#tw self immolation

[notaplaceofhonour]

An American man self-immolated in the name of Gaza, and I’m seeing two different responses:

from American leftists, acting like it’s a brave/commendable thing while do

from Palestinians, begging people not to do this

This is a man who was incredibly mentally unwell and committed suicide, initially planning to livestream his suicide, and people are applauding it—which inevitably encourages more people to follow suit, throwing their lives away too. And for what? How has this helped Palestinians in any way?

Suicide is not the answer—not to your personal struggles and not to global conflict and geopolitical struggles. If you find yourself around people who are encouraging you to see suicide as a beautiful or commendable political act, get out.

Think of all the good things you can keep doing for Gaza if you keep living. Think of your loved ones. Think of your own life. Your life has value, and you deserve to keep living.

I think Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, someone from Gaza, put it way better than I can in this tweet:

[noughticalcrossings]

Dr Stephen Stanley

Look forward to the party, Mr Collins

[littlestpersimmon]

Dude lights himself on fire as the ultimate sacrifice and everyone online will lionize, fictionalize, speculate, demonize, pathologize and do everything else except the one thing he literally asked people to do(care about Palestine) clown planet. Anyway.

[kitmarlowe]

THE TROLLEY PROBLEM “I suppose it's the difference between killing...and letting die.”

[itsbansheebitch]

Active Duty Air Force Member sets Themselves on Fire. "I will no longer be complicit in genocide" "Free Palestine"

An active duty US Air Force member set themselves on fire outside the embassy. He introduced himself as an active duty member of the US Air Force, and said that he would, "no longer be complicit in genocide" and then set himself on fire. He said "Free Palestine" while he was ON FIRE.

I'm not going to share the pictures because it's quite graphic, but they are out there if you seek them out.

I saw this & the picture from a post that turned reblogs off. It had a lot of notes, but still, EVERYONE needs to know!

[paperstorm]

Saw this on twitter and (after crying a bit) wanted to share. A Reddit reply from Aaron Bushnell from march 2023. Heartbreaking that it’s too late now for him but dammit the best way to honour his sacrifice is to keep fighting.

[the-amazing-boop]

After learning of Aaron Bushnell's final act of protest, we [Americans] are now also learning of another case of self immolation that happened December 2023 as a response to the genocide in Gaza. Supposedly, it was an African American woman also in front of another Israeli embassy, currently unidentified, and their incident was swept under the rug (not surprising). I'm not certain of whether they lived or died.

If anyone knows more, please share what is allowed and appropriate to maintain truth. If it is a matter of family privacy, respect their wishes, whatever the matter may be.

Whoever you, thank you for your sacrifice. I hope you're resting easier now.

[sayorkunau]

Mr. Bushnell replaced his cap on his head with the same conviction a military person salutes their commander. It was purposeful. It was rigid in proper form and that made it all the more graceful.

While the flames engulfed him he said the words “Free Palestine,” with so much conviction. Conviction used the same as he if he were addressing his superior: “Yes Sir.” And he kept doing so until he couldn’t anymore.

I can’t begin to convey words for what I’ve seen in my lifetime when it comes to Palestine. I can’t begin to articulate what I’ve seen since 7 October. I can’t imagine how to even begin the process contemplating self-immolation. I can’t.

I’m at a loss. As so many are.

[lambpaca]

I feel evil saying this, i really do. Especially after the fact.

But regarding the scientist who self immolated in protest for climate change awareness, and to the airman who self immolated in awareness of Palestine- we needed them alive. We need people like them alive because they were brave enough to make extreme statements, and take extreme measures and make sacrifice for their cause.

We need them alive because this form of protest is ultimately nothing but disturbing. Oil companies and billionaires and politicians lobbying to set the world on fire are not going to be moved by you being set on fire. As the airman self immolated, cops drew guns on him. Israel loves setting people on fire. To the people who needed to see it, for them, it's just Tuesday.

Most of all, people cannot be ending their own lives in protest because there should be nothing to protest in the first place. We should never be in a place where this is the measure people have to take.

Climate change is real, free Palestine and free Gaza

[bread-bloc]

The words of Aaron Bushnell, active duty u.s. air force in the moments before he self immolated outside the israeli embassy in washington dc yesterday. His courage and compassion will live far beyond the life he lived. As he lay burning, dying and still on fire, police held him at gunpoint.

"My name is Aaron Bushnell. I'm an active duty member of the u.s. air force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.

I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine, at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all.

This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal."

He screamed "Free Palestine" five times while his body was engulfed in flames.

image via @lsarsour @middleeastmonitor

[kitthecrab]

May all our martyrs rest in power and may all the world see peace.

I've felt really touched by Aaron Bushnell's (in his own words) "extreme act of protest". We should all remember his sacrifice. Let's remember if nothing else. Let's remember those in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and all other suffering nations if nothing else. Let history see Aaron as a hero who sacrificed his life for Gaza as he was. Let history see the cop who simply pulled his gun, with no thought of the flames and the pain, as the coward he is. Let history look back with shame. Shame at the silence of those in power. And let us remember and teach, that this was a people's movement. May our martyrs rest in power.

[davekatzdefensesquad]

Disturbing things related to the Palestine genocide

[burdened-boy]

⚠️TOO LATE⚠️

[littlestpersimmon]

Does anyone know what to do if you're also genuinely wanting to set yourself on fire in front of an imperial core embassy

[garbage-floof]

i just watched the censored video of aaron bushnell setting himself on fire and. i have no words. it was so disturbing to hear him scream and shout 'Free Palestine'. his last words, even when he was screaming in agony, were 'Free Palestine'. i was so disgusted by the bastard cop that, instead of getting a fire extinguisher to help him, he pointed his gun. he pointed his gun at a person that was on the ground, consumed by fire. he was 25 years old. aaron was just 25. im just so shaken from what i saw (and it wasn't even the uncensored version) i don't have words to describe what im feeling this moment. im not religious, but i hope there's a place for him in heaven. may he rest in power

[killervelveteenrabbit]

Cards on the table: years ago, I seriously considered suicide by self-immolation, not to make any political point but to take the ultimate revenge on the people I believed ruined my life. But years of hindsight have taught me that any damage I could have done would have been repaired. The people I tried to destroy would have rationalized away my actions as those of an obvious nut, feeling no guilt over their role in my death. And the people I would have hurt the most were people who loved and cared about me.

So don't expect me to herald Aaron's actions as some valiant final act of civil disobedience. I know from personal experience that one doesn't consider burning themselves to death unless they are suffering from horrible mental anguish on multiple fronts. Something else was bothering Aaron, and this act of protest served as an excuse. If he genuinely cared about ending the war, he would have found a way to do something else, something productive and salvific. In other words, he would have found a way to live for the cause rather than dying for it.

I mourn for Aaron not as a symbol of American complicity in Israel's genocide against the Palestinians, but as a man who was deeply hurting and didn't find the help he needed. In the words of Chuck Palahniuk, "The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage." I also mourn for Aaron's family, who in the coming days will see their loved one's public and terrible death analyzed, sanitized, lionized, and demonized by people pushing a million and one agendas. They deserve better. Aaron deserved better.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has operators standing to provide counseling by phone, chat, or text. If you don't talk to them, talk to somebody, anybody. You won't get the happy ending you want and deserve if you slam the book shut and throw it away.

a man self immolated in front of the israeli embassy in washington dc yesterday. not just any man. an active member of the us air force. he live streamed his death, and said that he refused to be complicit in a genocide any longer. he said that compared to what palestinians were facing every day, setting himself alight was nothing.

let me reiterate. an active duty air force member burned himself alive because he was so disgusted by what the us government was openly supporting. he live-streamed his own suicide, so the whole world could bear witness as a man in his military uniform set himself on fire to protest his government’s complicity in the horrors that we have all been forced to watch happen in real time. he became a new horror. footage of the immolation blurs him out the moment the fire catches, but you can hear him. it is over in seconds, really, but you can hear him screaming. he shouts “free palestine” until his body physically cannot make any sounds other than guttural screams of agony. and then he falls silent. a police officer arrives and points a gun at his still burning body, shouting at him to get down on the ground. and it is over.

his name was Aaron Bushnell. he was twenty five years old. and he isn’t here anymore because the political ruling class has decided that genocide is perfectly fine as long as it preserves imperialism. in the coming days, people will try to discredit him. to say that he was mentally unstable. they will try to bury his actions to save face and defend israel’s propaganda. do not let them. aaron knew what he was doing. he knew what he was doing when he put on his military uniform, set up his twitch stream, and made his final walk up to the embassy. he knew what would happen to him when he flicked that lighter. do not let them forget. aaron’s blood is on the hands of the political ruling class.