Because there’s so many suicides at the Golden Gate- it’s dubbed as The Suicide Bridge- they have started this “Angels on the Bridge” thing where volunteers go on the bridge and stop people from jumping. They do that on holidays, certain days like around xmas.
Do you like that or no? Is that a good thing or bad? I mean, I know it’s meant to be a “sweet” and “nice” thing they’re doing, but all I can think of is that it’s bloody annoying. Imagine you’re intent on offing yourself, and you can’t even do it because there’s all these bloody people watching out for jumpers.
Also, just preventing a few people from jumping on one or two days just doesn’t do anything in my opinion. It’s like when people give money to the homeless- but they only do it around xmas. Statistically, most people who give money to homeless people ever do it like once or twice a year, around the xmas or the holidays. While that is “nice” it does nothing for the people in January, when nobody gives the homeless anything. Anyway, my point is, what does “helping” people for 1 or 2 days do?
To really make a change, you need to change policies- expand and improve policies for the poor. Help make the world a better place by being better people to your fellow humans. Listen to your friends who are suicidal, and not turn your backs on them when they’re “no longer fun to hang out with.”
To really make a difference, society needs to change their policies on mental health care and access. And oh, does mental health care need some changes- all it does now is 1- medicate the shit out of you and 2- lets you “talk” to a therapist for an hour once a week, up to 20 weeks, cuz insurance says you don’t need for than that. They nod their head every once in a while and tell you to come back next week. Big woop. What does that do? Sure, some people have been helped by therapy or meds or whatever, but if that shit works, then why are 99% of depressed people still fucking depressed? Anyway, I digress.
The people who feel compelled to jump on Dec 25 who can’t because you were on the bridge preventing them will only do it on Dec 27, when there’s no one there on the bridge.
Am I terrible for thinking that stopping jumpers for a day or two is just useless and annoying?
22 comments
Long live VSED
Good point. I believe most people enjoy doing good when the opportunity presents itself. The mindsets involved in your scenario are so vastly different – “I want to kill myself” vs. “Let me help you live!”. Stopping a jumper will make the stopper feel they did something worthwhile, and MIGHT ultimately save a life, (MIGHT) but not always. Like you said, there’s always Dec. 27th. There’s an argument about movements to feed the starving of the world, that world hunger will never be eradicated. Probably true. But to a starving person holding a plate of food, what a beautiful thing someone’s efforts has done. For now, they eat. I imagine standing on the rail of the bridge, ready to fall but still unsure, when along comes a do-gooder who talks me off and sends me home, where I somehow find strength to carry on, maybe not for a long period of time, maybe till I die in a diaper at age 100, and I personally see value in that. Feeding one person won’t end famine, but for a little while it helps, and to me that’s good. We spend so much time and money devising cruelty and evil as a country and a species. How can random efforts to help be bad and misplaced? Maybe jumper returns 2 days later and jumps. Maybe not. GOOD and DECENCY occured, performed with loving intent, and in a world of sewage, we need them both.
Good to hear from you chipt162. Glad you joined the conversation, especially regarding jumpers near Christmas. Your point about “Feeding one persons won’t end famine” reminds me of what to one person seems a futility is to another not just “noble” or “right” but absolutely to be done without time wasted or debate. It is the story of the thousands of starfish washed up on the shore, dying under the cruel head and dry sand: one man questions a youth why he is working so hard at throwing them back into the ocean, saying, “You can’t make a difference: look at them all!”. The youth replied, “It’s makes a difference to this one!” as he threw the creature back to the sea to live its life.
P.S.- No, you’re not terrible for what you think. You’re human.
Wow, you make some really fantastic points in your post and I completely agree. To expand upon it, I think society also needs to quit labeling anybody who has any sort of problem as mentally ill and also quit punishing them for the rest of their lives for having this label slapped on them (regardless of the original reason for being labeled). You ask someone for help with getting through a really difficult divorce and you end up on some list where you’re labeled as being pretty much a criminal, getting laid off from your job, unable to buy life insurance, and ostrasized. Obviously everything on that list doesn’t happen to every person, but anyone who is labeled as mentally ill is a target for abuse and discrimination.
Which relates directly to something else you said. The person who stops to “help” you isn’t just going to allow you to go home if you admit your purpose there is because you were considering suicide. So you’re already so miserable that you want to die and you end up being forcibly dragged away locked up against your will, possibly mistreated (depending on the quality of the hospital), and then released with a huge bill to pay (depending on what your insurance covers). The person who did this to you will never see you again for the rest of your life, but they supposedly “cared”.
And what about the claim that most people who don’t jump from the bridge never make another attempt? Maybe the ones who didn’t jump weren’t so sure they wanted to in the first place, and maybe they made attempts nobody knows about. Thete is research that shows people who succeed often have prior attempts, so if most people who don’t succeed never attempt again, how do you explain this contradiction?
The one reasons I could see as to why they would want to reduce suicides there: Large number of people around the area, risk of somebody possibly falling on a boat, and the effort, expense and trauma involved with the retrieval of the body from the water.
Dang it! I seem to be leaving more typos in my posts lately. I need to pay closer attention!
Not sure if y’all read about this, but they’ve also approved the addition of a steel net “deterrent”.
Yeah, that’s been delayed for a while due to cost. Did they ever get the funding approved? I haven’t read anything about it for many months now.
Yes, an Oakland-based contractor will do it. The initial cost was ~84 mil, but it might have changed. There was only one other bidder and lost out to the Oakland based one.
Approved, to my knowledge.
Great, another thing to prevent us from ending our misery. And WTF- $84M? You know you could take the fucking $84M and give people actual health coverage, instead of a giant stupid steel net. Just an idea people.
Priorities. Smh. And if you gave those millions of people health care, maybe just maybe, it would prevent 1 or 2 people from winding up on that bridge in the first place. Just maybe. Idiots. No one fucking has a brain anyone.
On a more personal note, I would never want to jump off any bridge. More generally, I would never want to end my life in front of others.
To me, the final transition is a VERY PRIVATE act, and I will share it with no one else … it is too sacred to be shared with anyone. In other words, no one on this Earth means nearly enough to me to deserve to have any of it. No one shared their life with me, I will not share my most special moments with anyone. I lived alone, I die alone.
Also, I don’t like the idea of drama and commotion. To me, the final transition needs to be the antithesis of my life thus far. There was enough drama and commotion that led me to the final transition. The transition itself is all about peace.
Hence, I reject the #1 suicide spot. #2 on the list, however, would be ideal … if you know where it is š
That’s great if you’ve got a method to do that. What if you ain’t got a method that doesnt involve other people? We can’t blink ourselves out of existence can we?
I understand. People ? No thanks, for me.
But, aren’t there plenty of methods that don’t involve others ?
I watched a video of this survivor of the golden gate bridge that I’ll share. He said at the last moment he didn’t want to die and so he think the majority of the people who jumped probably felt the same at the last moment. I respect support but many members such as myself really can’t go on so if I was at the bridge I would tell them politely to leave me alone
Kevin Hines ?
I don’t see how anyone who’s suicidal that will jump from a 250ft bridge can suddenly want to live and regret it. My biggest fear would be being one of the 10 percent who survived.
@ Einsamkeit Yeah Kevin Hines.
And Woody he says how much his survival saved his life and how he wants to help others. He did mention that he gets thoughts through his head sometimes but he works hard to deal with it and he’s greatful
Because media won’t cover how pissed someone is if they get pulled out from killing themselves. Only people who say I regret attempting go on the news and gets congratulated- “oh look, SEE, someone who jumped and immediately regretted.”
The story from The Bridge that makes me angry is the one where that guy pulled the young woman back over the railing, struggling and screaming, to be forcibly dragged away by the police. He has no idea what damage he may have done to her, but he’s hailed as a hero.
I know which one you’re talking about. He was a photographer from PA and was wearing a cap backwards, when interviewed.
It just goes to show society’s ignorance about the subject. In a way, you can’t blame them for their stupidity. They’re brainwashed, right from birth, that death is bad, and suicide is evil. You cannot convince them otherwise.
They simply don’t have the wisdom to question what is taught to them. They cannot overcome their conditioning.
Hence, the guy pulled the girl over. He figured, hey, I’ll become a star and maybe even go on Oprah.
As for the people hailing him a hero, well, they’re part of the same stupid act, just playing different roles.
No insight whatsoever.
I’m compelled to quote Einstein again.
“Few are people who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”