I mean, it's one of those countries in Europe where they allow one to have the right to bear arms yet there are barely the guy entering school starts hurting kids or guy enters (public place) and proceeds to hurt others type incidents happen there while in the USA: amount of times that happens becomes excessive as fuck that it's an issue and a epidemic at that.

The stark difference is that the majority of gun owners in Switzerland are military (active or veterans) & gun fanatics (who have served). Despite being one of the most armed countries in Europe: you do not hear anything equivalent of what happened in Columbine, Orlando, Las Vegas as they're more disciplined than (cough) American gun owners or users.

I know that Japan (including South Korea) have a higher rate regarding suicide for example, the idea on not admitting defeat or acceptance of failure, tolerance on shame dates back to feudal times when the Samurai were still around, as in committing seppuku since back then it was considered honorable (in their culture) just to atone his failures, fulfilling his duties.

Emperors who were around prior to the Meiji Restoration often commit suicide as the next heir ascends the throne. Meiji's father (Osahito) even did this before his son took his place, as to them it's their only way out and completely normalized in Japanese society & culture (including religion), this also includes Samurai or others within the feudal hierarchy during the Shogunate.

During WWII, both Japanese officers and soldiers consider hara-kiri rather than admitting defeat or surrendering to the allies as they believe it's justified to preserve their honor on behalf of the emperor. Today it still lingers in Japanese culture (it's even romanticized in anime & manga), on top of the toxic work culture or their collectivist society driving them into suicide.

To be clear, I am not defending it, as that is NOT my intention. I'm just putting insight as to cultural differences on how this subject matter is viewed in the East vs West: Japan is NOT a Christian country, so their stance on suicide is tolerant. Western countries are raised in Judeo-Christian beliefs while Japan believes in Shintoism or embraces the wa (aka. harmony).

In hindsight:

• How is suicide viewed in American society & from a historical lens?
• How many condone this or are against it from a societal aspect?
• What are the factors as to why some consider this as their option?

I know that bullying is universal worldwide, but the subculture around it differs, as in Japan it seems to be more psychological rather than physical, even if you stand out from the norm or customs.

For instance even you’re not Japanese or mixed race (like that of another nationality), is a factor that can trigger bullying, you’ll become bait for the tormentors. Seeking actual support is something they’re afraid of as the bullies threaten the victim.

Also it does not help to how teachers or adults deal with it, they literally say amongst the lines of「無視」(ignore) Well… that will be useless when it’s escalated to the breaking point. Teachers do not use the right approach, even in front of the entire class indirectly teasing or chastising him or her, there are cases that they are the bullies themselves or an accessory.

Even if the victim reports it to both parents or the school body itself, most of the time it’s brushed off as they don’t give a f*ck about it, even at the most severe cases. A common outcome is that the victim ends up thinking about 自殺 (suicide) rather than actually dealing with it, the whole idea about it has been part of the culture for centuries due to seppuku.

In most cases, media only discusses it if the victim is deceased, when the school is questioned about it, they often say “We’re not aware of it.” When they were but decide to put it under the rug. Also, the mindset most people have is “Well… we’re used to it. There’s no point in reporting it when nothing is going to happen.”

I’ve noticed that in both countries most of the tormentors are teenage girls rather than boys, they surround the victim trying to sway them away from anyone who can intervene. The subject matter of bullying in countries like Japan (or South Korea) is overlooked and brushed aside as they don’t really address it sincerely, the stigma of mental health is dire as emotional weakness is frowned upon.

Even before getting to the main point, brining that money into USA as a traveler / visitor will be a hurdle as a threshold exceeding $10,000 must be declared upon entry. Will they allow the entire 5000 OMR stack in or would that be confiscated even when declared?

Like this: after paying for the food in $, suddenly giving them more money: I'm only a visitor (as I only have foreign currency, i.e. Omani Rial in cash) being like, "Here is 5000 OMR ($13,020) for your efforts" so despite that being a lot of money, will they take it?

Edit: I got the idea from this video

I hear that kind of sentiment due to the amount of CCTV they have in London specifically & enforcement of the online safety act using the excuse of "it's to protect the kids" with age verification becoming standard when all that's doing is making people bypass all that.

I wonder why most stores prefer "cashless only" under the guise of convenience (kind of makes sense when you understand the ulterior motives) coming at a cost of making cash extinct with the government wanting to conduct espionage on the average joe.

The thing is, with potential digital ID (which is BS by the way) since people can just use the Gattaca card by changing their entire life and identity living under an assumed name and genetic code or just play dead by declaring themselves as deceased (on record).

As in, the individual is "dead" (living as someone else) as cameras can only surveil the living. Even resort to having facial bone structures entirely altered like plastic surgery. Fake ID's are being used to take advantage of AI estimated age verification.