Jackass Star Ryan Dunn died on Monday by driving his Porsche 911 at 130mph (almost three times the limit) into a tree whilst seemingly drunk.
After countless years of anti-drink driving and anti-speeding campaigning, there is no excuse for any adult human being to think that there is no risk involved to themselves and others and as such, to attempt to call this tragic – when it is frankly just idiotic – is in my mind unacceptable.
I am not attempting to claim that his death is sad in the way that the death of every human being is sad – the repercussions on their friends, family and dependants – because the death of any person is sad in these respects.
Dunn’s death instead is sad in the way that we as a society have encouraged him to behave in this manner. This is a man whose employment was through putting toy cars up his anus, from jumping off balconies or onto moving cars.
We (and I include myself in this) have been paying this man – and handsomely so, I would imagine – to take risks with his health and his life, and so it is only natural that he along with the rest of the Jackass team live their lives on the edge.
Whilst the act that killed Dunn and his companion was an idiotic one, some of the blame must lie with the culture that pays people to act in this way.