2024 Recap: Mass Shooter Breaks Glass Ceiling While 49,500 Americans Die in Silence

Too bad that’s not where we’re going to start.

135 Suicides a Day and No Headlines

One-hundred and thirty-five Americans will die by suicide today. Annually, nearly 50,000 Americans end their lives themselves. Among white people, suicide rates are dropping, but they are doubling in the black community. Are one-hundred and thirty-five deaths per day just a percentage of Americans we write off? If you look at the data, a certain number of people will commit the act…. Stop, don’t want to hear it.

We need to stop pretending suicide doesn’t exist. Obituaries rarely, if ever, mention suicide. It’s embarrassing and shameful for the family to not only lose a loved one, but in that way. Guilt. Blame. Anger. Grief. And those other seven stages. Who can blame the family for not announcing the cause of death publicly? Which raises a bigger question. Who should be talking about the epidemic taking the lives of one-hundred and thirty-five Americans every day?

The media prevents normalizing suicides by not covering the issue. Sometimes a brief mention will be made and some statistics, but when’s the last time a reporter did a deep dive into the suicide plague killing 49,500 Americans a year?

The media isn’t wrong in their approach here. If a bunch of journalists talk about people killing themselves, the thinking is it’ll inspire more people to do the same. That’s human nature. But with that same logic,

Mass Shooters Get Headlines, Suicides Get Silence

When the news covers a mass shooting incident (or public execution), we glue ourselves to our screens. We also need to know why. How. What can I do in the future to prevent something like this?

First, Americans should never turn in their guns. No human should ever turn in their best defense against tyranny. In war, taking away a soldier’s weapon forces submission. I’m not suggesting we’re at war, but it’s good to be prepared. Paranoid? Maybe a little, but also a huge fan of history, and it’s never smart to give up your weapons to those in power. History or survival instinct are sometimes one and the same.

There is some good news.

There are reports that during “Mass Shooter” teachers often shield as many children as possible, sacrificing themselves for those in their care. That’s what American heroes do. There’s also reports that kids often huddle around whoever is dialing 911 to shield them from being killed. Smart little buggers, huh? I can’t confirm these “huddles” because I don’t interview children. It’s fucking disgusting.

With the latest shooting incident in Wisconsin, we’ve learned that mass shooters now believe in equality. Very progressive of them.

How we handle mass shootings isn’t a complicated, life-altering, complex problem that needs a serialized week-long news show, a few op-eds, and social media statements every time children are gunned down. It’s called sensible gun laws.

It doesn’t make sense to me that there’s guns that shoot hundreds of rounds in a second. Some gun background checks seem too accessible. How do children have access to these twenty kills per second murder devices?

I’m not sure we will ever alter the Second Amendment of the Constitution, and we shouldn’t, but we can change how we access these mass killing devices. That, or we teach children about guns and give every American a government-mandated pistol. If everyone is armed and can defend themselves, even the kids, that could be the other way to deter shooters.

Sensible gun laws. Stricter storing mandates. Sure, it’ll mean longer wait times, but isn’t a few weeks’ worth every having another mass shooting at a school again?

Too often we sensationalize violence and overlook silent crisis. Hundreds of children have been murdered at school. Music fans at concerts. Batman fans at a movie. Patrons at a LGBTQ+ bar. We know the stories, the shooters, and what we believe are their motives. What do we know about the 49,500 Americans who take their own lives every year?

Someday someone richer and smarter than me will figure out a way to capitalize on suicide. That’s the game isn’t it? And when they do, American athletes will wear special cleats and patches on their jerseys to help raise awareness about suicide prevention. And some of the profits from selling game-worn suicide awareness uniforms will trickle down to non-profits aiming to help prevent suicide.

Until then, if someone you know is struggling with mental health issues or suicide, here’s some resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1–800–273–8255 (Veterans in crisis, press “1” to be directed to local VA resources)

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741–741

For those affected by unhinged gun violence and suicide, I cannot even begin to imagine your pain. I’m sorry the world has been so cruel to you. There are no words that can help alleviate that.

My words aren’t aimed to upset you or dismiss your opinions, they are meant to create more dialogue. Uncomfortable, vivid truths that you’ve experienced should wake people up. I’m sorry that hasn’t happened yet.