Forget Red State, Blue State: Is Your State "Tight" or "Loose"?

[garbon]

I don't think anyone is going to decide not to kill themselves because they hear that there is a net on the Golden Gate bridge.

The first article I found said something like they had research that showed suicides in general were down in areas where bridges got nets. Didn't pay enough attention to see if that claim had any validity.

[DGuller]

I don't think anyone is going to decide not to kill themselves because they hear that there is a net on the Golden Gate bridge.

Even if that's true, if they still go for an alternative method that's less deadly (I would imagine that pretty much any other method except maybe by gun is), that's still a win.

[crazy canuck]

I don't think anyone is going to decide not to kill themselves because they hear that there is a net on the Golden Gate bridge.

Even if that's true, if they still go for an alternative method that's less deadly (I would imagine that pretty much any other method except maybe by gun is), that's still a win.

Apparently for people who are contemplating suicide the means of doing the act plays a big role in their decision.  Also there are hundreds of people who are prevented from killing themselves by jumping off the bridge.  A very small percentage of those people later go on to kill themselves through other means.  So, once again, we can all be thankful Grumbler is not in a position of authority.

[CountDeMoney]

It was always an easy call on the Key Bridge when it came to jumpers;  by the time we got an officer up there on the report of a stopped vehicle, if they were still on the bridge they weren't jumping.  They'd waste 3 hours with the negotiator, but they never went.
Just an abandoned car?  They knew they were going to do it the moment they stopped traffic and got out.


"Mr. Smith, this is Lt. Nightstick.  We have bad news;  apparently your wife took her life after she got out of her car on the Key Bridge."
"Where's the car?"

[CountDeMoney]

Apparently for people who are contemplating suicide the means of doing the act plays a big role in their decision.

I like Kyle Kinane's approach to a suicide;  jumping off a building, but in flippers and a snorkel and landing on the concrete next to a full glass of water.  Suicide, or the world's worst stunt?  The world would never know.

[crazy canuck]

Apparently for people who are contemplating suicide the means of doing the act plays a big role in their decision.

I like Kyle Kinane's approach to a suicide;  jumping off a building, but in flippers and a snorkel and landing on the concrete next to a full glass of water.  Suicide, or the world's worst stunt?  The world would never know.

Performance art.  He was very commited.

[Ideologue]

Is suicide prevention a bad thing?

Yes.  Stop being such a totalitarian.

[grumbler]

Apparently for people who are contemplating suicide the means of doing the act plays a big role in their decision.  Also there are hundreds of people who are prevented from killing themselves by jumping off the bridge.  A very small percentage of those people later go on to kill themselves through other means.  So, once again, we can all be thankful Grumbler is not in a position of authority.

Makin' shit up as ya please, just like the song says, huh?

I'd be willing to bet that places that don't even have bridges like the Golden Gate have about the same suicide rate as places that do.  So, once again, we can all be thankful that cRazy cAnuck isn't a smart enough lawyer to do any actual harm with his little fictions.

[garbon]

I'd be willing to bet that places that don't even have bridges like the Golden Gate have about the same suicide rate as places that do.

Well that's a rather vague statement. Clearly suicide rate varies and so yes, there are probably some places that have just as high a suicide rate as SF but I'm not sure what that tells us.

[grumbler]

I'd be willing to bet that places that don't even have bridges like the Golden Gate have about the same suicide rate as places that do.

Well that's a rather vague statement. Clearly suicide rate varies and so yes, there are probably some places that have just as high a suicide rate as SF but I'm not sure what that tells us.

I think that it tells us that there is nothing about the bridge that causes people to commit suicide, and so suicide nets (which I think are a good idea, but not because they will lower the suicide rate overall) won't actually prevent suicide in SF, just change its form.

[DGuller]

I'd be willing to bet that places that don't even have bridges like the Golden Gate have about the same suicide rate as places that do.  So, once again, we can all be thankful that cRazy cAnuck isn't a smart enough lawyer to do any actual harm with his little fictions.

Holy confounding there.  There are so many factors that determine suicide rates, and access to effective suicide methods being just one of them.  You'll have to control for all those other factors before you can reach such a conclusion.

[DGuller]

I think that it tells us that there is nothing about the bridge that causes people to commit suicide, and so suicide nets (which I think are a good idea, but not because they will lower the suicide rate overall) won't actually prevent suicide in SF, just change its form.

Again, I think you may be wrong here, on two counts actually.  First of all, people rarely try suicide more than once.  Therefore, a failed first attempt may be the only attempt.  One of the ways to prevent suicides is to make the first attempt really ineffective (one of the reasons why guns are deadly is that they make people very successful on their first suicide attempt, before they can get help).  Another reason is that stories about people jumping off the bridge may be contagious, and push marginally stable people to copycat them.

[Eddie Teach]

You know, if they add nets that might encourage people to jump for fun.

[PDH]

They could have avoided all the people committing suicide from the Golden Gate Bridge if they just made it lower.  Then all the jumpers would have survived the fall, only to be swept out to sea in the icy water to be devoured by sharks.

NOBODY wants to die by sharks.

[garbon]

You know, if they add nets that might encourage people to jump for fun.

It seems like it would be fair to fine said people. Emergency services ain't cheap.