Aaron Bushnell Did A Big Thing (Trigger Warning- Suicide)

Did he set himself on fire for attention? It seems to have worked, it certainly caught my regard. Aaron Bushnell was only 26 years old, he went to an Israel embassy in Washington DC dressed in an air force uniform and livestreamed himself with the Twitch app calmly doing something very hardcore. From a thermos he poured liquid accelerant over his head and used a flame to kill himself while screaming repeatedly “Free Palestine” until his body was melted. A nearby law enforcement officer aimed his gun at Aaron the entire time without firing, for some reason (and nobody tried to extinguish him). I’ve seen a lot of snuff videos over the years since I started using Twitter in 2006. This video clip wasn’t especially gruesome or as viscerally shocking/upsetting compared to others (an enviornmentalist in Central Park took that grim honor around 2019) but this has become more of a news story than usual. 

Self-immolation has been a protest tactic for a long time. Usually the mainstream media insists it’s the wild insane act of someone with “mental illness” and they’re instantly dismissed. So it’s exciting to see that more thorough discourse surrounds this guy compared to a woman who just did a similar fire based action in Georgia, USA two months ago (maybe she didn’t make a video, or it’s just not being circulated?).  He’s not here to answer, what did he think would come from this, or why it might have seemed helpful. His life ended, and there is no change that will be inspired from his actions. Israel bombed Palestine some more the next day! Then they shot at thousands of people hoping to receive food shipments the day after that. The libs and other right-wingers are still laughing with delight.

To many deluded Christians, there is an eternal punishment described as “burning in the flames of hell.” They claim to work hard fighting against it, and yet this young guy just willingly and purposefully lit himself on fire and ended his life. It’s so intense. It’s hard to imagine that mindset! Watching the suffering of Palestinian people was such a distress to him, I imagine, the fiery treatment could have seemed like a powerful cure?! I hate to see the war as well (every war), and I’m sorry if this blog post sounds too much in praise of a crazy dangerous guy. I’m not a “fan” of what he did, but it is a historically utilized form of protest that’s extremely provocative and fascinates me. I won’t be copying his idea! I urge anyone who might think it’s actually worthwhile or admirable to self-immolate or detonate a vest, etc… please don’t!! 

Sorry again, I don’t have anything profound to say, I’m just processing what I’ve seen and read. This is how it’s affecting me. I myself also hate wars and the brutal extermination of “different people”. The urge to protest demanding revolution is familiar to me (serously, I have been zip-cuffed and locked in jail with comrades, a few times) and I know a diversity of tactics is important toward that goal. Most of the comments I’ve read about Aaron Bushnell online are mocking, so I feel compelled to speak maybe not positively but more compassionately.