Latest Darwin Award contender

[erick]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/18/2875771.htm

Police say a 22-year-old man has been killed trying to ride a wheelie bin down a hill on the New South Wales central coast.


Officers say the man was lying on the bin with a 19-year-old on top of him when they hit a gutter at Umina Beach overnight.


He was thrown into a tree and died of massive head injuries.


Inspector Coates say the man who died had been drinking. "Obviously riding rubbish bins down public streets is not something you should be doing."

[DavidU]

I read about this, what an idiot (he was).

[Lee]

Thought the same thing when I read this report....

[AstralTraveller]

I'm a bit unsure what to think. You see wheelie bins don't want to move when sitting on the ground - one has to tilt them back onto their wheels to get them to move. To balance a wheelie bin on its wheels while lying on top, particularly with someone on top of you, would require some fine balance. I have to admit I just don't have the skill to kill myself in this manner.

[Ric]

It goes without saying that the IQ and the shoe size of this person were probably an even match.

[AstralTraveller]

It has been explained to me how one rides a wheelie bin. You lie it on its back with the wheels at the front and then lie on it. Apparently they can reach considerable speed. On of my co-workers lives on Bulli Pass has seen Darwin Award contenders ride them down the pass. :screwy: :screwy:

[rider]

wow, small feet.

[lacad01]

Tragic, but was probably watching too much "Jackass"...

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Culls the herd anyway.:D

[GrahamL]

Tragic stuff, all our kids are are pretty stupid at times , the needless loss of a loved one must be tearing this young mans family apart.


way to go with all the empathy guys :thumbsup:

[rally]

Lets see now.

Drunken moron with no respect for his own health and safety or any body else on the road of his own volition steals some innocent person's wheelie bin for self gratification and kicks.

Total disregard for life and property, and gets pretty much what any resonable person would expect as a bad case outcome. Death or Injury (both in this case).

Next week its your car he takes for kicks while he is on something more potent and kills half a dozen other people in the process.
And he encourages his mates to do the same thing - just for kicks . . .

Some empathy to the living whose lives have been shattered by his sheer stupidity and recklessness - Yes, but not for the culprit.

Hopefully a lesson learned for his mates.

Been at the receiving end of this sort of behaviour far too many times to be sympathetic to their self induced plight.
Had to pay for at least three replacement wheelie bins so far and countless amounts of theft and considerable counts of property damage because some people think its Ok to get a kick out of someone elses misfortune.

Rally

[PeterM]

Been there done that, a complete and an utter goose was I, same age too. Still here 30 years later with a wife, 3 kids and grandaughter. Now I have a 19 year old son......
I am not religious at all, but am reminded of "he who is without sin cast the first stone". It is indeed tragic, what might he have become and what might he have achieved?

PeterM.

[astroron]

Where's your Halo:innocent:

[Lee]

Yep..... it's not like humans are endangered, is it?

[rally]

Thanks Mark for your incite/insight,

Erick put this post up for public comment and this is what we are providing.

We are a mixed community so one would expect some averageness !

If he didnt want comment he could have locked the thread.

You on the other hand seem to think it fair to cast insults, and resort to name calling to anyone who has an opinion that doesnt agree with your way of thinking.
To say "that simply show the complete averageness of many people in the on-line amateur astronomy" is pretty much an attack on "many" in the astro community - Not sure you are qualified to judge that, but in any case that was not the OPs topic.

From the site :
"The Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool...by accidentally removing themselves from it. By necessity, the award is generally bestowed posthumously"

I commented because I generally agree with Erick, I also generally agree with your need for some empathy for the living but not the culprit, you commented because you do not agree and had a valid argument to put up.
Its a free world and we are all entitled to an opinion (although it seems you dont think so), thats fine with me - so why the need to insult everyone.

Cheers

Rally

[norm]

Have no sympathy for these morons. Moron(s) from the same gene pool decided to stomp on the family car, damaging the bonnet and roof. Sure insurance paid for it, but at my expense, excess, time, inconvenience.

Why should we give them sympathy/empathy?

Norm

Skylarking or otherwise, he rolls the dice and he paid the ultimate price.

Finally he's another perspective. Lets day his travelling down that road and some poor person happens to be in his path and gets injured or worst killed, are we suppose to mourn this creton then...gimme a break.

[PeterM]

Norm, while I respect your right to an opinion I find the rolling laughter offensive and quite unnecessary. We are not talking about garbage here but a real human being who made a wrong choice and paid dearly. Was he the same "moron" who jumped on your family car? I don't see your point?
You obviously have all the facts and are very knowledgeable about this from a reliable source in relation to this young man, his background, his education, his family, his friends otherwise why would you describe him as a moron from the same gene pool?


PeterM.

[Glenhuon]

Don't know if this guy was a candidate for a Darwin award, but he should have been. A while back when I was living in Cootamundra a middle 20's gent with a skinfull decided he would try this Urban Exercise thing, ruinning up walls etc. He chose to try it on a car showroom window with the the inevitable result. His Femural Artery was severed and the doc reckoned the contents of his bloodstream were on the pavement in about a minute. I felt sorry for his family and the the couple of friends who witnessed the act, but not a lot for the deceased.
I like a drop o' the crattur meself, but being under the influence is no excuse for stupidity.

[erick]

I read everyone's views with interest and all are welcome to give their views, thanks.

I have to agree that, if he was sufficiently under the influence of alcohol, other matters enter the equation. I cannot recall whether the Darwin Awards exclude such persons.

I guess if I had started a thread on the evils of alcoholic excess, that wouldn't have got us very far.

As much as I try in life to have respect and empathy for every human, there are situations and individuals and behaviours when that is a struggle for me. I reacted immediately to this story with "Idiot!" Our local road safety advertising does the same (a bit more colourful language, actually) with every driver above the blood alcohol limit.

But I'll take on board being more empathetic.

It is interesting that, a day later, Carl Williams is allegedly murdered in a Victorian prison. The range of views being expressed by the media, commentators and the public are quite extraordinary. All the way from "the family members should sue for damages" through to "about time he caught it".

You can say one thing - plenty of diverse views in society. A good thing or not?

ps. can I lock my own thread?? !! Oh, I can feel the power!

[Satchmo]

Rally

I do find people who don't show empathy towards other people ,particularly that have killed themselves by misadventure pretty `average'. The thread was pretty offensive to me in many ways and I cannot fathom the attitudes that some have expressed in the thread. I've deleted my post and apologise for my lapse in expression. Use the `report post ' button if you see an offensive post and moderators should deal with it swiftly.

[rally]

Mark,

Accepted entirely.

Cheers

[norm]

Hi Peter,

My emoticons were out of line and as such I have removed them accordingly.

Am I being too harsh, after all he was a human being,a son, brother to loved ones? Most likely. I guess sometimes I get so fired up when I here people do stupid things, especially when it comes to wanton acts of vandalism and seem to get away with it. Unfortunately this poor chap was not so lucky.

I'm not sure what your reference to his background point is. Having said that, I do not wish to further discuss the topic and probably best if this thread is closed.

I lost some humanity in the last 24 hrs and it's ugly and not nice.

Norm

[Nightshift]

We all do or have done stupid things in our lives, drunk or not, if you dont agree then you havnt lived or you are kidding yourself.

If a person dies young it is a tragedy, how that person dies makes no difference, from train surfing to wheelie bin riding the adolescent male is full of testosterone and does stupid things, why we let them drive cars I dont know but no hormone flooded drunk youth deserves to die on a footpath due to a brief lapse of his senses.

This is someones son, yes he did a stupid thing, walk a mile in his parents shoes, do you think your child is not capable of such a stunt? Careful how you judge this guy, next week you could be the grieving parent.

[PeterM]

Hi Norm,

I respected your right to an opinion. Whether I or anyone else disagrees, you, like all here have that right and I would defend that. You haven't lost any humanity at all, your reply clearly indicates that.

Thank you for removing the emoticons.

PeterM.