Symbolism can be merciless. Witness the city of Akron using $1.5 million in stimulus funds to install an anti-suicide barrier on the All-American Bridge.
Last year there were two suicides from the Y-shaped span, a structure likely familiar to anyone who’s ever driven through America’s former tire capital. There has been one already in 2009.
It’s completely worthy project and respresents money well spent, certainly–setting aside chatter in the local paper that it might be “wasteful”–and will create a few jobs in a local economy with a double digit unemployment rate. But it’s one of those items that flickers past on the AP wire and the headline just hurts to read.
Any bets on which U.S. city is first to use stimulus money to add a light Prozac drip to the municipal water supply?
March 31st, 2009 at 10:03 am
I think, in reality, that this is a really good. The numbers in suicide are starting to demonstrate, without question, that easy access to suicide increases the likelihood of someone killing themselves. Limiting access? Less suicide.
It sounds strange, but it is true.
Oh, by the way, I LOVE this site.
March 31st, 2009 at 10:09 am
Thanks, Dominic.
I totally agree that it’s good. Unquestionably so — in fact, I was amazed that the Akron Beacon Journal had the gall to say critics thought it was “wasteful” and then couldn’t even come up with one to quote.
-Jeb
March 31st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
The photograph you used hides the residential neighborhood below the bridge. There are new single family homes for low to middle income families. I think they are entitled to reasonable prevention of a body or two falling in their back yards each year.
March 31st, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Didn’t we do this already?
I think this project is great. Seriously. What I wrote is in no way meant to be critical of it. The tone issue is delicate with something like this, but the post is intended as an observation on how a tiny news item can resonate with a broader national mood. In this case, a sense of national vulnerability and despondence–along with some hope that the stimulus will improve things. This news story spoke to all of that in kind of a fascinating way. So that was the point.
Again, I’m all for putting up the fence on the bridge. If it prevents a suicide or two a year, it will be the best $1.5 million spent in the whole stimulus bill, I’d wager.
-Jeb
April 6th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
That $1.5 MM could be spent more proactively on preventative suicidcal measures, to stop people from being DRIVEN to this point in the first place, such as spending on social services like social workers and mental health and well being facilities where people can “check out” of the increasingly traumatic capitalist society and “check in” for some spiritual and emotional healing.
August 24th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Why are we wasting money on this? A fence on a bridge isn’t going to keep anybody from killing themselves. It will just force them to find another way to do it or, brace yourselves because this may be hard to believe, climb the freaking fence. And how many jobs is this going to create? 10? For several months? And will this fence actually cost $1.5 million, or did some contractor just hit the jackpot? Maybe put that money into something that will actually create some long-term jobs, and I bet it would prevent more than one or two suicides a year. And not just people jumping off bridges. People overdosing, shooting themselves, jumping off other bridges, hanging themselves, etc. because they are unemployed and can’t support their families.
Or we could buy $1.5 million worth of rope, that way there would be less in hardware stores for people to hang themselves with.
What a waste.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:11 am
i am a local to this area and have been since i was born. this bridge has more sentimental meaning to many of the local residents and there has already been levy’s to fence this bridge off and has fail, 1991 until this current year. i have voted it not to be fenced off. i jog this bridge every morning and many people enjoy the scenery that comes with driving or either walking on the bridge. of course there are still the factors of suicide but suicide happens everywhere and i do not agree with having this particular bridge fenced off.