Allan
RTR Organiser
Grand Slam Champion
Posts: 14,144
Gender: 
Location: Falkirk, Central Scotland/Edinburgh sometimes
It's 2013!
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Brit Dan Wheldon dies following a 15 car collision at the final Indycar race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!
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[ Last edit by Allan October 16, 2011, 11:46 PM ]
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Bevc
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Headline news atm on Yahoo in NZ. Horrific way to die and must be terrible for all concerned.
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Maza1987
Newbie
Posts: 14
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Very sad.
The first Brit to win Indy 500 since Graham Hill in '66.
Was IRL champ in 2005. He and Franchitti are/were the best Brit racer exports in my lifetime.
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IonaRed
Futures Level
Posts: 566
Location: Scotland
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The footage was absolutely horrific. I really wish I hadn't seen it. I think he leaves behind a wife and young children. So terribly sad.
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Aileen
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The footage was absolutely horrific. I really wish I hadn't seen it. I think he leaves behind a wife and young children. So terribly sad.
Two sons aged 2 and 6 months  I saw it on the BBC news. Utterly horrendous. To add to the tragedy, in a blog which Wheldon wrote before the race, he said “It will be pure entertainment ... It’s going to be a pack race, and you never know how that’s going to turn out.” |
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blueberryhill
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How sad for those dear little boys. Fathers are so important for sons  |
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Aileen
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There was a truly harrowing blown-up picture in yesterday's "Scotsman" which showed the moment Wheldon was thrown out of his car and up into the air.
I cannot imagine what his wife is going through given the manner of his death and how she is going to explain Daddy's absence to her two-year old.
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Caz
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I really don't think it helps the family to show these horrifying pictures! I wish they would show a little compassion instead of catering to the ghouls! No decent person wants to see things like that! I can't bear to imagine how his parents must feel [not forgetting his poor wife]! My heart goes out to them!
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iamabritt
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We All may find out that this accident was almost predictable .The news over here said the drivers did not like the new "banked ciruit and that there were too many cars .They all were very uneasy.
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Aileen
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What adds even more to this tragedy is that, as it was the last race of the season, Wheldon had elected to start at the back of the grid in the hope of picking up a bonus of £3m should he win. How does that equate with the loss of the life of a young man, a widowed wife and fatherless bairns?
He knew this was going to be a dangerous race yet was prepared to take the serious risks involved in order to have a chance of winning that bonus. It seems the Great God Greed has claimed another victim.
Yes, Wheldon predicted that the race would be a memorable one. He was right, it was - but for all the wrong reasons.
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IonaRed
Futures Level
Posts: 566
Location: Scotland
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I really don't think it helps the family to show these horrifying pictures! I wish they would show a little compassion instead of catering to the ghouls! No decent person wants to see things like that! I can't bear to imagine how his parents must feel [not forgetting his poor wife]! My heart goes out to them!
It would seem that nothing is too graphic for the media. A workmate was telling me about a story in the newspapers right now. It's about a toddler being run over in China. She is hit by a van and nobody goes to her aid. She is then hit by another van. A total of 18 people walk past this poor child. Some after she is hit by the first van and the remainder after she is hit by the second one. Apparently there are horrific stills of the incident and a 7 minute video. Who the hell is watching this video? Why on earth would you want to watch footage of a little girl being run over? I'm at a loss. |
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Aileen
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It would seem that nothing is too graphic for the media. A workmate was telling me about a story in the newspapers right now. It's about a toddler being run over in China. She is hit by a van and nobody goes to her aid. She is then hit by another van. A total of 18 people walk past this poor child. Some after she is hit by the first van and the remainder after she is hit by the second one. Apparently there are horrific stills of the incident and a 7 minute video. Who the hell is watching this video? Why on earth would you want to watch footage of a little girl being run over? I'm at a loss.
I agree entirely with that - and the story of that poor child is absolutely appalling - but the media in the UK isn't much better. I am sickened on an almost daily basis by some of the things that are shown on the BBC and ITV news - close ups of victims of terrorist bomb explosions being one example. I also understand that the film of that dreadful crash appeared in its full horror on every single news bulletin on Monday evening. Thankfully I only watch the late news at 10 pm. Of course the newspapers have had a field day with that too - and was it really necessary for Scotland's national newspaper to display a blown up image of Wheldon being thrown out of his car? There's something very sick about today's society if people find that sort of thing appealing, which presumably they must do otherwise why would the media persist in wallowing in it all? It really is very sad. |
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blueberryhill
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Totally agree Aileen.....but public hangings were incredibly popular, you can't blame the media for that . I think there's something in the human psyche that is very voyeuristic and also probably "glad it's not me."
I don't think human nature's changed at all, what has changed is our access to horror.
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Aileen
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Very good point, BBH, and I think you're right.
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Caz
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I could never understand why people would want to watch executions! Apparently, some of them even used to bring picnics or treats.....you know, like having hotdogs and popcorn at the cinema! I find even the thought of watching something like that upsetting! Mind you, there were probably people in those days too, who would have kept well out of the way!
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