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Just because somebody's depressed doesn't mean that the way they feel is any less valid. Personally, Russ, I think that YOUR treatment of mental illness is equally problematic here. And I am not saying that as a liberal, I am saying that as someone who has been through a lot of problems with severe depression and anxiety.
There is a difference between "totally fucking psycho" and "depressed." Can I just remind everyone of that right now?
That said, I agree with Kitso (!) that this is pretty much akin to Judas Priest and is not something remotely worth killing yourself over . . . unless you've already had your views colored by something that is related to the political situation we're in right now. If, for example, this guy had a family member who was fighting in Iraq and was killed for it, etc. -- I can see that, combined with the frustration and despair of the election results, being a "rational" reason to kill yourself (as much as deciding to kill yourself can be a rational decision, really). I don't think it should be blamed on Bush -- but I also am going to be surprised if this is the last election-related suicide we see, and the fact that a lot of people don't understand how frustrated and scared many people feel about the way this country is going will only exacerbate that problem and lead to more extreme reactions.
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