In the wake of the POV Christchurch shooting video, Reddit decided to ban r/watchpeopledie. That sucks. A lot. I’m sad all of a sudden. That community has been almost a part of my weekly browsing routine for the past few years. I’ve learnt and taken so much from that subreddit, and now to see it just… gone? It’s damn hard not to be sad.
(For those unaware, r/watchpeopledie is a forum hosted on Reddit where users post videos of deaths happening and others can comment. The comments are highly respectful and sober; the forum is mostly a gathering of people who wish to contemplate the reality of our mortality.)
I can’t remember when I first began browsing that sub. Probably a couple of years ago. Seeing videos of all the traffic and workplace deaths, the violence, the gore, the absurdity, the brutality of death, I have come to gain an entirely new appreciation for the fragility and preciousness of human life.
Five videos stand out as being particularly memorable:
Video 1: Schoolgirl Falling Off Her Bike
A Chinese schoolgirl riding an electric bike at <10km/h is briefly distracted. She hits the back of a parked car, loses balance, falls, hits her head on the road, and dies. That’s it — 2 seconds ago she was probably thinking of her maths problem, and now she is lying on the road, blood seeping from her brain into a puddle. She could have saved her life with a damn helmet. That video really shows me how brittle our skulls are. I have to constantly remind myself to have my bigass helmet on at all times, because you never know when your head will make contact with the asphalt.
Video 2: Brutally Casual Chest Stabbing
A man gets into an argument with an (alleged) street hooker. The hooker keeps accosting him. The man gets irritated, and after some verbal exchange, he pulls out a knife and plunges it into the girl’s chest. He quickly pulls the knife out and walks away. The girl is in complete shock; she looks down at her chest, looks up at the man disappearing, and 10 seconds later, she drops down dead.
That video really stuck with me for the utmost casualness and indifference of the violence. The guy stabs the girl in such a swift and decisive manner that it takes her a few seconds to realise a hole has just been drilled in her chest. And then just like that, her soul leaves her body. All the while the guy just strolls away from the scene in the most relaxing manner possible.
What makes that video special is that normally, knife attacks are violent and emotional. You always see the assailant repeatedly stabbing and slashing the victim in full rage. This one though, is disturbingly casual. It almost looks like he just pushes her with his arm.
It’s incredibly scary to think that anybody can approach you, stealthily stab you in the chest, hides the weapon in their jacket, and casually walks away. And nobody will be the wiser. You will be gone in the blink of an eye.
Video 3: Drunk Fight
Two drunk guys fight. One punches the other. It isn’t even a punch, more like a fist swing. The guy being punched falls down and breaks his neck. That’s it. A measly punch. The victim is drunk and does not flex his muscles to control his fall, and so his body becomes far more vulnerable.
See how fragile our body is? And movies keep showing us fight scenes where the character takes a million punches and still emerges victorious. Ha.
This video has taught me never, ever to fight if you can avoid it altogether. One punch is all it takes to kill a man.
- Also: a video where two girls are fighting. One guy, probably girl 1’s boyfriend, holds girl 2 so that girl 1 can pummel her. Girl 1 throws a bunch of girly punches. Not much force here. Girl 2 cries. Then one of girl 1’s punch hits a soft spot on girl 2’s neck. Girl 2’s neck breaks and she goes limp. The guy immediately lets go of girl 2, but it’s too late.
It’s really wild how even a girl can still punch and kill. Goes against all of your preconceived notions aye. Yup, these videos are all the evidence I need to never get into a fight.
Video 4: Scooter Rider Loses Balance
It is raining heavily. A man is driving his scooter, wearing his full-face helmet and a reflective vest. He slows down for a red light, next to him is a truck. He squeezes his front brake. The slippery road causes him to lose balance, and he falls sideways under the truck wheels. The truck slowly inches forward. The scooter rider is crushed to death.
It really is scary to think how one moment you’re thinking of what to eat for dinner, and the next second, for a seemingly inconsequential mistake (front breaking on wet grounds), you’re now a lifeless sack of ground meat. Taught me to always always respect the road when driving, and especially to steer absolutely clear of giant trucks.
Video 5: Bodybuilder Stunt
Finally, a burly, muscular bodybuilder confidently enters a stage to perform a posing routine. He runs to the stage, does a backflip in his socks. The socks have poor grip, so the bodybuilder loses his balance. Falls down mid-air, hits his neck, breaks his neck, and dies. Yep, years of physical training, a rigorous diet and lifestyle, so many ambitions and hopes, all vanish for a dumbass stunt.
There are many other memorable videos too, like the one where a guy is minding his own business and a giant billboard falls on his head, or the aftermath of a car crash where the ones who did not wear seatbelt have their body completely disfigured. Yea, taught me to always have seatbelt on while on a car. Or that one where a motorcyclist speeds on an overpass, hits a car changing lanes suddenly, and propels himself off the damn bridge. Thanks, that taught me to never ever speed so that I can always brake in time.
As a young guy filled with testosterone, I used to drive pretty recklessly a couple of years ago thinking that I had solid driving skills (cringe). But hell, seeing how my body consists of flesh and bones just like all the people I see in those videos, I’m gonna go the old man route and avoid doing stupid, risky shit altogether.
So, the death of r/watchpeopledie. I’m really sad. I feel like that sub has so much educational value. It really should be shown to everybody just so we can have a slightly more grateful outlook on life.