White Americans Drink and Commit Suicide More Often Than Any Other Race. Why? - General

[QUOTE=King Tiger;36622649]I once saw stats that said religion makes you happier and more likely to give to charity! Also, why are you posting this here? What does this have to do with suicide rates? Why do you feel the need to let everyone know how much you hate religion?[/QUOTE] Because the OP made it a point to add it into his OP? Second, your anecdotal assumptions of a "hate" I have are childish at best.

It seems for many people that material want is depressing, especially when they may not have the financial means to achieve their so called 'dream life'.

[QUOTE=TtIiVv;36625186]It seems for many people that material want is depressing, especially when they may not have the financial means to achieve their so called 'dream life'.[/QUOTE] I believe this stems from people not understanding life. The man who simply sees the tree does not appreciate it nearly as much as the one who understood how it got there. When people lack the understanding of people, places, and objects around them, they lack the ability to interact with them. Life is made up of all these interactions, big or small, and the more one fills his life with these interactions, the more his life will feel fulfilled. So what happens when people do not understand life around them? Well, they become materialistic, I believe. Since they can't find any greater beauty or meaning in their surroundings, their daily lives become the only important thing for them to know. If that's all they know, that's all they will be able to interact with, leaving them to feel bored with their empty lives and filling the void with material wants.

[QUOTE=King Tiger;36622649]I once saw stats that said religion makes you happier and more likely to give to charity! Also, why are you posting this here? What does this have to do with suicide rates? Why do you feel the need to let everyone know how much you hate religion?[/QUOTE] Interestingly (but not entirely relevant) more protestants commit suicide than catholics, possibly because of guilt reasons, what with catholics having the sacrament of confession. Either that or some born-again christians think they can go straight to heaven by killing themselves. Could be something else entirely, i'm just speculating.

[QUOTE=CheeserCrice;36625656]Interestingly (but not entirely relevant) more protestants commit suicide than catholics, possibly because of guilt reasons, what with catholics having the sacrament of confession. Either that or some born-again christians think they can go straight to heaven by killing themselves. Could be something else entirely, i'm just speculating.[/QUOTE] Wow, Yeah, something else entirely. Suicide doesn't come from religion unless it's from a crazy cult. I did also see that study that religious people are generally happier than non-religious people. But some people feel oppressed by their religion. But that depends on their perspective on it. And of course, I'm sure you all notice there are different 'degrees' of Christians. Some are just that way because they grew up that way and don't know anything else and thinking of atheism is way too taboo. And a lot of them don't live any differently that would make them distinguishable. But the people I've known who are extremely into their faith are some of the happiest people I know. It's not just black and white with religion like so many anti-theists would like to make it seem. And to the other user: Yeah, that could be very well true. We all have different reasons a certain lifestyle or ideology makes us feel. So your perspective on Christianity when you were considered one is probably very different from, say, Joel Osteen, the guy who never stops smiling. It all comes down to what makes us feel better. I knew a guy who was Christian but grew up in a torn home. Was treated badly by the "bad" Christians. He went on to discover other religions and adopt them. He even went to Satanism before he just said "THIS IS ALL JUST STUPID" and became an atheist. It's what makes him happy. Christianity makes people happy, Wicca makes people happy. It all just comes down to what is the truth which is different for every person. But I'd rather have a happy and alive Wiccan friend than a sad and suicidal Christian friend. People's perspectives just need altering sometimes. That's how you get out of depression.

I thought Native Americans were the biggest drinkers. [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439767/ns/health-addictions/t/native-american-deaths-alcohol-related/#.T_ZyxfVadLo[/url] ???

Allot of white people don't know what to do in life My dad is Mestizo (Mexican American) and although he went to college, he knows that most Mestizos just tell their kids to finish mandatory schooling and then do manual labor for the rest of their lives

the less people have to work, the more they can reflect on their life. being a farmer doesn't leave much room for philosophy. with the requirement to conform with evergrowing and everchanging societal norms, as well as having to put up with a stressful life (not in the survival sense, but you get my point), first world citizens are much more likely to give up on life. scholarly people tend to be more depressed than less well taught people for whatever reason, although i'm guessing it's primal himzn instincts. i woildn't be surprised if such a phenomenon was also applied on the scale of the entire world

Probably because we're happiest running down gazelles on some savannah or chucking spears at the neighbouring tribe.

[QUOTE=Fenderson;36644462]I thought Native Americans were the biggest drinkers. [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439767/ns/health-addictions/t/native-american-deaths-alcohol-related/#.T_ZyxfVadLo[/url] ???[/QUOTE] They have a lot of alcohol related problems, but generally don't drink as much as European ethnicities. They can't process alcohol as well and that's why even after a little bit of it start developing issues. Just look at alcohol consumption per capita per nation. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption[/url]. It's certainly possible that the native american average is above the US average, but it most likely doesn't come close to the European averages. Which also don't have a lot of direct alcohol deaths even. Alcohol is usually a secondary death cause - freezing, accidents under influence and similar are more common due to it. Compare that to the 10 percent that you find among the Natives.

To be honest, non-religious people must be the ones who fear death and avoid suicide. For instance, myself. I am non-religious and I fear death over everything, hence I try to stay alive. Thinking about the nothingness after death is the one that scares me most. But if I were religious and believed in an afterlife, I'd be chill and uncaring if I died or not. I'd probably get myself killed to skip to the heaven part, too.

[QUOTE=sonerin;36765724]To be honest, non-religious people must be the ones who fear death and avoid suicide. For instance, myself. I am non-religious and I fear death over everything, hence I try to stay alive. Thinking about the nothingness after death is the one that scares me most. But if I were religious and believed in an afterlife, I'd be chill and uncaring if I died or not. I'd probably get myself killed to skip to the heaven part, too.[/QUOTE] That's not how it works, buckaroo. Fear of death is not something that religious people don't have. It's deep inside of us. It's the want to continue to live to continue our genetic code that has caused this emotion to be placed inside of us through evolution. You would still care to die. Religious people are still afraid of dying, and I'd love to see you disprove that. They may be able to cope with death by using an afterlife, but I assure you people both still grieve loved ones and grapple with the effects of death. If you were religious, the most popular religions tell you that committing suicide either leads to hell (eternal damnation, if death's not scary enough for you) or at the very least doesn't let you into their good club.

[QUOTE=King Tiger;36517276]I find it odd that Native Americans actually have a higher rate, and I'd like to know why. But they are a very small percentage of the population, so it looks like Whites are the runner up.[/QUOTE] Because rapidly industrializing a stone age equivalent tribal culture doesn't do well for their longstanding ethnic community. There's a great deal of poverty and alcoholism in native communities. Poverty and Alcoholism generally go hand in hand with suicide rates.

Being completely eradicated culturally and constantly oppressed will do that to people.