Wake Up! Walk It Off!

The longer I live here, the more I fail to understand why Hong Kong newspapers report suicide jumpers as being "found unconscious" at the base of whatever tall building they leapt from.

The latest case involved a couple who launched themselves from their 36th-floor flat. Even if one subtracts the five non-existent unlucky floors (4, 14, 24, 34, and 13), that leaves 31 stories, a height from which any fall means death 99.999% of the time. Only a freak landing on soft ground could result in survival, and no high-rise complex I know of has anything other than concrete or bricks at its foot.

I understand that reporters are sparing readers the gruesome details, but sugar-coating it is worse. "Found unconscious" makes it sound like folks, oh, just went to sleep. As though they were still alive. As though they might pull though.

As though someone will come along and say, "Wake up! Walk it off!"

Given the horrifying reality, the euphemism is obscene, so please, enough already. Report it as "found dead", which is accurate without being grisly.

If it makes even one suicidal person think twice about the consequences, it's worth it.

Tell the truth.

It might save a life.

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