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(newyorker.com)		Golden Gate bridge jumpers often regret their decision in midair (newyorker.com)		217
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26249 clicks; posted to Main » on 06 Oct 2003 at 5:04 PM | Favorite | share:

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fishrockcarving		2003-10-06 01:53:17 PM

I instantly realized that everything in my life that Id thought was unfixable was totally fixableexcept for having just jumped.

If ever there was a moment of clarity . . .,

Good article.

Spin_Doc		2003-10-06 02:08:39 PM

I agree, good read. I had a friend who committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. I've often wondered if he had any regrets after letting go of the hand rail. I would expect the human instinct to fight for life would be pretty strong.

His parents insisted on having an open casket at the funeral. He had so much cosmetic work done to his face that he looked little like himself. But I guess they had a lot of work to do.

camarugala		2003-10-06 02:08:48 PM

"Alarab had climbed down a sixty-foot nylon cord into a large plastic garbage can hed suspended beneath the bridge. His weight proved too much for the apparatus, and the can broke free with him inside."

I might have missed the point of the article but it sounds to me like this is simply the recounting of a political activist who chooses to use the Golden Gate Bridge to attention whore whenever he feels like the world isn't fair. In the above quoted paragraph I can only hope that this dorks luck runs out and he does take the plung.

Cardinal		2003-10-06 02:10:21 PM

cam--you got your wish.

camarugala		2003-10-06 02:10:31 PM

Okay I'll read the whole thing. If you guys say it's good. It just seemed a funny, overly convaluted way to introduce the topic

camarugala		2003-10-06 02:12:42 PM

Okay, now I feel like an ass. Ignore me. If I had just read two more paragraphs.

(slaps forehead)

jarrett		2003-10-06 02:13:11 PM

camarugala, you get a C- for not reading the whole article.

supichoo		2003-10-06 02:30:42 PM

excellent read

albo		2003-10-06 02:35:37 PM

this is so sad. i've been depressed, and i can imagine getting so far along that jumping seems like a rational solution. we're all searching for that momment of clarity; sadly, for some, it is only achieved at the last moments of life.

camarugala		2003-10-06 02:38:12 PM

Hell jarrett, I should get a F! And by the way. As a matter of record and not in anyway an attempt to dust over the past few comments I have read the article in its entirety and found it to be most satisfactory reading material.

_{P.S. I will refrain from knee jerk responses in the future as I will now go into a half hour of self imposed exhile to reflect upon my poor choice of words, timing and spelling and grammatical errors.}

Peaceboy		2003-10-06 03:12:19 PM

That was pretty interesting. That one girl's suicide note really bummed me out. Her mother mentioned what I had been thinking, that the Bridge is such a symbol and is so ubiquitous in media/films/whatever, much like the WTC, that it has to be a constant reminder to those left behind. A lot of regulars are blase about it, but I've walked across it and it is a bit freaky if you're not used to it or don't deal well with certain phobias... not just the height and the water, but it's usually cold and foggy and windy, and you get the occasional tugboat hornblast underneath and that scared the shiat outta me. There are emergency "crisis counseling" phones, which are also disturbing. It's about 2 miles exactly between the parking lots on each side.

This was another article on jumpers, it's a couple years old and a bit grislier, but also fascinating.

A couple other pictures I took.

Dancin_In_Anson		2003-10-06 03:19:17 PM

Jumping from the bridge is seen as sure, quick, clean, and availablewhich is the most potent factor, Dr. Jerome Motto, a local psychiatrist and suicide expert, says. Its like having a loaded gun on your kitchen table.

I think that it is high time we look into banning bridges!

Blacklight		2003-10-06 03:25:29 PM

Very interesting read.

Thales		2003-10-06 03:30:14 PM

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.

What kind of a shiaty-ass last meal is that? I like Starburts and Skittles as much as the next guy but if I get to choose my last meal it's sure as hell not including either of his choices.

Dr.Fey		2003-10-06 03:31:26 PM

Almost everyone in the Bay Area knows someone who has jumped...

Yeah, right. It's just so common there.

Dr.Fey		2003-10-06 03:36:11 PM

I do like the bit about stopping potential jumpers with "high-voltage laser beams."

Dancin_In_Anson		2003-10-06 04:02:25 PM

In the eighties, workers at a local lumberyard formed the Golden Gate Leapers Associationa sports pool in which bets were placed on which day of the week someone would jump.

So those of you in the Eastern part of the US don't feel left out, here's a site for you .

control		2003-10-06 04:08:50 PM

If I was considering suicide I'd find a way to bet a million dollars that I would survive the jump. I'm sure the right combination of lawyers and insurance policies would make the whole bet legit and I'm sure I'd find plenty of folks to bet I'd die.

If I survived, I'd be semi-rich. If I didn't, I wouldn't have to live poor.

Just_Another_Arsehole		2003-10-06 04:13:42 PM

If I'm ever going to jump off a bridge, I'll jump off the Bay Bridge. because, you know, it's cool to be different. "tacky" my arse.

TheOther		2003-10-06 04:30:44 PM

Feh. New Yorker crap.

I_Can't_Believe_It's_Not_Smegma		2003-10-06 04:31:34 PM

Fark jumping off a bridge. I'd choose to go out with a nice slow, morphine/heroin drip. Make you feel all warm and fuzzy and then you just go night-night for good.

Funsucker		2003-10-06 04:37:12 PM

"Roy Raymond, the founder of Victorias Secret, in 1993""

...a single tear rolls down my cheek

HipShot		2003-10-06 05:10:07 PM

Seems like a good time to learn how to fly.

betona		2003-10-06 05:11:52 PM

If it's a political statement he wanted to make, why couldn't he just take all his clothes off and get naked in protest like all the other demonstrators? Nobody gets hurt.

peterrigid		2003-10-06 05:12:39 PM

Dancin_In_Anson - I think that it is high time we look into banning bridges!

Bridges don't kill people, .....

skinink		2003-10-06 05:12:54 PM

Regrets, I had a few, but then again, too few to mention ...

Mackerel-97		2003-10-06 05:13:09 PM

AS tomorrow will prove beyond a shadow... It would seem that Californians just can't make up their bleepin' minds!

Zylon		2003-10-06 05:13:51 PM

HipShot - Seems like a good time to learn how to fly.

That's easy-- just miss the ground.

And always carry a towel.

Fark Me To Tears		2003-10-06 05:13:56 PM

I'm sure that Century 21 appreciates the publicity.

He was probably pissed becaused he got passed over for a guest-shot on "House Hunters".

Office politics ...

PeterNorth		2003-10-06 05:14:36 PM

an up and comming bridge...

http://www.jumperpool.com/

bmihura		2003-10-06 05:16:28 PM

Yes, good article.

But they need a camera permanently recording that bridge so we can see some of the better jumps.

Axoplasm		2003-10-06 05:17:43 PM

I demand a longer version of this article!

erdega79		2003-10-06 05:19:14 PM

I have other things to do today, anybody can summarize the article in 20 words as opposed to 20 paragraphs.

I_Can't_Believe_It's_Not_Smegma		2003-10-06 05:21:18 PM

erdega79
Jump bad

ISeeYourDisease		2003-10-06 05:21:18 PM

I was on the bridge once when someone jumped. A guy was being chased by the police in his car. He pulled over to the side, got out, and jumped over the railing. The cops said he was trying to escape. Too bad he was really close to the end of the bridge. He hit the beach and died. We ran down to check out the body but he fell into an area that was not accessible to the public.

/dumbass

Kiribub		2003-10-06 05:22:13 PM

erdega79:
"Wear clean undies."

TotallyFarkedDude		2003-10-06 05:23:14 PM

Golden Gate bridge jumpers often regret their decision in midair

Uh, how do they know this - stop time, fly down and ask?

peterrigid		2003-10-06 05:23:51 PM

erdega79: gravity

tom_tuttle_tacoma_washington		2003-10-06 05:24:35 PM

No shiat Smegma... If I was going to go - I'd go with a heavy narcotics binge.

ironoctopus		2003-10-06 05:25:13 PM

there's a story I've heard from many people who've lived in SF for longer than me, which goes that a man jumped of the GG Brige, and landed very close the boat of a psychologist who picked him up. The guy started going to therapy with him after he recovered, and it was a warm fuzzy ending. It's probably some urban legend, but I've always liked that one. And no, I would not say that everybody in SF knows someone who's jumped. 1200 people over 65 years is not a lemming-like swarm.

HipShot		2003-10-06 05:25:48 PM

Zylon

I've been rereading HG2G this weekend; I guess it's obvious.

Goosnargh

Livewire		2003-10-06 05:26:27 PM

Feh. New Yorker crap.

Uhh...the Golden Gate Bridge is in San Fransisco..

peterrigid		2003-10-06 05:26:40 PM

TotallyFarkedDude - Golden Gate bridge jumpers often regret their decision in midair

Uh, how do they know this - stop time, fly down and ask?

It's a based on answers from the failures.

Zeromyhero		2003-10-06 05:28:26 PM

No matter how depressed a person is killing yourself is losing. I will NOT lose.

legopowa		2003-10-06 05:28:45 PM

This is what a lifetime of negative re-inforcement and biatching does to a child.

kidgetup		2003-10-06 05:29:02 PM

Hip Shot ,

zylon forgot to tell you that before you hit the ground you must think about something else. Your brain cannot know that you are about to plummet into the ground..

/o O (i just hope i got to him in time)

Kaka		2003-10-06 05:30:45 PM

That was a very interesting article. As someone who suffers from severe depression and at times has seen suicide as the only answere it is very interesting to me to read about someone who suddenly realises "things can be fixed" only after they leap.

I thought the sucide not from the 70 yr guy was pretty acurate.

peterrigid		2003-10-06 05:31:01 PM

Absolutely no reason except I have a toothache.

Too.fcuking.funny.!

qburt		2003-10-06 05:31:43 PM

I cross the Golden Gate everyday on my way to work.

its weird to think that every 2 weeks average.. somebody is jumping off the same bridge.

tinrobot		2003-10-06 05:32:40 PM

anybody can summarize the article in 20 words as opposed to 20 paragraphs.

Jumping off bridges scrambles your innards and crabs eat your eyes. Feet first jumpers who survive tend to regret leaping...

There's twenty words for you.

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