Gun Death Rate Nears Three-Decade High, with Men at Most Risk

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-death-rate-nears-three-decade-high-with-men-at-most-risk-11669749562

by jdkee • 4 years ago

19 29 4 years ago

wsj.com

sn0w_crash• 4 years ago

Is this also a product of the patriarchy?

someNameIG2• 4 years ago

suicides among white males push up firearm fatalities

This part could be linked to toxic masculinity.

throwaway5959• 4 years ago

The young white males I know that died from suicide were all wonderful men who suffered from mental health issues.

acdha3• 4 years ago

Nothing like this has a single cause but yes. Consider how certain cultural norms for handling emotions, what shows your value as a man, and how you interact with other men would affect the rates for suicide or escalating violence. Grim economic prospects affect many people but if you’ve been told that you’re valuable to the extent that you’re affluent, or that macho posturing is how to respond to perceived disrespect, it’s understandable that some percentage of men will make worse choices than they might in a more supportive culture. Too many men don’t have a close friend to talk them back off the ledge because they thought showing emotions and vulnerability was a female thing or made you gay.

dudul• 4 years ago

How are the numbers getting worse as all these "toxic things" are currently falling out of fashion? It is now becoming more acceptable for men to behave that way, why wouldn't the numbers improve then?

MrPotatoLover• 4 years ago

I'm sorry but I hate this take so much and I hate it even more that it's so accepted. Blaming men (or collective manhood called "the patriarchy") for their own suicide rates would be considered gaslighting and victim shaming in any other context but when it comes to men you can just casually drop it and people will consider it a sophisticated take on male suicide rates.

I don't even fully disagree with you – it is a problem that men are less likely to open up, are less likely to have a close friend, etc. But just saying "patriarchy" and "cultural norms" is a lazy cop out. You don't look at something that mostly affects women such as anorexia, say "well it's cultural norms, women should work on that" and shrug it off.

It's not an original take but I strongly believe that there's a biological basis to things that men do that both makes them kill themselves at higher rates but also makes them work the worst jobs like oil drill workers or industrial divers. But way too many times the toxic aspects of masculinity are highlighted (often for good reasons) while the positive aspects are ignored and belittled. Some good, high-level evidence for this is that even in super gender egalitarian cultures such as Sweden men still kill themselves at around three times the rate than women.

Instead of waxing about "the patriarchy" and "cultural norms" how about doing some research and looking into systemic issues?

Disclaimer: This mostly makes me so angry because I was personally affected. I spent years with suicidal ideation and being close a few times because I was highly depressed due to growing up with a borderline mother and then having a longterm borderline partner. When I finally found the energy to look for therapy I found that most therapists are female and it's really hard to find a male therapist (systemic issue right here). I had the enormous luck to find one who did a masculinity-positive therapist - and please don't think Jordan Peterson here – and I still think that this man saved my life. I really don't want to imagine what would have happened if I had found a therapist talking about the patriarchy – because it really is just another way of saying "man up". BTW: I ultimately left my abusive, borderline girlfriend and she never had to feel any social repercussions for her behaviour. Is that also "the patriarchy"? If yes, then the term is completely meaningless. Do you think showing vulnerability would have helped me in that situation? I don't think so, it actually just made her angrier.

Long story short: Before you drop this take next time, please do some more research into what men can suffer from and think about whether it's all just the patriarchy. Thanks for listening.

carl_dr• 4 years ago

https://archive.ph/B6KEP

BirAdam• 4 years ago

Suicide as well as violent crime tend to increase every time the economy weakens. If we add a more atomized individual into that, it makes sense that this would be compounded.

musicale• 4 years ago

violent crime tend to increase every time the economy weakens

I expect that the ongoing pandemic, social upheaval, political polarization, war, etc. don't lead to a great social/economic/health/mental health environment.

Most people probably hadn't previously lived through a situation where millions of people die from contagious disease, the government shuts down businesses and schools, etc..

Besides the pandemic-related social isolation and political and economic fallout, covid itself can have short and long-term affects on your brain.

tomlockwood6• 4 years ago

I wish the suicide rate was factored more into conversations about needing guns for "self-defence".

throwawayacc47• 4 years ago

I wish the suicide rate was factored more into conversations about taking guns away due to "violent crime".

tomlockwood6• 4 years ago

Absolutely - the protective aspect of guns against "violent crime" is far outweighed by the risk of someone shooting themselves.

Gun Death Rate Nears Three-Decade High, with Men at Most Risk

Related Stories