Chinese Officials Prevent Suicide With Butter

[LockHeart]

Also, I'm not sure if you could really make a law against killing yourself. Do they bury you in a different kind of casket? I assume that you meant it's against society's moral code? Suicide is an issue elsewhere, though maybe they could've gone with the metal fence thing. Seems more like they don't want to make it look like they're trying to stop that sort of thing. At least to me.

I think back when they still had this law and took it seriously here in Britain, it meant something like forfeiting your estate and your family's inheritance and buried you in a separate section of the graveyard. Not really non-trivial

 

[annoyinglizardvoice]

If someone wants to kill themselves in their own home or somewhere else where they're not causing problems to others, then the government has no right to give them trouble about it, but people doing it in places where they can make an arse of themselves and waste everyone's time are pests annd it's nice to see a government cracking down on it, particularly in such a funny way.

 

[Lord Monocle Von Banworthy]

Can we just go ahead and get on with the jokes, people?

"I guess if they were looking for a good sound bite from a government spokesperson they picked the Wong Man to interview."

And you can't put a wall on the Golden Gate bridge. It's too long. Multiply even say a five foot fence by that long of a bridge on two sides, you're talking about square MILES of surface area. Catches too much wind, takes the bridge down. Of course, I might be the Wong Man to talk to about this sort of thing, not having an engineering degree or anything.

 

[Dooly95]

That's made my day. I'm trying to think of a "I can't believe it's not butter" joke...but I've got nothing

Curses, I was just about to make this comment, and apologize to the first three pages ahead because I skipped ahead to the end to make the comment but...

Ah, c'est la vie.

Bridges are an interesting place to garner attention - especially if it's used frequently, as you never know when people will come and notice you yelling on top of a 5 storey building for hours on end of how the world has abandoned you, and how you wish to end it all.

It is an interesting way to combat it I suppose, but something tells me that it seems like a waste of butter.

I'm hungry.

I do not know if the two statements are related, but I now want some buttered toast.

 

[SultanP]

"Each time somebody threatens to commit suicide to get media attention or sympathy over personal problems we end up with several hours of tailbacks and there were lots of complaints. Since we put up the butter there have been no problems with these attention seekers."

Seeking attention via suicide is incrdibly moronic, you would be abe to bask in the glory. This guy has no idea what he's talknig about.

People committing suicide in that fashion are attention seekers. Otherwise they would just off themselves quickly somewhere else without all the drama and *attention*.

 

[nezroy]

If you can't/won't bother to fix the reason the people were jumping in the first place, that's a good way to shut them up. Go communism!

There's been research that suggests a non-trivial number of suicides are impulsive in nature, and that momentary barriers can make a significant difference in long-term survival. This is why many societies, regardless of ideology, outfit their bridges and other suicide-appealing structures with suicide barriers.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/07/10/suicide-barriers-are-effective/

 

[Spitfire175]

If you can't/won't bother to fix the reason the people were jumping in the first place, that's a good way to shut them up. Go communism!

There's been research that suggests a non-trivial number of suicides are impulsive in nature, and that momentary barriers can make a significant difference in long-term survival. This is why many societies, regardless of ideology, outfit their bridges and other suicide-appealing structures with suicide barriers.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/07/10/suicide-barriers-are-effective/

Did you read my post? I was implying the Chinese officials don't give a damn about the people. Damn, some people.

 

[Knonsense]

It is stupid, but so is suicide in general. And it's not an uncommmon concern. Some girl at my school threw herself in front of a train, and she didn't get any kind of memorial service at the school because they don't want to encourage that sort of behavior.

Instead they encourage the behaviour where we shouldn't give a shit about people who have such a mental and emotional disease. Maybe we should just throw them all in front of a train, is that what they are saying? Do yourself a favor, get out of that school asap.

Well, I graduated last year.

Anyway, nobody can really help her if she kills herself. People who have suicidal thoughts and don't seek help are generally not going to be very easy to identify. While it is somewhat cruel to her memory, it certainly wouldn't be encouraging to living people who face depression to tell them that the entire school is going to congregate and mourn you if you kill yourself. They do have counseling for this sort of thing.

 

[nezroy]

Did you read my post? I was implying the Chinese officials don't give a damn about the people. Damn, some people.

And my point is that what they're doing is completely valid and effective at preventing suicide, which is arguably the BEST way to "give a damn" about those people. The people may or may not also have access to the needed mental health services elsewhere in their lives, but the use of a suicide barrier neither implies nor excludes that possibility. There's really no compelling argument that can be made that links "putting up a suicide barrier" with "not giving a damn about suicidal people". Further, the fact that you associate an institutional disregard for mental health with Communism is somewhat perplexing all on its own, considering the sorry state of mental health services in plenty of democractic Western nations. Mental health services are a sadly missing component in a LOT of presumably civilized societies, regardless of ideology.

 

[Spitfire175]

-snipety snip-

You, my friend, have taken the whole thing way too seriously.
It is clear, that the arguments you have presented are true and that you have outdebated me here.
However, I haven't made any suggestions to underline the possible betterness of the western mental health care system. Which, I'd like to point out, is rubbish.
My primary intention in the very original post was to jest how the Chinese have for once done something else than just executed the people causing the problem (which would have been ironic, and very much impossible.)
Suicide rates in China have gone up and it is becoming a problem, which is the reason the officials started playing with food anyway. I'm under the impression the Chinese will rather hide and ignore a problem until it goes away, than actually try to fix it. Judgingby these scandals about poisonious artifical milk, bad water, slums, earthquaces and mining accidents. Every time the officials have tried to hide the nasty things. In the case of suycide barriers, I suspect it was done to help the public image, rather than the people. In China, the goverment doesn't have to care, there's always more people to do the jobs.

Public image is everything [http://fin2.naurunappula.com/nn/0/288/887/364395.jpg]
Another fine example [http://fin2.naurunappula.com/nn/0/436/995/s_492387.jpg]

 

[BlackHawkfox]

Wow.

 

[clericwithnolife31]

the desire for waffles is suprisingly overwhelming right now

 

[Nexus424]

Ya see like I have said butter solves everything.

 

[Galletea]

I suppose if this kinda thing happens a lot one would get desensitised to people trying to kill themselves.
Well if it's working, then whoop. But it's China, and I don't trust what their government says...

 

[Soxafloppin]

Well i suppose its allot cheaper than ellectric fences/ninjas to stop people getting up there. Good on them.

 

[NeutralMunchHotel]

Did anyone catch the name 'Wong Man'. Sounds like a failed Chinese comic book hero.

 

[Woodsey]

Surely they'd then just slip and break their neck?

 

[-Drifter-]

BUTTER?! What happens when it spoils? It's butter, you can't feasibly get rid of all of it!

What happens is that a lot of people are pissed at you for being stupid enough to coat an entire fucking bridge with butter.

 

[-Drifter-]

I doubt anyone WANTS to commit suicide, who would chose it if they had a better option?

But what about the people who don't think they have a better option? The ones who've hit rock bottom, and who feel they're beyond help? I imagine those people do want to commit suicide.

 

[KaiRai]

I love the guy's name: Wong Man

"STOP TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF!!!"
"NO PLEASEEE!!! YOU'VE GOT THE WONG MAN!"

I can see it already.