This boy died tragically. But it wasn’t an accident. He didn’t slip and fall through the collar. He didn’t slip and fall off the side.
Where is the accident? I see stupidity, but being stupid != accident. Why aren’t they calling it a senseless suicide? He jumped. He didn’t slip, get nudged, or anything else.
Are we calling it an accident so his parents won’t have to think about how their son is dead because they couldn’t be bothered explaining to him that you don’t jump from structures with things tied around your neck?
I was 4 years old when I learned that dog collars + porches + fall= dead puppy :(.
So yeah, I agree tragic, senseless, but I just cannot grasp the use of the word accident.
Murder Suspect: Yeah, I pointed the gun at her. Yeah, I pulled the trigger. But it was an accident. I didn’t mean for the bullet to actually kill her!
So you think he was either careless or ignorant of the results of his actions?
“I wonder what would happen if I put a gun with a bullet in my mouth, turned off the safety, and pulled the trigger?”
I think it was tragic, I think it was shocking, but I cannot see how it wasn’t intentional, not careless, and a 16 year old not knowing hanging kills people? I don’t buy it.
Or are you saying any unfortunate event is an accident? “Wow, did you see that horrible accident? Two planes hit the world trade center!”
I don’t buy that either. I see no definition of accident that fits the tragedy.
If he did it to kill himself it wasn’t an accident. There is no indication he was trying to kill himself. Therefore it is an accident. And as a corollary this leads to the conclusion that you are a fucking idiot for making an issue out of it.
Sorry for the multi-posts and quoting you again. Should have gathered my thoughts better.
I find it interesting that you link to an article, quote a little of it then ignore the part that specifically says that he wasn’t attempting to hang himself, the cable got hung up on post and he accidentally got strangled. He acted with carelessness and ignorance of the possibilities of his actions. He died by accident.
I don’t see why we can’t agree the kid was stupid without rewriting the English language.
Also none of your analogies make sense. Unless you know more about this case than is in the article, it doesn’t look like he knew the other end of the leash was going to become attached to anything so his action was reckless but not guaranteed from the outset to kill him.
The dude put a leash around his neck. Nothing particularly dangerous about that.
Dude jumped of a balcony. Maybe break a leg or something. But not deadly.
Combination of one and two. Leash CATCHES on something and hanging ensues.
Shit happens when you aren’t careful/paranoid all the time.
It was a stupid accident (if I read the article right). But IMO it was two minor stupid things that a fair number of people might not foresee to be deadly in combination.
And for that matter, if I read the article right, I bet things like this happen about as often as someone getting struck and killed by a meteorite.
I see what the OP is saying but I think she’s defining the word accident too narrowly. I agree its main meaning is a random unfortunate occurrence and in that sense Conley’s death was not an accident. But an accident can also be an act of recklessness or negligence with unintended consequences and that meaning would cover what Conley did.