Have you ever seen someone die?

[Amelia G]

Have you ever seen someone die, of natural or unnatural causes, in front of you?

[Velvet-Tongue]

Because of the wonder of the internet, yes. More times then I really wanted too.

[VoltaireBlue]

I watched my grandfather die. part of me died right along with him. he was my best friend and the first person in my life to love just as I was instead of who they thought I should be. I was devastated when he died.

[drewblood]

thats sad voltaire.... he sounds like a great person and you were both lucky to have eachother.



I've seen two. My aunt who had cancer..it was rather peaceful (I think / hope) with friends and family around her.. but the final moments are pretty hard to watch. The other was a lady downhill skiing right next to me who hit the trees at 45mph or so. I'd rather forget about that one.

It's pretty crazy to think how completely varied your departure from the living might be...

[keiko]

I've known people that have passed, several this year alone even, same for cats. I've seen my share of empty shells. and i've seen video of everything from Saddam to major accidents. but never in person have i witnessed a soul pass. which if you ask me, considering the life i've led, it's kinda surprising.

~K

*hugs voltaire* i can empathise.

[VoltaireBlue]

If we're counting accidents, then I've seen lots of people die trying to cross highland ave. in L.A. I lived right at highland/camrose, and I saw lots of people die from getting hit by cars trying to cross the street.

[jonny.illuminati]

lets see....

i have seen people die up close and far away; both slow and fast

i have taken life from close and far... and lost friends in an instant from an unseen sniper...

a sniper scope makes it less personal but at 10x you can see their faces...

you cannot truly understand it until you have experienced it... and it's not really a good experience

killing someone is not like the movies or a video game it's real and permanent...

holding a friend in your arms while he slowly dies because help is to far away or it's to dangerous to get the helicopter in... it's not like the movies either. it's more emotionally traumatizing and surreal...

violent death is a whole crazy set of emotions whether or not you are the one who pulls the trigger or see's the result of someone else pulling it; you usually think shit that was close glad it wasn't me, then you feel guilty because you have just lost a friend and a fellow soldier

violent death up close and personal is a life altering event...

maybe every time you take a life a little piece of you dies... because every time you lose a brother in arms a little piece of you does die.... at that rate am i half deal already?

damn.... now i'm kind of in a funk.... maybe sushi and asahi will fix it... i guess that's one of the reasons i retired...

EDIT** i was just bitten by a stray kitten i was trying to help.... ouch... payback? or was the kitten trying to tell me to snap out of the funk... maybe it wants sushi also... off to DC or Germantown...

[Morning Glory]

would you consider getting hit by a meteoroid (or would it become a meteorite, at that point?) to be a natural or unnatural cause?

[Buster Friendly]

you cannot truly understand it until you have experienced it... and it's not really a good experience

...

I once asked a buddy of mine who'd been a tunnel rat in 'nam what if anything he'd learned from his time in the war and he said something that I'll always remember- "Nothing I couldn't have lived my entire life without knowing."

He had all sorts of crazy, funny, scary, sickening, horrifying, and saddening stories. Some were all of those at once. He would have traded them all for a job as a gas station attendant.

As for me, I'm not sure. I've seen people hit by cars here in NYC... like flying 20 feet in the air, but they didn't die at the scene, were taken away by ambulance. I've seen dead bodies, and LOTS of blood... but I guess I've never actually seen the "last breath".

So, no.

[inox]

Yes.

[One Eyed Cat]

Affirmative.

[athenahollow]

Actually, my best friend, when I was 13, died in my arms from a speedball. He OD'ed.... needless to say, I was never a fan of doing drugs before that, but have been very adamant about not even being around them since.

[Vexbeast]

Never, surprisingly.

I went to my grandfather's funeral though. I knew him, but I didn't really care for him. But at the time I was sick, and some guy gave me a light punch in the gut to try and cheer me up. I wanted to cheer up his face. <.<

</unrelated story>

[Pull~My~Hair]

nope...i really dont ever want to either...i'm really a weiner about death and dying in general..alll out of selfishness, I dont like people to leave me.

[mystoo]

When my grandmother was dying the whole family got called to the hospital to say our goodbyes and such. I was in the room with her when she passed and I'll never ever get that image of her laying there out of my head. Damn I miss my grandparents. They were the coolest people on earth! This is a tad depressing no?

[Ajax Knucklebones]

I've been to plenty of funerals. The longer you live, the more of those you get to go to.

Thank whoever though, I've never seen anyone die in front of me. I hope to keep that up until I'm the one who dies.....

[Head Wreck]

nearest i got to it was talking to a friend when one of our mutual friends had asked her life support to be switched of at that time (she was battling a second bout of cancer when she contracted Pneumonia at the time her imune system was down due to Kiemo). it was surreal as we both tried to avoid the topic yet it was there in both of our voices.

that's the nearest I've been thank goodness

[Ajax Knucklebones]

"Death be not pretty."

[DoctorZ]

I havn't witnessed death, but I'm so detached from everyday life, and I'm so... optimistic, oddly enough, that I doubt it would affect me at all.

The optimism is that I would just assume I would see them again, be it 1 day, or 50 years.

Strangely enough, I guess that mix of emotionlessness and optimism would make me a rather good killer...

...

...

Not that I would try.

[Ajax Knucklebones]

I havn't witnessed death, but I'm so detached from everyday life, and I'm so... optimistic, oddly enough, that I doubt it would affect me at all.

The optimism is that I would just assume I would see them again, be it 1 day, or 50 years.

Strangely enough, I guess that mix of emotionlessness and optimism would make me a rather good killer...

...

...

Not that I would try.

Actually, yeah...I think it would....Hitman DoctorZ.....

[DoctorZ]

>_>

<_<

You can't change your account name haer, can ye?

[bohoki]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUp028SSIFw

[DonkeyMoses]

No humans, but I have had favored pets die in my arms. Odd how even as limp and lifeless as they were before they die, they somehow get even more limp and seemingly a little bit lighter. I have a cat now that I've known for 16 years who might not make it through the weekend. Guess I'll be seeing it again soon.
J.I, I wondered what your answer would be. I'm sorry you had to go through that. You sound like my friend, Doc. He wasn't in Iraq, but blackopps in situations the American people don't even know our govt. was involved in. He can't tell us a lot of details for another couple years. We're gonna lose him too, the army fucked with his intestines or some shit. He's got ten years. This is a bummer. I'm going over to the worddissassociation thread. It's too early for sushi.

[keiko]

*hugs DM* My best to your kitty.

~K

[Buster Friendly]

Now I have.

Some dude stroked out at work last night.

I was walking over to talk to a co-worker, and as I turned around I heard a "THUMP!" from behind me. Which I thought was rather odd since we didn't have anything that goes THUMP! stored over in that area, I turn around and see this guy who fell like a tree that had just been axed, just in time to see him start spewing out about a gallon of white foam from his mouth, about 5 other employees got to him first, and rolled him over on his side so it didn't back up and drown him, as he kept pumping more of that stuff out. The EMS got there in like 4 min. but he was gone in 3.

We had asshole patrons who were like "Could you please move him, he's bothering us." I'm not really that compassionate, but fuckin' c'mon.

[DonkeyMoses]

*hugs DM* My best to your kitty.

~K

Thnks.

[Ubiquitress]

today , at 3 ,and a good friend although covered in fur and incapable of human language a very good friend.but gracefully and sentient as i have seen death so far.its the first i have seen that wasnt premature or something to be angry with and there has been a share of those.so im grateful

[DonkeyMoses]

R.I.P. Rick the cat. A friend of mine for 16 years. Found him the very same night my daughter was conceived. Been across the country and back twice and has seen more of my adventures in that time than anyone else. He will be missed here.

[jonny.illuminati]

R.I.P. Rick the cat. A friend of mine for 16 years. Found him the very same night my daughter was conceived. Been across the country and back twice and has seen more of my adventures in that time than anyone else. He will be missed here.

I am sorry for your loss... animals always hit me the hardest

just spent some time in North Carolina this weekend drinking to the memory of a brother (MC Club) who passed away

... i made a toast to him early saturday morning... "...and mutton on sundays" no one seemed to understand, except the really really drunk ones...

RIP

[DonkeyMoses]

Right on.

[bilbrown]

18. My grandfather who raised me. Visiting my sister in New Mexico. He died in my arms. I have never since seen anyone turn so blue. Heart attack was the official story. I think it was a broken heart, as my grandmother had died just a few months previous. He told me that day he was going to die.

[on the ground]

I saw a kid get shot to death when a fight broke out at a large gathering of teens.

[Vix]

I've seen a few ppl die

[soma_stardust]

i watched my mom die 9 months ago.
for about a month, it was all i saw whenever i closed my eyes. i still dream of her, her death...
the most traumatising thing that's ever happened to me and it's so very hard to try to move on.
i keep thinking "ok, i can do this. i can get my act together. i can let it go." but i'm scared to let her go, if that makes sense. what if i forget my grief? what if i forget her?
i'm still drifting along without my anchor and i don't know where i'm headed. i'm no longer grounded. i'm scared of that, i'm scared to let go. i don't know how to land safely on the ground....

[jonny.illuminati]

i watched my mom die 9 months ago.
for about a month, it was all i saw whenever i closed my eyes. i still dream of her, her death...
the most traumatising thing that's ever happened to me and it's so very hard to try to move on.
i keep thinking "ok, i can do this. i can get my act together. i can let it go." but i'm scared to let her go, if that makes sense. what if i forget my grief? what if i forget her?
i'm still drifting along without my anchor and i don't know where i'm headed. i'm no longer grounded. i'm scared of that, i'm scared to let go. i don't know how to land safely on the ground....

i have lost a lot of friends and brothers... the only way to land safely on the ground ... is to just do it... it won't be easy, you might fall down or drift some more... but you have to try and be your own anchor now... you will never forget her, but you do need to try and get past the grief. grief only serves to hold you down and prevent the healing. the loss is permanent, but it shouldn't be so incapacitating. trust me you will never forget her... that isn't what "letting go" means... letting go means getting past the pain of loss and letting the grief go so you can continue on down your own path.... we all have a different path, sometimes they cross, but it is still your path...

hope that helps a little....

[soma_stardust]

yes, it does. thank you.
i've been having a minor breakdown once i realised i have to let go of my grieving... not let it rule my life... it doesn't 100% but i can see the ways it affects me. and with my already outstanding anxiety problems, it's just not doing me any good.
i know she's in a safe place. i know she's ok. i just miss her. and that won't ever go away... so i might as well try to make peace with it and become a stronger person...
but it's so terrifyingly difficult.

[jonny.illuminati]

yes, it does. thank you.
i've been having a minor breakdown once i realised i have to let go of my grieving... not let it rule my life... it doesn't 100% but i can see the ways it affects me. and with my already outstanding anxiety problems, it's just not doing me any good.
i know she's in a safe place. i know she's ok. i just miss her. and that won't ever go away... so i might as well try to make peace with it and become a stronger person...
but it's so terrifyingly difficult.

i understand... but if it is affecting you so bad that you cannot function, then you DO need to begin to move past it... i promise you you don't have to let go of her, you just have to learn to live with the loss and accept it... peace is always better, peace with yourself is imperative to your own survival... look back over the last nine months and your downward spiral... now look up out of the hole and start climbing... if you need help tell someone... hell you know where to find me...

[TheDeathKnight]

Yeah, I saw some dude commit suicide by jumping off a light pole on NYE 1999 in Vegas. And another dead body that same night, who had jumped off the hotel balcony. A few other bodies of people and animals here and there. And of course the internet. I think society does a lot to try to keep death out of sight. Which isn't always a good thing. I think it makes people avoid the subject, and not really think about it. I think if you are aware of death, it helps you focus on your life more, without getting too caught up in stupid drama.

[thegreendevil76]

Yes. I have watched the light go out of people's eyes a few times. It used to bother me, but now it's just business. I had a truck wreck into some royal palm trees right across the street from where me and a coworker were standing on New Year's Eve (2007-2008). It looked and sounded like a bomb going off. The wife was ejected w/amputation and the dog was ejected and killed (the dog was mysteriously in one piece and looked like he was sleeping on the shoulder). The asshole pill-addict driver (who was looking at us instead of the road) miraculously survived, but will always get to celebrate New Years as the night he killed his wife. He was charged with DUID.

I once saw a 14 year old hit and run over by a landscaping truck in the exact spot (well, on the opposite side of the road) where I responded to a fatal crash where his friend from school was fatally struck the week before. A few gunshot fatalities, a beating death, many medicals (heart attacks, etc.), and too many that were already dead before I got there to count.

I once caught a guy leaving a motel to dump the body of a woman he just murdered. She was bound and wrapped in a sheet. He was very surprised to see me.

The weirdest one was a guy who died from "misadventure." He was wearing high heels and woman's underwear while diddling himself with an 18" breaker bar (like a really long ratchet handle) when he slipped and fell into a chair driving the breaker bar (fatally) into his rectum and abdominal cavity. He was in his 40's and lived with his father. The father got suspicious that something might be wrong when he hadn't seen the guy for a few days and his door was locked and barricaded with furniture from the inside.

I've got about a zillion stories about this sort of shit...some of them are even kind of funny (cops/soldiers/ER nurses/EMT's/etc. have a very dark sense of humor, "gallows humor." which some touchy-feely types claim is a coping mechanism). Well, for whatever reason I'm not really bothered anymore by seeing people I don't know die (usually you're so busy trying to save them, you don't have time to think about it) unless it is a kid. Nothing makes me want to drop on the ground and cry like seeing a dead child and nothing pisses me off than people hurting kids.

[thegreendevil76]

I'm pretty sure people who think there is glory in death have never really been close to it.