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submitted 6 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Yolanda George, mother of Christopher Gilbert, calls on police to make arrest after incident in Louisiana in April

The family of a 26-year-old Louisiana man who has brain damage after a friend allegedly pushed him into a lake despite him being unable to swim is calling on authorities to deliver them justice.

Christopher Gilbert’s family’s pleas came after he nearly drowned on 14 April while at a lakefront restaurant by Lake D’Arbonne in the northern Louisiana town of Farmerville.

Speaking to the local news station KSLA, Gilbert’s mother Yolanda George said: “A friend of his called. She was hysterical, crying on the phone. She told me that Chris had [fallen] into the lake, and he had been underwater for 20 minutes or so.”

George said her son – an aspiring medical doctor – was rescued and taken to a nearby hospital. She added: “The doctor called us in and told me that at that time, he was brain-dead, pretty much, and the rest of his organs were starting to fail, and that we had 72 hours on” life support, though Gilbert later regained consciousness and the ability to eat on his own.

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[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 40 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

a friend allegedly pushed him into a lake

No that was not a friend, that was a psychopath doing harm to others with no thoughts of consequences.
That action is assault, and should be punished as such.

EDIT: To those that defend the girl:
We know, She pushed him, and she didn't rescue him or even attempt it , and we also know she took a very long time to call for help.

  1. He was 26 years old med student, so this is not children playing.
  2. She pushes him in the water.
  3. She fails to rescue him. There's not even anything about an attempt.
  4. She waits a very long time to even call for help.
  5. The family want's justice, and say "We are saying that it was a criminal intentional push into the lake.”"

So based on that make your own judgement on whether she is more likely to be a psychopath than not. She sure behaved like one.

[-] Drusas@kbin.run 26 points 6 months ago

Not every bad decision makes a person a psychopath. You're diluting the meaning of that word.

Shoving a friend into a pool or a lake is pretty common young person behavior. Odds are she feels extremely guilty now. That doesn't mean she shouldn't face consequences for what she did, but there is no indication that she is a psychopath.

[-] Sizzler@slrpnk.net 4 points 6 months ago
[-] Drusas@kbin.run 10 points 6 months ago

I agree that everyone should know how to swim. Unfortunately, it's pretty common for those in poverty to never learn because they have fewer opportunities.

Odds or this person wasn't from a background of poverty, considering that he was studying to be a doctor, but it is a common problem in the US.

[-] Sizzler@slrpnk.net 3 points 6 months ago

Do you not have swimming lessons in school? I hated them, the teacher, the chlorine. I don't like swimming, but if I needed to, I can. I mean, water makes up how much of the earth's surface, seems strange to ignore.

[-] Drusas@kbin.run 11 points 6 months ago

Most public schools do not have pools.

[-] Sizzler@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 months ago

It's funny cos I think of (areas like ca) that have pools galore in the backyards so it would lead to you to expect schools to have them. Scratch that, it's not funny.

[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago

Florida has tons of pools too, and I actually got swimming lessons in elementary school, we had mini field trips for a week walking to a community pool and teaching everyone to, at a minimum, float on their back and tread water.

[-] ParabolicMotion@lemmy.world -1 points 6 months ago

This should be mandatory before second grade. Every major city has public pools. How are we not requiring this to be part of every public school’s curriculum? It’s 2024. You know, those finger painting projects were fun, but they aren’t going to save as many lives as swim lessons.

[-] Thassodar@lemm.ee 21 points 6 months ago

It was probably one of those morons who said "this is how my parents taught me! Hyuk hyuk" and then pushed him in.

People have tried that on me, knowing I can't swim, and I almost got physical when they'd "pretend" to push me in the deep end. It just makes me wary around them near the pool, because I can actually fucking die if I fall in.

[-] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 28 points 6 months ago

You might consider taking swimming lessons, my dude. Also, fuck those people.

[-] Thassodar@lemm.ee 10 points 6 months ago

A local place wanted $170 per lesson, and they recommended lessons twice a week. I need to keep looking but at $340 a week that's a bit out of my range.

[-] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 6 months ago

Do you have a friend who knows how to swim? It isn’t difficult to teach someone the basics of swimming for survival—floating, kicking, and a basic stroke to get to the edge. I know I’d be willing to teach any friend who didn’t know how for free, and I imagine a lot of other swim capable people would feel the same since it is such a safety issue.

[-] Thassodar@lemm.ee 7 points 6 months ago

Friends have tried but I'm not gonna lie, they fail because of me. I'm very scary when my feet leave the ground. Pool party? Yeah sure I'll go, but once the water is neck level with my feet down, I'm going back shallow.

One time I was making real progress and some drunk person almost drowned, interrupting the lesson.

[-] JoBo@feddit.uk 16 points 6 months ago

You can learn to swim in water that is shallow enough to stand in. And if being safe in the event of a pychopathic 'prank' is the primary concern, focus on learning how to tread water. Everything will seem easier once you know for sure that you can keep your head above water. Most people who are enjoying a pool or the sea are not actually swimming anywhere anyway.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Some people just don't want to learn to swim. My mother is one of them. The whole idea gives her too much anxiety. I don't really have an issue if they don't want to get in the pool.

[-] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 months ago

I hope you can find a way to learn that works for you. No need to leave the shallow end—even if you only learn to float, then you’ve learned to survive. Good luck! You’ll get this!

[-] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Have you tried water wings? I'm not joking, they'll look silly, but shouldn't be necessary for too long.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

A local place wanted $170 per lesson

Wow that's crazy, but not to worry, if you want to, you can learn yourself. There are lots of YouTube videos on it, practice in the low end, start learning to tread water. That should make you a lot more comfortable in the water.
As a child before we learned to swim properly, we used what we called dog swimming, where we basically just flap our arms downwards to push our heads above water, and splashed with the legs to push us forward. That's enough technique to know how not to not die at least, and be able to move around in water.
When you get comfortable in water, swimming becomes easy, there are so many ways to do it, and it's fun. Especially if you live near usable sea water.

[-] Raiderkev@lemmy.world -2 points 6 months ago

Fr, in the age of YouTube, no one has any excuses to not learn how to do most things other than laziness imo.

[-] ech@lemm.ee 4 points 6 months ago

Wow, that's expensive! Hope you're able to find something more feasible. Good luck.

[-] Palerider@feddit.uk 3 points 6 months ago

They night also consider getting new 'friends'.

this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
208 points (98.1% liked)

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