ellem's Journal: [Commuting] I'm very sorry ma'am your son is an idiot

Once again, let me reiterate:

If you are struck by a train on or near a train track you are to blame.

My condolences to all the commuters of the LIRR who got home late - I hope you dinner was not cold.

And to the LIRR if this fucking idiot's mother attempts to sue you for so much as a dime I hope you will counter sue her into oblivion.

People need to stay off of train tracks. There is no reason to be one them unless you work for the Railroad.

Rule #1

[Tet]

Rule #1: The train always wins. According to a friend that works on the railways, one of the drivers common rooms at a mainline London station (Euston? I can't remember) used to have a tally showing which drivers had the most kills, much like WW2 fighter pilots had...

Apparently, you either accept that stupid people are going to remove themselves from the gene pool when hit by your train, or you don't last long as a train driver. I think the UK average is something ridiculous like one per driver per year.

But, but, but... He *loved* his graffiti!

[johndiii]

From the article: ...his father yelled, "Please, God, don't do this to me."

Wrong. Not God. You did this, you and his mother. You failed to teach him that trains are dangerous. You failed to teach him that vandalizing the trains is wrong, and dangerous.

She said he and a friend were on the elevated train tracks between the Forest Hills and Woodside stations to paint graffiti. "He loved his graffiti," Aguirre said. "He was good at it, too."

I suppose that he did love it. He died for it.

Detectives and officers were interviewing witnesses and the train's event recorder -- akin to a plane's black box -- would be examined to find out how fast the train was going and when the brakes were applied.

Here's some news - in all but the most exceptional of visibility circumstances, by the time the engineer can see something on the tracks, it is far too late to stop the train.

Ava Barzvi, 37, founder of a Rego Park community group, said the track area was dangerous and she had complained about it for years.

In addition to complaining, how about teaching the kids that the tracks are dangerous? Or watching for kids on the tracks and reporting it?

Maybe this is harsh. But we spend thousands of hours searching for lost mountain climbers, or rescuing lost sailors. The kid lived for something over a hundred thousand hours, and his death probably cost several times that from the lives of everyone taking the railway that night. Which all could have been prevented by a few hours of attention to teaching him some basic facts of life. Or a few hours spent involving him in something other than painting graffiti on trains.

Re:

[artifex2004]

I think graffiti by its nature is immoral, as it deliberately defaces someone else's property.
No, really, it's not graffiti if it's your wall and you want it there. It's art. (at least to you)
I also think, yeah, stupid parents don't keep their kids under control enough to keep them away from train tracks, along with lots of other things. And it's funny to complain about the tracks when they were most likely there first.

But I wonder: why do we bother trying to rescue mountain climbers or (recreational) sailo

but, but

[rdewald]

"If you are struck by a train on or near a train track you are to blame."

What about that guy who had the seizure on the 1 line?

Of course, he wasn't hit by the train, but only because of quick action by NYC's newest hero. [nytimes.com]

Re:

[ellem]

and I thank you for asking...

Clearly God's Plan was thwarted... and soon, very soon there will be retribution!

***
Yeah, no... even I'm having a hard time with that....

You've obviously

[TheConfusedOne]

seen was too many of those "Final Destination" movies.

BTW, if you really want to help reconcile things you could say the big guy had two plans going that time and was pleased to see that the one where the good samaritan intervenes won out.

Re:

[Iamthefallen]

Clearly God's Plan was thwarted

Hang on a second, he might pick up the spare.

I agree...

[Kymermosst]

provided said idiot is on the track of own free will.

I mean, it's really not your fault if you are pushed (or have a seizure and fall) onto the track while waiting for the train...

Maybe now that capital punishment

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Is the punishment for graffiti and other damage to the railroad: "There are all these people throwing garbage up there and graffiti is a big problem here," she said.

This may no longer be the situation. Given this crap, tell the neighborhood that being hit by a train was the punishment for graffiti, maybe the culture will change.