Suicide by public transport
I am in full rant mode today...
Have you ever wondered why people choose to kill themselves by throwing themselves under a train? Actually, have you wondered why they choose to do so during peak hour??!!
It is almost as if they want to drive the rest of us to do the same....
There were 3 such peak hour incidents in London week ending 15th Sept. 2 tube, 1 rail.
Thousands stuck on tube trains, Paddington station closed - thousands having hours added to their journey home after a hard days work.
I mean if they did it at 3pm or 2am even, they would accomplish their goal but without the resulting travel chaos and inconvenience to the rest of us.
Perhaps it is time we studied this phenomenon further. It appears to be happening with increasing frequency - why why why is my question. If we study it, perhaps we can put measures in place to prevent it and the resulting impact on those left behind.
I don't mean study depression and suicides in general. I think we should study specifically why people choose peak hour to kill themselves in such a public manner. Of course collecting accurate data from the source could be a bit difficult...
Have you ever wondered why people choose to kill themselves by throwing themselves under a train? Actually, have you wondered why they choose to do so during peak hour??!!
It is almost as if they want to drive the rest of us to do the same....
There were 3 such peak hour incidents in London week ending 15th Sept. 2 tube, 1 rail.
Thousands stuck on tube trains, Paddington station closed - thousands having hours added to their journey home after a hard days work.
I mean if they did it at 3pm or 2am even, they would accomplish their goal but without the resulting travel chaos and inconvenience to the rest of us.
Perhaps it is time we studied this phenomenon further. It appears to be happening with increasing frequency - why why why is my question. If we study it, perhaps we can put measures in place to prevent it and the resulting impact on those left behind.
I don't mean study depression and suicides in general. I think we should study specifically why people choose peak hour to kill themselves in such a public manner. Of course collecting accurate data from the source could be a bit difficult...
posted by Hazel @ 11:26 AM
3 Comments:
At 2:42 AM,
Anonymous said…
To answer this question, you need to think about why these people wanted to kill themselves in the first place. Considering what a lonely place London can be, these sound like sad last-ditch attempts to get some attention.
At 4:50 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hello
There are a couple of books that will probably help...
The Tipping Point by ? and the Science of Influence by Cialdini.
Both describe the phenomenum of suicide. Did you know that if suicide is reported on the news that the suicide rate goes up straight after. Not only that the way people commit suicide is often copied.
Much of it is based on the context of how people see themselves and the situation of their surrounding.
To be frank with you, jumping in front of a train is a great way to grab attention especially in rush hour! It's also of course highly selfish... maybe it's a case of poor me!
At 5:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
Very understanding of you. And how very selfish of them. Some might say that suicide is by it's nature an entirely selfish act so its unlikely that many suicidals consider how it will disrupt your day and the poxy little things you might be filling it with. Judging by the name of your blog, I would have thought self obsession would be something you'd wholeheartedly understand.
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