Leapers

[Farang]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: Farang
Similar in Washington with the Narrows Bridge. I remember there was someone who went to the top of the pillars and threatened to jump. He was convinced to come down, and on his way down he slipped and fell to his death on the pavement of the bridge. A friend of mine was fishing there and had a different body drift up next to his boat--he waved the searching firefighter's ship over to him to pick it up.

Too bad there aren't no suicide hotlines there since it's very far from any town or city. But if a person did try to jump the bridge, they'd more than likely drown since there are whirlpools underneath the bridge.

As someone who grew up in Tacoma, I laugh at your ignorance It is right next to a medium-sized city.

But you're right from what I've heard people generally don't die form impact, they break a bunch of bones and end up drowning in the currents there. So if you pluck people out soon enough they sometimes get survivors.

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Almost everyone in the Bay Area knows someone who has jumped

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area and has a lot of family and friends who still live there, I can tell you that this statement is utter bullsh*t.

Interesting subject. Idiot writer.

MotionMan

I agree. I lived in the Bay Area for 31 years (I'm 32), and I don't know anyone who jumped, or even know anyone who knows anyone who jumped.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
I worked on a job retrofitting the San Mateo bridge for about 2 years. During that time, there were 4 or 5 jumpers.
One survived. He jumped from about 180 feet above the water, and missed one of our barges by less than 20 feet. We wondered if he was aiming for the barge...The crew saw him fall and hit the water. They called an emergency and one of our crewboats chased him down.
For those who don't know, when the tide is changing in SF Bay, it runs like a river...fast.(because it basically IS several rivers that feed into the bay, with one outlet.
I was running a boom truck in the receiving yard at the time, and got dispatched to hoist him (in a Stokes stretcher) from the boat to a waiting ambulance.
Last we heard, he had survived, but with several broken bones and quite a bit of internal damage. I don't know if he lived afterward or if he did, whether he tried again or not.

Yup, a 500 mile long wide, 100 mile wide valley pretty much has one outlet. If it weren't for that crack in the coastal mountain range California would be home to the 6th great lake. All of the Western Sierra Nevada mountain ranges go in that one direction. The bay also has a large volume of water for a small outlet. So when the tide is going out, it's like pouring a bucket through a straw.

 

[BoomerD]

When I worked on the Richmond San Rafael bridge, the current ripped so strongly that if someone fell in the bay, (happened several times per month) they'd often be as much as 1/2 mile "down-stream" before a crew boat could get to them...and that water is COLD all year long...

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper
The funny not found.

I don't mean to imply i find the suicide attempts funny just some of the quotes and stories. I think Mr Baldwins quote is humorous in light of his situation.

 

[CKent]

That's how I always imagined jumping would be. The ~5 second drop would be the longest 5 seconds of your life, and probably the most emotionally painful as well. Isn't the idea to END the emotional pain? If I were to do it, I'd eat a shotgun. Instant and painless.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: CKent
That's how I always imagined jumping would be. The ~5 second drop would be the longest 5 seconds of your life, and probably the most emotionally painful as well. Isn't the idea to END the emotional pain? If I were to do it, I'd eat a shotgun. Instant and painless.

Somehow I don't think a bunch of tiny pellets ripping through your skull would be completely painless. I wonder how long that pain would last, though.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: trmiv

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Almost everyone in the Bay Area knows someone who has jumped

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area and has a lot of family and friends who still live there, I can tell you that this statement is utter bullsh*t.

Interesting subject. Idiot writer.

MotionMan

I agree. I lived in the Bay Area for 31 years (I'm 32), and I don't know anyone who jumped, or even know anyone who knows anyone who jumped.

Same here. I've never heard of anyone either who jumped. I think a lot of people who jump are really not native to the bay area.

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: CKent
That's how I always imagined jumping would be. The ~5 second drop would be the longest 5 seconds of your life, and probably the most emotionally painful as well. Isn't the idea to END the emotional pain? If I were to do it, I'd eat a shotgun. Instant and painless.

Somehow I don't think a bunch of tiny pellets ripping through your skull would be completely painless. I wonder how long that pain would last, though.

The brain is where the pain receptors are. You're essentially taking that out as the pain tries to register. No brain, no pain :laugh:

 

[0roo0roo]

reminds me of willie coyote as he dangles in the air after running off the cliff in that moment of realization that he's f*cked.

this was news like last year when there was a buncha buzz in sf over some nuts who wanted nets or a cage or something to prevent jumpers on the bridge. think there was also a film.
i think they'd just do better to educate people what actually happens to people who jump. its a bit grisly, water blasting up ur ass and all that nice stuff. if you do survive you get a nice whole body bruise and plenty of broken stuff which cant be fun. a gun to the temple would probably be a better choice.

Somehow I don't think a bunch of tiny pellets ripping through your skull would be completely painless. I wonder how long that pain would last, though.

bullets move fast. the shockwave would destroy most of ur brain alone. its brain explosion, pain unlikely. if you are talking pellets instead of bullets, well a shotgun pretty much emptys your skull or blows your head off. the pics i've seen thanks to the internet errr...its probably not the most considerate way to kill yourself. cleanup+shock horror of anyone finding ur body.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: CKent
That's how I always imagined jumping would be. The ~5 second drop would be the longest 5 seconds of your life, and probably the most emotionally painful as well. Isn't the idea to END the emotional pain? If I were to do it, I'd eat a shotgun. Instant and painless.

Somehow I don't think a bunch of tiny pellets ripping through your skull would be completely painless. I wonder how long that pain would last, though.

Remember how fast a bullet goes. If you shot yourself with a gun, you wouldn't even hear it. It's that fast.

 

[paulxcook]

It's ridiculous that the gov't won't just build a stupid barrier to keep this from happening.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
It's ridiculous that the gov't won't just build a stupid barrier to keep this from happening.

It would be ugly.. the barrier sort of ruined the experience at the top of the Eiffel tower. Then again I suppose some dude splatting next to me on the ground while I waited in line may have ruined the experience as well.

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: paulxcook
It's ridiculous that the gov't won't just build a stupid barrier to keep this from happening.

It would be ugly.. the barrier sort of ruined the experience at the top of the Eiffel tower. Then again I suppose some dude splatting next to me on the ground while I waited in line may have ruined the experience as well.

I would think preventing someone from killing themselves would be worth marring a bit of the beauty. Not everyone who attempts suicide should be brushed off as someone not worth having in the gene pool, IMO.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: paulxcook

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: paulxcook
It's ridiculous that the gov't won't just build a stupid barrier to keep this from happening.

It would be ugly.. the barrier sort of ruined the experience at the top of the Eiffel tower. Then again I suppose some dude splatting next to me on the ground while I waited in line may have ruined the experience as well.

I would think preventing someone from killing themselves would be worth marring a bit of the beauty. Not everyone who attempts suicide should be brushed off as someone not worth having in the gene pool, IMO.

I'd agree with you if I was shown a statistic proving these barriers lower the suicide rate in their respective communities. Granted some jumpers are from out of town but there still should be some difference.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
I would think preventing someone from killing themselves would be worth marring a bit of the beauty. Not everyone who attempts suicide should be brushed off as someone not worth having in the gene pool, IMO.

True though that may be, I would think that inconvenience isn't the chief reason that suicidal people decide to give life a second try. If they wanted to die enough to drive all the way out there, walk out to the center, and jump (giving them plenty of time to think, and passing several suicide hotline phones and signs telling them to reconsider), they're probably just as capable of staying home and swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol.

After treating himself to a last meal of Starbursts and Skittles, he paced back and forth and sobbed on the bridge walkway for half an hour. No one asked him what was wrong. A beautiful German tourist approached, handed him her camera, and asked him to take her picture, which he did.

That's just sad. Want to reduce the suicide rate? If you see someone looking super-depressed and crying in the middle of a bridge, ask them what's wrong.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: paulxcook

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: paulxcook
It's ridiculous that the gov't won't just build a stupid barrier to keep this from happening.

It would be ugly.. the barrier sort of ruined the experience at the top of the Eiffel tower. Then again I suppose some dude splatting next to me on the ground while I waited in line may have ruined the experience as well.

I would think preventing someone from killing themselves would be worth marring a bit of the beauty. Not everyone who attempts suicide should be brushed off as someone not worth having in the gene pool, IMO.

yea but this is bending over backwards really. there are countless ways to kill yourself. marring the bridge really doesn't get at the root problem at all, it just makes people take another path to kill themselves. its not as if people think bridge jumping is the only righteous path to death. you could also put cages around all sidewalks to keep people from walking out in front of traffic for instance.

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
It's ridiculous that the gov't won't just build a stupid barrier to keep this from happening.

I bet if somebody comes up with a really good design it would be built. So far noone has come up with a design that meets all the necessary requirements.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: effowe

Originally posted by: Train
Isn't it true they have phones on the golden gate that go directly to suicide hotlines once picked up?

Text

Interesting. My Step Dad used to volunteer to man those suicide hotlines. He never really talks about it much but I know it used to bother him sometimes. I'll have to ask him about it sometime...he's a great man and I have a ton of respect for him. BTW-He is an atheist.

 

[Lash444]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: effowe

Originally posted by: Train
Isn't it true they have phones on the golden gate that go directly to suicide hotlines once picked up?

Text

Interesting. My Step Dad used to volunteer to man those suicide hotlines. He never really talks about it much but I know it used to bother him sometimes. I'll have to ask him about it sometime...he's a great man and I have a ton of respect for him. BTW-He is an atheist.

I'll have to remember that when i make my trip out to the GG bridge. I can see it now.

Me: Are you a man of God?
Your dad: Actually, no I'm not.
Me: <sound of my scream as it sounds more and more distant> Aaaaaaaahhh!


*Note* I'm not suicidal

 

[Lash444]

Heck, maybe thats why he doesnt want to talk about it. Maybe this is his way at getting back at the religious fanatics.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I agree with the OP, while the subject itself is tragic, some the quotes and such in the article are chuckle worthy.

?In the seventies, we were really mobilized for a barrier at the Golden Gate,? Dr. Richard Seiden, the Berkeley suicide expert, told me. In 1970, the board of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District began studying eighteen suicide-barrier proposals, including a nine-foot wire fence, a nylon safety net, and even high-voltage laser beams. The board?s criteria were cost, aesthetics, and effectiveness. In 1973, the nineteen-member board, most of them political appointees, declared that none of the options were ?acceptable to the public.? (The laser-beam proposal was vetoed because of the likelihood of ?severe burns, possibly fatal, to pedestrians and personnel.

Who proposed the laser, Dr. Evil? All I ask for is bridge with frickin' laser beams on it!

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Interesting. My Step Dad used to volunteer to man those suicide hotlines. He never really talks about it much but I know it used to bother him sometimes. I'll have to ask him about it sometime...he's a great man and I have a ton of respect for him. BTW-He is an atheist.

Do you have any idea what the success rate is on those? I'd guess that anyone who actually makes the call wants to be talked out of it, deep down inside, but that doesn't mean that it'll always work, or that they won't be difficult to convince. BTW-The capital of Thailand is Bangkok.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

Originally posted by: ManyBeers

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Almost everyone in the Bay Area knows someone who has jumped

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area and has a lot of family and friends who still live there, I can tell you that this statement is utter bullsh*t.

Interesting subject. Idiot writer.

MotionMan

I agree he is full of shit.

He even spelled Tyvex biohazard suit incorrectly. It's Tyvek. He lacks attention to detail, which should be nonexistent for a writer.


But anyways, the topic was interesting. I was a bit surprised at the part of the article where the guy who advocated for a barrier was taunted at, especially since this is San Fransisco we're talking about.

But when I thought about it, maybe the more liberal population accepts the idea of the right to die? :shrugs;

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Interesting. My Step Dad used to volunteer to man those suicide hotlines. He never really talks about it much but I know it used to bother him sometimes. I'll have to ask him about it sometime...he's a great man and I have a ton of respect for him. BTW-He is an atheist.

Do you have any idea what the success rate is on those? I'd guess that anyone who actually makes the call wants to be talked out of it, deep down inside, but that doesn't mean that it'll always work, or that they won't be difficult to convince. BTW-The capital of Thailand is Bangkok.

Beats me.

BTW-Today is yesterday's tomorrow.