March 17, 2008
3 Teen Suicides At NANTUCKET HIGH!!
Nantuckett Football
From the New York Times:
NANTUCKET, Mass. — If the three deaths were connected, no one on the island could say exactly how. The first, a 15-year-old, killed himself at his home near the high school in February 2007. The second, a 17-year-old ‘A’ student and an athlete, committed suicide last October.The third, a 16-year-old found dead at home in January, may have been an accidental death, not a suicide. None had been good friends.
Yet they were all islanders, talented and well-liked students in a high school of 400 that had not had a suicide for more than 40 years.
Fellas, I don't know what's up here but I wonder if it has something to do with Dr. Levine's thesis about the kids of affluence.
The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine.
What's up with this?
Posted by anthony at March 17, 2008 11:34 PM | TrackBackCould be a general soullessness of the prosperous, or the effects of Dad (and probably Mom too) being gone a lot of the time.
Or, it could simply be a statistical anomaly. Reality is that there are something like 30,000 suicides each year--about one for every 150 people born, or about one for every 10,000 people. Every once in a while, that's going to come home to even a wonderful place like Nantucket. These statistical "islands" are commonplace in cancer research--something certainly to take a look at, but knowing that you probably won't find the cause.
Posted by: Bike Bubba at March 18, 2008 06:23 PMWow. You've got to wonder about the expectations they were trying to live up to.
I often wonder, when dealing with teens/families in this lifestyle bracket, how many of these teens feel that their parents love is dependent on their accomplishments and success. At some point, you just give up trying.
It may indeed be a statistical anomaly, but I think it ought to cause us to ask those questions.