Life is for living.
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…to the police officers CoC Breaking Language here Preview Open
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As we hear of Covid-19 “cases” “exploding” at “alarming rates” and prompting new demands that we physically isolate ourselves, shouldn’t we at least consider when setting isolation policy that the human wreckage of isolating ourselves that may “explode” at “alarming rates”? “Cases” is different from severe medical consequences or death, but that’s not a subject […]
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President Trump issued an executive order his first day back from the hospital, calling out some of the terrible side-effects of the governors locking down American citizens. His executive order focusses on what is styled mental and behavioral health, but these are no-kidding, for real medical side effects of the Fauci formula, reinforced by “America’s […]
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Kay Hymowitz joins Brian Anderson to discuss how our social instincts, and especially our social networks, affect our behavior and choices, in areas as wide-ranging as divorce, obesity—and even rioting.
Humans are social animals, as the saying goes. Our social nature, Hymowitz writes in her new story, “The Human Network,” makes nearly everything contagious, from viruses to behaviors. For example, new research suggests that people can, in effect, “catch” divorce from their friends or extended family. But while network science can be a useful tool for understanding human action, it cannot explain why some are more susceptible to social pressure than others.
It’s Not a Mask
I’m tired but can’t sleep; an experience everyone has at some point. But not everyone fears to close one’s eyes for what thoughts and dreams will rush into the void of sensation. Not everyone screams and mutters without making a sound in a familiar internal battle to “just shut up and go to sleep.”
Mental illnesses are as varied as personalities. We speak of symptoms and causes generally, as with diseases and purely physical ailments, because there is a utility in generalizations and playing the odds. But depression, crippling anxiety, compulsions, hallucinations, and other psychological oddities are not like a rash that looks the same on anyone.
The ‘staches are back! Movember is a charity raising money for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and the high incidence of mental health issues and suicide among men. I recently joined my company’s team in the cause and it got me thinking a bit about how we talk about men’s health. The news media, the chattering […]
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Jamie Kilstein, stand-up comic and podcast host, sits down with Bridget to discuss his conversion from a woke, SJW, male feminist to a humbler and healthier version of himself. He shares the scars of being falsely accused of sexual misconduct, the fallout to his career and life, being suicidally depressed, and why he was basically taken down for being a self-righteous a**hole who everyone was willing to turn on. They cover being addicted to validation, being crazy in relationships, people who have teams and not principles, the importance of healthy male role models, and the struggles of losing friends to suicide. Jamie wonders when Republicans became funnier than Liberals, examines why he stays in toxic relationships so long, credits his improved mental health to no longer fighting with strangers online, and points out when you don’t offer people a path to redemption, you offer them a path to radicalization.
Full transcript available here: WiW51-JamieKilstein-Transcript
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America kick off the week with three crazy martinis. They begin with the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the protocols that officials admit weren’t followed, and the blizzard of conspiracy theories that immediately erupted. They also roll their eyes as media and political figures on the left declare that voting for President Trump makes those voters racists by association. And Alexandra gets a kick out of Joe Biden stating there are “at least three” genders while pointing out Biden can never win the “Woke Olympics” and shouldn’t be trying to.
Banding Together, As Brothers
Photo by Cory Board
Americans are constantly bombarded by the statistics “gun violence” here in our country, but what’s missing from the conversation is what those numbers really represent. The vast majority of deaths involving guns aren’t due to violent crime or school shootings or accidental discharges, the problem is suicide, and it’s a very big problem indeed.
Since 2008, the rate of gun suicides has risen 22 percent and is driving the increase in gun-related deaths. (Suicides make up almost two-thirds of all gun-related deaths.) Among children and teens in particular, the gun-suicide rate is up more than 76 percent. Although only a small percentage of suicide attempts are made with a firearm, more than half of all suicide deaths are carried out with one. The primary victims are older white men.
Dear President Trump, Senate Leader McConnell, and Speaker Pelosi
There is a silent epidemic impacting our bravest and finest citizens, their families and friends; Those who served in the United States Military are more likely to die from suicide than on the battlefield.
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, each day there are around 20 veterans who commit suicide. What’s more, they report that veterans’ suicides account for 18 percent of the suicide deaths in the country, while they only make up 8.5 percent of the adult population. Even more disturbing is how many US soldiers who attempt suicide often have no history of mental health issues.
While politicians and our media focus attention on protecting those who may not even be US citizens, we are letting down the patriotic individuals who sacrificed everything for our great country.
Saving Our Gun Rights Means Saving People From Suicide
We’ve known for years now that the problem with gun deaths in America isn’t street gangs and other criminals, it’s the thousands of people who commit suicide with a firearm each year. This horror is affecting men (especially men who live in small, rural towns) to a much greater extent than it is women. But rather than reach out to men and channel their feelings of frustration and impotence into more positive, traditional ways, the American Psychological Association says the real problem is they’re acting like men.
“Traditional masculinity ideology has been shown to limit males’ psychological development, constrain their behavior, result in gender role strain and gender role conflict and negatively influence mental health and physical health... Researchers led by James Mahalik, PhD, of Boston College, found that the more men conformed to masculine norms, the more likely they were to consider as normal risky health behaviors such as heavy drinking, using tobacco and avoiding vegetables, and to engage in these risky behaviors themselves.”
Veneration and Vulnerability: Suicide in the Midst of Prosperity
Man does not live by bread alone. As bread was being earned at a record clip, and more people got off the dole, more people in their prime years cut their own lives short. Reflecting back on the U.S. military’s Herculean effort to end suicide in the service, an unwon battle, I am painfully aware there is no clear solution, no magic pill or words. And. I wonder if our changing societal habits and beliefs make vulnerable people more vulnerable.
2017 brought unbroken good economic news, and not just for stockholders. President Trump repeated at every occasion the good news for everyone, including demographic groups who had been lagging in employment. Wages started to rise. And in the midst of all this, the suicide rate increased to a 50-year peak.
[I]t’s deaths in younger age groups — particularly middle-aged people — that have had the largest impact on calculations of life expectancy, experts said.
Zealots of Masada
In 66 AD, a group of 960 Jewish Zealots decided they would prefer to commit suicide rather than yield to Roman conquest at Masada:
Masada (‘Metsada’ in Hebrew) is the name of the mountain on which the Masada fortress was built. It is more like a plateau or a table mountain, and quite isolated from its surroundings, as there is only one narrow, winding pathway leading up, fittingly called “the Snake.” According to Josephus Flavius, an ancient historian and the only one to record what happened on Masada, Masada was first built by the Hasmoneans, a Jewish dynasty who ruled Judaea in the years between 140-37 BC. Then, between 37-31 BC, King Herod the Great built two palaces there and further fortified the place as a refuge for himself in case of a revolt. However, it proved to be a refuge for Jewish rebels about 90 years later.
A group of Jewish extremists went to Masada after the destruction of the Second Temple. In response, the Roman governor of Judea conducted a siege there and the Jews tried to hold them off, but finally realized that they would lose. Technically, what they committed was not suicide, which is forbidden by Jewish law; instead, the people drew lots, taking turns in killing each other, so that only one person actually killed himself.
Veterans’ Suicides Are Increasing
Our veterans are dying in increasing numbers—at their own hands. I was moved to explore this topic thanks to Nicole Fisher of The Federalist’s recent article. She quoted a Department of Veteran Affairs study published in September 2017:
More than 20 veterans commit suicide each day, a number, on average, 22 times greater than the civilian population. In fact, veterans’ suicides account for 18-20 percent of suicide deaths in the country, while they make up only about 8.5 percent of the adult population.
In spite of the staggering numbers and efforts to deal with the situation, the totals continue to rise.
Calling Balls, Strikes, and Heroism
There have been several posts here about the way suicide has impacted various members, their families, and friends. I think everyone has been affected in some way or another, including veterans who may be dealing with PTSD after returning home. A way my wife has gotten involved in trying to reverse this trend is through the American Foundation […]
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On most Saturdays I put in a few hours at a local behavioral hospital. We get all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons, but the most common groups are detoxing heroin addicts and people who have recently attempted or threatened suicide. (Funny, these don’t tend to overlap. Heroin users do not lead attractive […]
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Toronto police warned hackers of the Ashley Madison infidelity website that their actions “won’t be tolerated,” and said there are two unconfirmed suicides linked to the breach. “This hack is one of the largest data breaches in the world,” said Staff Supt. Bryce Evans at a Monday morning news conference. Preview Open
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