And why are we assuming he is priveliged?

Some families could never afford a motorsport habit, regardless of how hard they worked. I’d go so far as to say ‘most’ families couldn’t.

I was watching this with my parents, he basically rear ended a crashed car at full speed! Very sorry for the lad.

I don’t normally watch any car based racing, but I was a bit shocked at what goes on in the lower levels of car motorsport, there where more cars on the grass than on the track for most of it!

Think its great that some people want to help. 🙂

and you lot are debating how bad it really is for him? What a bunch of tossers

maybe it’s better to decide individually and privately if we wish to donate or not, and not take the discussion in a direction of who’s worthy or not?

illuminating that people can read the same thread completely differently. I think there is an interesting debate to be had, especially around the likes of justgiving pages and the differing levels of publicity different victims receive. Who can name another victim of the last London attack other than PC Keith Palmer without resorting to Google, and how much did their justgiving pages raise? (and I’m a serving police officer before I derail the thread by being completely misinterpreted or accused of missing the point). This accident is getting national media attention because it’s motorsport and big-name F1 drivers are getting behind it- how many 17yr olds have suffered life-changing injuries in conventional road accidents in the last 12 months, and how many made anything more than the local paper?

As above. I’m discussing attitudes to disabilities, didn’t think that was a tossery thing to be doing.

Better than a head injury and being a dribbling vegetable. Better than quite a few things actually

Nope, that’s just you saying comparing his injuries to others for no apparent reason. ”Tis but a scratch I assume? Your earlier justification doesn’t even make sense as no one had mentioned donations when you made your first post.

The thread was started with the OP talking about it being a shitty thing to happen. Then descended rapidly into judging whether or not he deserves money. Which is a shit attitude, and for all we know the money will help other people’s causes anyway

Edit: cant help but feel there’s a whiff or jealousy around this thread

Nope, that’s just you saying comparing his injuries to others for no apparent reason.

The reason’s not apparent to you, no.

I did go on to clarify it. From what I gather, disabled people generally don’t want pity.. so a pity thread seemed to warrant a comment along those lines.

I bet if he is any good he will be racing cars before long again.

He knew the consequences, I bet he doesnt regret it for one moment.

A soldier who lost both his legs from an IED in Afghanistan was interviewed on Five Live this morning. He’s already been in touch with the young lads family, and spoke to his mother about offering him support.

His attitude was ‘you just get on with it’

I’m going to try to not moan about anything else today

With modern prosthetic science moving forwards at a huge rate, and the adoption of not just mechatronic limbs, but integrated ones (ie controlled by the persons nervous system), loosing both legs is not, i suspect, quite the same as it once was, not that many years ago. So, yeah, it’s horrible, but he knew the risks imo.

(you’ve only got to look at Martyn Ashton to see how to do a ‘life after significant injury’ )

loosing both legs is not, i suspect, quite the same as it once was

really ? I know which I would rather have.

However if when ski racing in a younger life I had broken my back etc I would have just accepted it and moved on, you make your choices in life…

As above. I’m discussing attitudes to disabilities, didn’t think that was a tossery thing to be doing.

Maybe you should work on your delivery then.

Because your first reply to the OP had a massive stench of Tosser about it.

(You’ve backtracked to try and justify it since, but that how it came across)

I think there is an interesting debate to be had, especially around the likes of justgiving pages and the differing levels of publicity different victims receive.

Amen to that and +several million

Maybe you should work on your delivery then.

Because your first reply to the OP had a massive stench of Tosser about it.

(You’ve backtracked to try and justify it since, but that how it came across)

This is inconsistent. You acknowledge that the meaning might be lost in communication, which is fair enough; but then you say I’m backtracking, which implies I actually meant to be a tosser then tried to pretend otherwise.

But anyway, this is derailing the thread. I’m not a tosser, that’s all I have to say on that subject 🙂

Back to disability.

Horror crash, and I imagine the 90mins being trapped in the car took him to some pretty dark places. Not sure I’d have been too concerned with other people who may or may not be worse off if I were in the same situation.

Brightening things up a bit, if he still wants to race, there’s definitely the tech there to allow him to do so, if this is anything to go by. The people who made the electronics for that lego paper place launcher, work on other, bigger projects..

https://www.wired.com/2014/05/sam-schmidt-quadriplegic-driver/

His justgiving is currently just shy of £500k.

Forget the charity bit for now. It’s a horrific experience for this lad to go through and whilst it’s always a risk in his chosen sport, it’s not one he probably thought likely. Just getting through the event itself is tough, let alone re-adjustment and re-defining his future. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what money or support he has got and from where – it’s going to be an enormously difficult journey and I am sorry anyone has to go through that.

http://kittypat-daily.tumblr.com/image/159196883146

This seems sort of relevant to the crowdfunder thing. Can’t figure out how to direct link to tumblr though

Horror crash, and I imagine the 90mins being trapped in the car took him to some pretty dark places. Not sure I’d have been too concerned with other people who may or may not be worse off if I were in the same situation.

agree.

it’s going to be an enormously difficult journey and I am sorry anyone has to go through that.

agree.

But given all the similar cases you/we don’t hear about, would/should you donate to his justgiving page, or to, say, a charity that supports amputees or spinal injuries?

It’s a horrific experience for this lad to go through and whilst it’s always a risk in his chosen sport, it’s not one he probably thought likely.

I don’t know about you, but when I was that age I thought I was absolutely bloody indestructible. Something that continued into my 20’s, where I got into an alarmingly regular habit of chucking motorbikes down the road at high speed.

I look back as a boring terrified old duffer now, and wonder how the **** I made it to 25 alive.

There but for the grace of god, and all that

There’s basically bugger all money in Motorsport for most of the people involved – not even an F1 drive means money, a lot of them are paying to be there either in cash or by having their own sponsors who pay the team on their behalf, although a lot of people involved in motorsport are very wealthy from other things – it’s still partly the realm of the ‘playboy’.

Whether you want to donate is entirely up to you – he may be from a privileged background, he may not be. Neither Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are from wealthy families – not poor, but not wealthy either.

Ultimately these sorts of things are about a ‘community’ coming together to help one of their own – like we did for Martyn Ashton.

In this case I’ve decided not to donate, for a couple of reasons – the main one being they’re £200k over target already, and he’s been supported by both Lewis Hamilton (Net worth c£100m and total career earnings estimated at £200m) and Jenson Button (net worth £60m or so) and seemingly most of the rest of the F1 grid.

I really feel sorry for the kid, but even at his age he’s put everything on the line to do what he loves and it’s cost him, he knew the risks and I hope in time he’ll learn to accept them or it’ll haunt him forever.

This is inconsistent…… etc

Sorry, I wasn’t clear in my meaning.

I don’t believe you.

I don’t believe in your first post you we’re trying to debate how disabled people feel about sympathy.

That’s just what you said afterwards when people called you out on your shitty response.

Hope that clears things up.

I don’t believe he was either,no-one can be that deluded and up themselves surely.

Crashtestmonkey +1

would/should you donate to his justgiving page, or to, say, a charity that supports amputees or spinal injuries?

That’s an entirely personal decision and criticising that choice is a bit like criticising how someone chooses to vote……

Just goes to show the arbitrary, and rather random nature of the causes we support and don’t.

I’d suggest very few people put thought into it- just follow whatever tugs at their heartstrings/emgages their interest for a few seconds..

I don’t believe in your first post you we’re trying to debate how disabled people feel about sympathy.

That’s just what you said afterwards when people called you out on your shitty response.

Not sure how anyone could be that much of a dick to directly accuse someone of lying to save face on an internet forum, even though I regularly post thoughtful debate of exactly this kind. But whatevs, your mind is made up, enjoy it.

EDIT actually.. what do you think my original motiviation would be for the first post? Interested.

There’s a bloke begging on the street here in Glasgow with no legs. Where’s his half a mil?

NB this post is intended to provoke thought about those who are worse off than this lad but who are largely ignored by society.

Just watched the crash video. I think he can class himself as overall fairly lucky, that was horrific and I think if he’d been in a formula Ford the thread would have been very different. (Devils advocate – it might not a resulted in a thread at all)

But whatevs, your mind is made up, enjoy it.

EDIT actually.. what do you think my original motiviation would be for the first post? Interested.

Not just his mind.

‘Big-hitter, attention seeking, arguementative, I know better than thou’ would seem suitable motivation.

There’s a bloke begging on the street here in Glasgow with no legs. Where’s his half a mil?

Jesus wept you just dont stop do you? Was he in a massively publicised incident? Doesn’t mean he’s less worthy, just means that his message/story has reached far fewer people and/or it’s had less of an impact on those it has reached. From what I can see, nobody is arguing this other than you….against you.

Molgrips, Im rather perplexed by how some of the right wingers like neal get in a huff about crticising dubious charity – but then revel in the Tories getting in.

I think theres some “deserving poor/disabled” sentiment going on.

I’m a cynical **** though.

Do you think it’s fair that this guy gets a huge sum of cash and the homeless guy gets leftover chips if he’s lucky?

Should the young lad be a higher priority for our charitable donations?

wtf does “fair” have to do with it? One was in a televised accident for all to see, the other has a story unkown. If there hadn’t been cameras at Donnington maybe he would get less (note that he hasn’t asked for anything) and if the Glasgow guy happened to have someone nearby when his incident happened he might have got more. Thems the breaks.

Likewise with your second stupid question. An incident that has a high impact story and wide coverage is obviously going to do better than someone who has none of this.

I wonder if you’d be such an arse about this if it was a jnr XC racer, getting ‘some’ coverage and a background you can’t necessarily assume?

EDIT: this is all meant to be thought provoking in case someone doesn’t like it.

Molgrips, Im rather perplexed by how some of the right wingers like neal get in a huff about crticising dubious charity – but then revel in the Tories getting in.

You will have to show your working there I’m afraid, as your conclusions are very dubious.

1. I’m not in a huff.
2. I’ve not mentioned anything about dubious charity, or my thoughts either way.
3. I’m not remotely right wing
4. I’m not aware that I’ve ever mentioned Tories, or my thoughts regarding them “getting in”

Other than all that though, wow, you were spot on 🙄

Thems the breaks

And with that, all is lost.

EDIT actually.. what do you think my original motiviation would be for the first post? Interested.

Just seemed like you were being a dick.

Hardly rare for people to be attention seekers on the internet, taking an alternative stance just for the sake of it.

All the manic “thought provocation” posts since have been a great cover up though, keep it up 😉

Blimey, some tempers on here today.

Just seemed like you were being a dick.

Why would I want to do that? Is that likely given that I spent most of my time on these argument threads trying nicely to persuade people not to be dicks?

When reading internet forums, imagine we are all sitting in a room, face to face, and there is no threatening body language or angry faces and people are smiling and relaxed. It really helps.

When reading internet forums, imagine we are all sitting in a room, face to face, and there is no threatening body language or angry faces and people are smiling and relaxed. It really helps.

Ok. I’ll give that a go, *closes eyes and pictures the scene*

look at this poor lad, lost both his legs in a car accident!

Better than a head injury and being a dribbling vegetable. Better than quite a few things actually.

[/quote]

No. Sorry.

Still sounds like a dickish thing to say.

Giving money is always an odd thing.
– There will be people donating here while in a few weeks voting in a Tory government who are trying to take away anything they can from poverty level disabled people.
– There will be people donating that are very rich and avoid paying taxes that would be used to pay towards benefits for many disabled peoples.

Guessing they are not thinking of that at the time…

Still sounds like a dickish thing to say.

Then I apologise.