Thoughts on life, love and faith by Plasticmind.

27 July 20101. Greg:

Absolutely crushing that the world is filled with such people, all influencing their children and those around them. And so sad that people with mental health issues are sometimes so far gone that suicide is literally the best option they can think of.

27 July 20102. Stephanie:

The entire episode with the man and his son begs this question...which is worse, a parent who doesn't parent & leaves their child to him or her self, or a parent who parents as this parent did & sets such an atrocious example of personhood that it almost seems the child would have been better off traveling alone. How sad, how infuriating, and yet in some ways, how typical of much of the society in which we live.

28 July 20103. Ed:

You know, this is very indicative of society today. With how television shows people to revel in the misfortunes of others, it's really no surprise that this kind of behavior is exhibited and in all places, on a public train. Germany created a word describing this. It's called schadenfreude. The fact that there is a word for this, both pains my heart and angers me to an even higher degree. And even worse is that this child is being desensitized to something as important as death. Why? Because this individual was losing money? Seriously, no amount of money is any way near the importance or precious as life itself and I pity that man for his shortsightedness and lack of a heart. Thank you Jesse, for having the presence of mind and heart to say something in regard to this live that was lost (even though it was self inflicted) and I hope the child and this man will think of their actions and seek forgiveness.

28 July 20104. Ryan:

Damn.
Jesse that is horrid man, you have so much personal restraint I commend you. It is almost hard to believe people can act in such a way that it seems to border on evil, and the fact that he was involving his son is a case for abuse. A sad day indeed.

28 July 20105. fontburger:

Yikes Jesse, must have been a long ride. Hopefully that boy has other role models in his life that he can look up to other than his jerk of a father. Sorry you had to go through that, but maybe you made a difference that day. Just maybe he'll think about his actions.

Christina

28 July 20106. Dad:

Thank you for speaking out.

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Eph 5:11)

Hopefully, the boy got the message that such callous disregard for life is wrong, even if his dad didn't.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

29 July 20107. Chris Wallace:

Wow. That's an amazing story. I cannot believe that guy.

30 July 20108. Someone who lost:

Thank you for speaking up and putting that man in his place. The person who was killed on Tuesday is a dear friend of mine. This person was someone's child, a great friend to many people and a sweet, kind soul. My friend obviously had problems that were bigger than any of us could have ever imagined and we are all grieving incredibly.

Once again, thank you for doing the right thing. I hope the son learned a valuable lesson that day, thanks to you.

31 July 20109. Jesse Gardner:

Someone who lost: I'm touched you took the time to comment on my blog. It's obviously very hard to think about all the human damage that results from a tragedy like this when you're miles away in a crowded train on a bread-and-butter day. But I think it's absolutely crucial to be sobered by the death of another human being, no matter who they are. Thanks again for stopping by.

31 July 201010. Martin Bean:

What a disgusting human being. I wouldn't have been as civil as you in that instance I'm afraid to say.