Jump!
Many of you may have heard that last week we had a monumental traffic jam in San Francisco caused by a distraught man threatening to jump off the Bay Bridge. This standoff lasted for 13 hours and resulted in backups extending 12 miles and lasting until 2:00 AM.
Where does one draw the line in negotiating with a suicide jumper? Is it ethical to tie up the movement of over 300,000 people and millions of dollars in goods and services to try and talk one nutjob off the bridge, especially considering that he had tried suicide (although not off the Bay Bridge) three years earlier?
Several furious motorists apparently believed they had the answer by shouting "jump," according to Eve Meyer, the executive director of San Francisco Suicide Prevention.
"It is really disturbing to me that there are some people who would shout at someone to jump when they had an opportunity to save a life by waiting," Meyer said. "Every minute that you have that somebody isn't jumping is a minute of life that you have a chance to save."
Meyer said she is shocked that the media and public officials are more concerned about the traffic impacts than they are about a person's life. She said suicide prevention is always a battle with time.
Get busy livin' or get busy dying!
I don't agree with Meyer. The CHP (California Highway Patrol) should have given him a gentle nudge after 5 hours and then pushed him over after 6. One human life isn't precious when compared to the costs to over 300,000 people stuck and going nowhere for 13 hours.
Harsh? Maybe so but we all make our choices and the least this crazy could have done is offed himself someplace where it wouldn't have inconvienenced so many other people. Suicide is selfish and awful and this guy's actions show why suicide is for losers, at least we could have made it easier for him.
4:18:40 PM 
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