Who's a hero now? (NYT reg. required) It has been a year since the 9 miners in Quecreek were rescued after spending 77 hours underground. One of the rescuers, Bob Long, recently committed suicide. He was the only rescuer to get cut in on the $150,000 deal from Disney. According to the linked NYT article:
Vaughn Donaldson, district chief of the fire department in Midland, Tex., knows very well the stress that traumatic events, combined with sudden celebrity, can put on people. In the years after the rescue of baby Jessica from the well in Texas, Donaldson watched the man who saved her, Robert O'Donnell, become a national hero, before declining into substance abuse; seven years after the rescue, he shot himself. There have also been suicides among rescuers at Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center. ''Whenever you elevate one person as a hero, you necessarily leave others out, and that leads to jealousy and alienation,'' says Donaldson, who speaks to fire and police departments all over the country.
Hmm, That's enough to make you hesitate the next time you see someone who is in trouble.
Vaughn Donaldson, district chief of the fire department in Midland, Tex., knows very well the stress that traumatic events, combined with sudden celebrity, can put on people. In the years after the rescue of baby Jessica from the well in Texas, Donaldson watched the man who saved her, Robert O'Donnell, become a national hero, before declining into substance abuse; seven years after the rescue, he shot himself. There have also been suicides among rescuers at Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center. ''Whenever you elevate one person as a hero, you necessarily leave others out, and that leads to jealousy and alienation,'' says Donaldson, who speaks to fire and police departments all over the country.
Hmm, That's enough to make you hesitate the next time you see someone who is in trouble.
