Eyeless on Campus: CORONAVIRUS--The Texas Lieutenant Governor--& STATE SUICIDE RATES

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

CORONAVIRUS--The Texas Lieutenant Governor--& STATE SUICIDE RATES

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"Who's on the bottom with the least suicides? …. New York..."

(CMD/COC)--The trend to single out particular groups of society continues. Initial racial insults were hurled at Asians for being responsible for the virus pandemic sweeping the globe. The Chinese government was accused of mismanagement and germ warfare. By the time the virus had spread to the Western world, politicians set the tone by infighting until at last, it became so serious they have been reluctantly forced to work together. All of that was forgotten in a heartbeat when the Texas lieutenant governor came out and suggested that senior citizens pay the price to unlock the economy.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggests the elderly should risk their lives to save the economy
As the coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, forcing people to stay in their homes and causing an economic downturn, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined Tucker Carlson Tonight where he became a top-trending topic by suggesting we get back to our normal lives to save the economy even at great risk to the country's senior citizens.

According to the Americas Health Rankings, the current rate among the elderly is already shocking;
"Suicide rates are particularly high among older men, with men aged 75 and older having the highest suicide rate of any group in the nation, at 39.7 deaths per 100,000 adults compared to women aged 75 and older who have a suicide rate of 4.0 per 100,000 adults in 2017." (AHR)

   AHR also reported there were just under 50K suicides in America in 2017. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reports on how the elderly suicide rate compares overall,
   "Although suicide attempts (SA) are more frequent among adolescents and young adults, older men and women show the highest suicide rate in almost all countries, reaching 48.7/100,000 in the USA for white men (more than four times the nation’s age-adjusted rate of 11.1/100,000)" (NCBI)
The Texas lieutenant governor apparently had not taken into consideration the plight of senior citizens in America that already exists before making his age-discriminatory statement on national television. San Antonio's Mayor Rin Nirenberg responded immediately, as reported by WOAI-TV;
   "“It’s easy for someone of power and privilege to say something so callous,” Nirenberg said. "What Dan Patrick is coming to learn is something that most Americans have known for a long time. Which is, a single health event can become catastrophic." (WOAI)

The Lt. Gov's own son all but trashed the idea as reported by Gabrielle Banks in The Houston Chronicle;
"While Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick became the public face of the 'let’s get back to work' contingent during the coronavirus pandemic, his son Ryan K. Patrick, U.S. Attorney in the Houston region, has asked his staff handling one of the busiest criminal dockets in the country to work from home and prioritize safety." (Chronicle)
Perhaps the most interesting statist is given by World Population Review in its chart of state-by-state suicides. Not everyone in Texas agrees with the lieutenant governor as the state is tenth from the bottom with the least amount of self-sacrifice. Who's on the bottom with the least suicides? The state with the greatest threat currently from extinction by coronavirus, New York.

Sources
Suicide Rates,
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/senior/measure/Suicide_sr_a/state/ALL
Comparison, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5916258/
Nirenberg, https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/mayor-nirenberg-speaks-out-against-lt-gov-dan-patrick-comments-on-handling-covid-19
Gabrielle Banks, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/dan-patrick-son-work-from-home-coronavirus-15153807.php
World Pop Rvw stats, https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/suicide-rates-by-state/

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