Are countries with high suicide rates weak people?
In Europe, countries such as Finland, Belgium and France have pretty high suicide rates. On the other hand Britain, Spain and Italy have quite low suicide rates.
The standard of living in those countries is all roughly similar, so it can't be related to that. Are the Brits, Spanish and Italians simply hardier, tougher people and deal with things in a more manly way?
France? What about French "joy of life"?
"Are countries with high suicide rates weak people?"
It is just the other way round. Weak people do not suicide, they accept their fate as losers.
. Lowest suicide rates are found in third world nations, especially Muslim and African countries, as well as in Mediterranean Catholic area and in the Anglosphere. All of them people who can happily stand a low quality of life and have no great self-esteem and no sense of honor.
. Highest rates (over 15/100,000) are found in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the Far East. Arguably though people all of them.
- Some have a low to average standard of living like Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Hungary, Ukraine, Croatia,
- Some others are at the top end: Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, France, Austria, and in Asia Japan and South Korea.
Killing yourself being strength seems like a contradiction to me. How is allowing the people around you to influence you into taking your own life strength? As far as I can see, suicde is the opposite of fighting.
I quite agree with the premise of this thread, if you meet people from countries like Finland and Japan, they do come across as weak, subservient people. The Finns walk with their heads down and never talk, and we all know the Japs are pretty subservient. The idea that strong socities kill themselves is total shit.
<<Killing yourself being strength seems like a contradiction to me.>>
It depends on the type of suicide. Honour suicides are very strong (not only physically, but mentally also - you accept responsibility and are willing to save your honour even at the cost of your life. Nothing could be less spineless), where as suicide because of depression or being dumped is weak and spineless.
You can't say that a Japanese samurai who commits ritual suicide cutting out his bowels to save his honour is weak.
<<You can't say that a Japanese samurai who commits ritual suicide cutting out his bowels to save his honour is weak. >>
But I doubt the vast majority of suicides in Finland and Belgium are of this type. Not to mention Western countries don't really have this sense of honour to the point we'd kill ourselves over it.
Actually you could say that honour suicides are weak.
The idea that he values other peoples words more than his own life is a bit weak really.
And wouldnt it be a stronger thing to attempt to redeem yourself even if you were 'dishonoured'?
<< You can't say that a Japanese samurai who commits ritual suicide cutting out his bowels to save his honour is weak. >>
But you can say he's a bit of an idiot, though, specially if he does it to please some Emperor or some outdated code of honour.
That's not strong, that's the weakest form of servility.