TN man pulls a Budd Dwyer
October 5, 2007 5:23 AM Subscribe
Ronald 'Bo' Ward killed himself at a city council meeting in Clarksville, TN. Ward was the owner of a barber shop who said he would lose his business if the council didn't vote to rezone his property to commercial. After council vote 5-7 not to rezone his property, Ward said: 'Y'all have put me under ... I'm out of here," pulled a gun from his pocket and shot himself in the head. NYT story
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is kind of hard to see as anything other than rubbernecking, it's flagged to shit, and subthread of LOLSUICIDE/LOLDWYER is pretty much sealing the deal. -- cortex
Oops, forgot to mention: There's a paragraph in the middle of the story that reads like a folksy ad for the barbershop. Very incongruous.
posted by DU at 5:30 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by DU at 5:30 AM on October 5, 2007
What a cock.
posted by billysumday at 5:33 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by billysumday at 5:33 AM on October 5, 2007
That is so utterly useless, he will be forgot and with him his struggle. Yet I can't imagine how he felt cornered, helpless and alone.
posted by elpapacito at 5:34 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by elpapacito at 5:34 AM on October 5, 2007
A chump kills himself. Hardly worth noting.
posted by Henry C. Mabuse at 5:35 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by Henry C. Mabuse at 5:35 AM on October 5, 2007
From the 1st link - His $9 haircuts were a bit pricier than some, but satisfied customers were the heart of his business.
posted by Poolio at 5:35 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by Poolio at 5:35 AM on October 5, 2007
This was the first link on CNN.com this morning. The link on CNN provided just about as much information as the NYT link, which is marginally worse than the clarksvilleonline link.
A sad situation, but I don't think it was the city council who put him under. It might have been poor business planning or unavoidable market conditions.
Was there something else you wanted to add here? Is there a bigger point you're trying to illustrate this morning, or did you just want to point us to the same story on two different news sites?
Oh, and from DU's Wiki article: "The song "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by the industrial rock group Filter was composed as a reaction to Budd Dwyer's suicide. You know who else committed suicide?
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 5:37 AM on October 5, 2007
A sad situation, but I don't think it was the city council who put him under. It might have been poor business planning or unavoidable market conditions.
Was there something else you wanted to add here? Is there a bigger point you're trying to illustrate this morning, or did you just want to point us to the same story on two different news sites?
Oh, and from DU's Wiki article: "The song "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by the industrial rock group Filter was composed as a reaction to Budd Dwyer's suicide. You know who else committed suicide?
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 5:37 AM on October 5, 2007
Clarksville isn't exactly a tiny town (and we don't want you comin' 'round!), but, at 100,000 residents, it's not exactly a metropolis, either. Due to the politics of smaller cities, there may be unknown entanglements which might very well lead a desperate individual to feel he was "owed" some consideration. I don't think it's an "attitude," precisely, especially as he was more than a little unhinged, so maybe don't play the "Hey Man, Nice Shot" card so quick.
posted by adipocere at 5:38 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by adipocere at 5:38 AM on October 5, 2007
9 $ haircuts!? I pay more than twice that and feel like cheap bastard.
With the crappy dollar value and all that is still a lot cheaper than I expected for foreign haircuts. Cutting peoples hair for money like that I would be pretty desperate too.
posted by uandt at 5:40 AM on October 5, 2007
With the crappy dollar value and all that is still a lot cheaper than I expected for foreign haircuts. Cutting peoples hair for money like that I would be pretty desperate too.
posted by uandt at 5:40 AM on October 5, 2007
spikelee...: I don't think it was the suicide that made it notable -- it was the fact that he did it in front of everybody at a big meeting to make a point.
posted by strangeguitars at 5:41 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by strangeguitars at 5:41 AM on October 5, 2007
I don't think it's an "attitude," precisely...
Ever heard of the MPAA and RIAA? Among many others.
posted by DU at 5:43 AM on October 5, 2007
Ever heard of the MPAA and RIAA? Among many others.
posted by DU at 5:43 AM on October 5, 2007
I bet the others at the meeting were mightily relieved that he already had a target.
posted by mattoxic at 5:52 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by mattoxic at 5:52 AM on October 5, 2007
A chump kills himself. Hardly worth noting.
Yeah, if only all the mentally ill people would top themselves we'd all be better off.
posted by biffa at 6:00 AM on October 5, 2007
Yeah, if only all the mentally ill people would top themselves we'd all be better off.
posted by biffa at 6:00 AM on October 5, 2007
His poor wife was there.
Also: "All items in this portion of the agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the Council and may be approved by one motion..."
posted by pracowity at 6:06 AM on October 5, 2007
Also: "All items in this portion of the agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the Council and may be approved by one motion..."
posted by pracowity at 6:06 AM on October 5, 2007
I heard about this on my morning drive. My money is on gambling debt.
posted by butterstick at 6:08 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by butterstick at 6:08 AM on October 5, 2007
This is deeply reminiscent of the Bath School Bombing, wherein a city treasurer took extreme offense at a property tax. Also notable is the "Killdozer" incident in Colorado in 2004, which was also set off by a zoning dispute.
posted by mek at 6:12 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by mek at 6:12 AM on October 5, 2007
Reminds me of this, which I only heard about recently (despite being 14 at the time?!).
This also made me think of "Budd" Dwyer, this AskMe post: 'Can anybody point me to a video of someone talking about his/her suicidal intentions?' with its related MetaTalk -- Suicide Video Link and the Christine Chubbuck MeFi FPP.
posted by ericb at 6:16 AM on October 5, 2007
This also made me think of "Budd" Dwyer, this AskMe post: 'Can anybody point me to a video of someone talking about his/her suicidal intentions?' with its related MetaTalk -- Suicide Video Link and the Christine Chubbuck MeFi FPP.
posted by ericb at 6:16 AM on October 5, 2007
The labelling of the links to digg/reddit etc under the clarksvilleonline article as "Share and Enjoy" seems slightly distasteful.
posted by patricio at 6:18 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by patricio at 6:18 AM on October 5, 2007
I used to pay $5 for a Chinese lady to cut my hair in her basement. She was nice enough, but English wasn't her first language so there was always some confusion about what I wanted done. Usually every other hair cut would be good. Still, at $5 a pop I didn't feel I had the right to complain.
posted by chunking express at 6:33 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by chunking express at 6:33 AM on October 5, 2007
What's the point here?
posted by strawberryviagra at 6:37 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by strawberryviagra at 6:37 AM on October 5, 2007
Wow, that's sad.
Still, if you're going to kill yourself in a dramatic fashion over some petty local government screwing you over, building a giant bulldozer of death is really the only reasonable thing to do.
posted by delmoi at 6:40 AM on October 5, 2007
Still, if you're going to kill yourself in a dramatic fashion over some petty local government screwing you over, building a giant bulldozer of death is really the only reasonable thing to do.
posted by delmoi at 6:40 AM on October 5, 2007
You always have options.
posted by MarshallPoe at 6:41 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by MarshallPoe at 6:41 AM on October 5, 2007
I saw this news in my local TV station morning show. Did not realize it was going to go National.
posted by dov3 at 6:45 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by dov3 at 6:45 AM on October 5, 2007
What a cock.
A chump kills himself. Hardly worth noting.
Y'all are cold.
posted by Jess the Mess at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2007
A chump kills himself. Hardly worth noting.
Y'all are cold.
posted by Jess the Mess at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2007
Did not realize it was going to go National.
Are you kidding? TV news folks love this kind of thing. They're frantically bargaining for the footage from the council chamber cameras as we speak.
posted by mediareport at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2007
Are you kidding? TV news folks love this kind of thing. They're frantically bargaining for the footage from the council chamber cameras as we speak.
posted by mediareport at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2007
butterstick: My money is on gambling debt.
I LOL'd before I nodded.
posted by localroger at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2007
I LOL'd before I nodded.
posted by localroger at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2007
Pulls a Bud Dwyer? Yeesh.
It is weird that this is on Metafilter.
posted by thirteenkiller at 6:56 AM on October 5, 2007
It is weird that this is on Metafilter.
posted by thirteenkiller at 6:56 AM on October 5, 2007
Jeez this makes me scared to get a job in urban planning now.
posted by desjardins at 7:03 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by desjardins at 7:03 AM on October 5, 2007
How 'bout a little off the sides, Bo?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:04 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:04 AM on October 5, 2007
You always have options.
Like taking a few of the fuckers with you when you go?
9 $ haircuts!? I pay more than twice that and feel like cheap bastard.
According to Forbes, the average price of a haircut in the USA is $45. In 1974, this site found the most common price at a men's barber was $14. The cheapest they could find was $12. With styling and shampoo, it tended to cost between $30 and $40.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:05 AM on October 5, 2007
Like taking a few of the fuckers with you when you go?
9 $ haircuts!? I pay more than twice that and feel like cheap bastard.
According to Forbes, the average price of a haircut in the USA is $45. In 1974, this site found the most common price at a men's barber was $14. The cheapest they could find was $12. With styling and shampoo, it tended to cost between $30 and $40.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:05 AM on October 5, 2007
The major differences in this and the Bud Dwyer suicide was that the camera was on Bud for at least 5 minutes while he bled to death. You could see all the pain go away while the deathbird flew him home. He looked as calm as a sleeping baby minus the blood gushing from his nose.
posted by doctorschlock at 7:07 AM on October 5, 2007
posted by doctorschlock at 7:07 AM on October 5, 2007
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It's sad the guy felt he had no other out, but I don't understand this attitude that business owners have that the government owes them a profit.
posted by DU at 5:29 AM on October 5, 2007