Man kills self in front of City Council after zoning decision

CNN ^ | 10/5/2007 | AP

[thefactor]

you know those are song lyrics, right? that song fits this situation pretty spot on.

[ReignOfError]

Suppose it's 1400 and there's no one waiting for a haircut. A young serviceman comes in and says he needs a haircut and can't afford it. So Bo gives him one anyway, and says to pay when he can. Sure, he could have told him to get lost, but he chose to provide the haircut anyway. That's not being a bad businessman, it's being selfless.

I wouldn't even say it's selfless -- it's good business. That GI will tell his friends, and they'll tell their friends.

A personal anecdote: The summer I spent in DC, there was a little sandwich shop on Capitol Hill with a sign behind the counter that said "If I don't remember what you ordered for lunch yesterday, today's lunch is free!" I never saw anyone take him up on that.

One day, I hadn't been to the ATM and was out of cash. There was a $10 minimum for credit cards, and my lunch was only $4 and change. You can't charge lottery tickets. So I was hunting around for chips and other snacks, things I could toss in a desk drawer for later, tp bring my total above $10. The guy waved his hand and said "Just pay me tomorrow."

Of course, I went back for lunch the next day, and paid for both lunches. I went back many, many times that summer. I could have blown the guy off, but then I couldn't show my face in there again, and they made great sandwiches.

The sandwich shop owner risked losing four and a half bucks and gained a loyal customer; sounds like good business to me.

[ReignOfError]

My bad. I just checked Google Earth, and it’s my mistake, not theirs — I overlooked the A.

[BlazingArizona]

Interstingly enough, most of the Islamic world would agree with that general statement.

No, the Islamic world would want the barber to take the whole roomful of people with him. They would want him to take the whole roomful of the dispute had been a parking ticket.

[NativeSon]

All other sacrifice and good works are parlayed into evil by the Adversary who seeks to be worshiped as God Himself in a counterfeit substitute for what God Himself has already provided, once and for all.
Chr*st's sacrifice?

I am not Christian but I value Christian ideals and the Christian Faith. A Freeper tagline of something like - our God died for us, the Muslim faith requires that you die for their God, says much.

Thank you for sharing this, I will remember your words.

[GunRunner]

Yes, I know the song well. I went to high school in the mid 90’s.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I don’t know but I’ll bet this man had his home barber shop for a long time with no trouble, maybe without zoning or deed restriction and the city council decided to change

That's not what happened, though. The barbershop was on Ft. Campbell Blvd, the house on Madison. He wanted the house rezoned commercial so he could take out a bigger loan against it, in order to pay back the loan he'd taken to expand the shop.

[VaBthang4]

"it's about time some of these zoning committees got a look at the consequences of their decisions."

Oh please.

The guy had allot more problems then some rezoning issue.

Sad, but he was selfish and wrong.

[VaBthang4]

Lady please.

The ONLY person responsible for this Man, is this man.

[darthyorktown]

Poor Guy. My neighbor is going through the same kind of situation right now.

[BearCub]

So is the theft of a person's livelihood—which is what had just happened to the guy.

Huh? Nobody stole anything from him. He unreasonably wanted his HOME rezoned COMMERCIAL. It had nothing to do with his barber shop, which was at a different location. Now I don't know where his home was or if he had neighbors, but who among us would want the house next door zoned commercial?

[Ditter]

Thanks for the clarification. That is not how it sounded from the article.

[Diamond]

Says who? Maybe he was under stress and not right but maybe he did it for a cause? Fighting government infringment on our rights.

The defintion of the word, "martyr" presupposes that the killing or suffering is not self-inflicted:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mar·tyr      /ˈmɑrtər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mahr-ter] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

1.	a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her religion.

2.	a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause: a martyr to the cause of social justice.

3.	a person who undergoes severe or constant suffering: a martyr to severe headaches.

4.	a person who seeks sympathy or attention by feigning or exaggerating pain, deprivation, etc.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to make a martyr of, esp. by putting to death.

6.	to torment or torture.

---

[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME marter, OE martyr < LL < LGk mártyr, var. of Gk mártys, mártyros witness; (v.) ME martiren, OE martyrian, deriv. of n.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
martyr 

O.E., from L.L., from Gk. martyr, earlier martys (gen. martyros) in Christian use "martyr," lit. "witness," probably related to mermera "care, trouble," from mermairein "be anxious or thoughtful," from PIE *(s)mrtu- (cf. Skt. smarati "remember," L. memor "mindful;" see memory). Adopted directly into most Gmc. languages, but O.N. substituted native formation pislarvattr, lit. "torture-witness." Martyr complex "exaggerated desire for self-sacrifice" is attested from 1931.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

So, if a member of the City Council had pulled out a pistol and shot him for his re-zoning application then you might have a martyr.

dying or sacrificing one's life for a belief or just cause is admirable.

It might be; it might not be. Depends on what the cause is, I suppose. I cannot think of very many instances where deliberately taking one's own life for a cause is admirable, but certainly not over a zoning decision. Hitler took his own life too, for a cause. Was he a martyr?

I think skimask is probably on the right track with #91 regarding indicators of suicide. I would guess that this man had other issues going on mentally and emotionally, rather than his killing himself purely out of fighting what he may have thought was government tyranny.

Cordially,

[JTHomes]

Useless, without zoning or other regulation, the sky is the limit

no, no, no; his right to swing his fist ends where my nose begins, so to speak. And that is a better rule of thumb than any zoning code could possibly be written for. If my neighbor creates a permanent situation that interferes with my reasonable enjoyment or value of my property, then I have a civil case I can make. We need to get away from the constant creep of government micro-management of our lives.

and all commonsense left to the discretion of the property owner.

RIGHT! That is called FREEDOM! It is a GOOD thing!

[trumandogz]

Those people in that room were not innocent.

Not innocent? Do you have information that the other people in the room conspired to kill Bo and make it look like a suicide?

How about the kids in the room last night? Are the children who were at the meeting somehow guilty of Bo's murder?

[trumandogz]

Those people in that room were not innocent.

Not innocent? Do you have information that the other people in the room conspired to kill Bo and make it look like a suicide?

How about the kids in the room last night? Are the children who were at the meeting somehow guilty of Bo's murder?

[Enterprise]

"That's not what happened, though. The barbershop was on Ft. Campbell Blvd, the house on Madison. He wanted the house rezoned commercial so he could take out a bigger loan against it, in order to pay back the loan he'd taken to expand the shop."

IMHO - that was the best and most clear explanation on the thread!! Thanks.

[HarleyD]

This is simply hypothetical. What we know is that 1) he was well known for giving servicemen free haircuts from time to time, and 2) he expanded his business and couldn’t meet the bills. We don't know the frequency of giving free haircuts or how much he spent on renovations. But those two issues presented him with a problem in making a profit. You have to stop giving free haircuts, raise your prices and let others pay for those haircuts, or sell your business and work for someone else. I don’t think shooting one-self is the best solution.

[Realism]

no, no, no; his right to swing his fist ends where my nose begins, so to speak.

Yeah, as long as you keep your nose on your side of the property line.

[ßuddaßudd]

Hey Man, Nice Shot