$50 million dollars..........An estimated 1,300 people have jumped to their deaths in more than seventy years.
The vote went 14-1. The lone dissenter said his constituents didn't think it was necessary.
This strikes me as a fascinating conversation..........is it a political one? What do you think? I have my theories but I'd much rather hear yours.
thanks.
41 comments:
I say if jumpers want to jump, let them. Or, if it's so important to the community, take up a donation for it from the citizens.
Otherwise what's next? Nets around all other bridges, and tall buildings, maybe guards around pill bottles?
Sheesh.
I don't want to appear heartless, but how have we gotten so far away from taking personal responsibility for our actions?
Don't these dopes realize people are going to jump now BECAUSE there's a net to catch them?
Are you depressed? Get all the thrill and attention of suicide without the messy consequences.
Come one come all, see the show. The best circus act in the city of clowns!!!
Maybe they can charge admission. You know, buy a ticket for the new tightrope act without a tightrope.
Unbelieveable. Only in San Francisco.
Pris
More costly nanny state nonsense.
In a free society people should be permitted to commit suicide.
Far better they jump into the water from a bridge, than land with a loud bloody SPLAT! on the sidewalk where they might injure or kill some hapless passerby.
The former is less messy and doesn't inconvenience nearly as many people.
There is no NET WORTH to this Nannylib project in my opinion.
Besides, as Scrooge said, it would help decrease the surplus population most of whom are Democrats, I'm sure.
J.J.J. Schmidt
I say let the idiots jump, I'm sure the gene pool can afford it!
I agree on thinning the herd. But what about the court costs and extra police work on arrests for joy jumpers? Blame bush. Wait, obama will save them.
I'm inclined to agree with Cube on this, but hey . . . we're a shining city on a hill (who can no longer afford the cost of electricity) so here's what I think.
Spend the money on nets. But anyone who jumps has to figure out how to get back to the top again. How's that for compromise?
This is supposed to be a free country. If people want to take their own lives by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge, then let them do it.
Not only did installing the net cost a lot of money (uh, a $50 million net???), but there is a hidden cost as well. Sorry to be so graphic and insensitive, but if people jump, the marine life will dispose of the body. No mess. If they don't jump, then they will find another way to off themselves and the tax payers will have to pay for the coroner and anyone else who would be involved in an investigation to determine the death was a suicide. Plus, disposal of the body.
Maybe it would be better to just post signs on the bridge that say: "If you jump, please tell someone first. If you don't inform someone, then tax payers will be responsible for paying city officials to search for you when you become 'lost'."
I think this is another example of the government thinking they know more about what is best for people than the people themselves. Not shocking that it is San Francisco either.
I guess there's nothing else in San Francisco high enough to jump from to kill yourself? Shouldn't we shield people from everything that could kill them so that they don't have to use their minds? It is obviously our responsibility to idiot-proof the world. Since it's San Francisco were talking about, shouldn't we stop people from gay sex that is inflicting harm on them and infecting them with diseases that kill them at a high rate? I bet people who have died there from diseases obtained through gay sex would dwarf the 1300 who have died from jumping off the bridge. I don't suppose that type of legislation would make it anywhere though. We must ignore any ACTUAL threat to human life. It's far better to not offend than it is protect. When will someone stand up for the rights of the jumpers? Maybe the messiah will lead them when he comes forth to bring change and save us all. YES WE CAN!!!
Oh, I love you guys! I knew it was a political thing.
This is ALL about NANNY STATE.
Mustang, you made Mr and Mrs. Z crack up with your compromise idea! Make them find their way out of that net, indeed!! Mr. Z adds that we should encourage a suicide there because the rate's probably higher among Obama voters.(right, JJJ!! So glad to see you here, by the way!) Let's have SUICIDE DAY on November 2!?? A BIG "HAPPENING" in San Francisco.."COME ONE , COME ALL" Like Pris describes!!!
Ya, that sounds cold, but.....we need to be able to laugh sometimes!
Cube...like people aren't going to go elsewhere to jump? What, every big building will now have nets around it?, right?
Well, I could keep blabbing here as I usually do, but MA and Pops's and Obob's comments, ALL your comments, say it so much better than I ever could.
I had a feeling you'd all feel this way. Here's what I think Ducky will write:
"What's the matter with you Republicans, if this saves ONE LIFE isn't it worth $50 million dollars? My aunt committed suicide in 1907 and her family's NEVER gotten over it. Do you want that guilt hanging on YOUR heads?
And think of the FISH they could hit with the impact, and the quality of the water if that body's not found quickly. PETA should get RIGHT on this....You REPUBLICANS, if it weren't for your stinginess, nobody would HAVE to jump from the bridge. People need financial help or they JUMP FROM BRIDGES, do you BLAME THEM???And, if you'd just let people be people, realize perversion is FREEDOM and everything should be accepted and tolerated, why else do you think people commit suicide!? Maybe the welfare office was closed on Sunday. Do you realize what THAT could do to a family sitting around their kitchen table considering how some people have MORE than THEY DO? It's paralyzing, I tell you.!"
Anybody got anything to add?
The suicide prevention part of this is beyond silly. I could tell stories of what people will do if they really want to kill themselves.
I see this as nothing but a magnet for thrill seekers. I could see idiots from all over the country going to SF to jump off of the Golden Gate bridge.
I like alligators as much as I do sharks. My policy is, I don’t mess with them, and so far, they’ve returned the favor. About two years ago, some guy in Lakeland exceeded the human dosage for crack and while floating around in never-never land, he decided to go out into a lake and dance a tango with a 12’ gator. The gator was one of those manly reptiles who, while detesting the tango does like fresh meat.
Gator and Spacey debated the issue for a while, and it seemed as though Gator was winning. So Spacey’s first cousin and the mother of his sixteen children called the Sheriff’s Department. For some reason, the deputies felt an obligation to wade out into the lake and bring what was left of Spacey back to shore – and in the process, they killed Gator by shooting him at close range a bunch of times.
My question then and now was, “Don’t Gator’s have a right to eat, too?” Either we believe in conserving our planet and protecting animals, or we don’t. Shooting the alligator for acting like an alligator was not only stupid; it may have violated his civil rights. Meanwhile, Spacey lived, and given an opportunity to reduce our drug addict population by one, liberal policy failed to take advantage of it. Look how much money we could save on drug rehabilitation programs if we simply feed these people to alligators (and sharks).
I will gratefully accept your nomination for a Nobel Prize (Saving the Environment).
Maybe it would be cheaper to simply close San Francisco -- Living there is probably what makes people want to commit suicide in the first place. I know it would drive me over the brink.
Chuck, I'll bet you could tell us......eeeoouu
I admire your work
Mustang...OH, my GOSH!! (but, you do have a point!)
Granny..San Francisco; the only city (besides Seattle, come to think of it) which treats the homeless like an endangered species. It would drive me over the brink, too........
But NOT into the DRINK!!
TO drink, but not INTO the drink!!
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt...what took me so long to get it??
Ah, well....
As someone who has been personally affected by a suicide, I will tell you this is beyond the pale. Only in S.F. The first thought I had was it's just more of the same. Government control over the personal responsibility obligations of the citizen. Does S.F. have an extra $50 million to spare?
It's a pointless evolution. An individual truly determined to end their existence will find a way.
Z, be glad "Dora" never found her way here. She makes Ducky sound like the voice of sweet reason. Ask Pappa Frank or Brooke about her some time.
hermit...I know all about dora. thanks for the warning, tho.
She and Evan Sayet's commenters are the only people (generally) that I comment under ANONYMOUS for.
NO WAY am I having her here. Some bloggers want to fight, I don't. I don't mind civil, kind and constructive discussion, but Ducky and psi bond (a blogger who followed me here from Frontpagemag.com somehow) are borderline so I normally don't delete them.... Ducky, I keep for comic relief, psi bond, I'm just too lazy to keep deleting, and he keeps beamish happily busy! I like having beamish here! (he's SOOO good!) So that's good entertainment for ME!
Thanks, Hermit.
You're right about the net; they'll find another way.
Karen, I thank you for not finding this blog piece indelicate, I did worry about that because suicide isn't really anything to joke about. I've never personally had experience with it; I'm very sorry you have. Thanks for being a good sport and maintaining your conservative leanings even when faced with something personal.
Actually it's James Joseph Jeremiah Schmidt.
That other fellow's been an embarrassment to me all my life.
You may call me Jerry, if you like.
J.J.J. Schmidt
We have a bridge like that that people like to jump off of. I hope they don't hear about it in Florida, or they'll follow suit. I don't want to pay for it.
Rightwingers, as matter of dogma, disapprove of society providing safety nets. But they also disapprove of assisted suicide (like building inviting bridges without a net). Thus they hang themselves, so to speak, in their slick (sick) ideology :-)
priceless, psi bond..so it's the bridge builders who are at fault.
thanks...you say so much.
Ah yes, the pejorative dogmata; and the left-wingers (nee communists) would build grand edifices for these people, provide them with free drugs and clean needles to keep them forever dependent upon the government (and the taxpaying public). Later, the liberal charlatans can stand upon a dais and say, “Look what a fine fellow I am . . . I have saved these wretched souls from themselves.” Of course, they never once addressed the psychosis of the patient before condemning him to a life of servitude to Uncle Joe, but they will increase spending in the next year because it is certain there are 100 more just like him just waiting to be saved.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to hire ACORN to keep the bridge manned with "koolaid" salesman. Maybe they could find another Jim Jones, of Guyana fame, type to lead the effort. Somebody wants to call it quits, they go get a free government provided glass of "koolaid", fill out a voter registration card, drink, and lie down and die peacefully. Maybe NOBAMA, as a token of good faith, would be willing to pick up the tab, or at least the first $800,000 of it. the way The Average American sees it, it's a win-win situation! I'll take the 50 mil and promise to pick up the "koolaid" tab after the first $800,000 runs out.
Almost forgot, have ACORN get these people an extra-low interest loan to buy a house. They'll need a legitimate address for all those new voters!
They'll just find another bridge...or another method.
I don't know, Z.
The city would save a lot of money by hiring a chaplain to stand guard 24/7 to counsel jumpers.
Imagine that.
Hey, Dora's all about allowing personal freedoms. She hates it when we 'rightwingers' try to limit her freedoms...so theoretically, she should be against the net.
priceless, psi bond..so it's the bridge builders who are at fault.
thanks...you say so much.
No, Z, I do not point a finger. I would rather see the problem solved. I wonder how many suicides could've been saved who would have gotten their lives in order and changed the world for the better.
but thanks...you say so little I don't expect
mustang: Ah yes, the pejorative dogmata; and the left-wingers (nee communists) would build grand edifices for these people, provide them with free drugs and clean needles to keep them forever dependent upon the government (and the taxpaying public)…..
The priceless élitist dogma of rightwing extremists is that those who are broken or demoralized by their lives (at least for the moment) are members of an untouchable class that is best exterminated so as not to deplete the limited resources they themselves wish to enjoy.
Yeah, that's a valid point, won't jump because the net is there, and who is going to get them off the net? Is that paid for by the government, santa or the taxpayer, as usual.
Interesting topic, z. I'm with your other commentators. $50 million for a handful of people who will only find another way to do the deed. How predictable that this should happen in San Fran. This is actually a message to the voters that Nanny cares...really cares. Enough to spend your hard-earned tax dollars on something that's going to benefit no one.
Some blogs and websites have an "exclude" device that enables individual readers not to see (or smell) the posts of those that annoy them, but everyone else remains free to see it all.
I wish every blog and website had such feature!
Jut a thought...
- James Joseph Jeremiah Schmidt
and the wreched soul that does jump will get caught in the net, and will sue the state of california for injuring him with the net, the one that was provided to save his life, which he was careless enough to throw away.
sheesh!
If the jumpers are serious about taking a final leap, they'll find another spot or even another method.
How many sharks are there in the bay, anyway? Shouldn't the PETA nuts be opposing a net?
AOW..THAT is true! Isn't PETA all FOR feeding their pet sharks!!?
And Salubrina, that cracked me up, too!!
YOU are so right and I should have added that to my 'typical leftist comment' I was expecting...The 9th comment down from the top! "...and if ONE of us hurts himself falling, YOU are going to get SUED for having encouraged this terrible injury!"
Anyone who gets caught in the net should be thrown into a big steaming cauldron of BOUILLABAISSE. It would help feed the multitude of bums who haven't relived the city of the burden of their presence by committing suicide --- yet.
J.J.J. Schmidt
Psi bond
The priceless élitist dogma of rightwing extremists is that those who are broken or demoralized by their lives (at least for the moment) are members of an untouchable class that is best exterminated so as not to deplete the limited resources they themselves wish to enjoy.
First, do not paint all on the right with the same brush. I consider myself fairly far right yet I give the mentally ill good and compassionate care everyday. I live the life, I don't sit in the comfort of my home and wax poetically about it. If you do the same, thank you. If you do not, then please leave the issue up to the grown ups who do. If you have not sat with a woman who is in a full swing hypermania trying to calm her so she does not harm herself, or have tried to talk to man who has tried to OD to explain to him that he has children who love him, then you really don't know what your talking about.
As far as these "broken and demoralized lives". Some of these people genuinely have difficulties and they need care. Do you want to know what the number one problem with the mental health system is though? Liberals who have turned the system into nothing more than a crutch for people whose main problem with their lives is that they do not take personal responsibility for themselves.
The overwhelming majority of the menatally ill take their meds, go to counseling, and work with what they have. For this, they live good and productive lives.
The people that use the vast majority of the resources are a minority of those who do not do the above. Some really cannot follow the regimen and do need more help, this is what the mental health system is good for. A lot though do not simply because we have made it too easy for them not to. This is the crutch part and I see it abused on a daily basis. This is not the mental illness, it is the lack of responsibility and the do-gooder liberals waiting around to tell them that it's ok to live their lives the way they do, it's not their fault.
Go ahead and attack me as a mean spirited neo-con. Like I said though, I live the life and I am very proud of the care I give to those afflicted with mental illneses.
Chuck. If you were here, I swear I'd hug you for a very, very long time.
I'm proud to know you even in this small cyber-way.
God bless you and the good work you do as a nurse. You walk the walk...others just talk the talk.
xxx
chuck, yours is the exception to most of the posts here.
Thank you for your exemplary service.
I hope ideological constraints don’t make you nervous.
There was a recent documentary "The Bridge" which was quite controversial for interviewing people about to jump. Myself, I don't believe its intentions were at all macabre. Rather it was a very direct interview on their own terms of people deciding whether or not to jump.
So were the people who jumped "idiots"? I wouldn't say so and I would take steps to help them if they asked but this net is just silly. Won't change much except venues.
Liberals who have turned the system into nothing more than a crutch for people whose main problem with their lives is that they do not take personal responsibility for themselves.
-------------------------
But Chuck, just a few lines before this statement you were talking about how you care for the mentally ill and you though it was wrong to tar all republicans with the same brush.
You seem very conflicted.
Oh how I wish all blogs had that EXCLUDE feature I mentioned!
J.J.J. Schmidt
JJJ. you have great ideas and I'm hoping you implement them when you open your own blog. Do it, you'd enjoy it!
Post a Comment