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ramblin_rosieYes, the Internet is full of people whose theme song is "Easy to Be Hard," but then there are stories like this one.
Over on Ace of Spades* yesterday, a commenter apparently hit his breaking point after reading about the massacre in Libya. He posted a comment (now deleted, I think) that led a number of people to be concerned that he was going to attempt suicide.
Fortunately, he included his real name.
Within half an hour, other commenters (who call themselves "morons") had tracked down his address and phone number, and one of them called his wife, who didn't know he had left the house. Moments later, the wife called back to report that he'd disappeared and taken his gun with him. No note, other than the one he'd left on AoS and a message for his daughter.
While the mods pulled the personal info that had been posted, the one commenter stayed in contact with the family and the police, and other "morons" around the world started praying. And by the end of the evening, the man's brother wrote in that he'd checked himself into a hospital and was getting help.
Yeah, correlation =/= causation, and we don't know all the details; but I do believe those prayers were answered, if nothing else, and no one has to wonder whether that life could have been saved if someone had just taken the trouble to call. All told, a win for Internet compassion. :)
*Note for those inclined to investigate: there are some crude, non-PC, and potentially upsetting running jokes in some of the comments--none of which are meant in anything even approaching earnest (except perhaps the one about cheap vodka).
Over on Ace of Spades* yesterday, a commenter apparently hit his breaking point after reading about the massacre in Libya. He posted a comment (now deleted, I think) that led a number of people to be concerned that he was going to attempt suicide.
Fortunately, he included his real name.
Within half an hour, other commenters (who call themselves "morons") had tracked down his address and phone number, and one of them called his wife, who didn't know he had left the house. Moments later, the wife called back to report that he'd disappeared and taken his gun with him. No note, other than the one he'd left on AoS and a message for his daughter.
While the mods pulled the personal info that had been posted, the one commenter stayed in contact with the family and the police, and other "morons" around the world started praying. And by the end of the evening, the man's brother wrote in that he'd checked himself into a hospital and was getting help.
Yeah, correlation =/= causation, and we don't know all the details; but I do believe those prayers were answered, if nothing else, and no one has to wonder whether that life could have been saved if someone had just taken the trouble to call. All told, a win for Internet compassion. :)
*Note for those inclined to investigate: there are some crude, non-PC, and potentially upsetting running jokes in some of the comments--none of which are meant in anything even approaching earnest (except perhaps the one about cheap vodka).
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-23 04:18 am (UTC)I'm glad there are still some people out there who care for others.
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Date: 2011-02-23 05:42 am (UTC)Have to say, though, that I'm not totally surprised that Internet friendships saved the day. My Internet friends--not always the casual acquaintances, but certainly the ones I've stayed friends with for a number of years--seem like a very caring crowd. ♥