4 ms·

‘I’m gonna lose everything’

bdcravens 7y ago
At first glance, this appears to be a story about the plight of the American farmer. It really isn't. The farmer in this story didn't start farming until 2014, taking over the operation from his father in 2016. When the farmer took his life, he had $300k in debt, but at 35, financial restoration wasn't out of reach. There was a lot of debt and financial problems, but digging deeper, this is really a story about depression and mental health. A common theme throughout is advice from family and friends to pray more and put more faith in God. In the end, it wasn't enough. In my experiences in church, there's an utter disdain for the ideas of mental health being a real, and treatable, concern. Even beyond the suicide, there's the continued theme. His widow makes less than $20k in a part-time job and no money doing Mary Kay or the like (they don't name the MLM), yet it's hinted that she doesn't know how she and the three kids will make it, but they are holding strong to their faith. I never want to knock anyone's spiritual beliefs, as I feel they can provide a source of strength in times of darkness. But this article talks about some very practical issues, and it feels like these traditional Midwest values are very much a stumbling block for solving those issues.
- solotronics 7y ago
  So their traditional family values are at fault? I think in the US the economic system has changed and left a growing number of people behind. The rate of change is increasing and there is no real plan for how people are supposed to make enough income to support the average American family. We will probably see massive unrest during our lifetime if this continues.
  - bdcravens 7y ago
    The lack of identifying mental health problems and treating them properly are at fault. If your answer to depression and hardship is just to pray harder, that's a problem. Properly equipped, he could have lived to fight another day, and possibly make the changes needed in his farm's business model to turn the corner. Or maybe he'd declare bankruptcy, lose the farm, and go get a job selling cars or something.

At first glance, this appears to be a story about the plight of the American farmer. It really isn't. The farmer in this story didn't start farming until 2014, taking over the operation from his father in 2016. When the farmer took his life, he had $300k in debt, but at 35, financial restoration wasn't out of reach. There was a lot of debt and financial problems, but digging deeper, this is really a story about depression and mental health. A common theme throughout is advice from family and friends to pray more and put more faith in God. In the end, it wasn't enough. In my experiences in church, there's an utter disdain for the ideas of mental health being a real, and treatable, concern. Even beyond the suicide, there's the continued theme. His widow makes less than $20k in a part-time job and no money doing Mary Kay or the like (they don't name the MLM), yet it's hinted that she doesn't know how she and the three kids will make it, but they are holding strong to their faith. I never want to knock anyone's spiritual beliefs, as I feel they can provide a source of strength in times of darkness. But this article talks about some very practical issues, and it feels like these traditional Midwest values are very much a stumbling block for solving those issues.

solotronics 7y ago
So their traditional family values are at fault? I think in the US the economic system has changed and left a growing number of people behind. The rate of change is increasing and there is no real plan for how people are supposed to make enough income to support the average American family. We will probably see massive unrest during our lifetime if this continues.
- bdcravens 7y ago
  The lack of identifying mental health problems and treating them properly are at fault. If your answer to depression and hardship is just to pray harder, that's a problem. Properly equipped, he could have lived to fight another day, and possibly make the changes needed in his farm's business model to turn the corner. Or maybe he'd declare bankruptcy, lose the farm, and go get a job selling cars or something.