MAN DIES AFTER WINNING LIVE ROACH-EATING CONTEST

EDWARD ARCHBOLD’S ROACH-EATING
DEATH RAISES QUESTION: WHY?

www.huffingtonpost.com - As a Florida medical examiner tries to determine how 32-year-old Edward Archbold died after eating insects during a contest to win a snake, people around the country are asking: Why? Why would anyone eat a live cockroach? Why did he die when several others in the contest ate the same bugs without incident? What inspired Archbold - who was described by the snake store owner as “the life of the party” - to shovel handfuls of crickets, worms and cockroaches into his mouth? While eating bugs is normal in many parts of the world, the practice is taboo in the U.S. and many western countries. Yet people do it for the shock factor, and many do so during contests or dares; just last year, folks ate Madagascar cockroaches at a Six Flags in Illinois for a chance to win park passes. Others ate live roaches at the Exploreum Science Center in Mobile, Ala. And at Universal Studios in Orlando, contestants in a theme park show purportedly consumed a mix of sour milk, mystery meat and bugs.

Experts point to the rise in reality TV shows and movies such as “Fear Factor” and “Jackass” as egging people on and breaking down the ick factor. Competitive eaters - like the participants who scarf down hot dogs on Coney Island on the Fourth of July - are quick to distance themselves from stunts like cockroach eating. Competitive eating is regulated, has rules, and always has a licensed emergency medical technician on hand at every event.  Extreme eaters also participate mostly for fame and not material goods - and they train heavily for events. Manza added that amateurs don’t “think things through” when throwing themselves into weird and possibly dangerous competitions. What made Archbold participate in the bug-eating contest is a bit unclear. “All insects, if you are allergic to a particular insect, you can have an allergic response to it. Whether he had an allergic sensitivity to a wide variety of insects or just to roaches, there is no way of telling,” said Coby Schal, a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University.

A 32-year-old Florida (USA) man has died after eating “dozens of roaches and worms” in a roach-eating contest. He won the contest but before he could leave with his prize, a female Ivory Ball python, he began throwing up and then collapsed. “Folks who participate in extreme events like bug eating are looking for things to make life interesting. At a certain level we’re all looking for things to break up the monotony. We’re striving for something that gives life meaning, something beyond the ordinary. The older you get, you start looking for something else,” said Lou Manza, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. Human life is an opportunity to overcome ignorance and selfishness, and therefore we can not risk losing it.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Currently, it is imposed the general idea that “You have to enjoy the world.”  But the concept of enjoyment is dangerous, self-destructive and, in turn, it makes people to put their lives at risk.  More and more people spend large amounts of money on distractions that have no importance, just to satisfy their desires. ... In the rush to meet happiness artificially, man does foolish things, knowing from experience that is wrong and that ultimately end up disappointed. When people fail to direct their lives successfully and consistently, the need to gratify the senses becomes strong to avoid problems and existential voids. ... However, this type of activity sooner or later, discouraged artificially them, it is a pleasure so brief that fails to meet the expectations of enjoyment. ... We invite you to learn more about the spiritual life, which delivers a superior taste.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Dangerous Fun” - “Fictitious Happiness”
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http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php?n=sabidurias_vedicas.diversiones_peligrosas

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/