More U.S. Veterans Have Committed Suicide In The Last Decade Than Died In The Vietnam War
- Thread starter Nat Algren
- Start date
I believe there were more veterans that committed suicide than died in the Vietnam War in the decade prior to Trump winning the election too.
I don't know the truth of that or not but never the less the fact does remain that this really has nothing specific to do with Trump. Not unless you can show a specific policy in which has logically increased the rate of vet suicide.
This is a very real issue. Anyone that tries to minimize it for whatever political agenda is truly a puke. I have personally driven veteran clients to the VA ER to keep them from harming themselves.
I don’t think this is a political issue.
would need to crunch a lot of stats to come up with even a slightly educated opinion.
likely you don’t have to go back far to add up teen suicides that eclipse Vietnam casualties. Those would have nothing to do with the military.
would need to crunch a lot of stats to come up with even a slightly educated opinion.
likely you don’t have to go back far to add up teen suicides that eclipse Vietnam casualties. Those would have nothing to do with the military.
That's a truly sad statistic. We have to do better with mental health in this country. Not just for veterans, either.
I think a lot of it can be traced back to single parent households or even less.
kids feel unwanted / unloved and it snowballs through life from there. IMO it’s too late by the time they get to high school.
sad to say you need a school program that starts at about 6am and runs through about 8pm. You feed them, bathe them, help them with their homework, and wash their clothes.
Pay the teachers all you want. It will not solve the problem that is many kids have a train wreck home life.
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Will also get worse with the legalizing of pot. It’s a gateway drug to a bad ending for many.
This is an alarming trend regardless of who's president.
I grew up with a kid who shot himself after serving.
It's a serious problem.
I grew up with a kid who shot himself after serving.
It's a serious problem.
I think it's even bigger, and I think Trump is trying to reveal this to us (inadvertently).
Our society is so capitalism-driven, so driven by winner/loser construct, by status, by in-group versus out-group, by dominance and subservience, strength versus weakness—just look at how we talk to each other in here.
The alpha/beta silliness. The living in mom's basement trope. The OP's mom jokes. The psychological tool of weaponizing "elitism". On and on and on. Capitalism teaches us that everything is in competition, from the very womb we are in competition for everything and it is bone-marrow-level accepted as the norm. Objections to this societal model are railed against as socialist or communist or whatever. People literally argue that some people deserve health care while others don't. I find that sick, if not sociopathic. People see homelessness as weak, as losing. Losers. Trump turned this into a character and then a presidency, giving people whose identity desperately needs to feel some type of association with "winning" someone to (ironically) idolize.
Our society is fundamentally broken. We are hypercapitalism and hyperindividual. This is a destructive combination.
Provide a link then, Mr. Common Sense.
Alcohol is a legal drug that I'm guessing is more of the culprit than any other substance.
hawkeyetraveler
HB Heisman
You are mixing up cause and effect. People with mental health issues often have substance abuse problems, but the root cause of their issues is not the drugs - drug abuse is a symptom. Cracking down on weed is like giving a man with a hole in his head an aspirin for the pain. You are not solving anything.
Also, maybe you should read up on the merits of non physically addictive weed vs. other drugs like alcohol - or are you suggesting we ban alcohol too?
In the years I have practiced law, I have never seen an assault charge, domestic assault charge, or suicide that involved only THC. Alcohol, however, is involved all the time. So...some people on this thread need to get off their pulpits and get real with facts.
I'm guessing Dr. Wolf can probably attest that he has never heard of someone brought into the E.R. for THC overdose...but ETOH, prescription medications, Meth, etc.
But on a larger point...don't just assume that Veterans committing suicide is related to substance abuse. You are doing a dishonor to their service to blame it just on that.
I'm guessing Dr. Wolf can probably attest that he has never heard of someone brought into the E.R. for THC overdose...but ETOH, prescription medications, Meth, etc.
But on a larger point...don't just assume that Veterans committing suicide is related to substance abuse. You are doing a dishonor to their service to blame it just on that.
Didn’t assume nothing. Some studies suggest over 60% of the vets who commit suicide had a substance abuse.
Yeah... "substance abuse" doesn't equal "only smoking marijuana." You have to be ignorant as fvck to believe that marijuana is some kind of dangerous chemical.
Nobody ever has nothing to lose. There should always be a support system to emphasize that point.
This is dumb to make this issue political but that's what America has become. Someone has to be blamed and everyone is outraged as a result.
And to point out the stupidity of the tweet even further, where the OUTRAGE is directed towards Trump, don't forget that Obama was President for 60% of the decade in question.
I see your point, When the attention grabber in the tweet is "Tired of all the winning?", it leads one to believe it's all Trump's fault. I looked past that because the headline of the article made clear it was about the last decade when Trump was only in office for 3 years. It specifically mentioned "since 2008".
I have a few questions.
1. Did vets returning from previous conflicts also have high suicide rates? IE where World War 2 vets killing themselves at a similar rate today.
2. Is there any life stressors that are often associated with suicide that vets also deal with more than the civilian population? For example if a guy is constantly deployed and that causes his marriage to fall apart and he gets divorced and that causes his suicide.
3. What is the gender breakdown of vets committing suicide? Like what % of male vets die due to suicide vs. what % of male civilians. Same thing for women.
I doubt it is the only explanation but vets are an overwhelmingly male contingent and men are more likely to die via suicide than women.
I'd agree with both criticisms of our society. Problem is that we're looking at Vet suicides here and they kill themselves at stunningly high rates. And those things are not things that just vets have to deal with.
1. Did vets returning from previous conflicts also have high suicide rates? IE where World War 2 vets killing themselves at a similar rate today.
2. Is there any life stressors that are often associated with suicide that vets also deal with more than the civilian population? For example if a guy is constantly deployed and that causes his marriage to fall apart and he gets divorced and that causes his suicide.
3. What is the gender breakdown of vets committing suicide? Like what % of male vets die due to suicide vs. what % of male civilians. Same thing for women.
I doubt it is the only explanation but vets are an overwhelmingly male contingent and men are more likely to die via suicide than women.
I'd agree with both criticisms of our society. Problem is that we're looking at Vet suicides here and they kill themselves at stunningly high rates. And those things are not things that just vets have to deal with.
Sad, sad statistic.
I doubt privatizing the VA will help, but I am for trying new things. The current system is unwieldy to navigate. Extra hard if you are struggling with a TBI or mental health issues.
Yeah, I'll be a little political. It would be helpful if our current president didn't minimize TBIs.
I doubt privatizing the VA will help, but I am for trying new things. The current system is unwieldy to navigate. Extra hard if you are struggling with a TBI or mental health issues.
Yeah, I'll be a little political. It would be helpful if our current president didn't minimize TBIs.
