Jackass is a fandom, right?
So obviously we all know that Ryan Dunn from "Jackass" was killed in a horrible car crash early yesterday morning. And many family members, friends, and fans are in mourning right now. But then Roger Ebert had to speak up. Needless to say, many are pissed at his insensitivity.

Sadly, I kind of figured something like this was going to happen considering the stunts "Jackass" is known for (and we all remember the "Steve Irwin had it coming" wank), but still... that doesn't excuse Ebert's words at all.

Beware the comments in the MSN article, they are just as bad as Ebert's original tweet.

ETA: I would normally agree with the comments here as well, except that the police haven't actually confirmed that he was drunk. If it turns out that that's what happened, that's one thing. But... I'd rather wait to find out the results before I agree with one side or the other.

ETA 2: Apparently Ebert has apologized to Dunn's family and friends saying he tweeted too soon. From People.com

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	cyan_aura 2011-06-23 09:31 am UTC (link)
	I lost my aunt to two drunk drivers. Yes, two. Herself in her truck, and the guy in the truck on the other side of the road. Two drunk drivers cancelled each other out; no one else involved. And she was a fricking ER nurse, she knew what's left of people after drunk head-on accidents. Stupid stupid stupid. So yeah, I'm with you. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ekaterinv 2011-06-23 10:17 am UTC (link)
	I'm with you. I've been lucky -- I haven't lost anyone to drunk driving. I've come REALLY close though. I wonder how many of the "Ebert should have been ~nicer~" comments are coming from people who have not been close to someone who drove drunk. My reaction is definitely not to tsk tsk at a man who pointed out that driving after drinking is stupid. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	napalmnacey 2011-06-23 06:49 pm UTC (link)
	Especially when your driving is speeding over the limit by several times and having a blood alcohol level where you're twice over THAT limit and also seriously close to poisoning yourself. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	napalmnacey 2011-06-23 06:49 pm UTC (link)
	My gramer is vurry good tonite. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kita0610 2011-06-24 05:38 am UTC (link)
	I would bet some of those comments are coming from people who frequently choose to drive after drinking. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	napalmnacey 2011-06-23 06:48 pm UTC (link)
	Sorry that you lost your aunt that way. Or any way, really, but a crash is a horrible way to go. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cyan_aura
2011-06-23 10:15 pm UTC (link)

It was probably 25 years ago now, but what ticks me off is that I still have to balance in my head everything she was while alive on one side, and "stupid how could you do that you knew better whaargarble dammit" on the other. Irrational pretty much covers it.

I had another one of those recently too, so it's kind of on my mind. Not drunk driving, but a "I wish you were alive so I could ask you WTF were you thinking and smack you SO hard in the head for thinking that" moment.

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	napalmnacey 2011-06-24 04:00 am UTC (link)
	It's not that uncommon though. People that are in the medical profession sometimes feel that because they know all about something, that therefore it's not something that can affect them so badly, that they can deal with it. I saw a TV show recently where they pulled this woman over that was ridiculously over the legal limit. She was a nurse. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

kookaburra
2011-06-25 08:11 am UTC (link)

Alcohol abuse is also a quite common coping mechanism in Emergency medicine. We're supposed to be tough and gruff and able to be totally calm in the midst of chaos, like we see that sort of thing all the time (and we do.) There's a very definite undercurrent of "If you are disturbed by this you shouldn't be in this line of work," that I think prevents many people from finding healthy ways of coping with the stress.

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napalmnacey
2011-06-25 11:28 am UTC (link)

But... isn't the best person for a job like that someone that gives a shit about what they're seeing? I mean, not so much that it prevents someone doing their job, but enough that they don't treat the patient like utter shit? Or am I talking of that which I do not know?

It's like pharmacology students. They know something about drugs and then they do all weird shit and think it can't hurt 'em.

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	kookaburra 2011-06-25 03:54 pm UTC (link)
	I agree with you. I think the attitude is partly (in the US, at least) a side effect of having the fire department so tangled up in EMS. You get that whole macho BS thing going on. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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