this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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Today I Learned

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[–] unphazed@lemmy.world 4 points 40 minutes ago* (last edited 39 minutes ago)

My daughter is 15. She hates guns. Hates being around them, the sound, the idea of harm, etc. 4 weeks ago she came crying afraid for her friends and ICE. Last week she told me she wanted to learn to shoot. (I inherited a lot of guns. I bought a few myself. I come from a conservative family and I am the black sheep, the one that "changed".) Still trying to get ahold of someone from Blazing Sword as an instructor. I want her to learn from someone with actual teaching instruction, rather than backwoods learning that I got.

Kids are terrified. Schools are scary, the law is scary, the dungeon dwelling creeps are now villified. I can see why suicide is increasing.

[–] Cantaloupe@lemmy.fedioasis.cc 1 points 6 minutes ago
[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago

Absolutely zero doubt Trump is largely responsible. Fuck this country.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 hour ago

This feels weirdly sensational which is crazy since it is a article about a heavy topic

[–] FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 58 points 4 hours ago (4 children)

Can you blame them?

The US is a fucking hellscape

I spend quite a bit of time there. I'm over several times a year and I genuinely don't know how people can live like that

There's a constant thin thread of fear, wrapped around everything, running through everything

People are afraid of the people around them. They're afraid of their government, they're afraid of the people who are supposed to be there to protect them, they're afraid of their employers, they're afraid of the unknown

I'm very careful not to take my charmed life for granted

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Having Trump as President is how I imagine it's like living with an abuser. A constant state of anxiety — never knowing when or where the next blow will come, but knowing it's coming. You stop planning for the future or enjoying the now and just focus on keeping your head above water one more day. The constant stress actually creates knots in my back that sometimes put me down for days.

And when he's finally out of office you didn't notice you've been holding your breath for four years and you just want to weep with relief at surviving and escaping.

[–] Blackfeathr@lemmy.world 3 points 33 minutes ago (1 children)

As someone who lived with an abuser for almost 30 years, can confirm, this is very accurate.

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 3 points 28 minutes ago

I'm glad you made it, mate.

[–] pipi1234@lemmy.world 1 points 27 minutes ago

Right?!

Now that the 2° admentment reason for having guns is totally debunked, the only reason for everyone to have guns is to live in constant fear of being shot or having to shot someone else.

Having to chose between feeding your children and getting life saving medical treatment is a very real choice most Americans can be confronted with.

Etc etc etc...

Turns out USA is only the best country in the world for rich people and paedophiles...

[–] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 10 points 2 hours ago

You're exactly right. I don't really have a sense of security about anything

[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 15 points 3 hours ago

My roommate [content warning]

spoilerjust took his own life a few weeks ago. I had no idea what he was going through because we lived very separate lives. He always seemed like he was doing OK, but in the note he left he spoke of hiding mental health issues from me because he didn't want to stress me out while I was dealing with my own shit. I wish I could go back and tell him to bother me.

This shit is really happening, and it's hitting all age brackets. Even if you think someone is doing OK, it's fine just to check on them. "Hey, how are you?" Be sincere. Don't hit them with the "What's up?" Everyone has a preprogrammed response. But give them eye contact and a genuine tone. It's not something you'll ever regret.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 38 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (5 children)

Among 10-14 year-olds?

At that age, your biggest problem should be losing a video game save file, or at worst losing your first pet. All while still surrounded by loving and supportive adults.

What the hell are we doing?

[–] TheHotze@lemmy.world 13 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

The future in America doesn't look too bright right now. Especially if you aren't white, are Trans, or need to live on the planet earth.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 hour ago

It doesn't look to great if you are white either (particular white with low/medium income)

Some minority groups have major struggles but it is important to acknowledge everyone. Favoring certain minorities breads resentment that make racism and discrimination worse.

[–] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 hours ago

They aren't stupid, they can see how bad the world is

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 hour ago

What the hell are we doing?

This is the question I've been asking for years...

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 11 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

It says 10-24, but I agree. It's fucked up.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 20 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The tripled rate is specifically for 10-14.

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 2 points 2 hours ago

Ah, my mistake.

[–] Pricklesthemagicfish@reddthat.com 2 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Meh it wasnt that many years ago kids would have been mining coal for 4 or 5 years by 14, yet for some reason they still werent killing themselves. Maybe this is worrisome

[–] Lodespawn@aussie.zone 5 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I suspect we might not have very good records of child suicide from when children were mining coal, or even very good records of how many died just mining coal

Relevant user name.

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Part of that is likely they weren't exposed to it as an option the same way our various media does today. Maybe there'd be a rumor around town but there'd be a lot of speculation. Today people are exposed a lot more to suicide and its methods, and that could work subconsciously or even inspirationally to push people towards it.

The stricter home culture and higher religious rates probably played a factor as well. Not saying those are great deterrents but it could provide fears of shame and punishment for even thinking about suicide.

Plus them shits didnt have time to kill themselves after working 16hrs a day 7 days a week.

[–] Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Losing your first pet is no small event :|

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 7 points 2 hours ago

Sure, but it's not something anyone should be killing themselves over. That's happened for millennia, I'd say that's probably unrelated to this graph.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 12 points 4 hours ago (2 children)
[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 6 points 3 hours ago

The hike in the graph didn't start with Trump. There are a LOT of things that we can blame that monster for. This, however, is not entirely his fault.

I'd guess that it has to do with the fact, that quite frankly, most young people had their futures taken by previous generations. Trust in the government has been declining for decades. The economy has been getting worse and worse for the average person for a while. Politics have gotten more and more divisive because of the trend in which both the Democratic and Republican parties going further and further right, creating a sense of conflict and distrust towards our fellow citizens.

Assuming that every single one of these problems is miraculously fixed, there's still the problem with the climate having already suffered irreparable damage. So, yeah, tons of fucked up shit in the world, paired with significant personal problems like bullying and social isolation, as well as all of us being able to see every single shitty thing that happens, I'd be surprised if it wasn't going up. Trump is a big part of several of those problems, to be fair.

[–] Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world 7 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

This is obviously a Biden residual /s

It's lame that I have to put /s but people are stupid

[–] aeration1217@lemmy.org 0 points 1 hour ago

make er great!