Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Jumpers

[vancity74]

What the f*ck is so selfish about committing suicide? If life sucks that much for someone, they have every right to end it. They didn't ask to be born, and they damn well don't have to stick around on this planet just to appease the morons who think it's selfish.

 

[jordanfan04]

Just watched it on hulu.com and

 and

 at the same time. When homie who survived talked about how when he was on the bridge crying and contemplating and everyone just walked past, and some lady stopped and asked him to take her picture I couldn't do anything but shake my head. And the lady who started off the old guy on anti-depressants, but when he broke down to her and asked if he could come over and talk she declined. Then had the nerve to sit there crying

. I wasn't really surprised by the lack of tears throughout the documentary though. but more so with the reactions to some of the family members. Philip's family pretty much said it was okay if he commited suicide. Dude mapped out different ways and discussed it wit him and everything. Gene's grandma or whoever just told him to write his name ad put it in a plastic bag in his pocket so she could be notified. %#%+ is crazy. With all that said, and after viewing this, I don't think I want to visit that particular site, ever. Documentary has me shook, true story. 

 

[jordanfan04]

Originally Posted by Vancity74

What the f*ck is so selfish about committing suicide? If life sucks that much for someone, they have every right to end it. They didn't ask to be born, and they damn well don't have to stick around on this planet just to appease the morons who think it's selfish.

Kill yourself.

 

[rpjgator]

Originally Posted by thytkerjobs

Shaze804 wrote:

---

they need to install that damn net. i couldnt imagine suicide, much less jumping off a bridge. i like my life.

why? thats 40-50mill, and the people are just gonna find another way to /themselves. it's inevitable.

i do feel bad for them, but a net isn't going to end suicide. these people need love, friends, etc.

reading the blog link posted for Gene has me

  over here.

agree 100%
the movie was sad but that blog was crazy 

 

[kyrac2]

commenting for later

 

[silverswoosh]

Damn. I was hoping to see a cannonball.

 

[23mjordan45]

my cousins baby daddy aunt jumped back in the 80s or early 90s cant remember...i forgot the story for it tho and shes filipino. rip even tho i dont know her.

 

[marlsj]

Originally Posted by Across 110th st

http://video.google.com/v...&vid=5306248485793293826

heres the link if you dont want to sign up for hulu

Thanks for the link.

I'm going  to watch it latter.

 

[f3djam]

yea the phone hotlines are insane. jumping into water like that from a high hieght is like jumping onto concrete except it swallows you up.

 

[balloonoboy]

The phone hotlines may be serving the wrong purpose.

If someone is going to commit suicide, and you have propaganda posted near the site of said suicide, there's a good chance it's going to influence them rather than deter them. I'm sure lawmakers have thought about this and have taken a util approach (it's best to save 1 life ever it it means losing 5 others).

I want to watch the full documentary, but some things I just can't subject myself to, especially with its nonchalant, almost inhuman nature.

 

[durden7]

Originally Posted by JordanFan04

Originally Posted by Vancity74

What the f*ck is so selfish about committing suicide? If life sucks that much for someone, they have every right to end it. They didn't ask to be born, and they damn well don't have to stick around on this planet just to appease the morons who think it's selfish.

Kill yourself.

Good response. 

 

[nako xl]

if it hasn't been posted already:

 

[krider31]

this is pretty wild.. never knew about it

 

[jthagreat]

Originally Posted by balloonoboy

The phone hotlines may be serving the wrong purpose.

If someone is going to , and you have propaganda posted near the site of said , there's a good chance it's going to influence them rather than deter them. I'm sure lawmakers have thought about this and have taken a util approach (it's best to save 1 life ever it it means losing 5 others).

I want to watch the full documentary, but some things I just can't subject myself to, especially with its nonchalant, almost inhuman nature.

prove your point instead of just sayin it. I wanna know why you believe that.

  

 

[damnitzdom]

Approving an environmental impact report - a legally mandated study of the effects of a development on its surroundings - is a procedural step. But directors and suicide prevention activists hailed its completion as a milestone toward making the bridge less of an attraction for people wanting to end their lives. About 25 people per year leap to their deaths at the bridge, but the exact number is not known because some bodies never wash up in the area.

"The mood in the room was that we did the right thing," said Mary Currie, bridge district spokeswoman.

After years of debate, the board voted in October 2008 to hang steel nets 20 feet below the bridge deck on each side. The environmental study made two changes: leaving the gray steel netting unpainted and erecting 8-foot fences for short stretches where the net would have stuck out noticeably.

But the district still lacks the $50 million to install the barrier. Celia Kupersmith, the district's general manager, said the cost will be broken into two projects - $5 million to complete a detailed design and prepare the project to be sent out for bids and $45 million for construction. To make it easier to find funds and move forward, the district is seeking a change in federal policy to make suicide barriers on bridges eligible for transportation funding, and lobbying to be included in the federal transportation bill.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi...1C0PEP.DTL#ixzz0fQhJBaPI

 

[je ne sais quoi]

What happens if they jump, land on the net, then jump off the net?

 

[balloonoboy]

Originally Posted by jthagreat

balloonoboy wrote:

---

The phone hotlines may be serving the wrong purpose.

If someone is going to , and you have propaganda posted near the site of said , there's a good chance it's going to influence them rather than deter them. I'm sure lawmakers have thought about this and have taken a util approach (it's best to save 1 life ever it it means losing 5 others).

I want to watch the full documentary, but some things I just can't subject myself to, especially with its nonchalant, almost inhuman nature.

prove your point instead of just sayin it. I wanna know why you believe that.
There's no way I can prove my point, since there is no record of those who decided not to take the jump.

To give a much, much less extreme example, do you remember those PSAs that told kids to stay away from drugs or to wrap it up? They have been proven not to be that great of a deterrent. The kids are already going to do it whether they should or not and these announcements may cause more harm than good because of the rebellion factor. If you say don't do this, I'm going to do this.

Now take this example for someone who is already hopeless to the point that they want to kill themselves. There are warning signs all around the bridge telling them not to do it. The act of committing suicide is like an ultimate rebellion towards one's own self, society, friends, and family. A telephone that is trying to stop them from rebelling is going to make them rebel even more.

There are those few who haven't gotten to the point of being hopeless and these posted signs for help will indeed help them. They are few and far between.

I hope I've illustrated my point a bit clearer.

 

[Fong$tarr]

On a side note, a pretty nice documentary altogether. It brings awareness to my eyes anyways that this sort of thing is happening. I am actually going to the Golden Gate Bridge monday cause I just realized I haven't been there in almost 20+ years. It think it will now haunting to even walk the same path as so many other did before they jumped.

 

[nako xl]

The New Yorker article that alerted people to the issue, and inspired the documentary.  A really long, but acclaimed article if you're up for it:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/10/13/031013fa_fact
[h1][/h1]

[h1]Jumpers[/h1] [h2]The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge.[/h2] [h4] by Tad Friend [/h4]
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/10/13/031013fa_fact#ixzz0fSlG6B2e


Shortlyafter ten-thirty in the morning on Wednesday, March 19th, a real-estateagent named Paul Alarab began hiking across the Golden Gate Bridge.Midway along the walkway, which carries pedestrians and cyclistsbetween San Francisco and Marin County, he stopped and climbed thefour-foot safety railing. Then he lowered himself carefully onto thebridge’s outermost reach, a thirty-two-inch-wide beam known as “thechord.

 

[thehavik]

i feel nothing for people who commit suicide...
no sympathy.

 

[durden7]

Originally Posted by TheHavik

i feel nothing for people who commit suicide...
no sympathy.

I doubt theyre interested in your sympathy.

 

[alan garner]

Originally Posted by Durden7

Originally Posted by TheHavik

i feel nothing for people who commit suicide...
no sympathy.

I doubt theyre interested in your sympathy.

yeah dude they couldn't feel your sympathy even if you had any...

 

[untouchable jc]

Wow that is pretty crucial

 

[championedition]

see, these people have no appreciation for life.
even if i was homeless and hungry, i'm happy to be alive.
there are people who die in extremly horrible ways EVERYDAY on no accord of their own.
and you wanna kill yourself?
ok. go right the @@$% ahead.


reminds me... my gore thread should be just about full.

(^_^)

 

[nbirn2103]

Originally Posted by balloonoboy

Originally Posted by jthagreat

balloonoboy wrote:

---

The phone hotlines may be serving the wrong purpose.

If someone is going to , and you have propaganda posted near the site of said , there's a good chance it's going to influence them rather than deter them. I'm sure lawmakers have thought about this and have taken a util approach (it's best to save 1 life ever it it means losing 5 others).

I want to watch the full documentary, but some things I just can't subject myself to, especially with its nonchalant, almost inhuman nature.

prove your point instead of just sayin it. I wanna know why you believe that.

There's no way I can prove my point, since there is no record of those who decided not to take the jump.

To give a much, much less extreme example, do you remember those PSAs that told kids to stay away from drugs or to wrap it up? They have been proven not to be that great of a deterrent. The kids are already going to do it whether they should or not and these announcements may cause more harm than good because of the rebellion factor. If you say don't do this, I'm going to do this.

Now take this example for someone who is already hopeless to the point that they want to kill themselves. There are warning signs all around the bridge telling them not to do it. The act of committing suicide is like an ultimate rebellion towards one's own self, society, friends, and family. A telephone that is trying to stop them from rebelling is going to make them rebel even more.

There are those few who haven't gotten to the point of being hopeless and these posted signs for help will indeed help them. They are few and far between.

I hope I've illustrated my point a bit clearer.
It's ironic to me that you brought up the idea of the signs encouraging them to jump. Not because I believe what you say is contradictory but because I had the same thoughts/realization under different circumstances.

I live a few miles from the bridge, I drive on it maybe twice a week. Last time I was up there I noticed the suicide hotlines had signs that hung on them stating that they were "out of service."

To someone who's last hope is this suicide hotline, I can't imagine wanting to call it and it being "out of service."