I'm tired of hearing of Asians / Hapas undertaking suicide ...

[Filiprish]

I found out this past weekend that a Hapa (Jap-Anglo) I went to high school with, brother of a classmate, and fellow military brat, undertook suicide last year...and succeeded. :frown:

He seemed to have a lot going for him: good-looks, physical fitness, a college education, a seemingly loving and well-to-do family, which included a close younger sister sibling, a girlfriend, and much more. Before leaving us, he was been back home at his dad's hometown to help around his parent's farm in the NC mountains and with expanding family business ventures. Yet there must have been something missing, some void, some obstacle, it pains me to think about it. I don't understand, why? :confused:

[uhhden]

Isn't this more of a universial social problem than one specifically limited to Hapas and Asians?

[Filiprish]

Isn't this more of a universial social problem than one specifically limited to Hapas and Asians?
Suicide is a concern for all, but there's clearly a high rate of suicide among Asians ages 15-24, second leading cause of death, compared to other races.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/pacnews/archive/2005/08/27/asianparents27.DTL
http://www.med.nyu.edu/csaah/assets/Suicide%20Conference%20Program%20Announcement%20.p df#search='asian%20suicide'

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A male Hapa cousin of mine undertook a successful suicide in '98, however, he wasn't the model citizen type, and now I hear about this. Btw, the reason why I say "undertook" instead "commit" is b/c it's less condemning. Commit has criminal connations. In the past five years there has been many stories about APIAs / Hapas undertaking suicide. NYU even had an event this past Oct addressing the matter...

We must discuss this issue more openly.

[jdmdrift]

well not to make light of it but has anyone read the threads in the hapa section? geez! its like a crisis center in there.
but im not excluded from it, i think most hapas have identity issues and some just cant cope, im not saying this is the reason of your friend im just making a generalized observation.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

HK has one of the world's highest suicide rates (19 per 100000, or something like 15 times the murder rate), but I haven't heard of any mixed race kids killing themselves here ...

[Filiprish]

well not to make light of it but has anyone read the threads in the hapa section? geez! its like a crisis center in there.
but im not excluded from it, i think most hapas have identity issues and some just cant cope, im not saying this is the reason of your friend im just making a generalized observation.
You and I both know Hapas are not unique to identity issues among non-"whites" of the world. However, I think many Hapas, like Asians, in the West do lack a sufficient support unit and acknowledgement from society to maintain a healthy, inherently multicultural identity. However, in my humble yet educated opinion, I think Hapas do have a tendency to be too idealistic for their own good and bear more than a reasonable share of weight of the world on their shoulders - out of survival, nonetheless.

[cool]

HK has one of the world's highest suicide rates (19 per 100000, or something like 15 times the murder rate), but I haven't heard of any mixed race kids killing themselves here ...

Wow thats really low murder rate. So i take it HK is a really safe city?

[kasia]

i'm guessing, but couldn't a lot of it have to do with the greater pressures that we face from our parents and family? the need to succeed, get good grades, etc.? i believe that there is a disproportionate number of asians who either attempt suicide or just fall into depression in college due to poor grades.

rather than being tired of hearing of the issue, shouldn't we explore it and come up with possible solutions?

[SunWuKong]

i'm guessing, but couldn't a lot of it have to do with the greater pressures that we face from our parents and family? the need to succeed, get good grades, etc.? i believe that there is a disproportionate number of asians who either attempt suicide or just fall into depression in college due to poor grades.

it could be any number of things, but one thing that is a statistical fact, at least amongst Asian Americans, is that we are less likely to use services that deal with psychological illness and such, but those of us that do, we are more likely to have some sort of psychological illness.

anybody may develop psychological illnesses that need professional attention, but i think our low usage rates of those services probably contribute to a higher suicide rate.

[Hiroshi2]

He seemed to have a lot going for him: good-looks, physical fitness, a college education, a seemingly loving and well-to-do family, which included a close younger sister sibling, a girlfriend, and much more. Before leaving us, he was been back home at his dad's hometown to help around his parent's farm in the NC mountains and with expanding family business ventures. Yet there must have been something missing, some void, some obstacle, it pains me to think about it. I don't understand, why?



Isn't it funny how some of the most miserable people in the world are the motherfuckers who have everything, yet some of the happiest people in the world are the folks who ain't got shit.


Anyway.......................everybody's suicide rate is going up. The white suicide rate is going up, and has been since the 1970s...............the suicide rate for black males b/w 15-24 has gone up ~ 135% since 1995.....................and like Filiprish said, the suicide rate for Asian males in the same age group is going up.


Suicide is the most disgusting thing in the world. This dude at my school shot himself in the head a couple years back. I went to the funeral, cause I knew him and he seemed like a pretty cool cat. Never again - most funerals are pretty sad occasions and people are in a somber mood, but going to the funeral of somebody who killed themselves makes you want to kill yourself.


Giving up goes against everything I've ever been taught, and everything I've ever learned. That's the main reason why suicide disgusts me.

You always hear about people giving up and going through hard times. But a lot of times when people overcome incredible odds and actually fucking make it, it's not heard by a lot of people, especially the people who need to hear it the most.


Suicide is a problem, period. Although generally speaking, different ethnic groups might be doing it for different reasons. For many blacks, it may be because of typical problems associated with urban life, living in the city - crime, poverty, etc. whereas with asians it might be pressures from parents, racism, etc. And for white kids it might be because they listen to too many stupid songs on the radio about wanting to die because you got teased by some kids at school. But either way it goes, it's pretty fucked up.

[kasia]

it could be any number of things, but one thing that is a statistical fact, at least amongst Asian Americans, is that we are less likely to use services that deal with psychological illness and such, but those of us that do, we are more likely to have some sort of psychological illness.


that's accurate, and studies show that in fact, by the time asians do use such services, most of them have already reached a state of psychosis or have much more serious problems.

[lee duk sun]

i might just add that i've suffered from suicidal tendencies since the young age of 7. i'm trying to untangle it now, and that's another story... but i have to say that seeking the right care is so difficult. in fact, it took me a year to get someone to see me (unless i wanted to take experimental meds) and i still haven't seen the 'real doctor' yet. it's a crisis with our health care system in america, as well as ongoing battles of the world maturing technologically and economically but stepping backwards in emotional maturity since we just can't keep up with all these changes. it's a backlash, imho, and i don't know what can be done. everybody's fighting so hard to make money to provide for their children that their children are neglected or they just don't know where they're at in their heads. and there's so much social pressures for children the more advanced we get...

man, i sound bitter! but, i'm surprisingly not. i just wonder what it will take to start getting the world to prioritize its people, rather than its egos and shit...