The Life & Death of Aaron Bushnell: Friend Says Self-Immolation Was a Demand for Justice
www.democracynow.org
In an act that has captured the attention of the world, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington Sunday to protest Israel’s assault on Gaza and U.S. support for the military campaign. Bushnell, who live-streamed the action, said, “I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” before lighting himself on fire and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” as he was engulfed in the flames. He was pronounced dead in the hospital later that day. Democracy Now! speaks with Bushnell’s friend and conscientious objector Levi Pierpont, who says his friend’s death was not a suicide but was about using his life to send a message for justice. “We have to honor the message that he left,” says Pierpont, who says Bushnell died “to get people’s attention about the genocide that’s happening in Palestine.” Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army colonel and former diplomat, lays out the history of self-immolation to protest war and how Bushnell’s act could impact U.S. policy for the war on Gaza. “It was an act of courage, an act of bravery, to call attention to U.S. policies,” says Wright, who offers support to Pierpont and other veterans advocating for peace live on air.
    • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      You’d think, but there is already push back. I’ve seen a few attempts to slander him through his reddit account and socials. I actually expect more fud is coming. I wonder how swift boated he’ll end up being?

      • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The pushback is right wing trolls posting screenshots about fictional leftist “infighting” from Twitter accounts that have zero likes or re-tweets. In reality those are either fake or just a few random people that nobody cares about.

      • Herbal Gamer@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Self-immolation is one of the absolute worst ways to end yourself. If he was in the army and just suicidal, he’d have way better options to do it.

  • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    1 year ago

    Aaron Bushnell actively chose his death and he died, very openly and very specifically, for what he believed in.

    Which in and of itself, before the first word can be said about it, is a HELL of a lot more than anyone screeching “but his death was useless and meant nothing!” can claim.

    Because Aaron Bushnell chose this public death, we are here talking about it.

    The only real crime involved is the one which he was protesting: the Israeli response to the October Hamas attack which has long since left the realm of simple retaliation and has fully entered its genocidal phase.

    This isn’t Israel’s self-defense. This is now full-scale murder of non-combatant civilians.

    And Aaron Bushnell chose to die in such a way that even more people would be forced to acknowledge the existence of the situation and talk about it, screaming “Free Palestine!” even as he suffered the most horrific public death imaginable.

    Whatever anyone has to say against the man or his chosen manner of death, I personally can’t hear you over the sound of his honor.

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Aaron Bushnell got CNN to say the word Genocide on live TV. Even when talking about marches with 1 million people CNN called it war.

        • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The Buddhist monk didn’t keep staying in the news for 20 years either. The world moves on. They want new stuff every day.

          Global attention for a cause for (more than) a day achieved by a single person absolutely extraordinary.