Committing Suicide For Peace

Aaron Bushnell died after setting himself on fire to protest Israel bombing Gaza. This is NOT a solution!

Ever since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7 followed by the relentless Israeli bombing in Gaza, a movement has sprung up where those who are siding with the Palestinians and/or Hamas has made a bunch of protests where the venues were questionable at best and seemingly tone-deaf at worst. Places where people have protested chanting “Ceasefire Now!” have included a Joe Biden speech on anti-white supremacy held in a historic black church that was previously the scene of a horrific shooting just a few years earlier and a street in Washington, DC right outside of the Holocaust Museum. These activists are now reportedly aiming their ire at Hillary Clinton even though she hasn't held a position in the US government since 2011.

This movement has now inspired something completely deadly. A 25-year-old man named Aaron Bushnell, who was currently serving in the US Air Force, dressed in his military uniform and went to the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. Once he arrived he began a livestream on Twitch where he said that he would no longer be complicit in genocide then he poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire. As he was burning he repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine!” He was taken to the hospital in critical condition but he later died.

I go on social media, especially on Twitter/X and Instagram, where I see people post about how brave and noble Aaron Bushnell was to sacrifice his life for the cause. I have a problem with people lauding him like that. For one thing, that act of suicide haven't made the Israelis decide to stop bombing Gaza. That suicide haven't helped the Palestinians at all. Yes, his death is getting mainstream media attention now but it'll probably last no more than a day or two before most people will forget about the incident. His action had earned him his own Wikipedia page but it's too bad that he won't be around to enjoy that achievement because he's dead.

All his suicide did was to hurt his family and friends. They are now dealing with the trauma of losing someone they knew and loved to suicide.

What's even worse is seeing people share photos and videos of Bushnell's self-immolation which anyone can view. Imagine being a friend or relative of Bushnell's who had decided to check out a social media platform to get his/her mind off of what recently happened and ends up stumbling on those photos and video. (This is the main reason why I decided against sharing those graphic images in this post.)

Shortly before he made his last trip to the Israeli embassy, Aaron Bushnell posted this on social media: “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you're doing it. Right now.”

Here's the thing. If you look at the history of those who fought for abolition of slavery or civil rights or the elimination of apartheid in South Africa, you'd find that the vast majority of activists used tactics other than suicide. That's because they wanted to live as long as possible to see their cause become a reality. Yes, some of them did die for the cause but they were killed by someone else, such as Martin Luther King. (Not once did King sought to kill himself in order to further the civil rights movement.) By not committing suicide, they would be able to participate in many protests and other actions (such as distributing flyers) to help further their cause.

In contrast, that self-immolation outside of the Israeli embassy ensures that Aaron Bushnell won't be able to participate in any more protests nor sign up to do any kind of volunteer work, regardless of the cause, because he's dead. As this tweet puts it: “Do you know what's better than dying for a cause? Living for a cause.”

I've read speculation on whether Aaron Bushnell had a history of mental health issues like depression. Right now I haven't seen anything in the news that suggested that he was mentally ill. It seemed like Bushnell found a cause that he was passionate about but he used a tactic that not only killed him but it probably won't galvanize more people to join the “Ceasefire Now!” crowd.

I'm just going to close my post with this message: If you are someone who is seriously considering emulating Aaron Bushnell, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 before you go through with your plans. Don't throw your life away for a cause that will only generate short-lived media coverage. There are other ways to make your views heard and fight for your cause besides suicide.

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