The closest I ever came to suicide was when I was unemployed, living with my parents, and had about $150 left in my bank account. I was too embarrassed to ask for money, and too ashamed to even ask for a loan. My parents would not have judged me at all, but I was too proud to admit I had no money. Capitalism had me conditioned to believe that if I wasn't productive I wasn't worth keeping alive. Never again.
One of the most effective suicide prevention mechanisms is to create an environment in which one can realistically, and legitimately, choose to participate in when we’re at our most vulnerable.
Hopelessness is the real plague of the 21st century. In large part for everyone it’s climate change. We realize that the planet is becoming increasingly uninhabitable, yet we are powerless to stop it, because billionaires profit from keeping it going.
Plagues kill millions; the price of fucking everything goes up overnight and stays up forever; and the daily news of potential WW3 tend to add up. The future looks bleak.
But at the same time, the one power we do have to effect change is to vote. Show up and vote and have your voice heard. Are you okay with letting hopelessness give in to fascism or do you want to try to make things better and keep the door open for elections to continue to be meaningful in the future?