Some community leaders have pointed to a lack of decent jobs and positive role models for young Black men in poor communities. They note that poverty and low self-esteem, together with easy access to drugs and guns, can lead to suicide as well. Guys with Guns Die Most Males do have a higher rate of suicide than females. Among people of all backgrounds, four males kill themselves for every female who kills herself. Of the 2,103 Blacks of all ages who committed suicide in 1997, Black males accounted for 1,764 of the completed suicides while only 339 were Black females.
Males are more likely to actually kill themselves because they have greater access to firearms.
Because women and girls tend to use less effective ways to commit suicide such as slitting wrists and consuming pills, they are more likely to be found alive and taken to the hospital for treatment. I had thought about suicide before. I realized that the day my teacher made her ignorant comment. He was popular and attractive. Out of all people, he would not have been the person I expected to weave this tale of horror.