tjhorton@csri.toronto.edu (Tim Horton) (01/24/89)
wagner@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Michael Wagner) writes: >... by the way, I'm presuming that suicide is still a crime - it used to be >(for reasons more religious than legal (or logical, for that matter)). In the last few weeks I've become aware of quite a few suicides, or other unspecified "emergency situtations", on the TTC. In at least one case a TTC employee confirmed to a friend of mine that someone had decided to end it all. In Tokyo I believe that the law holds the estate of the deceased person liable for a goodly sum should they decide to do themselves in like this. Apparently it got quite bad a few years back, and the japanese put a lot into keeping the system running like a clock, so they decided to do something to discourage this method. I have it that the approach was somewhat effective. Considering that a subway suicide in Toronto can hold up many thousands of people for well over an hour (presumably some fraction of them "critically" delayed -- not just out to go window-shopping), the costs may easily involve several man-years on the part of unwilling participants. Should not such unsociable behavior be discouraged in whatever way possible? There are other more reliable ways to end it all, are there not? (You can jump from a bridge, or borrow a gun, or inject nasty stuff, or take up smoking... or pehaps simultaneously take up cocaine and riding racehorses and LSD at rock concerts and driving stolen cars very dangerously [sick, Tim])
yap@hammer.me.toronto.edu (01/25/89)
In article <8901240935.AA01848@bloor.csri.toronto.edu> tjhorton@csri.toronto.edu (Tim Horton) writes: >Considering that a subway suicide in Toronto can hold up many thousands of >people for well over an hour (presumably some fraction of them "critically" >delayed -- not just out to go window-shopping), the costs may easily involve >several man-years on the part of unwilling participants. Should not such >unsociable behavior be discouraged in whatever way possible? There are other >more reliable ways to end it all, are there not? > >(You can jump from a bridge, or borrow a gun, or inject nasty stuff, or take >up smoking... or pehaps simultaneously take up cocaine and riding racehorses >and LSD at rock concerts and driving stolen cars very dangerously [sick, Tim]) > You don't understand. These people have such severe problems, they feel their only recourse is to "end it all". I imagine them, not as chronically ill cancer patients, who can no longer stand the pain, but as desperate, bitter people. Who, if they're going to commit suicide, are going to do so with a bang, "I'm going to kill myself, and I want the whole fucking world to know". Their final (and likely only) moment of "glory".