This UK teenager, 17 year old Shaun Dykes was close to being talked out of committing suicide by jumping to his death when cruel, horrible onlookers taunted him from below with comments like “Stop wasting our time” until he jumped to his death. The teen died instantly from horrific injuries and the disgusting onlookers took out cameras and took photos of his body.
What kind of society are we living in that this is acceptable. A police negotiator was moments from saving the youth, who had been engaged in conversation with him. Shaun allegedly had a history of suicide attempts and depression and had recently broken up with his boyfriend. I found this story today and it just about made me cry but anger stopped that. Human nature can be a revolting thing at times.
I am speechless. I do not understand many people in this world these days. There is a cruelty to people that wasn’t present when I was growing up.
This saddens me and I do not know the words to express my abhorrence for the people who taunted this young man.
May G-d care for him and his family.
That’s so sad. I hope the police on the ground arrested those people because in my eyes they’re the murderers and Shaun is the victim.
I agree with Peter. Those onlookers should be held accountable for their actions and charged with murder. What horrible individuals. Sadly, you would hope that living with such a thing on their conscience would make their lives miserable, but it sounds as if they have no conscience. Such a shame to lose such a young person with so much ahead of him.
This is really sad! The taunters should be arrested and fined for their actions. I bet they thought they were being “funny.”
xo
Rants, Thoughts & Merde
It is sad to think there are people like that in our world, but there have always been, and there always will be. It makes my heart heavy.
A British friend said that Derby, where the incident took place, isn’t exactly a picture of a thriving society with culture and justice. It’s depressed by unemployment. Sounds like the place could have benefited with a few creative gay culture to perk up the place… but they just blew their chance. Typical of short sighted morons.
How sad and tragic a beautiful life gone. The world is a poorer place for this loss
As to the taunters i hope you are faced with this kind of thing one day and you remember what you have done. Enjoy your photo’s you sicko’s
It is so sad that our society has stooped to such a low. We no longer seem to have any morals nor do we place any value on human life. I can not imagine the hurt this young man’s family is feeling. My heart goes out to them.
In response to Andrew E., you’re wrong to to dismiss Derby as a place that ‘isn’t exactly a picture of a thriving society with culture and justice. It’s depressed by unemployment.’ True, like the majority of cities there is a mix of lifestyles and living standards. To imply it’s lacking is justice is wrong, preposterous an quite frankly. It has exactly the same laws as the rest of the UK, including the full recognition of gay relationships or ‘gay marriage’. It could be argued there’s more justice than most of the Western world. For a small city that boomed during the industrial revolution because of wool production and coal (some of the world’s finest knitwear is still produced there) it’s as liberal as many other places in the UK. Derbyshire is, in my opinion, also home to some of the most outstanding countryside in the UK. Unemployment is on a par with many places in the UK.
I think the attitude that brought about the actions of the baying crowds is one that is endemic of much of the West – we’re bored and unshockble an selfish. We want more thrills, easier pills and think we’re entitled to an easy life. As a society we have no sense responsibility either to ourselves, our actions or society – it’s always someone else’s fault. The truth is that every single one of us who have looked the other way, or simply sat on our backsides and done nothing more than tut tut and say ‘That’s terrible’ when we see or hear of something terrible is to blame. You want a just and fair society? Then get off your big gay arse and do something. Take a stand a count for something. Be political. Be angry. Take action and stop whinging. There’s more to life than cock and clothes.
I share the sorrow and ire this story has raised.
What has gone wrong in these callous people’s lives that they want a death for a few seconds “entertainment”? I thought such brutality had gone out with the Romans and Public Executions.
Sadly Derby isn’t unique – this could happen anywhere in the West these days. We’ve seen abstract forms of this cruelty in Big Brother inspired “voting off” of kids in schools.
But I disagree with some of the other posters. Don’t punish these people. Seek their assistance to find the causes and design some form of treatment. Turn the perpetrators into evangelists for a better way.
I agree that the people encouraging the boy to jump are twisted people, but it’s ridiculous to say they are “murderers”.
I am to some degree a sensitive person, but I do get a bit pissed off with public suicide. It can traumatise the people who are unfortunate enough to see it (obviously i’m not including people like the taunters in this case), for example train drivers, many of whom never recover from a selfish depressive who throws themselves in front of their train. A friend of my parents had this happen to him and has never recovered. Suicide, if you are gonna go through with it, should be a private matter, without bringing other people into the misery.
I feel very sorry for the boy, and am appalled by the taunters, but it’s no reflection on Derby or the UK for that matter. There are arseholes everywhere who want to see others suffer – a sad fact.
So yes, I sympathise with the boy, but I also sympathise with the copper who has to live with the guilt of not being able to save him, or the person who has to clean his body off the streets…
The taunters, obviously should be ashamed of themselves. My first thought was that they should be arrested and charged with something – murder, manslaughter, intent to harm, etc. The world we live in is insanely screwed up as demeonstrated by the taunters behavior. But the fallacies of this world are also demonstrated in the fact that this kid felt the need to end his life. What angers me as well about this story is that there were apparently attempts at ending his life previously. What happened? Where are his friends? His family? Again, more world fallacy.
I’ve recently realized how mean we are as a society. We don’t care. We’re too busy. Our lives suck so someone else’s pain is entertaining. All of these seem to be mantras that people have, whether they audibly voice them or not. Someone asked me the other day if was watching Idol (I’m in the U.S.). My response was that I don’t watch until later in the season because I HATE the clips of the bad singers as entertainment. Obama took the oath of office today and I’ve seen much commentary on Facebook degrading Bush – not as a President but as a man. Here we are as a country, begging for change, and yet, we all behave the same. I don’t get it. We’re just filled with hate over any number of things. It’s baffling to me.
It’s a sad state of affair’s, albet not confined to the UK. Depression is something people (who are not depressed), see as the only way for self-harm, unfortunatley in some cases ending their lives. I think it’s in the gene’s, myself, I feel depressed alot, and members of my family have taken things further. People this day and age are unsympathetic, each to their own, fine I say, but c’mon, I hope the onlookers will think again, think of others… it could be their own in the future …..
Those taunters should be identified and arrested. They are truly sick bastards.
They should have their names published and broadcast on the news as well.
They really deserve a good whipping and to have “killer of depressed person” tattooed on their foreheads. But I doubt British law provides for such punishments. Damn!