5 ms·

this is the slow version of idiots falling into the grand canyon trying to get a great selfie.

by jdhawk 6y ago

regulation_d 6y ago
If you're going to Healy, AK, chances are you're not just doing it for the gram. I remember reading Into The Wild in my twenties and feeling a strong connection to Alex. Even if going to the bus wasn't a wise decision, I feel it's only human to want to cultivate those types of connections. I never went to the bus, but I was definitely curious what Alex was experiencing in the final days of his life. I agree with GP that it's a cautionary tale, but it's more than that. It's caused thousands of people to think more about the way they live their lives. Seems a bit more substantive than simply trying to get a selfie, don't you think?
- brudgers 6y ago
  To me, a celebrity bus is not more substantive than the Grand Canyon. This would include Furthur if it still existed. YMMV.
  - kerkeslager 6y ago
    I don't think the person you are responding to was saying that a celebrity bus is more substantive than the Grand Canyon. I think they were saying that going to a place because it has meaning for an ideal of breaking dependence on society is more substantive than going to a place so you can take a picture to get attention on the internet. It's not about the place, it's about your reasons for going there. The Grand Canyon is a place with incredible splendor, and I am sure there are people who go there for substantive reasons too.
    - brudgers 6y ago
      The bus is famous for a best selling book and a Hollywood movie. It's what Eco might call "hyperreal." It signifies breaking dependence on society not a breaking of dependence. The Grand Canyon doesn't require knowing the story. It forces acceptance that one does not and cannot know the story. Admittedly, that doesn't make for a good movie.
      - kerkeslager 6y ago
        I'd like to respond to what you're saying, but I don't understand it. Would you mind clarifying?
        brudgers 6y ago
        Are you familiar with Eco’s work?
        kerkeslager 6y ago
        I've read only Foucalt's Pendulum.
- dhosek 6y ago
  There's a significant trade in people who go to the top of Everest "for the gram." I think you're underestimating the willful foolishness of people. The Last Week Tonight episode on Everest is useful viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bchx0mS7XOY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bchx0mS7XOY
  - kerkeslager 6y ago
    Everest is even worse than "doing it for the gram". It's not just that they're doing it for attention that's disgusting. It's that they're literally trying use wealth to buy achievement without doing the actual work of achievement. It used to be that Everest was a crowning achievement in a mountaineer's career. To top out, you would have to climb many, many other mountains in preparation, building skills, physique, and relationships with other mountaineers. But now people regularly reach the top of Everest as their first (and often last) summit. If you have never reached the top of a major mountain before, you're a beginner mountaineer. And if Everest is summitted by dozens of beginner mountaineers every year, it's a beginner mountain. The primary barrier to Everest now is amassing ~$40k in expendable income to pay sherpas to drag you to the summit. It's worth noting that what the sherpas do is still extraordinary.
jschwartzi 6y ago
Or Rattlesnake Ledge in Washington.
- NotSammyHagar 6y ago
  Yeah, that's a crazy dangerous place that is often very overcrowded on a weekend near Seattle.
  - marssaxman 6y ago
    It is definitely often crowded, but what about it is "crazy dangerous?"
    - NotSammyHagar 6y ago
      Because it is exposed, you could easily fall and die and a few people do die every year or so. Here's one from 2018 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/teenager-dies-after-fall-from-rattlesnake-ledge-near-north-bend/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/teenager-dies-afte...

this is the slow version of idiots falling into the grand canyon trying to get a great selfie.

by jdhawk 6y ago

this is the slow version of idiots falling into the grand canyon trying to get a great selfie.

If you're going to Healy, AK, chances are you're not just doing it for the gram. I remember reading Into The Wild in my twenties and feeling a strong connection to Alex. Even if going to the bus wasn't a wise decision, I feel it's only human to want to cultivate those types of connections. I never went to the bus, but I was definitely curious what Alex was experiencing in the final days of his life. I agree with GP that it's a cautionary tale, but it's more than that. It's caused thousands of people to think more about the way they live their lives. Seems a bit more substantive than simply trying to get a selfie, don't you think?

brudgers 6y ago
To me, a celebrity bus is not more substantive than the Grand Canyon. This would include Furthur if it still existed. YMMV.
- kerkeslager 6y ago
  I don't think the person you are responding to was saying that a celebrity bus is more substantive than the Grand Canyon. I think they were saying that going to a place because it has meaning for an ideal of breaking dependence on society is more substantive than going to a place so you can take a picture to get attention on the internet. It's not about the place, it's about your reasons for going there. The Grand Canyon is a place with incredible splendor, and I am sure there are people who go there for substantive reasons too.
  - brudgers 6y ago
    The bus is famous for a best selling book and a Hollywood movie. It's what Eco might call "hyperreal." It signifies breaking dependence on society not a breaking of dependence. The Grand Canyon doesn't require knowing the story. It forces acceptance that one does not and cannot know the story. Admittedly, that doesn't make for a good movie.
    - kerkeslager 6y ago
      I'd like to respond to what you're saying, but I don't understand it. Would you mind clarifying?
      - brudgers 6y ago
        Are you familiar with Eco’s work?
        kerkeslager 6y ago
        I've read only Foucalt's Pendulum.
dhosek 6y ago
There's a significant trade in people who go to the top of Everest "for the gram." I think you're underestimating the willful foolishness of people. The Last Week Tonight episode on Everest is useful viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bchx0mS7XOY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bchx0mS7XOY
- kerkeslager 6y ago
  Everest is even worse than "doing it for the gram". It's not just that they're doing it for attention that's disgusting. It's that they're literally trying use wealth to buy achievement without doing the actual work of achievement. It used to be that Everest was a crowning achievement in a mountaineer's career. To top out, you would have to climb many, many other mountains in preparation, building skills, physique, and relationships with other mountaineers. But now people regularly reach the top of Everest as their first (and often last) summit. If you have never reached the top of a major mountain before, you're a beginner mountaineer. And if Everest is summitted by dozens of beginner mountaineers every year, it's a beginner mountain. The primary barrier to Everest now is amassing ~$40k in expendable income to pay sherpas to drag you to the summit. It's worth noting that what the sherpas do is still extraordinary.

jschwartzi 6y ago

Or Rattlesnake Ledge in Washington.

NotSammyHagar 6y ago
Yeah, that's a crazy dangerous place that is often very overcrowded on a weekend near Seattle.
- marssaxman 6y ago
  It is definitely often crowded, but what about it is "crazy dangerous?"
  - NotSammyHagar 6y ago
    Because it is exposed, you could easily fall and die and a few people do die every year or so. Here's one from 2018 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/teenager-dies-after-fall-from-rattlesnake-ledge-near-north-bend/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/teenager-dies-afte...