I am disturbed by a new video from Country Music that was released recently. The video song depicts choosing suicide by train as being bloodless and quick.
I cannot help but stand up and denounce this video as grossly misleading. Deaths by train is messy and hurts the crew and everyone near the scene who are damaged mentally by the death.
If anyone is feeling blue and sad. They must reach out to family, friends or local authorities. To lay down on the track is NOT the answer. It goes against everything we do to try and keep it safe on the track.
I never have understood why people will make something like this, knowing the sorts of things that will happen, and to do it for profit. There was this ********idiot that was going to show a suicide live on his TV program in Florida for ratings. And he even had willing victims lined up to do it - he had more offers than he could possibly use, the news said.
Operation Lifesaver, AREMA, AAR and the shortline associations are all howling about how dumb this is for the last week. I fully support freedom of speech/ expression, BUT… Why can’t the music and visual arts people understand they should be liable for what they put out. common sense just took a dump in the dirt again…notoriety sells???
All I saw was the end of the video, and didn’t know what it was about until now. It did disturb me when I saw a pregnant young woman get “hit” by the “long black train”. The fact that it is really suicide bothers me even more, because I knew someone that commited suicide, and the fact that I saw someone else show warning signs, but I was able to get help for him. Suicide is not the answer.
Great idea. Lets commit sideways by laying in front of a train…yeah, that’s the ticket. Then the conductor has to go back and look at the gut pile and even cut the train so the authorities can get what’s left out. I havn’t had to do this, but, a coworker has. It really messed her up for awhile. I have scored a couple deer, dogs, and a cow and geez, what a mess it makes. They should post a pic somewhere of an engine after a meet with a stationary cow. It is anything but bloodless! Being hit by a train is the last way that I would want to depart this world.
Ken
I have hit 2 people it dont get any easier after the first one. it is not a clean way to die. I didnt know that there was a video out about this . I caan only imagine with the holidays comming on the death rate will go up now. just what i want to do is be delaayed 6 hrs while the ambulance crew picks up body parts. I know the people who need to read this are not going to but have you ever seen this in action. people walking a half a mile picking up pieces of body from the ground meat and parts off of axels and under frame of cars ( laying on their backs under the train ) not only have i seen this several times had them doing this on my train after hitting someone. and just yesterday I had a kid get out of the way i was going 55mph he cleared the way about 100ft from him.
I have figured this much out. If you are having a very good trip with a lousy train or a great trip with a great train, this is when something like this will happen.
1 I hate the idea of this video
2 all country music isnt that bad
3 i hope i never see and you trainfolks never see this kind of stuff again
please stay safe
Joe
Not only was it terrible that they shot a video depicting this , but what is also deplorable is the TV station who aired it. I certainly hope they get alot a negative feedback about it. Thats all we need is to plant a seed in irrational peoples minds. Hopefully the network got its share of emails!!
Just had a kid (maybe 12) zigzag the gates on his bike and stop and look at us. He was in the middle of the tracks. We were moving 50mph. I felt this cold chill go thru me like I have never felt. I felt helpless! Luckily the little *** pedaled away. It was pretty close. I have never wanted to kick a little kid’s *** like I did yesterday. On the same trip, a kid on his 4-wheeler popped up outta the brush haeding for a farm crossing. That was real close. I probably blew his eardrums out with the whistle. What are these kids’ parents teaching them???
Ken
THEY ARE NOT TEACHING THEIR KIDS and therein lies the problem.
We have some great teens in the forums. Adrian is one. Earlier in this thread he memtioned the fact that he was able to see the suicide warning signs and get help for someone. GREAT JOB Adrian.
But to many parents are not watching their kids and don’t have a clue where they are or what they are doing. Many just don’t care. We have several in my neighborhood who are always in trouble with the police. These two I am speaking of are only about 7 or 8 years old. Yet nothing is ever done to the kids or to the parents. Accountability went out the window sometime back in the late 60s . A trip to the woodshed would be my recommendation but I am too old fashioned for this modern world. You threaten to whip a kid these days and it is child abuse. But on the other end of the scale, just recently 3 or 4 kids were removed from a foster home groosly underweight. Back in July someone did starve a child to death and put the remains in a picnic cooler in the back yard. Again, no accountability, until it is way too late.
Maybe a class action law suit by the PTA and other groups would be in order here for this video. Personally I would consider the video “Gross Negligence” and hold those responsible for making it accountable.
I do believe in free speech, but when do we draw the line. Certainly it has been crossed here.
Suicide by train is quick and painless? Maybe, maybe not. We had a guy several years ago try suicide by train. He lost both legs, and one arm, but he lived. He spent nearly a year in the hospital and rehab in lots of pain. Everybody needs to boycott any TV station that plays that video. They also need to boycott companies that advertize on that station. Hit 'em in the pocket book where it really hurts.
jhhtrainsplanes,
I’m with you, jerk the kid up and wear his rear end out. That’s what happened to me. Unfortunately, the court system is stacked against the parents and even the police when it comes to juveniles. For example, I could be on patrol and see a kid stealing a bike, but under NC law I don’t decide if he’ll face charges. I have to get his and his parents information, and turn him over to his parents. Then I get to go the juvenile intake counseler, tell him what the kid did, and HE decides whether charges will be filed or not. If Social Services go out to a kids house they’ll tell the parents that if they spank their child they will be charged with child abuse. When the kids hear this, they go wild. I’ve actually witnessed a 10yr old kid tell his parents that he can do whatever he wants because if they touch him, he’ll call DSS and have them arrested[:0] He told me I couldn’t do anything to him either, but I proved him wrong[:D] Being a cop does have some advantages.
The driver & I were just having this conversation. When the kids aren’t even terribly old, they know if Mom and/or Dad warm their pants, they just pick up their cell and call the police. I heard on the scanner the other day that a mother called the police - her 5 year old was out of control! 5 years old!!! So many of the police calls I hear are for police to come out and straighten out the kids!!! This is just complete madness. I don’t believe in abuse, but I didn’t die from a swat a time or two and th
You’re absolutely right and absolutely wrong. You’re right, and I agree, suicide is wrong and not pleasant, no matter what method is used. Using a train to commit suicide is not any better. It’s not guaranteed to be deadly, it’s guaranteed to be painful, and it’s guaranteed to cause emotional trauma on the train crews.
What’s wrong about your statement is your accusation that this video/song “Long Black Train” by Jo***urner is about suicide by train. This is not the case whatsoever. I had never seen or heard of this song before seeing this thread and thought it was suspicious that a country music “artist” (I prefer the term singer to artist) would advocate suicide by train, let alone suicide at all. If fact this video is anti-suicide, anti-sin, and pro-God.
I consulted a close friend of mine who is a huge country music fan and he said this is not the case at. He gave me some internet resources on how to find this song. His take on this song, “Long Black Train,” is that it is like an old traditional country gospel song. The train is a metaphor for the devil and sin and that you should not ride this “long black train.” Stay away from it. It’s dangerous.
The video does not depict people using a train to commit suicide. There are people standing on the tracks. People taking drugs. Prostitutes. A pregnant woman. A woman and child. A man. And others. For one reason or another they’ve traveled down sin’s highway and that “long black train” has come to collect them. Jo***urner, the singer, warns of this danger and warns people to stay away, to “not ride that ‘long black train.’” Here is the first part of the song. Read this and tell me how it promotes suicide?
"There’s a long black train comin’ down the line,
Feeding off the souls that are lost and cryin’. <
Horse, I don’t care about the song or video. I was just bitching about how stupid people are in my experiences and I do agree that we have to maintain freedom of speech and press. Even if this song was about Pro rail suicide, I would not want it to be banned or them even to be helt accountable. That would just fuel the craze of unaccountable people that want to balme others for their ignorance. I guarentee that if we would have hit that stupid kid the RR, myself and the engineer would have been sued. Not to mention that I would die inside knowing that I smoked a little kid. I don’t know if you guys know this, but, the conductor and engineer along with the carrier usually get sued in these grade crossing accidents. If the crew didn’t happen to whistle the crossing correctly and a plethora of other stuff, you are on your own! The carrier will not represent you. Period. The first thing that is done is pulling the tapes. From there the carrier determines wether or not you were complying with the rules. That’s where you either are on your own or not. I have been with numerous engineers that have been sued personally by the families of these morons. They can’t take it that their family member was having a lapse of common sense for that moment and they want to be vendictive and ruin someone elses life financially. I am really on a rip today…Our friend Missouri has started his crap on annother forum. That stupid son-of-a-female dog needs to be fed to a crocodile, except the poor croc might blow a forehead vein when he tries to poop out Mike’s skull. Every trip without exception, I see somebody zigzag the gates. A good amount are farmers on tractors…for cryin’ outloud! A tractor! A crew just last week blasted a huge farm implement. The crew could have been killed by flying metal. The farmer was at fault. I bet all of you a buck the farmer sues! The crews should start sueing the idiots that pull these stunts for endangering their lives! O.K. I’m done ranting.
Ken
To: Ironken
I was not talking to you, I meant to address HighIron2003ar who has missed the point the entirely of the video. The video and song is not about suicide by train. It’s a country gospel song about sin and salvation.
The statement “The video song depicts choosing suicide by train as being bloodless and quick” is entirely false. The video does not depict this in the least, which is what I thought the whole point of this thread was, not a debate whether suicide is or is not a good method of suicide. I don’t know anybody here that would advocate suicide in any form.
I don’t care that you don’t care what the video was about. I was merely shining the light of truth on the situtation. If you want to talk about grade crossing accidents that’s your business, go right ahead.
And that’s ‘ironhorsman’ to you, not just ‘Horse’.
IRONHORSEMAN[:p]: I didn’t think that you were talking to me, I wanted to make my position clear due to the fact I am against censorship. I didn’t mean it malicious when I said that I didn’t care what the vid was about. The point I was driving at vaguely (apparently) is that my response in this thread was not aimed at the video. I don’t care what people make videos about. If I don’t like it I won’t watch it. My response was airing some recent occurences on the rail that bothers me to see. Period. If these people want to show a train ripping thru a circus tent wiping out a bunch of clowns. I don’t care. I don’t however imagine that this particular vid. was promoting suicide by train or any other misconstrued point. Megadeth has a song, “Train of consequences,” probably along the same lines and point of the late and very cool Johnny Cash song and the song in question. No skin off my back. No offense by calling you Horse, I was being lazy. But dude, you need to chill out…What’s this “That’s Ironhorseman to you”? Sounds kinda agressive there pilgrim. I guess that you really “set me straight”.
Ken
Call me crazy but I actually liked the song and video. Not so much of the people being hit, but when I saw the video and read the lyrics, it is clear suicide is not encouraged here. I totally agree with what Iron Horse said. Those same ideas came into my head when I watched it.
Now, true the video my disturb some, especially those who have been affected by this tragedy. But it clearly aint the point of the song. I urge you all to go to launch.com and watch it, and read the lyrics.