X isn’t a source. This is.
Jane reports that the man in Air Force uniform said he was “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” He then set himself on fire and shouted “Free Palestine.”
🫡
I wonder what’s different about this round of bombing brown people that made him suddenly grow a consiounce …
Damn dude. This guy stood up and protested about something that meant something to him, and you’re busting his kneecaps because it wasn’t soon enough.
The fuck have you done lately?
No one is ever going to be perfect. The least you can do is be happy that some people are legitimately trying to take a stand against the IDF’s genocidal actions.
Hey, can I hire you to articulate my indignation full-time?
Just point me where I need to go, coach.
They did a pretty good job.
Social media is the difference. People are easier to manipulate.
According to LinkedIn he was a member of the USAF for 3 years. During which the US hasn’t been that complicit in genocide compared to the last 3 months, and the years prior 2020.
Could be too young to remember Iraq.
Anyway, shut up. He literally lit himself on fire. I think that makes up for it.
We all should try to be as brave as him.
Either step up and match what he did or sit the fuck down.
One could almost be tricked into believing that the world is a little bit more complicated than what some simplistic tropes of good and evil would have us believe.
LOL one thing that makes conservative-minded people very sad is when you assert that there is no such thing as objective good or evil.
What’s your excuse?
“Americans don’t care when they’re bombing brown people!”
This happens
“There must be something exceptional about these brown people, or else my broad assumptions about all Americans being racist warmongers might not be right!”
if you actually read the article that you’re commenting on, he has only been in the military since 2020.
Imagine being this much of a piece of shit.
🥱
Boomers aren’t in charge anymore, that’s what happened. Gen Xers are aging in place and Millenials are starting to take over.
Also what have you ever done to make the world a better place?
Police waiting for man to turn black before they can claim they shot him in self defense
My brother in christ thas dark.
Is it dark enough to shoot or should we let it cook a little more?
Law enforcement also drew a gun on the burning man during the incident.
No limit to their cowardice.
This article does a much better job of describing what happened. Does not make the cop look better.
Authorities were heard asking the man – “May I help you, sir?” – at first but as soon as he was engulfed in flames they started yelling at him to get down on the ground. They even drew their guns on the burning man before someone pushed them to get fire extinguishers to extinguish the fire.
Edit: What damn freedom in those moments though. I mean you can yell at the guy engulfed in flames all you want with the threat of ending his life, but he knows he’s already ended it.
Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me, indeed. I wish the man had chosen another way to protest, but WTF does he give a shit about threats from a fucking cop at that point?
In the uncensored video it’s obvious that the body he’s pointing a gun at could not move if it wanted to.
I would call that either confusion or stupidity not cowardice.
I would call it cowardly and inhumane to the point of being satirical.
Like that sounds like a depiction of an American police officer in a North Korean sketch comedy.
Keystone cop.
Nah, dude, the firs response of the police is to threaten to murder fellow citizens. And here you are on their side.
Independent of what I think about the Airman’s actions, there’s a legitimate risk that he came prepared to go down fighting. Can’t really blame the secret service for playing it safe.
If someone lights themselves on fire it’s far past the point where a gun will help lol
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and you think the most effective way to stop fires is with a gun? fucking fire extinguisher man jesus christ
It someone is committed enough to a cause to set themselves on fire, who the fuck knows what else they’re willing to do? Who in their right mind would not treat the situation with caution?
The guy was trying to make a point. Is it unreasonable to assume he might try to make the point another way if the original plan doesn’t work out?
He’s literally on fire. It’s unreasonable to assume he’s going to do much of anything, what with being on fire.
There was a car chase in LA in the late 90s. The truck being chased stopped on an overpass. The driver lit himself on fire. Then he jumped out and ran around because he was on fire. Then he grabbed a gun from his truck and shot himself in the head.
That kinda proves my point. There’s no “what else they’re willing to do” after they’re already on fire. There’s no next step in the plan.
Except shoot people. Definitely no reason to draw your gun.
so the example proving that you should point a gun at a person on fire is that otherwise he might kill himself even faster than the fire will.
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I think you are right. Somebody who lights themselves on fire could try to ignite other people. The cops are just following their training and trying to make sure that the guy doesn’t try to harm others.
And saying the cops are cowardly for this behaviour doesn’t really make sense, I don’t think. They’re thinking the guy could try to hurt others, so they’re prepared to stop that.
Law enforcement also drew a gun on the burning man during the incident
When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail
What was really needed was a good guy on fire.
We had good guy on fire
Then we should try bad guy on fire!
You know what they say, fight fire with fire!
If you outlaw firearms, only outlaws will have their arms on on fire
I appreciated that the police made it a point to mention they searched the entire area for bombs, like they thought it was most likely the protest was somehow intended as a distraction. Like they actually think it makes sense in their head that some crisis actor would actually light themselves on fire for like $50 so the real terrorists could… you know what, it’s too crazy and stupid to even finish typing out. Police departments are just jobs programs for violent idiots.
“Maybe if I shoot around him, the air from the passing bullets will blow the fire out! And if I miss and hit him, surely the blood will douse the flames! I’ll be a hero!”
Sole things are bound to look like chisels instead. /S
Poor guy, he should have talked to a veteran first. We’ve been killing ourselves in front of government buildings for years now and nobody pays attention.
I don’t want to derail the thread, but this detail absolutely leapt out at me like a hungry puma:
Law enforcement also drew a gun on the burning man during the incident, while he was screaming in pain.
I saw the video he made on tik tok last night before it was removed. Fucking brutal. But the guy pointing the gun at him was frozen. I’ve seen it before and it’s happened to me. The brain just shuts the fuck off. System overload. He’ll have the memory of that horrifying moment right along side the memory of the failure of his own mind and body completely failing him, forever. People were shouting “we need fire extinguishers not guns” but the guy just couldn’t do anything, even after the guy had collapsed and the fire was put out, he was still locked in place aiming his pistol at the body.
The Airman who self immolated could have spent the rest of his life trying to make a difference for Palestinians, now he can never help, and he’ll be forgotten in a couple of weeks of the news cycle. If anyone ever feels the need to do something, help, don’t hurt. Hurt never helps.
That’s not how martyrdom works.
This man’s actions just inspire me to support the Palestinian cause more.
You don’t see Zionists self-immolating, and it’s because they’re winning.
I think their point was that martyrdom does not in fact work.
I still remember the Russian woman who burnt herself alive in protest of the Ukraine war.
The police officer suffers from lack of adequate training. Your fire fighters, medics, nurses, physicians, etc would jump right in. The police are only taught to see the public as their enemies, and this is the result.
The police suffer from a surfeit of the wrong kind of training. Look up “killology”
I will remember this. He acted on the frustration millions of other people feel. I don’t know what the impact will be but the Arab Spring start with one immolation.
I’m sure he thought he was making a difference, but in reality the only difference he probably made was that the fire extinguishers on Embassy Row will be checked for expiration dates.
Goddamn…
I’m glad we give people like that guns
Nothing pisses off the police more than someone who is suicidal, which is why the murder rate is so high when welfare checks are called in.
the man in Air Force uniform said he was “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” Filming himself walking, he said that what he was going to do would be minimal compared to what is happening to Palestinians. He then set himself on fire and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.” […] In the video the airman identifies himself as Aaron Bushnell
holy FUCKING based
this is the only type of military worker i will thank for their service. i hope he is able to recover.
He’s reportedly dead now.
rest in peace, he’s a hero
No, suicidal. Nothing about his death makes any sense to anyone. Wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out he was experiencing personal problems or mental health issues.
Surprise mothefucker it’s possible to die for a cause and have mental health issues at the same time. Crazy, I know.
Getting killed by the IDF smuggling relief supplies into or people out of Palestine is dying for a cause. Going to fight and die in Ukraine is dying for a cause. Running into a building to save people is dying for a cause. This wasn’t dying for a cause any more than if he’d gone on a shooting spree or blew up a building and said it was for Palestine…simply saying Free Palestine while committing suicide contributes nothing to the issue aside from more tragedy.
I wonder if the deceased left any writing that might give a glimpse of his state of mind.
Its war and a very old war. The world did a very stupid thing by creating Isreal and displacing Palastine. Anyone with a sibling should be able to predict the never ending chain of tit for tat such an act would engender. Lots of ethnicities dont have their ‘own country’. Why should the world create an ethno-state for Zionist and not say, one for Kurdish people?
At this point everyone in power in that region has been in power too long, they lost the pot, and arent even considering peaceful solutions. People with heart see children dying on both sides, and it hurts, man, hurts bad. Even more if you have your own babies.
Im going to speculate now
The deceased spent his adult life believing in justice and service and courage but being confronted with the grim reality that the leaders are cowardly murderers on both sides he had an “are we the baddies?” moment and if the deceased was already struggling with depression he could easily internalize that trauma and let it become self loathing. I think the suicide is his way to condemn those he percieves as culpable. Like saying the situation is so rotten he would rather be on fire than put up with another day of mans inhumanity towards man, or saying we arent worthy of his continued participation.
But Im speculating, I dont really know
And that makes sense… but regardless of his mental state at the time, I’m not speaking about his motivations or disagreeing with them. In fact, I agree with his views and can empathize with feeling hopeless to help.
It’s possible I feel so negatively about his decision to end his own life is because I empathize so strongly with the guy. I’m a veteran (in fact, after seeing where he was stationed and his job, it’s pretty likely that I was stationed on the same base and worked in the same windowless building as him) and I also feel like I’ve been complicit in acts I find abhorrent by means of serving in the military of the nation that perpetrating or supporting those acts. I also have issues with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. I never met this guy, so I can’t say I’ve walked in his shoes… but I do know this. The people who can be outraged by anything the Israeli government does are already outraged.
I’d have rather had him donate time and money to a candidate he believes in, or protest, or whistleblow if he had access to information we don’t that makes things even worse - as unimaginable as that seems, or just try to leverage his personal relationships to try and convert someone who might listen to him. The world doesn’t need empathetic martyrs… it needs empathetic leaders and fighters.
Yes it is. Doubt that is the case here at all. It was a profoundly stupid act that leaves everyone scratching their heads. Best comparison I’ve seen is if a Confederate soldier set themselves alight to protest slavery and even the Union is going wtf.
It’s not “irregular”, and it’s been done before as protest. A Buddhist monk did it in the past to protest the slaughter of cattle.
Are you vegan?
I think it takes a great deal of mental health issues to self-immolate, no matter how good the cause, but that doesn’t change the fact that this airman died in protest of genocide.
For all you know he self immolated because he hadn’t been taking his meds. In any event it was a dumb, painful, pointless way to die for somebody who has NOTHING to do with the conflict. If he thought as an airman he was contributing somehow, he could have just resigned.
He directly stated what he was going to do before hand.
Don’t hate service members. Most of them are poor kids looking for a way to get to college. That said, you should absolutely criticize our military and it’s leaders.
Reluctant Disclaimer: am a veteran
I get it, the part that is weird to me is americans having so much one-way courage that they needed to pull their guns on a man who is… on fire! Do they think bullets can kill fire? Do they not know how hard it is to threaten anyone when your ON FIRE?
Everyone knows bullets cant kill fire, it’s not a ghost!
Okay Chang
People willing to die for a cause have been known to strap bombs to themselves and take a lot of people with them.
Yeah bullets won’t put out the fire, but can stop someone who wants to die for a cause from getting near to other people. The only thing that can be known is the person is willing to die for a cause. What is unknown is the amount of explosives on their person. You would feel really stupid if that person started running towards you (or other people) and you left your gun in your holster.
And a gun is going to do what to stop a fire or a bomb?
Reading is fundamental. Where did it say that he was shot? I’m not defending the cop but you’d probably be confused also since it isn’t every day you run into a guy in an embassy driveway on fire. Ever heard of a human trait called compassion?
Did you even read the article you posted? This line stood out so much that I copied it before even reading the comments:
Law enforcement also drew a gun on the burning man during the incident.
The person you’re replying to never said they shot him.
What does “do they think bullets can kill fire” mean?
Bullets come out of guns to kill things that the gun is pointed at when the trigger is pulled.
Absurdism in an absurd world, thats all
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Not saying this is their reasoning, but if someone is on fire and running at you, a gun could kill them before they set you on fire. Also not saying this is their reasoning, but shooting someone who is suffering a fate they cannot undo could be considered merciful. So, shooting someone on fire could actually be effective.
You make a strong point, have an updoot
I never said they shot at him, just drew on him per the article
I’ll admit I did not consider a mercy killing
Reading is fundamental as you said
I don’t condone self harm but damn this dude went full Buddhist monk.
He even kept screaming Free Palestine while on fire.
Aaron Bushnell, may we forever remember his name!
It is the most intense display of pure passion I have probably ever seen
He even kept screaming Free Palestine while on fire
That’s real bravery.
Now that’s the type of American I like to see.
Not one with life-threatening injuries, or on fire, mind you, but one who actually stands up for what is right despite risk to himself.
So he was put out with fire extinguishers and transported to the nearest hospital.
Apparently a gun was also drawn and aimed at him while he was set himself on conflagarion.
I did have to look up conflagarian to make sure that I was using it correctly. I still don’t think I am.
But if anybody else is curious about what happened to him, I think he’s alive and in a hospital. Saved you the click.
The word you’re looking for immolation. Or in this case, self-immolation.
Everyone knows you need an active immolate or shadowflame on the target before you can conflagrate.
I have some memory of this from a game but cannot place it.
World of Warcraft
I think immolate implies yourself. In dark souls at least, the spell Immolation can’t set anybody except yourself on fire. And it looks like other latin words that mean Self.
conflagarion
conflagration
Gesundheit
Self-immolation. To set oneself ablaze, usually in protest.
It’s cool. You could just say “on fire” in this context. But we understand you, and that’s the goal of communication anyway.
I was high as fuck when typing out that comment.
Still, appreciate the communication.
I would say, “succumbed to the conflagration” or “took part in the conflagration.”
But really, a conflagration is usually a much bigger fire that destroys entire buildings or cities.
I think the better term would be self-immolation.
that’s horrible. with burns that severe it’s the most cruel to stop in the middle and make him live thru the pain and recovery period and bills
Yeah if I was going to go down like this I’d already have taken several lethal doses of something. I would not want to survive.
Have no idea why the cop drew his gun.
They’re simple and primitive creatures, they see danger, they draw gun.
He’s fighting fire with gunfire.
He must have saw an acorn!
Maybe they were afraid that the burning man would run at them.
US military really needs better mental health services.
Having many extended family with PTSD, it would bankrupt the military… (not that I think it’s necessarily a bad thing)
I mean in general, if they actually took care of their vets in whole, not PTSD alone. Or… medical costs would be forced to fall in line with reality
If only we had a budget that allowed literally infinite spending on the military… Where could we possibly find the billions of dollars to pay for military needs?
Aircraft carrier whistling nonchalantly
There are days I look at the US military as a food processor. Bodies go in, and are completely forgotten about until company asks “what is that smell coming from the sink?”
sink
I think you might mean a garbage disposal.
Single-payer healthcare for all is the actual fix here. Take it out of anybody’s budget and manage it as a central service.
US military really needs better
mentalhealth services.FTF- wait…
US
militaryreally needs better mental health services.Got it. Covering all my bases.
1000% Agreed.
Goddamn. Horrible as it is, I hope it’s not in vain.
New generations and all, but this sort of thing has happened dozens of times and caused no change. It turns out that our overlords indeed do not care about us.
That’s just the thing with these protests (I’m not talking about this one). I mean the ones stopping traffic and interrupting political events. Eventually, this atrocity in Gaza will come to an end and all the protesters who didn’t cause the end of anything will cheer and think they did so along comes the next atrocity and they will repeat the same nonsense until we have some idiot putting Gatorade on plants.
But protests can effect change. While no American protester will change Israel’s genocide, American protesters may be able to remove American support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. You might say that that wouldn’t save more than a handful of lives temporarily, but it would lessen the black mark on America’s soul. Not eliminate, but lessen.
No, you interupt the ones in power who try to ignore what’s going on or speak half truths in the aid of complete atrocities. You don’t shut up because shutting up is to let them have their way. I actually think the ostrichs putting their heads in the sand are the ones who will enjoy the electrolytes getting to their mouths when we get to that point not the people trying to avert disaster. You’re wayyy off base dude.
You say that but then people in France have 30 hour work weeks and months of paid vacation per year. Parental leave and free healthcare are also nice. How did they get this? By blocking roads, making the government shut down, and then demanding change. In the US, we only get people complaining about protestors.
Using the numbers from January. France has a population of 68.5 million. The US has 335 9. You can figure out why we are not France. If you can’t, I have no idea what to tell you.
You can tell me that you don’t understand that economies scale.
Your lateral leaps of logic are impressive
“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!”
I wonder if any members of the white house press corps will have the balls to ask about this
Why wouldn’t they and why would they need balls?
Questions, like pee, are stored in the balls.
Because George W Bush decided that hard questions meant that you were kicked out of the White House Press Corps.
He left the White House 15 years ago, come join us in 2024, we have cookies and journalists can be female so they don’t need balls.
Interesting that you go on the offensive. Sort of like you were acting with poor intentions hmm.
