Suicide 'encouraged' to jump

[andy-hughes]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Derby -Police-Criticise-Crowd-Who-Encouraged-Shaun-D ykes-To-Jump-Off-Westfield-Shopping-Centre/Art icle/200810115110890?f=rss

Press reports advise that while this young man was being taked to by negotiators, some of the crowd on the ground were calling to him to jump, with phrases like 'Get on with it ...' and 'How far will you bounce ...'.

Leaving aside the knee-jerk reaction of disgust at such behaviour, does anyone have any theories about why the crowd mentality takes over at scenes like this? Why do people make stupid flippant remarks, and then rush to film the poor man's corpse after he took their 'advice' and jumped.

Please don't post if you only want to rant about 'doing the same to them' - I am interested in any genuine insights into why people behave like this when faced with a potential fatality.

[admarlow]

I think that reading about it in the paper is similar to watching it, but to a much lesser extent, why else do people read it apart from curiosity, same thing happens when here is a car crash, everybody slows down for a look.

[4getmenot]

I'm sure most would admit to slowing down to see a car crash. Although when my mum and dad had a bad accident in which their car rolled on M25 some idiot that had been stuck in queue gave them the W@nker sign as her drove past

[LoftyLottie]

The worse thing I can remember seeing are the films of people jumping from the towers on 9/11. I found it deeply disturbing and it stays with me. I would never hang about to potentially watch someone jump to their death or choose to watch it on a video.

[B00]

This also begs another question....would WE watch it if we were there? I have to be honest and admit that yes, I more than probably would. As previously mentioned with car crashes etc....we all have a goulish fascination with things like this. I highly doubt though that i'd be encouraging him to kill himself.

[admarlow]

...but you just said you already have, Q.E.D

[4getmenot]

same as what I just said BOO. I would watch but turn away as he jumped

[B00]

Yeah 4get- Dont think I could stomach the bit where he splats.

[admarlow]

on my last post i ment LOTTIE said she has already atch people jumping on video not BOO

[smudge]

I echo what Andy has to say about that admarlow.

We read every day about stabbings, etc., but I wouldn't want to be privvy to any of them!

ELVIS - I agree with you about mobile phones with cameras. I thought the 'happy slapping' events were/are bad enough - but to go even further, jeering at someone to kill themself, then film the dead body, is just too much to comprehend!

[ELVIS68]

I`ve been called out to a few railway suicides and you always get a crowd gathering, one night we were sat waiting for the last train to go through, the barriers came down and a bloke casually walked onto the track and laid down in between the rails on the crossing, next thing a stansted express doing 80mph hit him, ripped him to bits and dragged him half a mile up the track, people were standing there for ages afterwards cracking jokes

[admarlow]

hey smudge what i ment was that for some peole reading about it is enough and for some people they want more, they want to see it, either way it satisfys the same morbid need.

[jake-the-peg]

Saw something very similar the other month in India.

looked to see what the crowd was watching over the embankment - Wished I hadn't

A guy literally cut in half on the railway lines lower half of the body about 10 feet further down the tracks.

I think there is a desire for spectacle in some people - many of us don't see death on a regular basis like people used to and in some people the curiosity and desire for spectacle becomes overwhelming

Rubbernecking is not just a British phenomina

[LoftyLottie]

NO AD, I DIDN'T WATCH IT ON A VIDEO. I saw it on the news and it was unexpected and upset me. I definitely would not watch it on a video.

[smudge]

P.S. Yes, we all tend to slow down when there's an accident, but with me, it's a case of slowing down behind the person in front & in case someone whacks me up the backside!

As for 9/11 & watching people jumping out of the twin towers on TV - the desparation of those poor people will stay with me forever too Lottie.

I know I would have had to turn away.....

[admarlow]

tv / video potatoes/potartoes.

[LoftyLottie]

Well yes, ad. But I didn't choose to watch it because people were jumping, I was watching the news and it just appeared. There is a difference, and you know it ;o).

[smudge]

FGS admarlow - watching the news is different to 'seeking' out a video to watch!

[smudge]

Crossed psots with LL.

[smudge]

*Crossed posts with LL..

Sorry - cat jumped up on my lap!

[admarlow]

why? end result is the same (you saw it) and you didn't turn off the news. What i am saying is that watching it on the news is the same, just a little tamer, you still watch it for the same reason as the people who hunt out videos and for the same reason people look at car crashes.