Child dies in Wichita after being hit by SUV!

[JanMichael]

Sub subject line: HE DIDN'T PULL THROUGH

This should get as many "Oh boo-hoo" posts as the horse got, right?

Here's the bloody story...

So give me 200 posts on how much we regret this death!

Oh the children, oh god the children!

So is the kid as much fun to post about as the horse?

For one it's a dead child which must be worth SOMETHING plus it got killed by an SUV...Please...If this doesn't trump Leopold and Barbaro I don't know what should!

EDIT: This should have been LBN...And edited for shitty spelling...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. I Think That The Flame Wars Going On In A Sincere Thread About A Horse,

and now an additional resentment thread about it, have to be some of the saddest and misguided things I've ever seen on DU.

[CornField]

27. Amen.

We should be able to worry about loss of life, I think, regardless of what species of life it is (human - animal - plant).

This thread, IMO, did nothing more than cheapen the horrible death and tragedy which has befallen a Kansas family. I'm ashamed I even read the OP.

[QC]

38. This place is downright psychotic lately.

I just took a few weeks away from DU--the longest I have been away from DU since I found it in 2001--because things had gotten so nasty, and returned this weekend to find it even worse than before.

Sorry, but there's enough hatred and conflict in the world without going out looking for more.

[fun n serious]

40. Did the thread starter

Want to tell us about the horrid death of a child or his anger over a horse thread?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

45. Not Sure, But It Seems Like He Picked A Story To Use For Analogy To

call out the horse thread and his bitterness for it.

Had it have been genuine, the story would've just been posted as is, without need for the horse thread rhetoric and competition.

That's at least how I took it anyway.

[JanMichael]

46. I guess I was having "fun" and being "serious". All at the same time.

"fun" meaning being critical of one trick "sad" ponies and "serious" because I believe we have a "what bleeds leads" national and local MSM so I'm just generally pissed off by everyone who sings along with the corpo tunes.

It's late. Maybe I was just too nasty on this one. Seriously. It pains me to see the shit piled onto average folks daily, no or shitty health care, high utility bills, evictions, no overtime, pensions raided, unions crushed, credit card minimums doubled, and then an outburst of tears for a goddamned commodity regardless if it's a horse.

It's a perception problem for me and I should probably shove my socialist ass to bed...

[benburch]

2. Well, for the record.

I don't think that children who break their legs ought to be shot.

[JanMichael]

5. Non sequi...tor?

I love you Ben, you know that I hope, but the disproportionality of what we call American Media and Culture today when picking up what constitutes "a story" and what does not makes me ill.

[benburch]

16. Not a non-sequitur...

I opined on the horse thread that it is not a mercy to attempt to fix a horse's broken leg.

[JanMichael]

21. Ah but I'm only talking about headlines, not particulars.

It couldda been an appendectimy and I imagine it'd get more TV/Air/DU play than the squashed kid.

[LA lady]

3. Very tragic

This little boy's godmother will never really get over this.

[LeftyMom]

4. People can be sad about the kid and the horse

I'd argue that compassionate people would have to be pained by the suffering of both. I fail to see how it's a contest over who gets more sympathy or posts though.

[xultar]

7. Apparently the OP does't feel that way.

[JanMichael]

8. Oh but it IS a contest. One which loses the "Average Joey".

Just look at the posts.

Plus, just for fun, I could probably find a 1,000 people that died today that we "should" care about but we get drawn to the simple items that the rich adore:-) Ie. a horse.

[xultar]

10. So ONLY RICH PEOPLE LIKE HORSES.....

Hummmmmm OK...she says backing out of the room slowly.

[MissB]

14. It is the FOLLY OF THE RICH.

Good fuck.

Poor people cannot like horses. Did you not know this?

[JanMichael]

17. They can "like" them they can not own them.

Just more bread and circus shit IMHO.

[alphafemale]

32. Ordinary people can own horses. I've known plenty.

They usually choose to drive older cars and live in a less than fancy home.

Because horses ARE an expensive pet to care for properly.

But I've known many working class people who've been committed to caring for horses.

[Harper_is_Bush]

6. Using a dead kid to chastise people with

nice.

Oh, and do you think if he was hit by a Prius he wouldn't be dead?

[JanMichael]

12. I' not attempting to be nice.

Never have never will. Just using reality to point out the lack of relativity in the world.

However you could probably Google most of my posts (gawd knows how many, look them up.) on DU and find that I'm a pretty nice guy.

[JVS]

9. Where's the thread about a horse getting hit?

[MissB]

11. Barbaro... surgery.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1251811

[JVS]

15. Ah, thanks.

[MissB]

18. It was a big fucking SUV.

Poor horse.

[xultar]

13. Buhwawawawa!

[Fovea]

19. Consider how cynical this seems.

To reduce this sort of tragedy to
a snark...

Maybe it is just my reaction, because I have lost more than a few friends and acquaintances to cars. But I find your tone offensive, Jan.

[Touchdown]

20. The Babaro thing is about a horse?

I thought Mrs. Old Lady Bush was in surgury...of course that works too.;)

[alcuno]

22. Children are mowed down by automobiles every day.

May God bless them all. The horse story is different because it's not an every day happening. Accidents that are unusual, whether they involve horses or people, are just a little more interesting.

[alphafemale]

28. And horses are crippled/killed every day. But when it happens on live TV.

And we know their names? When cheers turned to silent horror and dread, people are going to follow the story.

[wtmusic]

23. Once more, the fallacy that tragedy = newsworthiness

Oh, brother. :eyes:

[cry baby]

24. Very, very sad. There are many sad stories out there every day.

Did you post this sad story to test DU members...to see how many posts of sadness you would get?

There are many things to be sad about and certainly a child's death is the worst of the worst. But can you allow DUers to express a concern for something other than humans? No one here wants children to die, hence our vigil against the war. Please don't try to minimize us because of a horse story. Speaking for myself, I can care about many things all at the same time.

My prayers will go out to the family of this poor child.

[jobycom]

25. More people know the horse, so more people are affected.

A celebrity death is no more important than any other, either, but it affects more people because more people have been exposed to the celebrity and feel like they know him. I would be more personally hurt if my cat died than if a child I don't know in Wichita dies. Doesn't mean I think my cat's death would be more important, nor that I wouldn't trade the child's life for it, just that it would affect my life more. By the same token, a celebrity racehorse we've all seen and who some have placed some small bit of emotions in (hope for a Triple Crown, admiration for a courageous run, whatever) is going to affect more people than the 1000s of other tragedies in the world. Thus, more pain, more sorrow, more posts.

[Ilsa]

26. What a horrible and tragic story.

Some one near here lost their precious 20 month old daughter on Mothers Day because they didn't bother to pay enough attention to her to make sure she wouldn't drown in the above ground pool (33 inches of water, max, definitely enough to drown a child). Family all over the place and I guess they decided she wasn't adorable any mroe and no one was watching. Sickens me, that people have no regard for the safety of their kids.

[Patsy Stone]

29. 46% of the automobile fatalities

involving children under 15 between 2000-2004 in the US were nontraffic, noncrash incidents, and an additional 217 were reported in 2005. That means run over in their own driveway by a family member. This is a well-documented and tragic statistic and each is a shame. In fact, it's up from 2004 by 31%. Hillary even introduced legislation.

This isn't the same as the horse thread, however.

[petersjo02]

30. I can walk and chew gum at the same time

I can care about the horse, and I can care about the child. I'm not sure who placed you in the position of being the ultimate judge of what people other than yourself are allowed to care about without your ridicule. But--at age 64, I think I'm old enough to decide for myself what I shall or shall not feel sad about. Or shall I check with you first next time I'm wondering whether or not I should be sad about something? May I call you at home?

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ContraBass Black]

31. Why does it matter that it was an SUV?

[pansypoo53219]

33. happened to my bro's girlfriend's family

where's the calls to ban SUV's? and frankly, even at 2, he should stay out of the driveway.
shit. my grandma found an old letter and about the same age i had gone 4 houses north from my duplex to her duplex. not the street, but to the house.
of course if they lived across the street......

[Hekate]

34. Special driver's training & licenses oughta be required for SUVs...

... just as they are for trucks and busses.

The bigger the vehicle is the more that drivers can't see where they are going much of the time -- they drive up and over curbs without noticing -- children are just not visible. (I say ban them from school pick-up/drop-off zones altogether.)

But that's just my long-held belief.

As for the OP's contention that DUers are more likely to care about a horse than a kid, I say piffle. We act on our Progressive values every day, and that includes the welfare of children, whether we have some of our own or not.

The thing that makes the race horse newsworthy is its uniqueness, its gee-whiz factor. The thing about kids and SUVs (or seat belts or car seats) is every-day news -- and the part that deserves a headline is not the individual child but the large numbers of affected children; the real headline is how many kids have their lives affected, and what we can do about it.

Hekate

[ContraBass Black]

35. Rearview visibility can be just as poor in a pickup truck or minivan.

Reminding people to look before backing up, even if they aren't parents themselves, is a better solution. Some people back compact cars over children.

[Beausoir]

37. Using a dead child to score points on a message board. Disgusting.

Shame on you for this. Really. Shame on you.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Beausoir]

41. Have you no shame? A child is dead and you crow about it.

This is absolutely sickening. There is something very wrong with you. Thank god you don't live in my neighborhood. Welcome to my very short ignore list...pig.

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nicole]

42. What a tragic thing to happen

That poor family must be devastated. I wish them comfort in the days ahead.

Sadly, it's a weekly occurrence. From that same site:

An 8 Year-Old Hurt in Run-Over Accident
Cayle Thompson



"An 8 year old is in a Wichita hospital after he's run-over Saturday afternoon on West 35th street.
It happens all too often; two cases in just two days.

Kids and Cars, a national organization in Kansas City, has found kids may be in more danger in their own driveways than in cars on the road.
It's a shocking statistic, in one week, as many as 50 children are backed over in their own driveway nationwide, at least two will die."

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/2841841.html

[crispini]

44. If you don't see how incredibly sad and pathetic it is

for you to use the death of a human being in order to score debating points on a message board because you are mad that people are posting about the death of a horse... well... wow.

wow.

[Beausoir]

47. It's absolutely horrifying that someone would use the death of a child to

score points on a message board.

There is something very wrong here.

[The Straight Story]

48. So the SUV was just cruising around by itself and killed someone?

Why the hell does it matter what kind of car it was? It's like comparing one gun type to another. Cars generally don't kill (unless defective) the drivers do.

[beyurslf]

50. His aunt was backing up and ran over him.

[WindRavenX]

49. how can a death be more or less significant?

And why on earth does mourning a horse somehow mean I can't mourn humanity..?

[Lex]

51. Locking.

From the DU Rules:

Inflammatory or Flame-Bait Discussion Topics

Do not post "flame bait" discussion topics.

Please use good judgment when starting threads; inflammatory rhetoric does not normally lead to productive discussion.

Do not start a new topic in order to continue a flame war from another discussion thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules_detailed.html


Thank you,
Lex DU GD Moderator