Citation

Leenaars AA. Suicide Stud. 2023; 4(3): 2-13.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, David Lester)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Amid the rise of violence during the COVID-19 epidemic and today, episodes of prejudicial attacks and (mass) shootings toward Blacks, Indigenous peoples, Jews, and people with mental disorders, for examples, have become more visible in the United States (US) and Canada; George Floyd is an American example, and Rodney Levi is a Canadian example. Furthermore, reports of (mass) murders and suicides have also increased. In this brief reflection, the question posed is: Is the prejudicial mind and the suicidal mind similar or different? They are violent minds, towards other person/group/community or towards oneself. We explicate the question posed. Historically, psychologist Gordon Allport associated prejudice to categorical (black and white) thinking; in the same way, Aaron Beck, George Kelly, and Edwin Shneidman, three pioneers in suicidology, explained that distorted (hardened) categorical thinking is a hallmark of the suicidal mind. After discussing a number of aspects of the question why the lethal response is attributed outward toward others (them) or inward toward oneself (me), we conclude that categorical thinking, among other aspects, can be deadly in violence; perhaps the most dangerous (lethal). Therefore, we conclude with a question to the reader: Does the prejudicial mind help to understand the suicidal mind better, and vice versa?

Language: en