People are talking about the credit crunch for months now, some are still losing their jobs, etc - we all know that.
But why an Economic crisis provokes so much frustration, enough to make people killing themselves? I think, the answer is the consumerism society model.
On Monday two people jumped under trains in the London underground.
BAKERLOO LINE: Suspended between Elephant & Castle and Paddington due to a person under a train at Oxford Circus. Minor delays are occurring on the rest of the line.
CENTRAL LINE: Severe delays on Central Line due to person under a train earlier at Bethnal Green.
Then yesterday, it happened again…
CENTRAL LINE: Suspended between Leytonstone and Marble Arch, with severe delays occurring on the rest of the line due to a person under a train at Liverpool Street.
And in the beginning of the crisis I remember a british millionaire killed his family - and pets, including dogs and horses - then burned down the house and killed himself. Apparently the reason was his company had gone into liquidation and the pressure of it was too much for him.
When I was in high school, I remember reading about mass consumption and I was surprised to see that suicide rates are higher during the x-mas period. Propaganda all over the city telling us to buy, because it’s x-mas! and because of the credit crunch, stores are reducing prices even before x-mas. You cannot miss it! Buy, buy, buy!
There is pressure to have money to buy things and frustration comes when we cannot fulfill our consumerism expectations. Some are more affected than others but in the end it’s impossible not to feel touched by this necessity of buying, particularly on x-mas time when we face this ritualistic behavior.
Some say it’s quite common to see people under trains in the UK - they say not a day goes past without somewhere, at least one person a day, jump under a train. Even though I still believe suicide rates are higher during x-mas period.
It’s not that common to see two suicides in the same day. Would be nice to find statistics about it…
