Teen girl dies while "subway surfing"

[Lenona]

Also, in August of 2022, a teen boy in Queens lost an arm doing this.

And to think that some people still sneer at helicopter parents. Those
parents exist for good REASONS. (Well, some of the reasons are good,
anyway.) At the very least, kids too young to work for pay could be
ordered to play sports, by their parents, assuming the family can't
afford any activities that cost more money than that.


https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/subway-surfing-death-queens-nyc/


By Christina Fan, Natalie Duddridge

Updated on: October 28, 2024 / 7:11 PM EDT / CBS New York

NEW YORK -- One girl was killed and another was critically injured while
subway surfing late Sunday night in Queens, police say.

The NYPD said the victims were surfing when they fell between the tracks
and were struck by a southbound 7 train just before 11 p.m. Sunday near
the 111th Street station in Corona.

One girl, who was 13 years old, was found under the train and did not
survive. The other, who is 14, was in front of it, and she was rushed to
Elmhurst Hospital with a fractured skull, unable to breathe on her own.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has made a push to run public
service announcements online and in stations, but incidents continue to
rise. The city has also called on social media companies to do more to
remove dangerous videos.

Mayor Eric Adams posted about the latest incident, saying he is
"heartbroken" about the news.

"Heartbroken to hear that subway surfing -- and the pursuit of social
media clout -- has stolen another life. We are doing everything we can
to raise awareness against this dangerous trend, but we need all New
Yorkers -- and our social media companies -- to do their part, too. No
post is worth your future," he wrote on social media. "My prayers are
with the families of both girls."

Sunday night's death marks the sixth fatality so far this year.
Authorities say the 7 line is the most popular because of its elevated
outdoor tracks, so police are using drones to watch for people on top on
trains in the area.

"I see it in the morning and after school. I get out of work around 4 or
5 p.m., and sometimes the trains end up stopping because they have to
stop because of the subway surfing," one rider said Monday.

"You see that a lot around 8 at night. Last week, at 8 in the morning,
there were like three teenagers," said another rider.

Just last Wednesday, 13-year-old Adolfo Samabria died while subway
surfing at the Forest Avenue station in Queens, police said. His loved
ones said he celebrated his birthday just days before.

One friend called him a "ray of sunshine," adding, "he had a long life
to live."

Last month, 11-year-old Cayden Thompson died while subway surfing on the
G train. His grief-stricken uncle, a teenager himself, vowed to never
try the trend again.

"I got hooked on it. I'd seen videos online, decided to do it," said
15-year-old Christian Vega. "It's really easy to get hooked onto that
stuff, because once you do it, nothing's ever gonna top it off, like
that adrenaline rush you get."

"Other kids who are thinking of going into subway surfing and other kids
who still do, just stop doing it. It's not worth your life," he added.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Lenona
Also, in August of 2022, a teen boy in Queens lost an arm doing this.
And to think that some people still sneer at helicopter parents. Those
parents exist for good REASONS.

Uh, what? A decent parent might teach his child how to have fun, even be
challenged, in an environment without engaging in activities that are
deliberately life threatening, and without constant parental supervision.

Helicoptor parents teach their children to fear life's ordinary
activities.

Post by Lenona
. . .

[Lenona]

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Lenona
And to think that some people still sneer at helicopter parents. Those
parents exist for good REASONS.

Uh, what? A decent parent might teach his child how to have fun, even be
challenged, in an environment without engaging in activities that are
deliberately life threatening, and without constant parental
supervision.
Helicoptor parents teach their children to fear life's ordinary
activities.

I know what you mean, and yes, there has to be a happy medium. (I've
certainly never heard a story about such a parent where the person comes
across as a reasonable adult.)

It's just that it's a well-known fact that smart people do stupid things
all the time (including adults!).

Even straight-A kids who love and respect their parents also shoplift,
bully or commit other crimes, for multiple adolescent "reasons," such as
not being popular. Since teens gossip on social media all the time and
are not discreet with their friends' names, once a crime has been
committed, it could easily wreck the culprit's future forever. (Same
goes for victims of false accusations, sadly.)

So parents are understandably deeply afraid that if their kids are not
heavily SCHEDULED when the parents can't be there, they'll get into
trouble with the law or worse.

After all, this isn't the pre-WWI era, when parents had much bigger
families and HAD to admit to themselves that at least one child in a
family of, say, six children would likely either die prematurely or at
least be a failure in life. (Example: the Gilbreths of "Cheaper by the
Dozen" never did have a dozen children all at once, because one of the
older girls, Mary, died of diphtheria at age four.)

When parents have only one or two children, they tend to take every
little setback far too personally. But they also fear losing ALL their
children. Even traffic is more dangerous than it used to be, since SUV
drivers often can't see a child who's only three feet tall.

Also, as syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman wrote in 1991:

“Without wallowing in false nostalgia, there has been a fundamental
shift. Americans once expected parents to raise their children in
accordance with the dominant cultural messages. Today they are expected
to raise their children in opposition to it.”


I'd be pretty paranoid if I had to deal with all the social media today.

[Lenona]

And regarding those last paragraphs:

Many years ago (in the 1980s?), media critic Jean Kilbourne, who created
the documentary series "Killing Us Softly," said, in effect, that
certain European countries oppose advertising directly to children, in
part because it undermined parental authority, after all.

I checked just now in Wikipedia. Here's what I found:


"Norway (ads directed at children under age 12), and Sweden (television
ads aimed at children under age 12) also have legislated broad bans on
advertising to children, during child programmes any kind of advertising
is forbidden in Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Flemish Belgium. In Greece
there is no advertising for kids products from 7 to 22 h. An attempt to
restrict advertising directed at children in the US failed with
reference to the First Amendment. In Spain bans are also considered
undemocratic."


I realize, of course, that YouTube, TikTok, etc., are a whole different
ball game. But they're even worse, for that reason.

[J.D. Baldwin]

Post by Lenona
NEW YORK -- One girl was killed and another was critically injured
while subway surfing late Sunday night in Queens, police say.

I see PSAs about this practice *all the time*. It makes me wonder
just how common the practice is. It's not like I'm *always* seeing
these stories about death and maimimg, after all.

The one I saw last Friday night, on the PATH system, was "You can't
impress your friend if you're DEAD." And "DEAD" was in a big, weird,
outline font for emphasis. It's an attention-getting word, for sure.

As your article notes, this makes six deaths from the practice for the
year, which isn't a lot in absolute terms, but I can see the effort to
cut it to zero, if possible. I found an article

Post by Lenona
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has made a push to run
public service announcements online and in stations, but incidents
continue to rise. The city has also called on social media companies
to do more to remove dangerous videos.

I found another article claiming that "Announcements still play every
five minutes at subway stations across the city reminding people not
to subway surf [...]" I've never once heard one. That's not
necessarily surprising: since my daughter moved out of Brooklyn I
(almost) never take the subway anywhere outside the lower half of
Manhattan, where the practice is probably rare or even nonexistent.

[Meteorite Debris]

Post by Lenona
Also, in August of 2022, a teen boy in Queens lost an arm doing this.
And to think that some people still sneer at helicopter parents.

It is right to sneer at helicopter parents. It is possible for a child
to be too safe. How could a child ever be too safe? That may sound
ridiculous notion but I will elaborate.

A child growing up in a house which is too clean and the immune system
does not develop properly. Bones never stressed become brittle and break
easily. Just witness astronauts in the ISS for a few months or older
people who are bed ridden. In fact when NASA and the Russian equivalent
agency wanted to know the effects of weightless on astronauts or
cosmonauts they studied volunteers who spent a few months in bed.
Muscles never exercised will atrophy.

In a similar vein children never allowed any risk do not develop vitally
needed risk negotiation skills. I say it retards normal neuronal
connections. They become nervous and hysteria prone. Kidults. Precious
snowflake in college easily offended anyone?


Life is best taken in moderation in everything. Too much good produces
evil. Trying to keep out all the bad out of influencing childhood
development will only give it more power. The fairytale of Sleeping
Beauty. Her father, the king decided to rid the kingdom of every single
sharp thing., thus bringing on the disaster. The Buddha, a prince, whose
parents want to keep the subject of death and suffering from the young
prince which worsened the Buddha's mid life existential crisis in middle
age. The efforts to bring perfection gives its opposite quality extra
power. It was ever thus. It is a central teaching of Jungian analysis.

[Lenona]

I was aware of all those arguments, thank you. (I made that clear.)

I just think we need a little more sympathy for parents of an only
child, in particular. After all, if they lose that one teenager to an
accident or to violent crime, they would be childless - and shattered
for life, more so than a family with many children.

Of course, parents of small families still need to realize the
importance of NOT becoming stereotypical helicopter parents.

However, it's also worth remembering that when it comes to crime, cases
of mistaken identity happen all the time - especially when both the
criminal and the accused belong to the same minority group.

So minority parents can't be blamed for wanting to make sure their kids
have solid alibis - which means keeping them supervised in after-school
programs. Or volunteer work. Or paid work.

[Lenona]

I forgot to mention that aside from having to fight the siren calls of
social media all the time (and cyber-bullying), parents now also have to
worry about identity theft pretty much all the time. They don't even
have to do anything RISKY for their data to be hacked - and I've heard
of cases where the Social Security numbers of INFANTS have been stolen.

It makes you wonder why parents don't just get together and promise each
other to say to their kids: "You may have a Smartphone when YOU have a
job that pays ALL the bills for that phone - AND if you're willing to
surrender it to the teachers at the beginning of each school day."

After all, it takes just one slip of the finger for someone to click on
the wrong link, without meaning to.

Another line from the Ellen Goodman column: "It isn't that parents
can't say no. It's that there's so much more to say no to."

With that in mind, it's all the more understandable why the childfree
population is expected to grow at least slightly, with each new
middle-aged generation. Who needs that stress, when it can drive you to
an early grave?

(I checked recently with regard to people currently in their 50s. One
source said that 23% of that age group is childless.)

[Meteorite Debris]

Post by Lenona
I forgot to mention that aside from having to fight the siren calls of
social media all the time (and cyber-bullying), parents now also have to
worry about identity theft pretty much all the time. They don't even
have to do anything RISKY for their data to be hacked - and I've heard
of cases where the Social Security numbers of INFANTS have been stolen.
It makes you wonder why parents don't just get together and promise each
other to say to their kids: "You may have a Smartphone when YOU have a
job that pays ALL the bills for that phone - AND if you're willing to
surrender it to the teachers at the beginning of each school day."
After all, it takes just one slip of the finger for someone to click on
the wrong link, without meaning to.
Another line from the Ellen Goodman column: "It isn't that parents
can't say no. It's that there's so much more to say no to."
With that in mind, it's all the more understandable why the childfree
population is expected to grow at least slightly, with each new
middle-aged generation. Who needs that stress, when it can drive you to
an early grave?
(I checked recently with regard to people currently in their 50s. One
source said that 23% of that age group is childless.)

Some is on point but much is media baited. But I think there is an
additional a reason for modern hysterias. People no longer have measles,
diphtheria, whooping cough to worry about. I think we need a certain
level of threat in our lives. Not too much or PTSD but too little and we
experience existential angst. As threats subside we substitute these
with new ones even if we have to exaggerate them, imagine them or
fabricate them. The media hooks into this to fill our empty lives and
create drama to relieve drama hunger.

[Kenny McCormack]

In article <***@www.novabbs.com>,
Meteorite Debris <***@proton.me> wrote:
...

Post by Meteorite Debris
Some is on point but much is media baited. But I think there is an
additional a reason for modern hysterias. People no longer have measles,
diphtheria, whooping cough to worry about. I think we need a certain
level of threat in our lives. Not too much or PTSD but too little and we
experience existential angst. As threats subside we substitute these
with new ones even if we have to exaggerate them, imagine them or
fabricate them. The media hooks into this to fill our empty lives and
create drama to relieve drama hunger.

My initial reaction to your text is: Better to have imaginary problems than
real ones. Given that some members of the human race are not comfortable
with a non-problem state, they imagine problems in order to fill the void.

But then I think: This is an interesting question. Many writers have
imagined what a post-scarcity/post-tragedy world would be like. Would
there be any point in living? If you didn't have to work in order to keep
eating, what would you do with the hours in a day? What if we evolved
things to the point where you didn't need to keep eating?

I often think that one of the primary goals of the Republican Party is to
make sure we never find out. Right now, we probably would have the
resources to have a post-scarcity world, but they keep pushing in the
opposite direction - essentially creating artificial scarcity.

And their sheep go along with it, because they can't imagine living in such
a world.