*Canadianosity
don’t shoot me
Canadiativity?
Canadiality.
But how does one boil down into one trite word “United Statesiality”? This country doesn’t really have a single simple one-word name but rather our name is a whole descriptive phrase “United States of America”, and “America” isn’t really an accurate one-word name either although it’s commonly used that way.
“USAian” is commonly used, but too contrived and not quite pronounceable.
That doesn’t surprise me. I work with suicidal patients. Someone who really wants to kill themselves will find one way or another to do so. Not having a gun won’t dissuade them. I assume the OP included suicide to include those mass murderers who kill themselves rather than be taken alive or killed by law enforcement in a shootout. In the strict sense of the word, those are suicides, but IMHO I wouldn’t include them in the same category as someone who is suicidal and kills just themselves.
ETA: As far as homicide goes, that’s a different story. Guns, guns, and guns is the answer. It’s obvious, and the solution is equally obvious.
We’ve been using American since the 17th century. It’s a little too late to worry about accuracy at this point.
The US is more individualistic vs community or society oriented compared to many other countries. Less access to social services and greater income inequality and/or poverty. Unhealthier lifestyles in general, which can lead to mental health issues. Racism.
Those might be some of the reasons.
Which is why I prefer 'Merkin. With full knowledge of what that word also means. After all, if the shoe fits, wear it.
The concealed carry holder did not discharge their weapon due to bystanders beyond the shooter, but was in a position to do so.
Not really. Was of an attitude to do so. Or at least said so later.
They did not have the tactical position to do so. That is a clear field of fire, decent backstop, and sufficient cover or concealment to make counterattacking a non-suicide mission.
Soon enough some armed somebody will have all those things and will stop a mass shooting early(er) than it would have run out on its own. And may then get shot by the police who’re just showing up and still sorting good from bad when this guy makes his move.
Going to be interesting to watch. The USA is going to continue having mass shootings at least weekly for years with the current propaganda war going on.
Systemic racism exists. But I don’t think it is at the root of some Americans being against social programs. I think Capitalism is the cause of that. And also the Puritan roots, if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat.
Canada is also a capitalist nation. I thought it was telling, however, that the OP mentioned the sense of security he felt from the adverse effects of misfortune.
Capitalism is fine, maybe even great. But a toxic version of it with a poor safety net might not be optimal.
Only partially on-topic:
I’ve often said that unfettered capitalism (which we really don’t have – not by a country mile – but it still needs a lot of work) is like letting your children raise themselves.
I think what the US has is more akin to Social Darwinism.
And I do think that no end of aspects of that are significant contributors to misery, angst, chronic distress, and violence.
I agree with all of that. And one thing that our toxic capitalism has bred in too many of us is that worth = productivity as measured in a capitalist sense. Somehow it pains many of us to see the cares of our poorest and least productive alleviated. We need a new perspective on that going forward.
Yeah, and I agree with what you wrote, too.
Bo-ring 
Were it not for “American Exceptionalism --” that is: pay no attention to what other counties are doing that’s working better – we might be able to raise the bottom without dramatically lowering the top, and have a much more civil society.
Among other approaches, though, we have to radically review perverse incentive industries (ie, those that, by definition, profit from misery).
Don’t even get me started on our national refusal to acknowledge that somewhere someone else might be providing a template for a possible solution to some of our own problems. We have as much of a character problem as we do a systemic one.
Well, I think for a lot of people the assumption is that the system is supposed to “work for them” as long as they are willing to put in the work. And I think that system isn’t working for a lot of people. Not just unskilled and working class people either. I think regular middle-class people are feeling that pressure as well.
The news don’t report on suicides.
Maybe if they did, we’d all understand whats going on and know if there was a problem?
It also seems like when ever a suicide is reported, the universal answer is to tell everyone that if they ever think of suicide to call a number that no one can remember. I guess its both a bit of an insult to the people that did kill themselves that we all assume they NEVER called and asked for help, and that the people that answer the suicide number are sooo great that anyone that calls them NEVER ends up killing themselves.
We suck. We really do. The suckiness is other-worldly. 'Cause it’s not like we suck in the way some dirt-poor sucky backward nations suck. Nope. Those poor suckers are the victims of circumstantial suckage. Now some of those circumstances truly suck, that’s for sure, and what makes them even more suckworthy is that those circumstances were caused by our suck-filled country and other sucking capitalistic Empires of Suck over the centuries.
We, in the USA, suck so much more than those dirt-sucking countries because in this country we have every single goddamn thing we could ever need or want and we STILL suck. We could eliminate all our own personal suckages PLUS the suckiness we consistently shit onto other sucky countries. Ya know, if we just stopped that we could end the suckiostity both here AND in most of the rest of the world.
But we won’t because
Fuck, we suck.
But if you look at state by state numbers, there absolutely is a correlation. A pretty strong one, in fact. There are multiple variables involved in suicide rates and many countries have vast differences in some of those variables. Nebraska is far more similar to Idaho than Greece is to Japan.