Decapitation at SFoG
I didn't mean that the getting drunk thing has anything to do with whether or not the boy was a Christian. Someone just mentioned earlier something along the lines of, "Well, isn't that what all teenagers are interested in?" I just meant that as a teenager, getting laid or high wasn't big on my priority list, nor most of my friends'. Meant as two separate comments/observations.
There are a lot of reasons I've never gotten drunk, and my religious convictions aren't really that high on the list. I'm not sure what Christianity has to do with drinking, unless someone's talking about one of the denominations that forbids it.
Oh, and you're of age, if I read that birthday thread correctly! :) (Happy birthday a bit late, btw!) Which means, as long as you don't break the law by say, drinking and driving, it's legal for you to drink as much as you want. Seventeen year old? Not so much. And in his case, it was the weed I was referring to, which is illegal, period.
On his page, the headline reads, "#*$$&, Weed, Money". His questionnaire states that he's had a one night stand, he's been drunk "plenty of times", he's done something illegal, he prefers evil to good... Okay, maybe I'm a bit biased in that I really, really hate that first word in the headline of his page. Maybe if he'd had a chance to finish growing up, he could've ended up a decent, stand up guy.
I do feel sorry for him in one particular way-- I'm sorry that he didn't have anybody around right before the accident that was smart enough, and cared enough, to say, "Man, that's STUPID. Don't do that!"
CatPurrson
Cats, books, and roller coasters-- three of the best G-rated, calorie-free pleasures in life! 
CatPurrson said:
And no, at 17 smoking pot and getting laid were *NOT* a big priority for me.
Hell, I'm 35 and those are still my big priorities. ;)
I would have really liked to heard what your attorney boss said as well. That sounds fascinating.
Aaah...I miss the pot. Haven't done it in years and years. Still would never have been stupid enough to walk in front of an oncoming roller coaster though no matter how much of a stoner I used to be. LOL I never even RODE a roller coaster baked.
The Christian thing really truly has nothing to do with this incident. Can we pretty please with a cherry on top NOT go there?
"Look at us spinning out in the madness of a roller coaster" - Dave Matthews Band
First, I find myself trying to figure out who the train decapitated him without his neck being "pierced" by the seat support, which would effective put his head between a riders legs.
Did he happen to catch an empty seat on the train?
Fuel to the fire, stud...fuel to the fire! ;)
CatPurrson said:
I'll chime in with the others who have said that his page does *NOT* project an image of a wholesome American *Christian* teenager.
So now not only are we using this incident to question a dead person's faith via Myspace but also breaking out overt, unabashed xenophobia, too?
Wow, Coasterbuzz, you're impressing me today.
"I'll chime in with the others who have said that his page does *NOT* project an image of a wholesome American *Christian* teenager. If someone is going to claim to be a Christian, they should at least attempt to walk the walk."
I'll second that with an "AMEN and "HALLEJUIA!"
Now, if you guys don't mind, I'm going to play Devil's advocate for a sec here, what if the kid was a Muslem, Hindu, an atheist, or praticed Wicca, would we be saying the same things about him? What if he was Asian, White, Latino, or ET?
I think the kid would still be stupid no matter what.
Coaster Junkie from NH
I drive in & out of Boston, so I ride coasters to relax!
Money- What he was trying to save by leaving the park to eat lunch.
Weed- the blunt he smoked after lunch in the lot.
P***y- what his friend called him when he didnt want to jump the fence.
the Police caution tape- what they put up around the scene.
matt. said:
...what? What legitimate reason could anyone have for bringing up someone's religion, race, or nationality in a situation like this?
There is no legitimate reason.
The way I see it, the journalists starting this by making sure that everyone knew the kid was visiting the park with his church group. As if that is somehow supposed to make him more of a victim.
Then the people who buy into that emotional blackmail without questioning it, realize they don't want to feel bad for him for doing what he did, so they do the only thing they can. They dispute the idea that he could in fact be a devout Christian.
His character, good or bad, has nothing to do with this incident. It would be great if we could stop with the character assassinations.
"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins." --- Benjamin Franklin
Coaster Junkie from NH
I drive in & out of Boston, so I ride coasters to relax!
We also have mentioned what color shoes he was wearing at the time or what he had for breakfast the day before.
Coaster Junkie from NH
I drive in & out of Boston, so I ride coasters to relax!
I say race, religion and nationality are all things that shape us and to varying degrees influence us.
To play devil's advocate, in an very indirect way they could be relevant.
The whole PC, touchy-feely thing kills me when it comes to claiming people aren't different because of race, religion or nationality.
Guess what? We are all different and do different things, behave in different eways and think differently because of all of those things.
Just a pet peeve. :)
With that said, did the kid jump in a restricted area near a roller coaster because he was a black, christian, american?
No.
But being black, christian or american his whole life could have influenced him in a way that made him think it was ok when the time came to make that decision.
It's a fine line I'm trying to walk here. :)
I don't think that it is too touchy-feely to discuss how one's cultural and ethnic background impacts who he/she is and how he/she thinks. But without any additional information on this case, it is too premature to do that.
I think they are irrelevant based on the information we have at this time.
"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins." --- Benjamin Franklin
Lord Gonchar said:
No, you didn't, matt. But you said they're irrelevant.
They're irrelevant to this conversation.
Lord Gonchar said:I say race, religion and nationality are all things that shape us and to varying degrees influence us.
I have professional, personal, and academic relationships with people in the fields of Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Women's Studies, Urban Studies, American Studies, and Criminal Justice and I don't know anybody who would argue other wise. The culture that surrounds us plays a part in influencing our morals, traditions, social norms, and ultimately our decisions and behaviors. This isn't exactly revelatory stuff here.
Lord Gonchar said:
The whole PC, touchy-feely thing kills me when it comes to claiming people aren't different because of race, religion or nationality.
Again, I'm not really aware of any of this and it sounds agenda driven on your part. Maybe you hang out with a lot more cultural relativists than I do but I really don't know anyone who would claim that one's race (or, more exactly, the cultural norms associated with one's "race," whatever that is) doesn't influence one's being.
Lord Gonchar said:
But being black, christian or american his whole life could have influenced him in a way that made him think it was ok when the time came to make that decision.
Black, Christian, and American are three different elements of his life which are just about as varied and complicated as these things can get, and they still only scratch the surface of this kid's history. You're also leaving out every single familial and personal relationship he's ever had, his socio-economic status, his diet, his (supposed) drug use, his education, his living environments...I mean this list will be 1000000 pieces long when we take everything into account of why the kid thought it was permissible to get underneath a roller coaster.
So when someone says something as harmful, disgusting, and irrelevant as
CatPurrson said:
I'll chime in with the others who have said that his page does *NOT* project an image of a wholesome American *Christian* teenager. If someone is going to claim to be a Christian, they should at least attempt to walk the walk.
based on someone's Myspace page? That's crossing the line and running miles past the line. Sorry, but no matter what CatPurrson's intent was, the statement comes off as intensely xenophobic, racist, and religiously prejudicial to me. She can feel free to clarify.
If anybody would like to offer some way in which this kid's race or religion or lack of "wholesome"-ness factored into his decision, and then explain to me how this was gleamed from Myspace or elsewhere, then I'll be all ears.
My mistake for reading this..
"What legitimate reason could anyone have for bringing up someone's religion, race, or nationality in a situation like this?"
...and thinking that was the point.
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