Does leftism, progressivism, lead to suicide?

[Zippyjuan]

Hadn't heard he died. He always struck me as a bit unhinged. TDS is real. Leftists are literally losing their minds.

The "tolerant" left are quite the opposite, and it is driving them mad. He worked at CNN, one of the centers of constant lamentations, hysteria and outrage.

He battled demons his whole life and was a recovering addict. His CNN program was about foods from different cultures.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/08/us/an...bit/index.html

On his award-winning series, "Parts Unknown," Bourdain brought the world home to CNN viewers. Through the simple act of sharing meals, he showcased both the extraordinary diversity of cultures and cuisines, yet how much we all have in common.

Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series, "Parts Unknown." His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.

[timosman]

He battled demons his whole life and was a recovering addict. His CNN program was about foods from different cultures.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/08/us/an...bit/index.html

Thank you for solving the mystery.

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.newscientist.com/article...suicide-rates/

Right-wing governments ‘increase suicide rates’
By Andy Coghlan

Right-wing governments may sap some people’s will to live and result in more suicides, conclude studies in Britain and Australia.

The researchers speculate that losers are more likely to kill themselves in the individualistic, “winner-takes-all” societies favoured by right wing governments, because they are left to fend for themselves. Wide disparities in wealth also sharpen any sense of hopelessness, the researchers argue.

“If you fail under that ideology, it would accentuate your feelings of failure,” says Mary Shaw, whose team at the University of Bristol analysed suicide trends in England and Wales over the past century.

Left wing governments tend to be more “inclusive” and community based, she says, decreasing the isolation felt by people down on their luck. Shaw’s team calculates that over the past century, 35,000 extra suicides occurred when the Tories were in power.

“That’s equivalent to one suicide for every day of the 20th Century, or two for every day that the Conservatives ruled,” the team write in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Britain’s Conservative Party declined to comment on the findings.

Double trouble
Shaw and her colleagues found that on average, suicide rates were 17 per cent higher when the Conservatives were in power, compared to the annual average of 103 suicides per million population when opposition parties held office.

Richard Taylor and his team in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney found similar trends over the past century in New South Wales. When Right-wing governments were in power, men were 17 per cent more likely and women 40 per cent more likely to commit suicide.

They report that rates were highest whenever Right wing governments held power both at federal and state levels.

Both studies reached their conclusions after taking into account other factors that affect suicide rates, such as economic slumps, wartime, and even a surge of suicides among women in the 1960s when sedatives became widely available.

“You’ve never had it so good”
But the same trend always emerged, even at times of economic boom such as the “you’ve-never-had-it-so-good” years when Harold MacMillan led the UK’s Tory government between 1957 and 1963.

During that time, annual suicides peaked at 137 per million population. Shaw points out that rates were almost as high in the 1930s (135 per million) when Labour’s Ramsay McDonald headed a coalition, but she believes the primary reason then was the century’s worst economic slump.

The lowest rate was 85 per million, during the Liberal government of David Lloyd George between 1916 and 1920. Now, under Tony Blair, it is back to the non-Conservative average of 103, down from 121 during Margaret Thatcher’s first term in the early 1980s.

Shaw admits that attempts to connect the differences to ideologies are pure speculation. “But I’d be very interested to see if suicide rates are higher wherever there’s a Right-wing government,” she says. “I’d be particularly interested to see if the relationship holds in the US.”

[timosman]

Looks like somebody came prepared.

[Zippyjuan]

That was Australia and Britain back around 2000. This looked at the US. They looked at the statewide suicide rate and tried to examine the political leanings of their residents. Correlation is not necessarily causation.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0405064029.htm

Suicide risk linked to rates of gun ownership, political conservatism

Residents of states with the highest rates of gun ownership and political conservatism are at greater risk of suicide than those in states with less gun ownership and less politically conservative leanings, according to a study by University of California, Riverside sociology professor Augustine J. Kposowa.

The study, "Association of suicide rates, gun ownership, conservatism and individual suicide risk," was published online in the journal Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology in February.

Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death for all ages in the United States in 2007, the most recent year for which complete mortality data was available at the time of the study. It was the seventh leading cause of death for males and the 15th leading cause of death for females. Firearms are the most commonly used method of suicide by males and poisoning the most common among females.

Kposowa, who has studied suicide and its causes for two decades, analyzed mortality data from the U.S. Multiple Cause of Death Files for 2000 through 2004 and combined individual-level data with state-level information. Firearm ownership, conservatism (measured by percentage voting for former President George W. Bush in the 2000 election), suicide rate, church adherence, and the immigration rate were measured at the state level. He analyzed data relating to 131,636 individual suicides, which were then compared to deaths from natural causes (excluding homicides and accidents).

"Many studies show that of all suicide methods, firearms have the highest case fatality, implying that an individual who selects this technique has a very low chance of survival," Kposowa said. Guns are simply the most efficient method of suicide, he added.

With few exceptions, states with the highest rates of gun ownership -- for example, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alabama, and West Virginia -- also tended to have the highest suicide rates. These states were also carried overwhelmingly by George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

The study also found that:

The odds of committing suicide were 2.9 times higher among men than women

Non-Hispanic whites were nearly four times as likely to kill themselves as Non-Hispanic African Americans

The odds of suicide among Hispanics were 2.3 times higher than the odds among Non-Hispanic African Americans

Divorced and separated individuals were 38 percent more likely to kill themselves than those who were married

A higher percentage of church-goers at the state level reduced individual suicide risk.

"Church adherence may promote church attendance, which exposes an individual to religious beliefs, for example, about an afterlife. Suicide is proscribed in the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam," Kposowa noted in explaining the finding that church membership at the state level reduces individual risk of suicide. "In states with a higher percentage of the population that belong to a church, it is plausible that religious views and doctrine about suicide are well-known through sacred texts, theology or sermons, and adherents may be less likely to commit suicide."

Kposowa is the first to use a nationally representative sample to examine the effect of firearm availability on suicide odds. Previous studies that associated firearm availability to suicide were limited to one or two counties. His study also demonstrates that individual behavior is influenced not only by personal characteristics, but by social structural or contextual attributes. That is, what happens at the state level can influence the personal actions of those living within that state.

The sociologist said that although policies aimed at seriously regulating firearm ownership would reduce individual suicides, such policies are likely to fail not because they do not work, but because many Americans remain opposed to meaningful gun control, arguing that they have a constitutional right to bear arms.

"Even modest efforts to reform gun laws are typically met with vehement opposition. There are also millions of Americans who continue to believe that keeping a gun at home protects them against intruders, even though research shows that when a gun is used in the home, it is often against household members in the commission of homicides or suicides," Kposowa said.

"Adding to the widespread misinformation about guns is that powerful pro-gun lobby groups, especially the National Rifle Association, seem to have a stranglehold on legislators and U.S. policy, and a politician who calls for gun control may be targeted for removal from office in a future election by a gun lobby," he added.

Although total suicide rates in the U.S. are not much higher than in other Western countries, without changes in gun-ownership policies "the United States is poised to remain a very armed and potentially dangerous nation for its inhabitants for years to come."

[euphemia]

In my opinion the entertainment industry presents a disconnect between real life and the life portrayed in TV and films. Likewise the internet also presents a disconnect between real life and the life portrayed on the web.

The conscience rebels at the duality. It is unsustainable over a lifetime. Either the real life or the fake one will win. Almost all mass-murders have/had a significant cyber footprint.

[Zippyjuan]

http://www.businessinsider.com/maps-...crisis-2017-10

Out of the 82 counties with exceptionally high opioid death rates, 77 voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, and most were in rural parts of the country.

Economic regression, unemployment, and the associated social decline are correlated with high rates of drug use in white counties.

Shannon Monnat, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University, said her findings indicate that places where rates of death due to drug addiction, alcohol abuse, and suicide are high are also places that heavily supported Trump in the election.

"I expected to see it because when you think about the underlying factors that lead to overdose or suicide, it's depression, despair, distress, and anxiety," Monnat told Business Insider.

Research Monnat did after the election suggested that counties that were largely white and had a high "economic distress index" correlated strongly with high support for Trump. The index, which Monnat has used in her research for years, combines the percentages of people who are in poverty, unemployed, disabled, in single-parent families, living on public assistance, or living without health insurance. These same places also had exceptionally high rates of drug overdoses and deaths.

Historian Kathleen Frydl's research shows an even more striking trend. She noticed that many typically Democratic counties that were particularly heavily affected by the opioid crisis went red on election night. She named this segment of the population the "oxy electorate."

[timosman]

Zippy is totally unaware of other members' postings as it continues its media blast.

[Anti Federalist]

"Even modest efforts to reform gun laws are typically met with vehement opposition. There are also millions of Americans who continue to believe that keeping a gun at home protects them against intruders, even though research shows that when a gun is used in the home, it is often against household members in the commission of homicides or suicides," Kposowa said.

This is pure horse$#@! that has been refuted numerous times.

it is often

ETA - Oh wait, it was subtly worded in such a way that the author could deny it says what he wants it to mean.

[heavenlyboy34]

They have a god and religion, it is the state.

That^^ This is true of the statist "Right", as well. Look how they get all offended when you don't respect their Sacred symbols and such-teh flag, teh anthem, teh troops, teh Founding Fathers, teh Constitution, etc.

[Swordsmyth]

https://www.newscientist.com/article...suicide-rates/
Right-wing governments ‘increase suicide rates’

Translation: Liberals can't deal with reality.

[oyarde]

Looking over the "celebrity suicides" since 2000, there might be something to that.

I would also like to see how many were taking, or had been taking, prescription drugs that have suicidal thoughts listed as a side effect.

Absolute . Yes . Mentally ill kill themselves . Leftists are terminal . They spend life dreaming of stealing and killing others and spreading incurable mental disease . I am sure others also kill themselves too , those we should try and save .

[Swordsmyth]

That^^ This is true of the statist "Right", as well. Look how they get all offended when you don't respect their Sacred symbols and such-teh flag, teh anthem, teh troops, teh Founding Fathers, teh Constitution, etc.

Many things can deserve respect without being worshiped.

[Anti Federalist]

That was Australia and Britain back around 2000. This looked at the US. They looked at the statewide suicide rate and tried to examine the political leanings of their residents. Correlation is not necessarily causation.

Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death for all ages in the United States in 2007, the most recent year for which complete mortality data was available at the time of the study.

Kposowa, who has studied suicide and its causes for two decades, analyzed mortality data from the U.S. Multiple Cause of Death Files for 2000 through 2004 and combined individual-level data with state-level information. Firearm ownership, conservatism (measured by percentage voting for former President George W. Bush in the 2000 election), suicide rate, church adherence, and the immigration rate were measured at the state level. He analyzed data relating to 131,636 individual suicides, which were then compared to deaths from natural causes (excluding homicides and accidents).

Thanks for coming in and muddying the waters, yet again.

Your cited source only analyzed data up to 2007.

IF the question was, does the suicide rate increase or decline during a left or right government, then it seems it increases during a leftist government:



But that is not what I was asking or pondering.

I was looking at the individuals that committed suicide, and how many of them, at least of those in the public eye, were, in fact, leftists of some sort or another.

And as I go through the list, I'm finding that a significant majority were.

[Pauls' Revere]

Not fast enough.

LOL...Winner.

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

I think it has more to do with the isolating and dysfunctional nature of modern urban cities in the West, which is where leftism thrives the most. Cities digest people. The modern Western model is highly corrosive and needs to be rethought.

[timosman]

Somebody call 911 for Zippy. He's going to pop.

[Anti Federalist]

I think it has more to do with the isolating and dysfunctional nature of modern urban cities in the West, which is where leftism thrives the most. Cities digest people. The modern Western model is highly corrosive and needs to be rethought.

I'm sure that doesn't help matters, but the nations with the highest suicide rates are in no way "western".

[Zippyjuan]

Thanks for coming in and muddying the waters, yet again.

Your cited source only analyzed data up to 2007.

IF the question was, does the suicide rate increase or decline during a left or right government, then it seems it increases during a leftist government:
But that is not what I was asking or pondering.

I was looking at the individuals that committed suicide, and how many of them, at least of those in the public eye, were, in fact, leftists of some sort or another.

Of course you choose to check out a profession which has a strong liberal bend to it so no surprise you find liberal committing suicide by looking at a group of liberals. What about other professions?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/these-j...te-of-suicide/

The CDC's occupational suicide list:

1. Farmworkers, fishermen, lumberjacks, others in forestry or agriculture (85 suicides per 100,000)

2. Carpenters, miners, electricians, construction trades (53)

3. Mechanics and those who do installation, maintenance, repair (48)

4. Factory and production workers (35)

5. Architects, engineers (32)

6. Police, firefighters, corrections workers, others in protective services (31)

7. Artists, designers, entertainers, athletes, media (24)

8. Computer programmers, mathematicians, statisticians (23)

9. Transportation workers (22)

10. Corporate executives and managers, advertising and public relations (20)

11. Lawyers and workers in legal system (19)

12. Doctors, dentists and other health care professionals (19)

13. Scientists and lab technicians (17)

14. Accountants, others in business, financial operations (16)

15. Nursing, medical assistants, health care support (15)

16. Clergy, social workers, other social service workers (14)

17. Real estate agents, telemarketers, sales (13)

18. Building and ground, cleaning, maintenance (13)

19. Cooks, food service workers (13)

20. Child care workers, barbers, animal trainers, personal care and service (8)

[Swordsmyth]

Of course you choose to check out a profession which has a strong liberal bend to it so no surprise you find liberal committing suicide by looking at a group of liberals. What about a more conservative group- like say lawyers?

Too bad zip, I caught it before your edit.

[timosman]

You got him before the final edit.

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

I'm sure that doesn't help matters, but the nations with the highest suicide rates are in no way "western".

Sure, I'm not saying that's the cause of suicide worldwide. In the West, suicide is a largely urban phenomenon, though not among, say, blacks. Dysfunctional as they are, the black community is still exactly that, a community.

In the West, the edifice of the modern city is one of the causes of atomization and isolation, leading to both leftism and suicide. Other parts of the world are a different story.

[Anti Federalist]

Of course you choose to check out a profession which has a strong liberal bend to it so no surprise you find liberal committing suicide by looking at a group of liberals. What about other professions?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/these-j...te-of-suicide/

I'd love to go through that list as well, and see what comes up.

Having been a member of group 1, I can safely safe there are not many leftists in that group.

2 and 3 probably not many either.

But all the rest, there is no way to tell, could be a lot, could be a few.

[heavenlyboy34]

Many things can deserve respect without being worshiped.

The Right's idea of "respect" is the same as worship in practice, tho. Just a semantic game they play.
i.e.

[Anti Federalist]

Too bad zip, I caught it before your edit.

LOL I owe you rep.

[timosman]

The biggest source of the leftists - the government.

[timosman]

The Right's idea of "respect" is the same as worship in practice, tho. Just a semantic game they play.

You are so smart.

[Anti Federalist]

Sure, I'm not saying that's the cause of suicide worldwide. In the West, suicide is a largely urban phenomenon, though not among, say, blacks. Dysfunctional as they are, the black community is still exactly that, a community.

In the West, the edifice of the modern city is one of the causes of atomization and isolation, leading to both leftism and suicide. Other parts of the world are a different story.

No, in fact just the opposite seems to be the case.

I'd like to figure out why.

[heavenlyboy34]

You are so smart.

[Anti Federalist]

Sure, I'm not saying that's the cause of suicide worldwide. In the West, suicide is a largely urban phenomenon, though not among, say, blacks. Dysfunctional as they are, the black community is still exactly that, a community.

In the West, the edifice of the modern city is one of the causes of atomization and isolation, leading to both leftism and suicide. Other parts of the world are a different story.

Let's consider this:

There is an inverse ratio of violent crime and suicide, when you compare rural and urban areas.

Clearly rural and sparsely populated areas are prone to higher suicide rates, while urban and densely populated areas are prone to higher rates of violent crime.

Leaving the ethnic angle out of it (whites mostly populate rural areas and are more prone to suicide while blacks mostly populate urban areas and are less prone to suicide), could it be that people in urban environments end up "tougher" simply due to the fact that even the most simple of daily chores are constant battle for space, time and money?

Then you'd have to question why so many countries in rural Africa have much higher suicide rates than the US.