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A comment on Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Years. Parent comment

Re:Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Y... by karmelapple on Sunday March 19, 2017 @01:01AM (#13905291)
I'm a little confused - pointing out that drug problems exist, and people are hurting, in rural places will get you branded something negative?

I'm from a relatively rural area, yet I do not feel uncomfortable talking about my experience growing up and what I know of where I spent my formative years.

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Re:Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Y... by hueving on Sunday March 19, 2017 @02:00AM (#13905534)
You would be better off labeled a drug addict in the bay area than a Trump supporter. If you work in a tech company in the bay and dare to have any conservative thoughts, you better keep them to yourself or you seriously risk hampering your career due to "culture fit".
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Re:Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Y... by karmelapple on Monday March 20, 2017 @09:28AM (#13913972)
Understand. My question was about if pointing out concerns about drug problems gets you labeled as a Trump supporter, though. Sounds like yes?
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Re:Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Y... by jbhatab on Sunday March 19, 2017 @01:05AM (#13905307)
When I say that border security may help reduce cartels, I am labeled a Trump supporter and it does not go well in the Bay Area. You can look up the stats on where the heroin is coming from, and I've personally seen the heroin importation come through Manchester in New Hampshire and make its ways to smaller towns.
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Re:Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Y... by Sanddancer on Sunday March 19, 2017 @01:54AM (#13905515)
The kind of border security that Trump is harping on won't stop the heroin epidemic. The cartels have already started shifting to things like drones for pickups and dropoffs [1], or to do more smuggling over the ocean [2]. However, Trump's plan is to slash funding for the Coast Guard, which will just shift the smugglers to using that route more [3]. It may temporarily decrease supply in New Hampshire, but only temporarily, until the supply chains adjust to compensate.

[1] http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drone-drugs-20...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco-submarine

[3] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/16/us-coast-guard...

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Re:Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Y... by karmelapple on Monday March 20, 2017 @09:33AM (#13914019)
Agreed on this - jbhatab, what do you propose for security? If you are telling your friends in the Bay Area that there are drug problems, then immediately following it up with "and everything the President is suggesting is the right way to go about doing it," then sure, you will be labeled a Trump supporter, since you are supporting his vision for what to do.

If you're just saying there is a drug problem, though, and you have different ideas about how best to stem the influx of drugs, I still don't understand how you are getting labeled a Trump supporter.

As sanddancer points out, simply building a wall does not seem like it would be a reasonable construction project nor accomplish much for the ultimate goals. Using a bunch of tech, from IR cameras on drones to other detection methods - including for underground tunnels - seems like a much more useful approach. And of course, not cutting the Coast Guard would be important to keep the flow of drugs as low as possible, too.

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