"One figure that the epidemiologists found had no apparent relation to equality was suicide; however, that's also leaped upwards since the crash, with 'financials' - people killing themselves with pills and shotguns and car crashes - rising exponentially."

Rates of suicides has often seemed at odds with social stability - and not seemed to fit expected patterns. But for some time now, I have suspected that it may correlate fairly closely with how an individual relates to the "social norms" of their culture.

Specifically, if a young person determines that their sexual orientation is at odds with what their culture condones, or they are subjected to bullying due to "being different" (and it often doesn't really matter what the difference is)... to name but a few possible causes. How many kids are kicked out of their homes by families that can't tolerate their offspring's difference... or young people escaping from mistreatment in the home? Not everyone thinks they can escape alive. Just some thoughts...