Why Would Anyone Kill One’s Self In an Attempt to Stop A War?

 

“My name is Aaron Bushnell. I am an active duty member of the United States 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…Free Palestine!”

Aaron Bushnell’s last words before self-immolation

Four years ago in 2018, after returning from a Veterans For Peace trip to Viet Nam, I wrote an article called “Why Would Anyone Kill One’s Self In an Attempt to Stop A War?”

Now, four years later, in the past three months, two persons in the United States have taken their own lives in an attempt to change U.S. policies on Palestine and call for a Ceasefire and stop U.S. funding to the State of Israel that would be used to kill in the Israeli genocide of Gaza. An yet unidentified woman, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, set herself on fire in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia on December 1, 2023. Three months later authorities have yet to release the name of the woman.

This week, on Sunday, February 25, 2024, active duty U.S. Air Force Aaron Bushnell, set himself on fire at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, while he was stating “Free Palestine and Stop the Genocide.”

As I mentioned in the article in 2018, many in America admire young men and women who join the military and profess to be willing to give up their lives for whatever the U.S. politicians/government decide is best for another country—”freedom and democracy” for those who don’t have the U.S. version of it, or overthrowing self-rule that is not compatible with the U.S. administration’s view. Actual U.S. national security seldom has anything to do with U.S. invasions and occupations of other countries.

But, what about a private citizen giving up his or her life to try to stop the politicians/government from deciding what is best for other countries? Could a “mere” citizen be so concerned about politicians/government actions that she/he is willing to die to bring public attention to the actions?

One well-known and several little-known actions of private citizens from five decades ago provide us with the answers.  (more...)

Why Would Anyone Kill One’s Self In an Attempt to Stop A War?