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Monday, August 5, 2013

Of suicides, pollyticks and statistics


Now folks, anyone who knows me or has read my many many many blogs on the subject knows that I am not very fond of Cantservatives. Of course, I ain't to happy with Liarberals either. These parodies of the classic Conservative/Liberal mindset are behind everything that is wrong with this county. Hells wrong with the world for that matter. So you'd think I would leap for joy when I see such a damning headline depicting how Right Drumstick pollyticks is driving thousands of good, up standing Americans to take their own lives. Well, I have a whole bunch of problems with this article and the presumptions it makes. Also with certain other issues which will become apparent as we move along. So, moving along.
First and foremost, I have issues with this article because it quotes statistics to prove its argument. X% of things happened under Y%'s watch so Y must be responsible for what happened. In this case, suicides and attempted suicides have increased dramatically under the auspices of Right Drumstick (Wing...Drumstick...get it?) austerity and pollytickal programs. A wise man once said, “All Statistics PROVE is that someone is good with numbers.”
All statistics can tell us is that a certain number/percentage of things happened during a certain period of time. They cannot tell us the underlying reasons behind the events. All they can do is (maybe) tell us that the events happened in the first place. I say maybe because history (You know, the stuff with actual facts) proves that statistics are far too often perverted by both sides in any argument for their own purposes. So simply saying that a larger number of people are croaking doesn't prove the reason they are croaking. It could be Cantservative pollyticks or it could be invisible thoughty beams from planet Zontar. We would need more of those pesky facts to actually know the reason.
Secondly and this is purely a technical one, the article header indicates “American” suicides, but the writer cites statistics from several other countries including Greece and Australia. To me, the article should have read “drives 1000s of people worldwide to attempt suicide.” Petty detail, I know but the Devil is always in the details.
Which brings me to the third and probably main problem I have with this article. The writer mentions that the suicide rate has spiked in Greece since the situation there has forced the government to perform brutal Austerity measures. “Before austerity came to Greece, that nation had the lowest suicide rate in the entire European Union. This seems to be an especially damning example of Cantservative programs. However, what the author fails to bring up is that the situation in Greece and all across Europe has happened because Decades of Liarberal programs have completely and utterly bankrupted the country.
For decades, Greece offered incredible retirement programs, generous salaries and very low taxes. They let people retire at ages 50-60 with full benefits and gave the whole country lavish healthcare programs. They did this with no way of possibly paying for the programs and just kept pushing the problem further and further ahead until they couldn't move the rock any more. In most cases of Austerity Issues in the EU, the story remains the same. Pie in the sky spending to keep the people happy and now the Piper has come for his gold.
Like I said in the beginning, I have no love for Politics or Political Parties because I feel every single one of them have lost sight of the principles and ideals that the party was founded on. If you take away all of the window dressing and fancy effects, there is absolutely no difference between the Damnocrats and ReBoobicans. So I would have little trouble believing that Reboobican policies were driving people to jump off cliffs. I can just as easily believe the same thing about Damnocrat policies. Show me articles and reports that actually show more than statistics and I might believe you
The fact that more Americans are attempting or succeeding at ending their lives is a very disturbing thing. Efforts should be made to determine the exact causes behind it and moves made to rectify it. So, if you really care, toss out the statistics and look at the reasons behind them. Stop the hyperbole and start working on the problem.
End of Rant

2 comments:

  1. The chief cause of suicide is people killing themselves.

    yer welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is the deepest philosophical comment I have heard this...minute. I am truly touched. Or is that Teeched like my Grandmother used to say about stupid or crazy people?

    ReplyDelete