“Alex was doing what he loved to do”

[Warp12]

Some said the same thing about Timothy Treadwell, who was eaten by a Grizzly.

Well, he loved spending time with the bears, and he was with one to the last minute. So, I guess they were right.

 

[Craig4]

And he died doing it.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/slate....-alex-harvill-dies-record-motorcycle-jump.amp

This the way you wanna go, dying while doing something physically daredevilish that you just love to do when you might have experienced the same virtually with a video game and not ended up with broken bones?

“Yeah, old Fred, he just loved teasing the alligators in the swamp, but…”

“That wing suit was his life’s passion, I can sure say that”

“He always helped people in need and that’s what he was doing, changing that tire for that old man when that drunk driver came and….”

Or, some other way?

Who doesn't want to go out doing something that they love?

I'd rather go out like my grandfather, doing something that he loved, not writing in terror like the prostitute he was playing breathing trust games with when he had a massive heart attack.

 

[The Atheist]

It's grieving people trying to make sense of a senseless death, I think it's OK to cut them some slack.

Bingo. Simple post hoc rationalisation by those left behind.

 

[Steve]

It's grieving people trying to make sense of a senseless death, I think it's OK to cut them some slack.

Bingo. Simple post hoc rationalisation by those left behind.

True, and I have no problem with the family saying such things after such a tragedy. When it comes from complete strangers such as our op it becomes trite and minimizes the actual impact of the event.

 

[Thermal]

Alex didnt die doing what he loved. He died doing exactly what he hated and feared and invested most of his time trying to avoid: a fatal accident.

 

[The Atheist]

When it comes from complete strangers such as our op it becomes trite and minimizes the actual impact of the event.

The OP is just copying what the family said, even putting quotation marks around it to show he was quoting the statement.

 

[mgidm86]

I think anyone claiming an equivalence (you are not really, are you? ) would need to provide statistics comparing commuter deaths (say, per mile driven) to professional daredevil deaths (say, per jump). Or something other that is an equivalence. I suspect driving would prove to be the safer activity.

Actually, I do not know the cause of this guys death, but if he hit with enough force to throw his helmet off as described I suspect his helmet staying on would not have saved him.

Maybe.

I could say that out of all the bones Evel Knievel broke and all the crazy crashes he suffered that he never died doing it! Why? He wore a helmet and other proper attire (sort of).

NASCAR racers miles driven vs deaths...I'm not going to bother crunching numbers (I couldn't), but these people take safety very seriously, meanwhile we need laws to get people to wear seat belts.

We drive at very high speeds every day, no helmet, no rollcage, while eating lunch, as if it's nothing. Ever ride a motorcycle? That will wake people up as to how fast they are really going.

I guess I was trying to say that people take unnecessary risks every day without even thinking about it. One crash on the freeway and it could be lights out. Helmets could save countless lives.

I'm not sure who is crazier - the daredevil or the person eating McDonald's at 75 mph next to me on the freeway.

I guess I have no point beyond "food for thought".

 

[Sideroxylon]

This aphorism has always bothered me. I told my wife to never eulogize me by using that line.

Do you know what Alex enjoyed more than doing what he loved? Being alive. You have to be alive to do what you love.

Also, RIP Alex.

“You have to do what you love to be alive.”

 

[ServiceSoon]

“You have to do what you love to be alive.”

Semantic equivocation or word play, but I still love what you did there.

 

[Puppycow]

Some world records I just don't see the point of trying to break.

I'm reminded of that guy who built his own rocket to prove that the earth is flat. (OK that last bit might just have been a bit of showmanship to grab more attention, but still.)

And as you might have guessed, that rocket killed him in the end.

And I betcha some people said that "he died doing what he loved."

 

[Meadmaker]

When Christa McAuliffe died, I don't recall anyone saying she was irresponsible for risking her life and depriving her kids of a parent.

I think the difference most people who criticized the stunt man but not the astronaut would point to would be that somehow one was doing something important, and the other was not, but is that really true? Maybe the other people who died in space were doing something important, but Christa? Not really. Publicity stunt. I'm a huge fan of the space program, and Christa McAuliffe is one of my personal heroes, but it's because she took a chance. She didn't play it safe. She worked hard, and achieved greatness.....but sometimes when you take a chance, you lose.

So, motorcycle jumping isn't exactly the same as going into space, but I can't shake the feeling that people who would applaud Christa but condemn Alex are being just a little snobbish. He found his way to make his mark in the world. Unfortunately, that mark ended up being a blood stain.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I'm sure his last thoughts, as it became clear he'd hit the berm head on, were, "Man, I'm loving this!!!"

I suspect his last thoughts were dirty ones.

 

[Emily's Cat]

If anyone ever needed proof that ISFers will argue about any topic... this thread is it.

 

[plague311]

If anyone ever needed proof that ISFers will argue about any topic... this thread is it.

Makes for a pretty boring thread if everyone agrees, eh?

I don't have much invested in it. I don't go watch daredevils, they don't interest me, and there's not a huge amount of money in it nowadays. So it's like the trifecta of suck for me.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Makes for a pretty boring thread if everyone agrees, eh?

I don't have much invested in it. I don't go watch daredevils, they don't interest me, and there's not a huge amount of money in it nowadays. So it's like the trifecta of suck for me.

I used to occasionally watch BMX racing and the dirtbike stuff with all the stunts, though I forget what it was called.

This past year, I've gotten more into marble racing.

 

[Steve]

Makes for a pretty boring thread if everyone agrees, eh?

I don't have much invested in it. I don't go watch daredevils, they don't interest me, and there's not a huge amount of money in it nowadays. So it's like the trifecta of suck for me.

There are a lot of people who enjoy dangerous and potentially fatal activities without any money or publicity involved at all. I really don’t give a damn if people kill themselves this way, except when they leave behind loved ones, particularly children.to suffer in their wake. In that regard it is the ultimate expression of irresponsibility and immaturity.

 

[qayak]

. . . except when they leave behind loved ones, particularly children.to suffer in their wake. In that regard it is the ultimate expression of irresponsibility and immaturity.

Everyone leaves behind loved ones when they die. Is it more tragic for Alex's loved ones or my neighbour down the street's loved ones? She was a doctor in the military who died of brain cancer at the age of 41 leaving behind a husband, and two children, 6 and 9, both on the autism spectrum.

Should her husband quit his job as a SAR Tech because it's too dangerous now that he is a single parent? Should he go back to flying the planes and helicopters instead of jumping out of them? He is at the height of his earning potential, would you have him start over at the bottom.

Children suffering in the wake of a parent's death has more to do with what safety net the parents set up while they are alive. Many children who have lost a parent, or two, do just fine while others with two perfectly crappy parents don't. No one gets through life without trauma.

 

[qayak]

I'm sure his last thoughts, as it became clear he'd hit the berm head on, were, "Man, I'm loving this!!!"

If he hit the berm head on I suspect the last thing that went through his mind was his butt hole.

 

[Athyrio]

Who doesn't want to go out doing something that they love?

I'd rather go out like my grandfather, doing something that he loved, not writing in terror like the prostitute he was playing breathing trust games with when he had a massive heart attack.

Might your surname be Rockefeller by chance?

 

[Athyrio]

Everyone leaves behind loved ones when they die. Is it more tragic for Alex's loved ones or my neighbour down the street's loved ones? She was a doctor in the military who died of brain cancer at the age of 41 leaving behind a husband, and two children, 6 and 9, both on the autism spectrum.

Guess it depends upon the circumstances.

Did she contract the cancer through any personal irresponsible behavior or by the luck of the draw?