Category: Suicide Prevention
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We’re Having The Wrong Debate About The 2nd Amendment And Guns: “Own” Isn’t In The 2A
This is very much an “Emperor’s New Clothes” situation. America watches a naked king ride by every day while pretending that this bloated, pink-skinned, pimply-and-pock-marked monarch is clothed. As we sit here today, we have it in our heads that the Second Amendment guarantees all Americans the right to own all the guns they want. […]
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Writer’s Block Nearly Killed Me
I had a two decade-long writer’s block and didn’t know it – until it tried to kill me. It nearly did. We’re talking literal inches between me and a city bus moving at speed, trying to make a light. This was three days before Christmas 2016. My writer’s block had long since metastasized into a […]
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This Blog Finds It Gratifying That “Bullshit” Is Gaining Acceptance
I think I’ve lost count how many times I’ve heard the word “bullshit” on MSNBC today. For the record, I have zero problem with hearing, seeing or writing that word. I’m watching Nicolle Wallace’s excellent “Deadline: White House” on MSNBC (an addiction of mine) and Nicolle herself just dropped the word, Clare McCaskill just dropped […]
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“Responsible Gun Ownership” Is Wishful Thinking At Best
I know and have known people who I believe are absolutely responsible in their approach to life. I know gun owners, too. Many. Now, I’m just talking about perception here – how a gun NON-owner perceives gun owners when those gun owners use the word “responsible” to describe themselves. I’m certain my gun-owning friends believe […]
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“Responsible Gun Owners” Are Responsible Until They’re Not; THAT’S The Problem
Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure there are plenty of “responsible gun owners” who genuinely want to be responsible with their guns because they comprehend that guns kill people. And, up to this point, they can claim to have behaved responsibly (as far as we know) because their weapons haven’t hurt anyone. So, yeah — […]
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Depression Is Like “Thought Cancer”
Slowly — too slowly — our culture is beginning to understand that depression isn’t just one person feeling blue because their life sucks. It’s a health issue with causes and effects that can be treated and ameliorated. The human brain is, by far, the most complex, complicated organ in our bodies. It’s also the organ […]
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Anthony Bourdain’s Passing – Three Years Ago Today – Reminds Us How Important Our Mental Health Is
Three days before Christmas 2016, I came within literal inches of killing myself. I was at the deepest point in a decade-long depression. I got lucky in the aftermath. I got well. But, even as I finally got my depression under control — the mood stabilizer I take moderates my emotions which allowed me to […]
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Things You Must Believe If You Want To Be A Practicing Conservative
For the longest time in this country, conservatives presented themselves as America’s perpetual adults in the room. That was the GOP’s wink to America at the end of the 2016 coup d’etat: “Don’t worry your pretty little selves about Donald Trump, America, whenever he tries to go too far, the “adults in the room” will […]
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Why Do American Men Turn To Guns To Solve Their Emotional Problems?
Another mass shooting in America — Eight murdered at a Fed Ex facility in Indianapolis — and the news media needs to know: “What’s the motive?” As if the gunman’s particular issue with the world would explain why he reacted exactly as he did. Our news media is good at wringing their hands and gnashing […]