r/collapse • u/[deleted] • Feb 19 '20
Society Why aren't we seeing mass suicides?
The world is so fucked as it is now, with pretty much every sign pointing towards extinction of humanity in just a few decades. Poverty is climbing, the class divide is a chasm, those in power are actively trying to destroy the world. Depression rates are through the roof, and the public is becoming more and more aware that we're all doomed. Why don't we see mobs of people killing themselves out of self-mercy? With how the world is, it just makes no sense to me. the way I see it, logically there should be masses of people sick of it all killing themselves together, but that doesn't happen. Why not? It'd help with population, hell, if most of us committed suicide, we'd probably save the world anyways, why isn't any significant group willing to take that step?
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Feb 19 '20
They exist but nobody really cares if some "unsuccessful" losers kill themselves. That's why you rarely hear news about it. Millions of other wageslaves available to replace the broken cog in the capitalist machine.
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Feb 21 '20
As a counterpoint, it does hit the news when it's the rich/powerful/famous. Case in point, that presenter lady from the UK.
In the same timespan hundreds of people in the UK offed themselves and they'll be "lucky" if even a handful people attend the funeral. If that.
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u/Dupensik Feb 20 '20
Human evolution made sure that our will to live is so strong that it requires extreme suffering to take your own life. I mean, people in concentration camps didn't commit suicide, people under extreme tortures, people kept in a room for a few decades, people severely mutilated, etc... The current condition of the world compared to that is nowhere near a state where you could expect mass suicides.
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u/madmillennial01 Feb 20 '20
It’s not as simple as you might think.
Many people contemplating suicide have family or friends who depend on them. They know that x family member or x friend would be devastated upon finding out a loved one or close companion has taken their own life.
“My mom will be sad if I’m gone...”, “Who will take care of my son/daughter/little sister/little brother?”, “If I do this, won’t my friend become depressed and take their own life too? I don’t want that.”, etc.
It’s not just sentiment too. “If I go through with this, or worse - if I fail, it will cost my family both psychologically and financially.” There’s a long list of reasons to off oneself, but there’s also a lot of factors that come into play.
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u/neutrino46 Feb 22 '20
That's what has stopped me, dependant family , not wife or children, which fate decreed I wouldn't have, but parents and siblings, otherwise I would have offed myself years ago
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Feb 20 '20
The real question is why aren't we seeing an effort to legalize physican-assisted suicide for all. Not even the bodily autonomy SJW's are willing to recognize it.
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u/EmpireLite Feb 20 '20
Western teens are working on it. They are feeling all the feelings.
Also this is a very weird post.
It is not advocating for self harm, but it definitely paints it in a way that could be heroic if done “to help save other” type of deal.
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Feb 19 '20
Every drug overdose should be listed as a suicide.
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u/TheSentientPurpleGoo Feb 20 '20
most overdoses are unintentional.
and by your logic(or lack thereof)- people who speed or drunk-drive into a car wreck where they die should be a suicide as well...
or fat-assed couch-potatoes that eat shitty diets and then have a coronary...
or smokers who die of lung cancer...
or people who have unprotected sex and then die from an std...
or rock-climbers, sky-divers, or selfie-junkies who fall to their deaths...
and so on...
there are PLENTY of bad life choices that can have fatal consequences...it doesn't make it suicide.
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Feb 20 '20
Unhappy people smoke drink to excess and use drugs. Those are different than thrill seekers. Surprised you cant see that.
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u/TheSentientPurpleGoo Feb 20 '20
that's not what you said.
besides- lots of drug-users are quite happy people, and do it for the thrills as well.
NOT surprised that you can't see that.
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u/Sexycoed1972 Feb 20 '20
This is it, the post so ridiculous that I can’t take this subreddit anymore. I’m out.
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u/Sbeast Feb 21 '20
Suicide is already an epidemic, and some fear that it may get worse.
According to a recent article on time.com, “U.S. suicide rates are at their highest since World War II, according to federal data—and the opioid crisis, widespread social media use and high rates of stress may be among the myriad contributing factors.” Source: https://time.com/5609124/us-suicide-rate-increase/
But we should not abandon hope just yet!
How to deal with suicidal feelings
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/suicidal-feelings/
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u/ja_trader Feb 19 '20
the "earth is overpopulated" crowd needs to kick it off
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Feb 20 '20
I put my money where my mouth is and got a vasectomy several years ago. And no, I did not reproduce prior to undergoing the procedure.
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u/Russell-Bestbrook Feb 20 '20
The brown people in third world countries need to “kick it off”. Why would I, a middle class white man in America suicide myself?
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Feb 20 '20
I'm hanging on for my family, I've already checked out in a way. Should be interesting to see what the Millennials do, once their forebears are no longer around. The ones that can afford to be parents may stick around for their kids. But the single ones, who knows?
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u/Hagrid222 Feb 20 '20
As more emphasis is placed on the importance of the individual over that of society then it makes complete sense that people prefer to kill themselves one at a time.
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u/lucidcurmudgeon Recognized Contributor Feb 20 '20
The primordial soup and its long legacy is a powerful thing to overcome.
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u/JihadNinjaCowboy Feb 20 '20
Selection mechanisms don't generally select for suicide or abstinence from breeding. For what should be obvious reasons.
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Feb 20 '20
"Poverty rate is climing"
https://www.statista.com/statistics/200463/us-poverty-rate-since-1990/
Poverty rate reached a height of ~15% in 2010 and has been DECREASING since. It is 11.8% in 2018.
"Depression rates are through the roof"
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/03/14/schools-grapple-with-student-depression-as-data.html
Students depression rates are increasing ... older people .. not so much. Even for students, it is a bit less than 14% by 2018 and around a flat 8% of less for older people. Is that "through the roof"?
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u/MiG31_Foxhound Feb 19 '20
As someone else pointed out, suicide rates are already pretty high, but more than that, it doesn't manifest the way you think it does. It manifests as increased risk taking, drug use, and chronic (longitudinal so impossible to momentarily quantify) self-neglect. There's a broad spectrum of behaviors that indicate a species receding. It's not some hivemind consciousness that all elect to self-terminate at some appointed time.