Desire to witness a fatality

[gjhdiver 0]

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I have been skydiving a few years and I have a thought that I would like to share.
This might sound irrational. I find myself a bit eager to experience the rush of a skydiving fatality firsthand.

I suspect this is a troll.

Having said that, I've done the body examination at ths scene of a few fatalites, all but one of them high speed impacts, from totals to streamers. I've been present when a good friend coughed up his life blood from an aortic separation after a canopy collapse.

It's messy, unpleasant, and there's no rush involved whatsoever. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It's a draining experience both professionally and emotionally.

[jeiber 0]

First off, this little 'experiment' in psychology was in kind of poor taste. It obviously brought back alot of bad memories for alot of people. UntamedDOG is the only one who will know if the satisfaction he's getting out of this is worth the painful memories he's caused to resurface.

That said, he's managed to prove his point without even posting. I don't know if this was luck or sheer genius, but I think he (I guess I should say, 'everyone else') has proven his point perfectly.

Anybody who has watched 'Faces of Death', or gone to any of the numerous death oriented web sites has no right to condemn this guy - you're just as bad, if not worse than he is. Think about the hypocrisy.

UntamedDOG, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt in regards to intent; this was sheer genius. An amazing demonstration of the blinding power of human emotion! My hat's off to you, you sicko!

Jeff

Shhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring!

[WeakMindedFool 0]

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Dude!..its not an "idea" for a lot of people...its been an unfortunate reality

See, that's the point right there! You have to throw down your credentials right at the start, "I have been there" Like it makes you aware of some occult knowledge that gives you the right to explain how it all is in your reality. I'm not making a moral judgment on what he said or how he's done it. I can just appreciate an argument well made. No argument is better then the one where you have your opponents do the legwork for you.

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
-Eric Hoffer -
Check out these Videos

[bkoch 0]

Wow,

That is either amazing amounts of public honesty or just a flame...

Either way, I see you are a BASE jumper. All the guys I've met around the sport who have BASE jumped for years and years have seen either a fatality or a life changing crippling accident in the BASE world. Keep BASE jumping lots and lots and you'll get to see what you want to see.

Personally, I hope not to see or be a skydiving fatality. Reading about them is enough for me.

-B

"What kind of man would live a life without daring? Is life so sweet that we should criticize men that seek adventure? Is there a better way to die?"
- Charles Lindberg August 26th, 1938

[aliveboy2004 0]

maybe someone already said this - if so - sorry I'm repeating it.

why not just jump without a rig and hold a mirror up to your face?

[Airman1270 0]

I'm not sure, but I don't think our friend really wants anyone to die. Perhaps he means that, IF it happens, he wants to be around to experience the event.

This may be analogous (did I spell that correctly?) to the soldier who has never seen combat. When in the company of combat veterans, he feels that he's not quite up to their status.

I never served in the military, but I watched "Band of Brothers" once so I know all about it...

Seriously, I witnessed two: A guy with a main horseshoe that trapped his reserve pilot chute, and a guy trying out a small fast canopy that spun into into line twists as he turned on final. Another guy I knew walked into an Otter prop. Don't feel like your DZ experience is incomplete if you never see such things.

Cheers,
Jon S.

[Duckwater 0]

Has ANYONE at Perris ever met this Brian Anderson?

I think that in the same semi-psychotic morbidly way he wants to see a fatality, I want to meet him for a beer!

I have this dark side that wants to listen to what he has to say for a while.

I bet the conversation will go something like This

--

[SkydivingNurse 0]

There is nothing fascinating about accidental death. There is nothing to learn from looking at the broken shell someone has just left. I have never witnessed a skydiving fatality, I hope to God I never do. I have, however, seen more than my share of death, and there is nothing "elite" about it.
Please stay away from Pennsylvania. Better yet, seek professional help. There is something wrong with you.

[jenfly00 0]

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There is nothing fascinating about accidental death. There is nothing to learn from looking at the broken shell someone has just left. I have never witnessed a skydiving fatality, I hope to God I never do. I have, however, seen more than my share of death, and there is nothing "elite" about it.
Please stay away from Pennsylvania. Better yet, seek professional help. There is something wrong with you.

Most people have a fascination with death and serious injury. Have you never been in traffic as a line of cars moves past a bad accident. We always feel the idiots in front of you should mind their own business and drive on by. They don't, and when it's our turn to drive by, we take our peeks too.

I don't know the original poster. Perhaps he is a head case, perhaps he's just being honest. I admit honesty is a rare thing, seldom seen in chat rooms and therefore easily confused with the more common head case.

jen

-----------------------
"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[teason 0]

I thought you were posting tounge in cheeck but the reality is worse.

The origional observation appeared to be a satirical critcism of those who use a tragedy to elevate themselves. It reminds me of what happened when a guy in the underground scene died some years ago. 4 or 5 girls sought to deflect attention to themselves by claiming they were his girlfriend. It turned out none of them were. I actually thought that maybe you had witnessed a death and had been bothered by the response of those around you.

Judging by your last post, I may have given you too much credit.

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Judging by what other people have written, it does appear that witnessing a fatality puts you into that "elite" death club. You guys have proven this to me without even realising it!

Now that's weak.
The posters took your origional post at face value and are trying to either a.) illustrate the seriousness of a fatality or b.) giving validity to their point of view by showing past experience with the subject matter. Neither of the two support your thesis.

PA deleted.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[billvon 2,392]

OK everyone, last warning. Personal attacks will result in your post being deleted and your being banned - no second chances, no warnings, no "oh, but I gotta right to slam this guy and it makes me feel good!" defenses.

[Eiley 0]

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Dude!..its not an "idea" for a lot of people...its been an unfortunate reality

See, that's the point right there! You have to throw down your credentials right at the start, "I have been there" Like it makes you aware of some occult knowledge that gives you the right to explain how it all is in your reality. I'm not making a moral judgment on what he said or how he's done it. I can just appreciate an argument well made. No argument is better then the one where you have your opponents do the legwork for you.

Absolutely. Virtually everybody here has felt the need to point out that they have Been There, Done That And It's Not Pretty, Little Man. If they haven't seen someone go in, they need to bring up an unrelated death they have seen/been involved in. This perpetuates the curiosity of others who have not had that experience and it comes across as elitist.

As for 'bragging', well I've never heard anybody say "I was there when X burned in, boy was it cool", but on many a night around the bonfire after a few beers you will certainly have someone discuss a death, then someone else will bring up another one they were closer to, a third person will jump in with how they were 'first on the scene' and so on. It begins to sound like "My corpse was bloodier than your corpse".

But also, such conversations can run deeper and be more emotional than most bonfire conversations, creating a certain bond between the participants and excluding those who are unable to share. There's more likely to be group hugs, warmth and support in these conversations than the ones about who funnelled what. It is only natural for someone on the outside to want to be part of what they may perceive as that close bond.

nothing to see here

[teason 0]

Sorry, I was simply bringing into question the motives behind the origional post, a tounge in cheeck poke at those who talk about friends who have past.

I believe that those motives are highly suspect. I then tried to illustrate to the origional poster the perspective of those who have experienced tragedy and how they would view the poster himself. (I admit, I was quite backhanded)

If you don't want the thread to be an inappropriate emotional flamefest then lock it now. It was started by trivializing fatalities. How can you expect those who respond to be dispassionate?

You know what, just lock the thing.
No good can come from this.

Tim

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[Eiley 0]

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Sorry, I was simply bringing into question the motives behind the origional post, a tounge in cheeck poke at those who talk about friends who have past.

I believe that those motives are highly suspect. I then tried to illustrate to the origional poster the perspective of those who have experienced tragedy and how they would view the poster himself. (I admit, I was quite backhanded)

If you don't want the thread to be an inappropriate emotional flamefest then lock it now. It was started by trivializing fatalities. How can you expect those who respond to be dispassionate?

You know what, just lock the thing.
No good can come from this.

Tim

I won't try to guess at the motives of the OP, but I've found parts of the discussion quite interesting actually.

I'm surprised you believe you can speak for all "of those who have experienced tragedy and how they would view the poster"?

nothing to see here

[dorbie 0]

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Absolutely. Virtually everybody here has felt the need to point out that they have Been There, Done That And It's Not Pretty, Little Man. If they haven't seen someone go in, they need to bring up an unrelated death they have seen/been involved in.

Yup you get a lot of that. The grizzled act, some can't resist it, others can. It's a measure of character IMHO.

When someone brings shit like that up to make a point, unless it's some kind of genuine personal catharsis or has some valid reason (training, safety etc.), it says a lot about their character. I just move on. I have no desire to see anyone go in and I have no desire to be like the blowhard who can't resist bringing it up. Everyone experiences shit in their lifetime. Hoping you're "in on" a bad experience has got to be bad for your karma and is a sign of a troubled mind.

[funks 1]

Can anybody from Perris speak up and say whether or not this guy is legit and actually exists? If not, I vote for writing this one off and letting it fade away.

[teason 0]

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I'm surprised you believe you can speak for all "of those who have experienced tragedy and how they would view the poster"?

OK, how about a generalization of the respondants the the OP took exception to in his second post. That was the main focus of my response

It seemed to me that it was his inferance that those who took exception to his post were parading their tragedies as a badge of honor. Fringe individual responses I previously mentioned not withstanding, I disagree.

I have no illusions that I can speak on behalf of all those who have lost. Rather I wanted to show other perspectives.

Single perspectives were what I was objecting to. I was hoping the tone of my first post (where I propossed not one but two possibilities) illustared that but I was wrong.

As for guessing the motives of the OP, The thread is called "Desire to witness a fatality". If it isn't tounge in cheek, what is it?

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[KidWicked 0]

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Can anybody from Perris speak up and say whether or not this guy is legit and actually exists?

Why does that matter? The responses to his post have been the most interesting part about this thread, because they proved his point.

Coreece: "You sound like some skinheads I know, but your prejudice is with Christians, not niggers..."

[carbonezone 0]

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If you don't want the thread to be an inappropriate emotional flamefest then lock it now. It was started by trivializing fatalities. How can you expect those who respond to be dispassionate?

You know what, just lock the thing.
No good can come from this.

Ditto...my post 'major personal attack" was deleted but I knew it would be......and for the record "IT DID FEEL GREAT ATTACKING"
<>
Tami

[teason 0]

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they proved his point.

How?

If you told people you wanted to break your own leg, people who already have would tell you their experiences and that it is painful. Not because they are proud of it but because experience carries more weight than conjecture.

So how has this exercise proven anything beyond "if you make an innappropriate comments about watching people die, you'll get a negative response."

What it really shows is that if you have predetirmined a conclusion, you'll find the proofs to suit it.

Now please explain how his point was proven.
If you're going to make a statement like that, you should be able to back it up.

p.s. many who haven't seen a fatality have also said so, are they bragging too? I think your logic is flawed.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[juggalo 1]

I don't think you have proved anything other than you need help.
I would throw you off my DZ forever!
There is nothing great about an untimely death, of a friend or a stranger.
Having been a CSO and a ST&A for many years I say this from experience, ones that I wish I never had.
brew

waving off is to tell people to get out of my landing area

[billvon 2,392]

>If you told people you wanted to break your own leg, people
>who already have would tell you their experiences and that it
>is painful. Not because they are proud of it but because
>experience carries more weight than conjecture.

Right. But if they said "you can never understand the pain until you have a broken leg" then they would be proving his point. The broken leg club is an exclusive club, and there's only one way in.

There was a song about this a while back:

----------------------
Have you ever been close to tragedy
Or been close to folks who have
Have you ever felt a pain so powerful
So heavy you collapse
No? Well , , ,

I've never had to knock on wood
But I know someone who has
Which makes me wonder if I could
It makes me wonder if
I've never had to knock on wood
And I'm glad I haven't yet
Because I'm sure it isn't good
that's the impression that I get

, , , ,
I'm not a coward,
I've just never been tested
I'd like to think that if I was I would pass
Look at the tested and think there but for the grace go
I might be a coward
I'm afraid of what I might find out
-------------------------

A lot of skydivers feel this way about a lot of things. Can you handle a malfunction? Only one way to find out. That does not mean you WANT to have a malfunction, but once you've had one, you have a concrete answer to whether or not you can. You've been tested and passed.

To put it another way, no one wants to have a malfunction, but many skydivers want to have _had_ a malfunction, so they have that experience (which makes one a safer, more competent skydiver.)

This has happened to me countless times. Can I react fast enough to save someone's life in freefall? Yes, because I have. That does NOT mean I hope that other people almost go in so I can save them; I could go the rest of my life without another one of those experiences. In fact, if it only happens to me once, I'm glad it's in my past and not my future. It's much better to have that experience in one's past than to hope you can do it in the future.

Same with fatalities for me. I've seen a lot of them, unfortunately, and I hope to god I never see another one. But if it's a given that I am going to see them, I hope the experience stays in my past and is not part of my future.

[dorbie 0]

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>>I find myself a bit eager to experience the rush of a skydiving fatality firsthand.<<

And I'll walk to your crater and whisper in your dead ear, "How'd you like it?"

Dude if you bend down and whisper anywhere near my ass while I'm taking a dump we're going to come to blows.

[happythoughts 0]

Here's the way I look at it.

The info in his profile is bogus and I can prove it.
I don't educate trolls as to how I bust them. Then they just become educated trolls.

Anonymous posters generally lack credibility to begin with. The ones that post in support of a troll are generally the same person also.

Trolls have an odd need to irritate people. In my opinion, they have a problem. I figure it is that they are sad, frightened, little people who can't do things in real life, so they try to destroy what others have.

[Eiley 0]

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As for guessing the motives of the OP, The thread is called "Desire to witness a fatality". If it isn't tounge in cheek, what is it?

Therein, the dangers of the internet. I have seen at least 5 interpretations of his initial post so far, ranging from psychopathic to mildly disturbing:

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1. I am willing to sabotage someone's gear so that I can see a fatality.

2. I hope someone dies at my DZ soon so that I can see a fatality.

3. When the next fatality happens at my DZ, I hope I am there to see it.

4. I am going to say something controversial to stir up shit.

5. I am going to conduct a psychological experiment to see how many people I can get to pipe up "I've seen someone go in".

----------------------------------------------------------

Now, my money is on number 3, but it is only a guess because the OP hasn't clarified what he meant. Until he does, we can only draw our own inferences.

nothing to see here