Suicide Superman

[Deepwater6]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/superman-saved-25-jumpers-fishing-boat/story?id=17317460&page=2

 

What a cool story. I'm not sure if it is the economy and the war or that we are just keeping better records, but the suicide rate continues to rise. US Soldiers are on pace to have another very bad year.

 

I like the idea that this guy didn't have to go to 7 yrs of school to recognize when someone might want to hurt themselves. I don't believe people will always try again, not if they get the help they need and get their problems sorted out. Everybody goes through times in their life when it seems just too much handle. Some people just need someone to listen to them, some need a little more.

 

A great story though, I think they should post somebody at the base of that bridge if it happens that often. It didn't say how good the fishing was, but he should be having good Karma.

[modest]

A great story though, I think they should post somebody at the base of that bridge if it happens that often. It didn't say how good the fishing was, but he should be having good Karma.

Very inspirational.

 

I've thought the same thing about the Golden Gate bridge. They say someone jumps on average something like every 2 weeks and it makes me wonder what kind of prevention they have. It's all the more heartbreaking hearing that jumpers who survive report regretting the decision immediately after jumping. You have to wonder how many survive the impact and try to hang on but there's nobody there to give them a helping hand :(

 

My hat's off to this guy.

 

~modest

[belovelife]

me too

 

reminds me of the movie, pump up the volume

[CraigD]

What a cool story. I'm not sure if it is the economy and the war or that we are just keeping better records, but the suicide rate continues to rise. US Soldiers are on pace to have another very bad year.

Suicide is a difficult subject to discuss scientifically. It’s emotionally loaded, nearly everyone having experienced grief or worry over a friend or loved one’s successful, attempted, or contemplated suicide. Even when it can be considered dispassionately and objectively, it’s a complicated subject, because while some suicides are clearly due to passing states of emotional imbalance and distress, some are very rational acts, in many cases producing tangible and intangible benefits. A prominent example: the suicide 2009 suicide of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, which he justified in the following note,

I am in debt to so many people. I have caused too great a burden to be placed upon them. I can't begin to fathom the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I am unable to do anything because of poor health. Do not be too sad. Isn't life and death all a part of nature? Do not be sorry. Do not feel resentment toward anyone. It is fate. Cremate me. And leave only a small tombstone near home. I've thought on this for a long time

resulted in a strong increase in support for his political party and allies, the ending of the prosecution of a corruption case against him and his family to which he admitted guilt, and a renewal of support for many of his policies.

 

Considered objectively the incidence of suicide appears to vary more between countries than between different years in the same country. According to an rough averaging of several sources, The US suicide rate is currently about 11/100000/year, vs. a 5-year average high of 12.7 in 1975, and a recent low of 10.4 in 2000. Comparing across countries, however shows, according to one source, S. Korea’s rate is highest, at 31.2, Serbia’s (where Renato Grbic lives) 19.5, vs. the UK’s 6.9. Though reporting inaccuracies may be a factor for these strong differences, they suggest to me that culture is the strongest driver of suicide.

 

In no year or country for which I found information does suicide appear to be an appreciable risk to population size. For comparison, consider that the 1918 flu pandemic had a death rate of about 1000/100000/year, about 30 times that of the highest national suicide rate. The 1918 birth rate, however was about 2200, so even this tremendous pandemic didn’t decrease the human population.

 

I like the idea that this guy didn't have to go to 7 yrs of school to recognize when someone might want to hurt themselves.

Renato Grbic is clearly a heroically compassionate person worthy of admiration. However, while you wouldn’t have to study psychiatry for 7 years to emulate him, you would have to spend 15 years in a boat near a popular “suicide bridge”, not a path open to many people.

 

I don't believe people will always try again, not if they get the help they need and get their problems

I think you’re correct. Further, even if people who survive a suicide don’t get good help, I believe they’re still more likely than not to not die of suicide.

 

Although precise information about attempted suicides being difficult to get makes such a measurement difficult, my rough calculation, based on data from this study, is that about 75% of people who attempt suicide do not eventually die from suicide.

 

In any case, to me, the ethics of the situation are clear: if you see a person in danger of death, self-inflicted or not, you are morally obligated to try to rescue them.

 

I've thought the same thing about the Golden Gate bridge. They say someone jumps on average something like every 2 weeks and it makes me wonder what kind of prevention they have. It's all the more heartbreaking hearing that jumpers who survive report regretting the decision immediately after jumping. You have to wonder how many survive the impact and try to hang on but there's nobody there to give them a helping hand :(

Boat rescues like Grbic’s 25 of people who jump from the Golden Gate bridge are much more difficult, because it’s much higher (about 75 m) than the Pančevo Bridge (about 20 m) where Grbic operates his boat. It also spans a longer stretch of more difficult water.

 

As of 2006, only 26 people, or about 2% of those known to have jumped, are known to have survived the fall from the GGB. Most of them were so badly injured they never walked again.

 

I think the engineering consensus is that the best way to prevent suicides from the GGB is a “suicide net” similar to ones installed under observation decks on tall buildings. One was approved in 2008, though as its estimated cost is around $50,000,000 and state and federal funding scarce, when it will be completed is uncertain.

 

Though they don't cut as heroic an image as Grbic, I think the people promoting this project are as worthy of praise.

[Deepwater6]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/dennis_dillon/09/26/OJ-Murdock/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

I'm eager to see the outcome from the testing to see if football head injuries make players more prone to suicide. If that is the case it could also be an issue for boxing and other sports.

 

As you stated Craig this topic is difficult subject to discuss. It seems people do not like to talk about death by any means. I assume they do not want to confront the reality of it until they have no other choice.

 

Many people find it odd that pro football players with enough money for a comfortable living commit suicide. This problem seems to cross economic, racial, and religious lines without any trouble. Everyones own problems are large in their own eyes. What may seem like a trivial matter to someone could seem overwhelming to another person.