About two weeks ago someone committed suicide by jumping from the boarding platform onto the tracks in front of an on-coming BART train. While this is a sad event, it got me thinking.
The guy had to pay a fare to get onto the boarding platform in order to throw himself in front of the train.
So, did he buy a BART ticket specifically to get access to the tracks from the platform? What kind of ticket did he buy? One with the minimum fare on it just to get to the next station on the line? One going all the way into the city, or even to the end of the line? If he's committing suicide, does he choose to economize while making his last purchase ever on Earth, or does he figure money is no object anymore?
These questions have been bugging me off and on all week.
What's going through his mind as he's buying his ticket? Is he consciously making a financial decision as he puts his money into the ticket machine or is he in a daze, not caring what he's doing as long as he spends any amount to get access to the platform so he can jump?
There's no way someone like me will ever know the answers to these questions.
Were money problems themselves part of the reason for his suicide? Was he resentful about having to pay out of pocket specifically to end his own misery?
It's a mystery.
Or, maybe he didn't have to do any financial decision-making at all because he already had a BART ticket that he used with fare still left on it.
I'd really like to know. It has been bugging me all this time.
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