Suicide Watch Shuts Down Valencia

Aw, fuck.  Unrelated to Trauma filming, Andy writes in with some news from Valencia:

Its kind of a sad and haunting story but on my way home 16th and Valencia was closed off because there is a jumper sitting on the roof.  I hope to god that he doesnt jump and that he is able to work things out.  Its really a bummer and is kind of scary to see in real life.

Oy.  Have also heard people on the scene are taking cell phone pics and cracking jokes.  Quit being assholes.

42 Responses to “Suicide Watch Shuts Down Valencia”

  1. [...] Mission Mission Saluting San Francisco’s Mission District « Suicide Watch Shuts Down Valencia [...]

  2. Sangroncito says:

    Expecting people in our digital, over-exposed world to not take photos is not a realistic expectation.

  3. Lil Tuffy says:

    I came across the scene twice today as I ran some errands on my bicycle. I stopped and watched the scene for a bit and snapped a pic which is now posted on this blog and others.

    Mostly, I just reflected about the poor guy’s plight and how small my problems are (I broke up with my girlfriend earlier today — perspective) and I took the picture to capture that moment for him and for me.

  4. blagguy says:

    i agree it was a sad scene for a while. i came across it trying to get home from work. but after a couple of hours, it dawned on me what a waste of our tax dollars and police and fire resources, and how it was effectively shutting down the local businesses on that block.

    what a jerk.

    hope he didn’t jump though…

    • Sean says:

      Saving a life of a troubled soul isn’t worth the tax dollars? The tax dollars that are already spent on those resources to act when these situations come up? You really think that?

      Now who’s the jerk?

      • blagguy says:

        dude, that’s fine if you think i’m a jerk…

        that dude was up there for SEVEN hours, and for what? you honestly think he really intended to kill himself? really!??! that’s not some shit you get up on a roof and then ponder for SEVEN hours… you do it or you don’t.

        was it sad? of course. but was it a waste of resources, tax dollars, and have a negative effect on local business? absolutely.

        use your brain instead of crying about a “troubled soul”. fuck.

      • sf_Jef says:

        blagguy, nobody THINKS you’re a jerk. You just are one.

    • Nessapop says:

      SOOOOO if he had sat up there for seven hours and then jumped off and died, then would you consider it a valid use of “tax dollars”?

  5. will says:

    it has been going on for hours. i was off work around 5 and he is still up there.

  6. EnderBlair says:

    I can see him out of my bedroom window right now. My girlfriend and I left La Mission get away from the bad juju, to an Italian restaurant in North Beach… Came back 3 hours later and he’s still there. This is not good.

  7. *yup says:

    yeah. it’s effed up.

    him up there. his pain. the loss to the local business. the people gathering to watch. the comments i heard. the thoughts i had. and to read that he’s still up there raises the question of…is anyone trying to get him off that ledge?? or is this a waiting game where the city’s main concern is re-directing traffic.

  8. Jake says:

    Some people are keeping in mind what’s really important. From Twitter: “@missandy: Jumper on Valencia, closing down Puerto, Casanova, and everything between 16th and 17th. Jackass.”

    Fuck this chick in her face until she dies.

    • melissa merin says:

      That chick IS an ass. Your comment however is way more offensive. Maybe you could rephrase it? Can you actually imagine fucking someone in the face until they died? Just a thought. I’m fond of reminding my male friends to stop thinking of their dicks as weapons.

      Hope the person on the roof finds a way through it.

      • melissa merin says:

        Not that we’re friends, but you know what I’m saying.

      • Jake says:

        Fine. Bury this woman in shit until she chokes. Better?

      • Jake says:

        Also, and I mean you’ll have to take my word for it, but I also regularly say there’s plenty of dudes who should be fucked in their face until they die. It’s an idiom, not a call to action.

  9. Marco says:

    Jake you’re a sick misogynist.

  10. bingo says:

    death is not the end, you stupid yuppies.

  11. bingo says:

    mr. b, you are uncreative.
    marco, you are also uncreative.
    you ARE mission dwellers!
    no wonder people kill themselves.

    • SFDoggy says:

      Hmmm, maybe all these people are uncreative losers. Or maybe you are just a social misfit who sits alone in his small rent controlled apartment making himself important by insulting people. Based on the comments so far, I would guess the latter. Just saying.

  12. bingo says:

    it’s just a sad and beautiful thing, just like so many similar things in this place.
    get over yourself, lame-o’s.

  13. Marco says:

    bingo is the only “creative” mission dweller i see. Very creative bingo. Bravo to you!

    • jessechurch says:

      haha nice one Marco…Bingo are you one of those coffee drinking misanthropes that I have been reading about in Newsweek?

  14. As someone who lost her boyfriend to suicide, I hope that those who shot photos and video further their efforts by supporting mental health conversations, reach out to loved ones who ever threaten suicide because those threats are the loudest cries for help, and don’t let this incident fall short in their minds. Suicide is becoming one of the highest killers in men and while everyone has their own story, this is a story that we all need to be talking about…not gawking about. peace out. amanda

  15. Lynae says:

    Whatever happened to those big, like, trampoline looking things they always have in old movies to catch people who need to jump from burning buildings?

    I mean, I realize that people who are seriously suicidal will do it by any means they can (keep in mind: the vast majority of people actually attempt or complete suicide don’t give people the chance to talk them out of it, precisely because they’ve already made up their minds) but wouldn’t it help decide things for him if he was prevented from seriously injuring himself if he jumped?

  16. doozer says:

    So – do we know if the jumper was persuaded off the ledge? Seems like you all lost sight of the topic. Too busy attacking and judging one another. Any update would be greatly appreciated.

  17. dana says:

    seriously, what if he has serious meglomaniacal ego issues, shutting down an entire street would pushed him over the edge causing his head to explod! then, how would you feel? you killed him by feeding him too much attention.

    they couldn’t just cordon off a section of street? limit the feeding, see how he takes it?

    personally I think
    1) trampoline
    2) tranquilizer dart
    3) ???
    4) profit!

  18. Some Guy says:

    I was in Casanova’s during a couple hours of it. Cops made everyone stay inside, unless they wanted to leave the block immediately.

    In the beginning I thought he was down and out. But after the cops closed down the block, I noticed he leaned off the edge, towards the gawkers on 16th. That indicated to me that he wanted attention, considering the cops cleared everyone from the block.

    By the time I decided to leave, he was sitting on the edge, swinging his feet. That also indicated to me he was not likely to be “down and out.”

    My speculation is either mental disability or drugs, i.e., some altered state, one way or the other. But that’s just my speculation.

  19. melissa merin says:

    I’m stoked he got down.

  20. Isore says:

    …but Jake still walks the violent lonely streets unmedicated.

  21. Jon z says:

    my opinion doesn’t matter (that’s why i’m just posting on a blog), but here it is:

    i don’t mind that he shut down the street, it’s interesting to experience chaos and ultimately it’s harmless (big whoop your commute got messed up, whatever fuck off), but if he’s seriously considering suicide it would seem like he would have chosen a less public way.. the dude’s obviously looking for attention and maybe some help so i hope he gets what he’s looking for.

    • plumpy says:

      “if he’s seriously considering suicide it would seem like he would have chosen a less public way.”

      Clearly you’re forgetting the guy who committed suicide off the roof of the H&M on Powell St. That was in May 2008.

  22. ducky says:

    wow. the comments here are more disturbing than the ones on SFgate. many of the posters here simply turned it into another opportunity to accuse one another of being hipsters, or to at least drop the word ‘hipster’, and to point out how ‘uncreative’ the other posts were.

    after reading these posts, i don’t blame the roof guy for considering leaving the human race…

    less silliness and more empathy/substance/thoughtfulness, please?

    • Cranky Old Mission Guy says:

      Well, as Kat says, “Quit being assholes.” Unfortunately, it’s what we do best.

      You might like to try the other thread (^) about this, though.

  23. Reyna says:

    I can’t believe people put commerce over the life of a person. Anyone who has ever stood on that edge her/himself would not complain about shops closing. I wonder how many of the people who made rude comments would fare if they couldn’t afford their Zolof prescriptions or their alcohol or their weed.

  24. james says:

    these are hideous situations. At my workplace a number of years ago we had a jumper who went through with it. I will never forget her scream and the sound of impact.

  25. baranskaya says:

    No wonder he wants to go. People are assholes. Whatever happened to compassion? Between this and the gang rape in Richmond, I’m really taking a long hard look at our society.