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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11441702

In a nutshell.

Guy is found standing on the railings of a bridge, police are called and 24 hours later...the guy is still there causing havoc.

He is just outside the city centre and is blocking a major through route to the rest of the city and city centre

Now I'm no psychologist and I am making a big assumption from what I understand but if the guy wanted to kill himself wouldn't he have done so?

He either has major mental health issues or has taken his 'woe is me stance' a bit too far and cannot now back down. I hope its the former because then I can take the disruptions to my commute a bit more in my stride.

"Paradise Circus"

"Spaghetti Junction"

You brits have some neato street names

spaghetti junction... thats awesomesauce

Have you ever tried to kill yourself? Presumably it's not a descision you would take lightly. If you walked to the edge of a cliff wouldn't you consider every single reprecussion before taking any action?

Also a mans life is far more important than any inconvenience people may suffer. To suggest otherwise IS disgusting.

Regwon wrote:Have you ever tried to kill yourself? Presumably it's not a descision you would take lightly. If you walked to the edge of a cliff wouldn't you consider every single reprecussion before taking any action?

Also a mans life is far more important than any inconvenience people may suffer. To suggest otherwise IS disgusting.

I agree. Taking your own life is ultimately selfish, as you're most likely causing unnecessary suffering to your friends and family instead of trying to fix your problems. It's not the same as, say, voluntary euthanasia due to terminal illness or crippling injuries. In that case, your family wanting to keep you alive for their own comfort is simply inhumane. We should have the right to die in such a situation, but not to self-terminate due to the other circumstances of life such as grief or depression.

Unfortunately, emotions tend to overflow in situations like that. It's not right to attempt suicide, but you shouldn't be blamed for jumping to that solution.

To those that would be concerned about their ability to drive to work or run errands... Walk. Yep, use your legs and walk.

I had family members complain to me about an instance in which they were late to work because a man had jumped in front of a train. Freaking intolerable gits.

While it is reasonable for the police to state that they understand peoples frustration, as mentioned here...

"We fully appreciate the disruption and inconvenience this has caused to commuters and we ask them for their continuing patience and understanding,"

...I feel that it is unnecessary given the reality of the situation.

For those that are unaware, it is ridiculous to suggest that suicidal actions indicate a 'woe is me' mindset. Such actions are explicitly unstable by their very prescence. There are factors that can lead someone to contemplate suicide as a rational course of action, but there is no reason to suggest that a person can jump so readily to such a decision without being mentally ill. It is intrinsically mentally ill to do so.

Death is freaking permanent. The idea that suicide is any type of answer is completely unreasonable. This is coming from a guy that spends a lot of time thinking about life and death.

Wrexasaur wrote:To those that would be concerned about their ability to drive to work or run errands... Walk. Yep, use your legs and walk.

I had family members complain to me about an instance in which they were late to work because a man had jumped in front of a train. Freaking intolerable gits.

While it is reasonable for the police to state that they understand peoples frustration, as mentioned here...

"We fully appreciate the disruption and inconvenience this has caused to commuters and we ask them for their continuing patience and understanding,"

...I feel that it is unnecessary given the reality of the situation.

For those that are unaware, it is ridiculous to suggest that suicidal actions indicate a 'woe is me' mindset. Such actions are explicitly unstable by their very prescence. There are factors that can lead someone to contemplate suicide as a rational course of action, but there is no reason to suggest that a person can jump so readily to such a decision without being mentally ill. It is intrinsically mentally ill to do so.

Death is freaking permanent. The idea that suicide is any type of answer is completely unreasonable. This is coming from a guy that spends a lot of time thinking about life and death.

From my own experience I know of:
a) a person who has been 'sectioned' and destined for their own welfare due to repeated suicide attempts - actual attempts with blades and overdoses.
b) A person so mentally disturbed that their family and friends are worried they might take their own life.


Maybe I was being a bit harsh and not linking any attempts at taking ones life to mental illness but I still think that that the individual concerned could prove to be a crank that took things too far, real issues or not.

Excuse me for my low opinion of human nature.

Anyway, the guy has been talked down and has been charged with creating a public nuisance I will wait to see what his mental state is deemed to be.

Mr. Burning wrote:From my own experience I know of:
a) a person who has been 'sectioned' and destined for their own welfare due to repeated suicide attempts - actual attempts with blades and overdoses.
b) A person so mentally disturbed that their family and friends are worried they might take their own life.

I hope they have managed to work through whatever issues they faced.

Maybe I was being a bit harsh and not linking any attempts at taking ones life to mental illness but I still think that that the individual concerned could prove to be a crank that took things too far, real issues or not.

Define 'real issues'. A man stands on a bridge contemplating suicide, and you call him a drama queen. Meh.

Excuse me for my low opinion of human nature.

You'll have to elaborate a bit more here.

I assume you are suggesting that by stopping your plans in any way the person in question is a piece of crap. Good job.
As the situation would suggest this individual likely needed very little convincing in that respect. A man jumps off a bridge. What happens? I do not mean to insinuate you are as lacking in compassion as some of your posts may have portrayed; just that your post/title reminded me of people that I consider intolerable. I do not have innate respect for those that would suggest a person risking suicide is in a 'woe is me' state of mind. My main contention in terms of that perception is in the fact that suicide is never the answer.

Perhaps you shouldn't get over your frustration over this situation (I mean, who in the heck cares anyway?), but I would add that the individual that caused your frustration in the first place should get over theirs. Few people care about this story either way; I am merely supporting the individual that was in an unstable situation. Not you, even if I have some understanding of your posting.

Woe is me indeed.

rubiksnoob wrote:"Paradise Circus"

"Spaghetti Junction"

You brits have some neato street names

Spaghetti Junction is, alas, merely a nickname for the Gravelly Hill Interchange. Still it is believed to be the first road system to have been called this.

Once again Britain leads the way.

..that said... http://www.squidoo.com/strange_street_names#module8177969

see the entries under "G"

Funny thing is, red, is that the name of that particular Lane actually means what it sounds like it means. I believe it was an early 'red-light' district.


I prefer 'Fanny Avenue'.

Once again Britain leads the way.

We have nets and tranq guns. Over 24 hours? 24 minutes is what these kind of cases sould take to resolve.

Once they are on the ground and awake (preferably somewhere that can deal with them, such as a hospital/etc) they can go through the whole talking and analysing for as long as they want.

Same with criminals who just sit on the roof until they get fed KFC, prison protests (though perhaps for these ones we don't need the nets and can use real bullets?), etc.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8064867.stm

Wrexasaur wrote:To those that would be concerned about their ability to drive to work or run errands... Walk. Yep, use your legs and walk.

I had family members complain to me about an instance in which they were late to work because a man had jumped in front of a train. Freaking intolerable gits.

This has happened to me, lost a few hours of my time but i wasn't mad.

The one thing you have to remember is the selfish nature of (especially this type) suicide, they don't think about the effect they will have on the train driver who has to watch a person get killed in front of them while the driver is in charge but can't do anything to save the person.

the stigma to mental health problems has to be removed so that more people go get help, so that it doesn't get to this point

Kilkrazy wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8064867.stm

I saw that one. Good for him

If there is a support at the bottom to catch the jumper, go for it.

Wrexasaur wrote:To those that would be concerned about their ability to drive to work or run errands... Walk. Yep, use your legs and walk.

I had family members complain to me about an instance in which they were late to work because a man had jumped in front of a train. Freaking intolerable gits.

Why? because captain numbnuts can't keep it together? What if there are emergency personnel held up? what about the doctor that has to get to his operaiton?

Feth that loser.

BluntmanDC wrote:This has happened to me, lost a few hours of my time but i wasn't mad.

The one thing you have to remember is the selfish nature of (especially this type) suicide, they don't think about the effect they will have on the train driver who has to watch a person get killed in front of them while the driver is in charge but can't do anything to save the person.

I am well aware of the consequences, and the fact that it is exceedingly likely that the individual on this bridge probably wasn't.

the stigma to mental health problems has to be removed so that more people go get help, so that it doesn't get to this point

Definitely.

Frazzled wrote:Why? because captain numbnuts can't keep it together? What if there are emergency personnel held up? what about the doctor that has to get to his operaiton?

Feth that loser.

Am I supposed to be surprised by your reaction?

To your point about the actual cost of the emergency services; I understand that aspect, and acknowledge that this man's actions were very self centered. My answer is to put up jump-proof fences in areas where this kind of thing can cause such a massive problem for the municipality. Take some action to limit the possibilities for this kind of interruption from happening again. Beyond that I have little sympathy for your situation, as you do for individuals in such an unstable state of mind.

I am quite sure I can guess your solution to this problem, and it would likely be something along the lines of flame-bait goodness. Have a good day Frazz; I don't hate you for it.

Wrexasaur wrote:
To your point about the actual cost of the emergency services; I understand that aspect, and acknowledge that this man's actions were very self centered. My answer is to put up jump-proof fences in areas where this kind of thing can cause such a massive problem for the municipality. Take some action to limit the possibilities for this kind of interruption from happening again. Beyond that I have little sympathy for your situation, as you do for individuals in such an unstable state of mind.

I am quite sure I can guess your solution to this problem, and it would likely be something along the lines of flame-bait goodness. Have a good day Frazz; I don't hate you for it.

So its ok that this spanker potentially kills people waiting for operations because he is well, a spanker?

I wasn't aware that was actually a problem here. Was there reports of that happening? Did the city route that much of it's emergency services into this one case? Can you show me the information that proves your suggestion.

I am merely agreeing that the monetary cost involved was significant, and in some ways that the city handled this poorly. Measures should be taken to deal with situations like this in a timely manner. I'm not sure how tall this bridge was, but my guess is that they could have cut the delay down by 75% or more. Better plans need to be put in place so the bridge cannot be held hostage, and the individual responsible can receive the services they need.

Talking with someone for 20 hours or more, so you can try to convince them to not jump is not an efficient solution. There are better ways to go about dealing with this kind of problem; among them is the fact that you can actually make bridges basically jump-proof.

No need to try to rile me up. It ain't gunna work.

Not trying to rile you up. I just have no sympathy for these loser manginas. Life sucks then you die. Deal with it, or don't but don't involve the rest of us in your loser girly drama. There are services out there, and if that ain't enough who cares? We're all dead in 80 years.

No matter how bad your life is, its probably 15.978x better than some Sudanese refugee.

Your life is probably at least 2.578x as good as the person who is unstable enough to view suicide as an answer. That makes your life 41.191x better than some Sudanese refugee.

Dude, think about it. Nearly 42x better than a Sudanese refugee. The exchange rate for Somalian life-goodness means that you are living a life roughly 100x better than a Somalian refugee. Check the sympathy index, you'll see that I'm right.

Starving kids in China man. EAT YOUR GODDAMN BROCCOLI.

Anyway, there are services and they should be offered to individuals that need them. I support the implementation of more effective mental health services, and campaigns that support the concept of rubbing out stigmas associated with mental health.

*Edited for mistakes in my sympathy index calculations.

Wrexasaur wrote:Your life is probably at least 2.578x as good as the person who is unstable enough to view suicide as an answer. That makes your life 31.956x better than some Sudanese refugee.

Dude, think about it. Nearly 32x better than a Sudanese refugee. The exchange rate for Somalian life-goodness means that you are living a life roughly 100x better than a Somalian refugee.

Starving kids in China man. EAT YOUR GODDAMN BROCCOLI.

Exactly.

I mean I've suffered too. I was lighting up a churchill the other day. I reached into the wallet for the $100 bill to light it up with, when I realizewd i was out of $100's!!! I had to make due using a $50. Can you believe that? I know I know it still brings tears to my eyes. So don't tell me I haven't suffered. I have. I have.

Do you need a hug Frazz? I feel your pain man.

Realizewding that I only have 3 houses and 10 cars makes me sad.

Wrexasaur wrote:Do you need a hug Frazz? I feel your pain man.

Realizewding that I only have 3 houses and 10 cars makes me sad.

I hear ya man. Group hug!