Analysis Of The Golden Gate Bridge By Kevin Briggs

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The Golden Gate Bridge is well known for its beauty, but is often used as a jumping place. The chief engineer of it stated “The bridge is practically suicide-proof. Suicide from the bridge is neither practical nor probable.” (qtd. by Strauss). But, as stated before many have attempted suicide by jumping from the bridge. Kevin Briggs uses personal experiences to establish his credibility as an expert of the topic and to help those who are contemplating suicide or those who know someone that is considering it. Briggs establishes his credibility by telling stories of suicide attempts while patrolling the California Highway, which includes the Golden Gate Bridge. He says that he has been called hundreds of times in the twenty-three years he worked …show more content…
The myth that Briggs includes implies that when jumping from the bridge the fall will take all of the pain you have faced and once you hit the water it will cleanse your soul. What really happens is more of a painful death. He explains it as so, “After a free fall of four to five seconds, the body strikes the water at about 75 miles an hour. That impact shatters bones,some of which then puncture vital organs. Most die on impact. Those that don 't generally flail in the water helplessly, and then drown.” (qtd. in Briggs). Briggs then shows a picture of a young lady standing on the cord, 32 inches of steel on the edge of the bridge, and states that this is where many stand before they jump. Briggs and a few Police officers were able to persuade her back over the railing. He includes how hard it is to do this. He states that it is not the talking you do that matters, but the listening. Kevin Bertha made him realize this. Briggs was called to the Golden Gate Bridge and when he arrived he saw Kevin Bertha standing near the North Tower. Once Briggs was spotted Bertha climbed over the railing. Briggs listened to him for about an hour and Bertha decided later on to climb back over the railing. Kevin Briggs makes sure to mention that he did this himself, and when he was asked why he came back over the railing Bertha says it was because …show more content…
The audience applauded Kevin Briggs for his amazing speech consisting of his many experiences with suicide. Briggs is an expert of the topic suicide because of these experiences and he helped many people with suicide by posting this Ted Talk. In the comments below his Ted Talk he is thanked by many people that have either contemplated suicide or had been affected by suicide. Many mention their stories dealing with suicide and how Kevin Briggs had helped them or would have helped

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