Dear FUMC Students,

I came across an interesting, but very disturbing story relating to what has been called "the choking game."  Please take a moment to read the culture clip below and post a response.  Have you seen or heard of this taking place by peers in your school?  Here is the clip:

"To participate in what's known as "the choking game," a player cuts off circulation to his or her head in search of the rush that comes when a breath is finally taken again. According to the Dylan Blake Foundation, a choking game awareness organization founded by a grieving parent in 2005, at least 40 deaths and 5 serious injuries in 2006 can be clearly attributed to the game.

Significantly, with suffocation suicide deaths up (779 in 2004 vs. the consistent 400 to 450 during the '80s and '90s), medical examiners and pediatricians around the country are beginning to suspect that some suffocation deaths classified as suicides may actually have been choking games gone awry. "Asphyxiation games have been with us for generations," New Hampshire's chief medical examiner Dr. Thomas Andrew says. "But what makes the current generation's execution of this game different is that more kids are willing to play it alone." [nytimes.com, 3/28/07]"

Please post your response...