I wouldn't say I'm a FAN of death, exactly...

"and 100 more" (nth256)
10/23/2015 at 12:41 • Filed to: None

Maybe I’ve just had too much internet. That crash didn’t phase me.

Group B cars, for your time:

DISCUSSION (32)

Cherry_man1 > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 12:49

What wreck?

SVTyler > Cherry_man1
10/23/2015 at 12:54

Some idiot on the FP posted a gif of a rally crash where the co-driver died. It was on the ‘what’s the scariest car to drive fast’ post if you really want to see it.

Roundbadge > Cherry_man1
10/23/2015 at 12:55

Commenting on the FP.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Roundbadge
10/23/2015 at 12:58

The FP: the wreck that never stops.

SVTyler > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:00

I wasn’t particularly phased by it either but it’s still not something you want to see anyways, especially considering how the unnecessary the actual .gif was to the dude’s actual comment.

and 100 more > SVTyler
10/23/2015 at 13:02

I don’t think he’s an idiot. I think his post wasn’t exactly on-topic, but I don’t see why the outrage at posting that gif.

I don’t mean to downplay the tragedy at all. I realize the gravity of watching a man at the moment of death. That’s not something to take lightly.

But keep in mind, every time those racers got into their cars, they knew that death was distinctly probable, not just possible. To shy away and be angry because we feel icky when we see it, only does a disservice to the men who died doing what they loved, and all the work that has gone into safety because of these incidents. You and I are safer on the street today because of that crash, and all the others.

It’s not a celebration of gore to watch, or post, that clip. It’s an homage and a memorial, that they had such an influence on our memories.

Bad Idea Hat > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:02

I’d say I’m desensitized. I’ve seen that crash so many times as part of Group B videos I’ve watched, that it just doesn’t even register.

and 100 more > Bad Idea Hat
10/23/2015 at 13:05

I understand, maybe I’m the same. I don’t think I am, honestly. My perspectives on death are just different than most folks, I’m realizing.

and 100 more > SVTyler
10/23/2015 at 13:08

From a pragmatic perspective, I take offense at the fact that his comment was about cars that nobody is driving anymore, therefore irrelevant to the conversation.

As to the content itself, my opinion differs. And by a fairly wide margin, I take it.

and 100 more > Cherry_man1
10/23/2015 at 13:09

Front page:

http://jalopnik.com/whats-the-scar…

Bad Idea Hat > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:12

I’ll tell you what it (and the other Group B wrecks I’ve seen) have done; made me realize that Group B, if not the regulations then the overall safety, was rightfully doomed.

and 100 more > Bad Idea Hat
10/23/2015 at 13:17

Yes, it was ultimately a game of chicken in the guise of rally driving, and a senseless waste of talent and technology.

Bytemite > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:22

When I saw the video of the crash: Damn! That dude’s dead. Cool.

When I read the comments: My god what a bunch of sensitive, sheltered pansies. It is a VIDEO of a car crash and death of a driver. Not even a live video, not even a POV video, and certainly not a viewing of a fatal crash in real life.

Ash78, voting early and often > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:24

Anyone over the age of 25 or 30 remember how the only way to see video of people dying used to be to rent one of the various “Faces of Death” knockoffs from your local off-brand video store? And even then, it required a morbid curiosity and some very permissive parents (or an older sibling). And even then, most of those videos were allegedly fakes.

Now that stuff is pretty close to what’s shown on mainstream news at prime time.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:27

Here’s the issue: since it’s a GIF, you don’t get the choice to watch it or not. As soon as you scroll down, you see it (video in which a guy dies). Regardless of your thoughts on watching something like that, or mine, or the guy who posted it, it should be an individual’s choice whether or not to view something like that.

There was a video posted a while back about a couple drunk kids driving fast and dying by hitting a wall. The parents wanted it out there. I started watching it, but decided to stop it well before the accident. I don’t know what that says about me, but the fact of the matter is that a person can’t “unsee” something after they’ve seen it, and it should be each person’s decision to take that in.

SVTyler > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:29

I’m not going to disagree with any of what you said, actually with you on most of it, I’m just not entirely sure romanticizing the bravery of the men who raced in Group B is a suitable excuse to post a video of a person dying a violent and painful death on an mainstream, popular website without any kind of warning (note how the Tony Stewart, GT-R at the Nurburgring, etc. crashes all had prior ‘NSFW’ tags or some equivalent). That’s just my opinion obviously and it doesn’t supersede yours or anyone else’s, I just don’t really wanna see people die when I’m not really expecting to is all.

And for the record that dude isn’t an idiot because he posted the .gif but because I distinctly remember him being one of shit-stirrers on the FP.

marshknute > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:34

I’ve never been fazed by gifs/vids like that. It’s a crash. You can’t see any people. You can’t do anything to help or change the situation.

Alternatively, I cringe watching overly gory stuff. Like the arm severing scene in 127 Hours .

and 100 more > Bytemite
10/23/2015 at 13:44

PSA: I don’t think that it’s “cool” watching that, and I don’t think that you’re implying that, either. Just for the sake of everyone else reading this and thinking you’re an insensitive prick, I assume you mean that it just didn’t really rock you the way it did some others.

I get what you’re saying. I’m not gonna call anyone pansies for having feelings about that gif, but I don’t think it’s fair to lambaste someone for posting it, either.

and 100 more > marshknute
10/23/2015 at 13:47

Yes. I refuse to watch any of the Saw movies for that reason. It’s glorifying violence and death, and I think we have more than enough of both without the need to portray them as entertainment. Watching footage of a crash that actually happened is different, and it doesn’t make me squeamish.

and 100 more > SVTyler
10/23/2015 at 13:50

I respect your opinion on the NSFW aspect; I guess i’m less inclined to think about that than most.

Re: shit-stirrers - I don’t recall seeing that guy’s name, but I’ll take your word for it. More reminders of I should be avoiding the FP in the first place...

and 100 more > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2015 at 13:51

Okay, that makes sense to me. Thank you for taking the time to point that out, i appreciate your perspective.

and 100 more > Ash78, voting early and often
10/23/2015 at 13:55

Or recreated in a scene of Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, any of the Saw movies, etc, etc, etc...

I won’t watch those. It’s bad enough to witness death when it’s actually death, but i can’t stand to see it glorified.

Sucks too, because I remember seeing the original pilot for Breaking Bad and thinking it looked like such a good show... Once it made it to production, and I heard about all the death and violence, I thoroughly was disappointed.

Bytemite > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2015 at 13:55

What do you think you gain by sheltering yourself from seeing bad things happen? This is a car enthusiast site, last time I checked. Or has it become car safety enthusiast site?

Bytemite > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 13:59

No it isn’t cool that a person died from the crash. But I’m not going to fake mourn about someone I didn’t even know. I’m not gonna go on my facebook wall and go “my thoughts and prayers for the dead racing driver...” For shit’s sake, it is racing. It happens. I just can’t understand what these people are getting at. They are getting their panties in a knot for watching a clip. A video taken years back, from what it looks like is about 200 feet away... Heaven forbid any of these people have ever gone through any real shit other than a loss of a puppy in their entire lives.

jariten1781 > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 14:05

Yep, people need to chill.

If he’d said “Just ask the co-driver” or something I’d get the outrage, but as is the clip is not gratuitous.

and 100 more > Bytemite
10/23/2015 at 14:06

davesaddiction summed it up for me:

I can respect his stance. If this is where the fury is coming from, then I get it. It still doesn’t change my opinion, probably because I’m jaded, but I can see his perspective on it.

and 100 more > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/23/2015 at 14:08

This is where I fucked up. Shouldn’a gone to tha front page...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 14:14

Sure thing. I would have had no issue with it if it was a video.

Bytemite > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 14:20

Dave is just another sheltered dude wearing triggers like a badge of honor. No one but yourself is responsible for what you view and read. No one forced him to read comments on a post that specifically asked “What is the most dangerous car to drive”. If he wants to shelter his eyes a bit more, then he needs to go back to the post “What is the most safe car to drive”. Then he can reassure himself of how safe and harmless the world is while he drives around in his Volvo.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Bytemite
10/23/2015 at 14:24

You could make the same argument on a news site, related to video of people getting their heads cut off by ISIS militants.

If it was your dad in the racecar, or your daughter getting her head separated from her shoulders, would you want these things out there, autoplaying for everyone (man, woman or child) who visits the site?

This is a human being, who died in a horrific way. I know he made his own choice, and that the GIF in question wasn’t terribly graphic in that you can’t actually see him, but I’d like to see some respect for him and his family.

and 100 more > Bytemite
10/23/2015 at 14:34

To each their own. I don’t begrudge anyone for feeling what they feel. Where I take offense is when someone’s feelings impinge on the people around them.

I agree with you, I also think people are being a bit oversensitive about it, truth be known, and I think that the comment that had the gif wasn’t in poor taste at all, except perhaps for being a gif and not a video. I think dave pointed out a valid compromise in that regard.

However, there’s no need to shit-talk him like that. Agree or disagree, we’re having an open discussion here, and the stance you’re taking is exactly the FP-type shit I was trying to get AWAY from.

I’m not trying to drive you out of the convo, but the character assassination isn’t helping make this discussion any different than the FP comments. Let’s all hang out and talk and be cool with each other, k?

Bytemite > and 100 more
10/23/2015 at 14:49

Well I think the part that gets to me most is that there are so many people crying foul at something like this that they force people to tread the line. They are the driving force of PC-speak and censorship, stifling freedom of expression and impinging on the rights of others to view what they please.

Yes, you are right about the shit-talking. I was harsh with the personal attacks, but man this stuff grinds my gears. It is because comments bring out the outliers, and the most “interesting” ways to view the same thing. We don’t really look twice at the 60+ stars that same comment got, but we place a lot of weight on these irrational comments. The same way with every video we see on social media nowadays. People play with their dog in some way, and although it has 10k “Likes”, you read the comments full of people crying about animal abuse.

The worst thing that can happen now is Jalopnik takes the gif down. Another win for the least common denominator of people. It just seems like common sense to me to let the majority of people have the freedom to watch and upload a video, rather than shelter the minority of sensitive people at the expense of everyone else.