing that you have nothing useful to offer. If you're just a burden on your family, why live?
The money is also a problem. It would be a lot easier if we had European social welfare systems like Germany or the Scandanavian countries, where unemployed workers get almost as much as their historical income, and even get retraining for new jobs.
We used to have a social contract in America. The corporations broke it.
Re:Gee, wonder why (Score:4, Insightful)
We used to have a social contract in America. The corporations broke it.
As demanded by the voters. And this year doesn't look any different. Same old same old...
Re:Gee, wonder why (Score:5, Informative)
This was never presented to "the voters". This was taught as dogma to generations of Business Administration majors with no supporting theory or measurement at all. They are all out there now, convinced that the magical "market" will automatically guaranty maximal efficiency. They were never taught to think or to question whether old models were still valid. Any change is frightening for them since they have absolutely no ability to evaluate or even think about it. Change does not match their case studies, all carefully selected and massaged to support the dogma. This, arguably more than any other factor, is what keeps the USA on the rails to havoc.
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Yeah, so much for taking the initiative, eh? We've been getting "supply side" economics for over 35 years. The voters are sucking it up. They do indeed want this. Whether it is fear of change or ignorance, it is willful. It is definitely not the government's or the corporations' fault. I don't blame the snake for tempting Eve. It is her own fault for taking the bite.
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It's not so much sucking it up as having it crammed down their throats. When they protested, the cops resorted to chemical warfare to shut them up.
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So you think the purveyors of chemical warfare wouldn't subvert the "wrong" vote? You think they don't do that now? Have you seen the U.S.?
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The fraud starts a lot earlier and it is much more Orwellian than that. For example, do you know what an articulate 3rd party candidate can do to be included in the pre-election debates? Nothing. It just won't happen unless they have a few BILLION in the bank like Perot did. If you are the winning Democrat or Republican, you're name is on the ballot. All others must jump through flaming hoops. And did you notice how much voting in the primary looks like an official government function? Ever wonder why that
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It's called learned helplessness. It happens when the shock comes no matter what choice you make. It's been going on for all of the voter's adult lives.
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The worst part is going from being a creative, contributing member of society to an over-the-hill guy that nobody needs. The most depressing thing is knowing that you have nothing useful to offer.
No, the depressing part is knowing that you could still be a creative, contributing member of society if you had the chance and that you still have so much to offer but no one is interested because of nothing more than your age.
.
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Been in the same boat. And just decided to retire. Was outsourced in the middle of the housing crisis- and never found a damn thing.
I'm a systems engineer and network security guy. Wrote my first program in 1979.
So I built an amateur radio station, and started writing ham software. Definitely not the big check or company car I was used to. Luckily the house is paid off and I don't have to work unless I want to.
Hope you find a happy place soon bro.
Huh. (Score:2)
I've written software since the 70s. Never had a problem getting a job. In '08 I left a good company to join a startup, cuz I was young and stupid and wanted a million bux.
You have written software since the 70's, but left a company in '08 because you were young and stupid?
Really? Interesting timeline.
I wrote software in 70s too, but I was 14 and working on my dad's PDP 11-45. So are you telling me that you were writing software for a living when you were a teenager?
Just wondering about the timeline.
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He didn't say specify "for a living since the 70's."
What-ever.
Even if he was born in 1979 and writing software since he left the womb, that would still make him 29 years old in 200, which we know isn't what happened.
This guy was too old to be claiming "indiscretions of his youth" on why he left his old employer.
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Let's get together and form a company (Score:2)
Looking at all the seasoned, unemployable old folks on this thread gets me wondering...
Why don't we all get together and form a company?
We've got lots of time, modern resources allow us to telecommute and collaborate. Running a business isn't that hard(*).
Lots and lots of people have ideas for companies. (Heck, I have a dozen ideas for products each year, I know lots of people who do, and I know where to go looking for product ideas.)
Why don't we put our heads together and do something productive with our t
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I've written software since the 70s. Never had a problem getting a job. In '08 I left a good company to join a startup, cuz I was young and stupid and wanted a million bux. Startup flamed out after a year. No sweat, I'll just get another job. Since '10 you wanna guess how many companies I've interviewed for? 0. Exactly 0. Nobody even wants to interview a 50+ person, let alone hire them. I've got 30 years experience with embedded systems. I've written several Linux device drivers. I've written 3x more for systems other than Linux. I've designed systems from back of the napkin descriptions. I'm pretty good at maybe 10 languages, expert in 3-5. Biggest of all, I understand the importance of SCM and bug tracking. I'm not gonna shoot myself or anything, but I've got friends my age in the same boat I'm in. Unemployed for years, no health insurance, no income, nobody wants to interview us. Our golden years are looking like fools gold to us.
I could put my name on your story with very few changes.
I, too, had my embedded career of nearly 40 years evaporate in January, 2009, due to the economic downturn, never to return.
I now write Windows ERP Application Software (and was damn glad to get THAT through a handshake deal, after going through all my unemployment and all my 401k with no interviews).
I no longer Make Things Go.
Plus, Embedded work is now nearly 100% short term Contract work, spread out all over Hell-and-Gone. Doesn't work unless
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I have 25 years of experience. I only work remotely from home now. I live somewhere far away with a low cost of living. I never interview in person anymore. It's a little harder to find a job. But my quality of life is much better. I make a little over half what I could if I went into an office every day. But I clear more because of the lower cost of living.
In 5 or 10 years, I expect to have the problem you're describing. When that happens, I plan to cut 10 to 15 years off my resume and look like I'
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If you haven't already, try applying at:
All three companies have jobs in your field, and they're more than willing to interview people who aren't fresh out of college, particularly for low-level stuff, where the college kids often just won't cut it.
Also, make sure you have a LinkedIn profile. Most recruiters these days do their work through LinkedIn, so if you aren't there, they probably don't know about you.
Finally, ta
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I've written software since the 70s. Never had a problem getting a job. In '08 I left a good company to join a startup, cuz I was young and stupid
Writing software for over 20 years? How old were you really in 2008?
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I'm only 38, with half the skills you have and I'm already shitting myself. The IT game is incredibly ageist. I feel like after about 35, unless you've got SERIOUS bloody skills, people think of you as an antique.
In my situation, I'm a lazy slob, I don't want to climb the corporate ladder, I'm happy at a particular position, making X amount of money and hoping to survive long term through being fiscally responsible* with my money and drying to invest well*. Just because I'm ok with a 2nd level job in my l
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Were you willing to move anywhere in the country?
One thing that keeps me from being suicidal is having local family support.
Some experts (Score:5, Insightful)
some experts have pointed to increased abuse of prescription opiates
That is a symptom, not the cause.
Almost Committed suicide a few weeks ago (Score:4, Informative)
The statistical suicide rates for opiate 'addicts' are probably severely flawed. I suspect a large portion are actually chronic pain sufferers that didn't get adequate medical care. The medical community is absolutely horrendous at treating chronic pain when they don't have some obvious cause. You are basically absolutely screwed if they can't look at some x-ray or MRI or CT and see something broken or out of place.
Mine started from a stupid fall onto a hammer two years ago. Eventually it got so bad I couldn't stand or sit or sleep basically live. I've forgotten how many times are frozen my skin solid trying to get the pain to go down. I am only taking tramdol at 150mg for that last two years. If I had done it I would've been considered an 'addict' statistic because there was a prescription bottle in the room.
I got a call from the Mayo Clinic the next day saying they accepted my case but that took more than two years to get to this point and being treated like you're some kind addict because your chronic pain.
if you hurt yourself make sure you fucking break it really good so the doctor can figure out what the fuck is wrong with you quickly otherwise you are screwed.
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Suggestions: plenty of vitamin D (I take about 5000/day), plenty of the best water, breathing to revitalize yourself & recharge your body battery, take care of your elimination, massage(s) from a professional. Personally I never take painkillers, no matter what -- you could try that for a bit. Also, turn off wireless devices/router/cable box at night to help you sleep better.
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Happens. Knew someone who told me at a social club meeting a couple years ago about getting cut off from her sources of meds for chronic pain after getting caught. Killed herself a couple weeks later.
I'll be adding to that number soon (Score:5, Interesting)
Lost my job last year and I don't have any hope of finding a new one. My health sucks too but not enough to get disability. And my savings is running out. I've been living off my 401K so tax time this year took a lot of the money I had left, and they hit me with quarterly tax stuff for 2016 because they think I'll make too much money.
No you idiots. I am making zero money.
I can't afford my Obamacare, at almost $300 a month so that's going to cancel. Can't get medicaid or food stamps because I made too much money last year even though I haven't been employed at all since September. Well, also single men don't get coverage anyway. We don't matter.
So what am I supposed to do when the last of my 401K runs out? I have enough money left to last three more months. No kids, no spouse, a few worthless pets and me, age 46. And I am too sick and too weak and too out of options to care any more.
Job? I've tried. They want kids fresh out of school who will work twice the hours for the money. 15 years of experience from my last job is not of much value to anyone else when they can just hire some kids or H1-Bs cheap. Plus, I have no degree Hell I didn't even finish high school. I've worked and worked and worked for all these years and have nothing to show for it. So I am looking at GED and starting all that stuff and trying to pass it all and somehow afford college? At my age? With what money? I haven't been in school of any kind in decades and my mind is not up to it.
So yea I am thinking there is just no fucking point to this any more. I see no way out, no way forward. And I can't even TALK to anyone because the moment you tell someone you feel hopeless, they treat you like a mental case. Locking me in a padded room is not going to HELP. So I can't even say anything to friends. I can't tell them anything. I'm all alone.
When the money runs out, I'm done.
Re:I'll be adding to that number soon (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a single man and I have applied and qualified for both Medicare AND food stamps. They look at the past few months' income, rather than your most recent tax filing, since that means nothing if you just lost your job. I've also received near-free mental health treatment for depression (without insurance), you won't be locked up unless a judge orders you detained in a mental health facility (e.g. if you attempt suicide).
If you have no kids or spouse, and a few months' money, then you have the ability to start a new life. Look into buying a small house in southeast asia (philippines, thailand, etc.), even just renting you could live for years on a few thousand dollars. English is taught in public schools in many of these countries, if they're like Japan you would be able to get a job as an English teacher if needed.
Another option may be Intentional Communities (they're like communes).
Re:I'll be adding to that number soon (Score:4, Informative)
If you're in tech, most companies don't care about a degree as long as you know your stuff. As for hiring kids and H1-Bs, most companies don't abuse H1-Bs, and most companies do hire workers who aren't straight out of school. Just don't apply for junior positions, because you'd be overqualified.
Also, Medicaid is not based on the previous year's income. It is based on the current monthly income. If you call below a certain line, you qualify. And if your state has signed on for expanded coverage (e.g. California), you might qualify for Medicare at even higher levels. And even if you don't qualify for Medicare, if you're currently making less than 400% of the poverty line, you can get discounts on health insurance in the form of tax credits. That $300 per month you quoted is roughly the California rate before low-income subsidies, not after. If you don't take the discount when paying your insurance bills, you'll get that money back in the form of a tax credit when you pay your taxes next year. Either way, the net effect is the same.
Finally, if you're serious about that last part, talk to somebody. There's a difference between being sad and feeling hopeless. The latter is a medical problem, and is treatable. Get health insurance, then go talk to a medical professional. First, they will help you recover your hope, and second, that hope will help you get a job. The reality is that clinical depression will make it much harder to get a job, so get help first, then apply for jobs.
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Actually, asset rules may or may not apply, depending on where you live.
For example, in California, Medi-Cal disregards all property/assets if you are eligible based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). So if you're making less than 138% of the federal poverty level, you are eligible for Medi-Cal regardless of how much property you own. The only people who are covered by the asset caps
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If you last through this year, you can certainly get medicaid and food stamps next year. I'd think you'd be able to get them this year too unless you had high self-employment income last year, though for food stamps you have to wait until you're below $2000 savings (401K is probably exempt from counting as savings). Check out your county's resource center to to someone about these things. Your county may also pay for your job training (here in El Dorado county California they have a few thousand dollars per
"Hell I didn't even finish high school." (Score:2)
Ding, ding, ding! We got a winner over here. Moral of the story, kids: FINISH THE FUCKING HIGH SCHOOL.
Re:I'll be adding to that number soon (Score:4)
https://science.slashdot.org/c... [slashdot.org]
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Have you looked into student loans? Or Pell grants?
Attention! Slashdot is deleting comments!!! (Score:5, Informative)
Unacceptable! [slashdot.org] Unacceptable! [slashdot.org]
This cannot be tolerated! Please people! Demand that it stop immediately! Indelible, uneditable comments is Slashdot's last redeeming value! Without it all is lost!
Re:Attention! Slashdot is deleting comments!!! (Score:5, Informative)
No, those links are the actual comment numbers, and I always cruise at -1. I crave the ghetto life, it's my home. Those comments are gone. There are no sliders. This is most disturbing. I really hope that enough people raise a sufficient fuss to stop it.
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Always copy the URL in the address bar for later reference. It's the only way to be sure. Saving the page locally is even better.
This is the first time I caught them in the act with real proof. Previously I had doubts, but my local copy would always find the original post on the site. This time everybody can see what happened. I was counting on a major uproar over it, but it doesn't look like people care that much, so, I'm just going to drop it.
Losing hope..... (Score:5, Interesting)
What is success?
What is beauty?
Axiology is a study we do not teach much or consider much these days.
The ancient Greeks studied axiology, ontology, and epistemology. They were curious about beauty, truth, value, belief, and opinion. This was the glorious age of the great philosophers who thought that they should be kings and rule the world.
Fast forward to 2016, in general, as a society, we no longer discuss these things and they are spoon fed to us by media, commercials, Facebook, CNN, Fox News etc... Sure there are still people who think about these things, but our culture is youth driven and based on consumerism.
Live has to be lived intentionally, with thoughtful care and purpose.
Things "are what they are" and we have a choice in how we react to them.
So many have lost hope, but I say to you, chose how you will react.
Life isn't some game you win or lose. Life is a grand adventure meant to be lived and experienced. You can do this from anywhere.
You are not your paycheck.
You are not your job.
You can always start over.
You always have a choice.
You can chose to let circumstances define you or your can chose to rise above them and find new truths.
You can chose to worry or you can chose to live.
No one is guaranteed another minute, embrace life, don't lose hope, chose to be a force for good. Embrace the adventure this life has to offer.
Do not give up!
One Word (well, acronym) (Score:2)
The reason (Score:2)
It could be that... (Score:2)
Physical movement outdoors engineered out from life. A person gets to the garage by an elevator, sits in traffic while driving to the office, again uses elevator, sits in the office chair, etc. Walking, running, swimming, working outdoors is what we were created for by the evolutio
This could be good news (Score:4, Insightful)
The rise in suicide in women means important people might actually give a shit. Male suicide is our own fault for not smashing the patriarchy or something.
Thanks a lot (Score:2)
I'm sure this report made loads of people feel much better.
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I recommend you don't use "SJW" as anything you dislike, given the fact it is a word to describe very specific people with very specific goals and generally using a very specific vocabulary.
I mean, that's an actual real problem, not "microtriggering misogyinistic biggot air conditioner in a marvel movie" as those things like to complain about.
This of course assuming you're not a false flagger or something of sorts.
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Finding out just what is right is the tricky part, though.
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Snu-snu.
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"Religion is opium for everybody"
Not me, my mind is a temple. Uh, an ateist temple. Wait, what?
Re:30 years eh? (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a reason it's the "highest suicide rate in three decades". It's most definitely thanks to Reaganomics and the trickle-down legacy, where the futures of middle and working class people trickled right down the drain.
The decline of labor unions meant that working people had less power in the meta-transaction of labor v capital. After decades of the middle and working classes gaining power, suddenly watching that power being taken away by orange-haired frauds like Ronald Reagan has taken the heart out of those people. They're working as hard as ever, and watching as the pensions of their parents turn into their own 401k bucket of nothing.
In ten years, we're going to see that generation (and the next) reach old age with nothing but their social security checks to live on. That's when we're either going to see the suicide rate skyrocket or we'll come to learn as a society that we've allowed stage 4 capitalism to run us off the rails.
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Millennials have it the worst. People complain that they are entitled and have unrealistic expectations, but actually they just expect to have the same opportunities and standard of living as their parents. Their parents expected the same thing, and got it. But the 80s screwed the young, and now they don't have the same opportunities to own property, and are expected to work for free at internships for longer, and have much more student and other debt, and they need a partner to afford to live because one p
After the fact. (Score:4, Interesting)
Wrong. The collapse of the American economy was predicted a very long time ago [youtube.com] for the exact reasons that make the basis for your societal and economic ideology.
Just to be clear, at the same time there were people predicting a new era of wealth and happiness.
Economics is like that - you can always find someone who correctly predicted something (after the fact).
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Not economists. Economics is more of a pseudoscience than parapsychology.
I didn't mean to be mean... (Score:2, Interesting)
I wasn't trying to be mean, or to get you riled up.
Economics really is a religion of sorts, a series of overlapping schools of thought and rationalized theories.
People who give sermons about this economist or that making future predictions usually don't add anything to the discussion.
I see problems, failed predictions, bad statistics, and lack of fundamentals in pretty-much every economic theory I come across.
Question: According to Irwin Schiff, what is the best value for inflation?
I don't mean "a little is
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He needs the middle class. It finally dawned to them that they need someone to buy the crap they produce in China, because it's not producing cheaply that makes you rich, it's selling the cheap crap.
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True, they can't expect tons of so-called "free" stuff.
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Problem is, that also works for your plan. At some point your brain finds out that you're essentially inefficient and that you have the choice to either grin and bear it or get out of the game.
Personally I chose the former. It ain't that bad once you simply don't give a fuck anymore.
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Add to it the health care system that denies good health care to anyone that can't afford it.
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As opposed to a government healthcare system that denies good healthcare to everyone.
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That's a myth, but it might take some time in some cases that aren't urgent.
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Yeah, and those atheists oppress the religious minority in the US, you can't even call a fag a fag anymore without being told that this is wrong.
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