High School student dies after playing 'the choking game'

[undeterred]

At 17, Macklin “Mack” Jensen was getting ready to compete at a national wrestling tournament in Fargo, N.D. Jensen also played rugby, like his father, Dan, had played years ago, and one of his teams won a national championship June 18 in Colorado. “He loved life,” said Dan Jensen. “Anybody that knew him could see that he had lots of life.”

Mack, who would’ve been a senior at Columbus High School this fall, died Friday while participating in “the choking game,” also called “space monkey” or “gasp.” The game typically is played by adolescents who strangle themselves or have others push on their chests in order to feel light-headed for a few seconds, according to GASP, a campaign organized by parents of victims to educate about the dangers of the game.

Dan Jensen said he and Mack’s mother, Joan, weren’t aware of the game before Mack’s death and have since learned how prevalent it is, especially among young athletes. He said he and his wife have been trying to spread the word to other parents about the choking game so they can talk about it with their kids.

Most children who have died from this phenomenon were active and intelligent people who don’t want to risk getting caught with drugs or alcohol, according to GASP.

“This happened to a kid that was a good student, shied away from drugs and had a ton of friends,” Dan Jensen said. “If it happens to our kid, it can happen to anybody.”

It’s difficult to track statistics because the cases are often reported as suicides, but it is estimated as many as 250 to 1,000 young people die in the United States each year playing some variant of the game, according to the Web site.

In addition to rugby and what his father called his passion, wrestling, Mack had played baseball, football and had been on a swimming team. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and played saxophone in the marching band at Columbus High School.

Jim Stadler, the wrestling coach at Columbus High School, said he knew Mack since he was involved in youth wrestling and had seen him grow up since he started elementary school. “He was an all-around class act,” Stadler said. “He wanted to do the best he could, and I think he did that in everything.”

http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/458095



I never heard of this- apparently its something teenagers like to try. :banghead:

[juno jones]

1. My husband has a few stories to tell about a neighborhood character

simply known to the other kids as 'Sparky'. He used to choke himself for the buzz. It got to the point where his brain was so damaged from oxygen loss that he would simply pass out spontaneously at the weirdest moments.

The stories are kinda funny from the perspective of a childhood remembered, but the reality of someone who would do this is tragic.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Oh for fucking fuck's sake.

[Cha]

23. I know..n/t

[JVS]

3. Sometimes you lose at the choking game.

[sharesunited]

4. Scarfing.

Almost exclusively a boy thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarfing

[NightWatcher]

5. someone give these kids a joint and save their lives

[Tansy_Gold]

6. Amen.

[Burma Jones]

10. +1

[bigwillq]

13. .....

:thumbsup:

[Ignis]

21. Think of the children!

:smoke:

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. I have talked to my kids about this in the past, but I think I will remind them again

not to do it. Their little egos are pretty tied up in their intellect, and talking about things like choking and huffing which can kill off brain cells and make you stupid (or dead) doesn't seem to appeal to them so far. (Except for the one time I caught them playing with a can of compressed air. I think I put an end to that, though.)

[undeterred]

8. Helpful website here

http://www.stop-the-choking-game.com

I told a friend of mine who has two sons and he says they tried it in the 7th grade before he found out about it. They are ok. I've never heard of it until this news story. Such a waste of life.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Thanks for that. I will definitely look at it after the kiddos go to bed.

[Stevenmarc]

11. “He wanted to do the best he could, and I think he did that in everything.”

Well obviously not everything

[Laelth]

12. The drinking age needs to be lowered and the driving age raised.

This is ridiculous and sad.

:dem:

-Laelth

[apocalypsehow]

15. Don't go posting common sense in public - the "their brains aren't developed till they're 50" crowd

will pounce on your common-sense suggestion like Palin on a clothing allowance.

[Laelth]

18. I'm not opposed to them legally being allowed to smoke a joint, either.

As was suggested by a poster up-thread, but we need massive investment in public transportation to make this practical.

In fact, that would be ideal.

:dem:

-Laelth

[CakeGrrl]

14. Sounds like a chaste version of autoerotic asphyxiation

I wonder how many more attempts would be made if they went full-bore?

It's hard to guard against a practice that's free and not illegal.

[HubertHeaver]

16. It's nothing new. It was introduced to our grade school

in 1958. After a person passes out they typically thrash around and do funny (or so we thought) things. Quite popular until we thought a girl wasn't going to wake up. She did wake up and wanted to know what she did while she was unconscious.

[timeforpeace]

17. Darwin

[Arkana]

25. You know, I thought the exact same thing. Darwin Award, anyone?

[MrSlayer]

19. The idiots in my neighborhood used to do this when I was a kid.

I never participated but I did laugh at the fools. They also played "body shots" and "chest" where you would take turns punching each other as hard as you could until someone couldn't take it anymore. Really, really dumb shit.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

20. Next they'll be hanging themselves in a Bangkok hotel room.....

....too soon?

[Roon]

22. We used to do elevators

You back up to the wall and squat on your heels..then you spend about a half minute panting and breathng in deep as fast as you can...then you take a bonghit and stand up real quick while a friend presses your chest...nitey nite....

[Arkana]

24. "Hey, guys--let's play the stabbing and fatal shooting game next!"

[subcomhd]

26. Chocking game? In my day we had

the crying game. You had to join the IRA, accidentally get your British hostage killed, fall in love with said soldiers' girlfriend, discover she was a tranny, have a gay panic, realize you still had feelings for her all the while protecting the two of you from your old IRA comrades.

Much more Dangerous

[UndertheOcean]

27. "shied away from drugs" , maybe if someone gave the kid a joint

that would have satisfied his curiosity about getting high.

[Pool Hall Ace]

28. Holy hell. This has to be scary stuff for parents to read about.

When I was a teen, all I did was smoke weed and drink beer. Pretty lightweight stuff, compared to this!

[undeterred]

29. It simulates fainting.

I fainted a few times when I was a teenager, and there was absolutely no 'high' associated with it. Just a weird feeling. It never would have a occurred to me to do it on purpose. Apparently kids as young as 9 have died from trying this.