Chuck Schumer Gets Ripped by Social Media for His Takeaway on 'Suicide Prevention' Amid COVID Relief Talks

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was heavily criticized on Twitter for introducing [...]

By Michael Hein

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was heavily criticized on Twitter for introducing new "suicide prevention acts" to the U.S. Congress. The lawmaker noted that suicide rates are rising amid the coronavirus pandemic and the economic contraction it caused. Critics argued that Schumer should simply tackle those economic and public health issues rather than the ambiguous problem of suicide itself.

On Saturday, Schumer shared the story of a U.S. military veteran in the Rochester, New York area who was counting on the increased unemployment assistance provided by the CARES Act. When this veteran lost his emergency aid and fell behind on bills, he committed suicide. "I have no doubt that there are more Americans out there who are going through this same struggle," Schumer said. However, the suicide prevention measures he wanted to offer those people drew a lot of criticism on Twitter.

"The House has passed a number of bills to get suicide prevention funding, and new resources out to communities," Schumer said. "I'm going to ask that we go into a legislative session to consider four of those House-passed bills."

For one thing, critics doubted whether the Republican-majority Senate would pass any of the bills Schumer was promoting, given the other legislation they've shot down in the last few months. For another, they argued that this was "a band aid on a gaping chest wound," and that passing a stimulus check bill would be more efficient and effective. Here is a look at how Twitter responded to Schumer's push for "suicide prevention" this weekend.

Experience

Plenty of Americans with firsthand experience with suicide were put off by Schumer's rhetoric on suicide this weekend. They thought that he was missing the point of his own story when it comes to suicide prevention.

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Bills

Many commenters were also skeptical of adding suicide prevention programs that could come at a cost, without addressing the systemic issues at the core of the problem. They doubted whether Schumer's solutions were really that high of a priority.

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Money

Many users mocked Schumer for dancing around the issue of money in the anecdote he shared. They thought that he was too focused on good manners and not focused enough on meeting constituents' needs.

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Jokes

Some Twitter users remarked that this amount of point-missing was so "on the nose" that they wouldn't even consider using it as a joke.

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Options

Some users defended Schumer, saying that he was doing all that he could in the political position he is in. Others argued that he is falling short of the needs of the people he was elected to represent, so his intentions count for little.

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Different Names for the Same Things

Some users were optimistic, hoping that Schumer's "suicide prevention acts" were just new names for the stimulus programs in the HEROES Act. Others were not so sure.

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Other Dems

Finally, some users called for Schumer to break with other Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and pass a compromised stimulus check bill, even if it was a compromise with Republicans.

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