<p>jym - I agree with you. In fact, I think race car driving is one of those hobbies/activities that, when you’re taking out life insurance, creates huge increases for those who participate… like sky-diving and other risky activities (at least those are the questions we were asked when we applied for life insurance). Don’t remember jumping around on roofs being a disqualifier, or reason for higher premiums.</p>
<p>^^^ Correct, teriwtt. Those actuaries have a field day calculating the cost to insure folks who engage in high risk activies. That includes smoking too.</p>
<p>[Cold</a> a factor in death of Penn student | Philadelphia Daily News | 01/03/2009](<a href=“Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey News”>Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey News)</p>
<p>Looks like it was a combination of alcohol and hypothermia.</p>
<p>Barrons, I’ve always wanted to write a tragedy, stupid or not; on which corner do you wait for the bus? Maybe we can get together and discuss it.</p>
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<p>How sad and what a waste. Life is so precious …and fleeting.</p>
<p>“How sad and what a waste. Life is so precious …and fleeting.”</p>
<p>I think WE all know this. You should have been yelling this to the guy climbing the building. </p>
<p>You’re not a robot or an infant. You are in control of many factors that can slow down or expedite the rate at which it flees. I respect your decision to do either, but don’t act like you don’t have any impact on it.</p>
<p>Speaking of life and death, I live near Detroit and know Dr. Jack Kevorkian personally. He’s in his 80’s, and knows his eyesight and reflexes are not good. He no longer drives a car because he might hurt someone. That’s what I call a responsible person who respects life…he calculates the risks and adjusts his life accordingly…he doesn’t throw himself in fate’s arms, hope for the best, and whine when it doesn’t turn out well.</p>
<p>TourGide- could you please go away?</p>
<p>Thank you, AlwaysAMom, for your post as it expresses it all for me too. </p>
<p>TourGuide, just because someone takes a risk or else uses poor judgment, doesn’t mean they deserve to die. Their loss is still a tragic loss particularly if young. We don’t know the exact circumstances in either of these cases and mistakes or risks may have been a factor but it doesn’t make the loss of life any easier to bear. Nobody is “whining.” People are saddened that a young person would die so young. It is not as if these kids committed suicide or thought they might die. They accidentally died even if there were risks involved in the choices they made. And even in the cases of a young person’s suicide, when it is not an accident, it is still tragic to lose a young promising life. For you to use the word, “whining” is just inhuman to me. Loss is loss. These kids respected life. What about a young person who takes their eye off the road when they should not and then dies as a result? Is it less tragic? To me, it is ALL tragic. I don’t even know these kids but I can’t imagine thinking anything but sadness at their loss and the effect on those who loved them. </p>
<p>What about people I know who have died when skiing? Should nobody ever ski as they might die? </p>
<p>The way you put it, it seems like only those who never make any mistakes in life or never take any risks of any sort deserve to be mourned when they die.</p>
<p>MOM, are you one of those people whose idea of a total jerk is one who dares to disagree with you?</p>
<p>Nobody is saying these folks “deserved” to die. But there are definitely things you can do (like ignoring avalanche signs) which impact the likelihood that things aren’t going to turn out in your favor. To act like this isn’t so, and to act like we merely stumble through life with no say in our behavior and its consequences, is to forfeit your gift of being a thinking human being.</p>
<p>It’s funny you should mention skiing, sooviet. My 2 daughters are in the ski club at school, and today I had to sign a paper for each which listed a whole bunch of risks which my daughters and I were acknowledging and accepting. I skied for many years, and never got so much as torn fingernail. Of course I didn’t ski the Kennedy way, drunk and passing a football around.</p>
<p>YOU are my idea of a total jerk.</p>
<p>TourGuide, I hope no child of yours ever dies by accident or in any relation to any mistake in judgement or God forbid, even commits suicide. If that ever happens, I hope nobody would accuse you of whining but would understand your grief, sorrow, and loss. I believe you would feel it to be tragically sad, no matter the circumstances of your child’s death. I can’t imagine you feel otherwise if it were your own kid. If so, then I feel for you.</p>
<p>I can understand the family’s grief. I’m sure it is even more profound because their child died doing something stupid, senseless and abolutely unnecessary.</p>
<p>I don’t wait for the bus; I carpool. Today two cars went racing by me doing well over 100 MPH on a wet road (Express lanes on I-90 Mercer Island). If they crashed and killed themselves it would not really make me feel too bad at all. If they hit and killed or hurt somebody else I would hope they go to jail for a long time. Is that unkind?</p>
<p>Oh well, I guess that’s ok. It’s probably just as well–some characters just don’t qualify.</p>
<p>The thing is…we ARE talking about the grief of family and friends. It matters not if we feel sorry for the one who died as they are no longer with us. So, for some to call it “whining” is unconsciable to me because the ones who are so called “whining” are the ones who are grieving the loss which is profound no matter how the young person died. Besides that, many young people make mistakes and take risks. Some live to tell the tale. It is unfortunate that these others have died and they didn’t deserve to. I don’t know the cause of death for the young man on New Year’s Eve but let’s say he had too much to drink and was disoriented and suffered hypothermia. Drinking too much is unwise and risky. Many have done it. Many still live. So, it is tragic that this mistake turned deadly for a young person. Those who are left are grieving the loss. The loss of a young life is a profound loss. Gone is gone. It doesn’t matter how they are gone at this point.</p>
<p>TourGuide, I guess you and your daughters have been lucky then in your skiing careers. A Virginia Beach woman was killed a few days ago in Austria in a skiing collision with a German politician, leaving behind a husband and 2 year old son. I doubt that she was either drunk or throwing a football around at the time.</p>
<p>Actually skiing is “safer” than biking or swimming. If I did still ski I’d probably wear a helmet today.</p>
<p>[Skiing</a> deaths: Tragedy hits the slopes - Outbound - sacbee.com](<a href=“http://www.sacbee.com/384/story/674620.html]Skiing”>http://www.sacbee.com/384/story/674620.html)</p>
<p>TourGuide, I hope you are 15 years old. It would put your lack of maturity and comprehension skills into perspective. Sadly I have no explanation for Barrons.</p>
<p>It’s one thing to not agree with others and make a coherent alternative counter argument. It’s quite enough to <em>not even begin to comprehend</em> what the issue is that is being debated. It’s going completely over your head. You continue you repeat yourself as if you have some wise alternative point of view. Just because you can type doesn’t make you welcome here.</p>
<p>Has it occurred to anyone on here that both positions are correct?</p>
<p>Yes, it was a spectacularly stupid thing to do</p>
<p>and yes, it is completely terrible loss anyway.</p>
<p>Could anyone here who has never ever done anything that someone else might consider stupid please raise their hand?</p>
<p>I once picked up a hitchhiker in the dark, in the rain, when I was alone, in an area I didn’t know all that well. I was in HS or early college years (dont recall for sure). It was probably a very stupid, risky thing to do, and potentially very dangerous. But if the person I picked up happened to have been a raving lunatic and had killed me, I hope people would have considered it tragic, and not made fun of it on a forum like this.</p>
<p>^ There’s a fundamental difference, in the sense that what you did was done with the intent of helping someone out. Perhaps if this kid was trying to save someone trapped on the side of a building, rather than just doing this for “recreational purposes”, it might be viewed differently.</p>
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I can’t tell whether or not you’re being sarcastic. o.O</p>