The airman, who filmed the incident and could be heard yelling “Free Palestine,” was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after collapsing to the ground.
The U.S. Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in an apparent protest against the Israel-Hamas war has died, according to a U.S. official.
Next of kin notification is continuing, so the Air Force won’t release his name until 24 hours after the final notification is complete.
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department responded to a call about a person on fire outside the embassy just before 1 p.m. Sunday, and found the flames extinguished by the Secret Service’s uniformed division.
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Say his name for the record. Luther Ray Abel wrote that article. I want this to be searchable with that name. Let it be known that Luther Ray Abel discards human dignity; specifically Aaron Bushnell inherit human dignity, in exchange for snarky article clicks.
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Despite being on the other side, he clearly demonstrated that he’s on the right side: humanity. I hope I can someday have a tenth the courage this man did.
You mean Luther Ray Abel, the guy who spoke ill of an active duty service member’s act of protest through self immolation? Is that the Luther Ray Abel you’re referring to?
Luther Ray Abel, the known piece of shit who discards human dignity in exchange for snarky article clicks? That Luther Ray Abel?
Went to the article and there are 172 comments. Didn’t read them all as it was enraging. Everyone is agreeing with the article and calling him suicidal, insane or other such things. Fuck that place
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It’s the national review.
The National Review is the same level of conservative propaganda as The Washington Times or Newsmax.
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Wow. Luther Ray Abel is a total loser. I’m willing to bet this young airman, Aaron Bushnell, had infinitely-more courage and moral conviction than this piece of shit.
Even the use of “our military”—at least to me—sounds highly exclusive, as if the writer is talking of a type of person who doesn’t belong in “our military.”
Then the piece of shit purposefully mangles the message that the late airman was trying to amplify. Is “free Palestine” the same as “free hamas?” No the fuck it isn’t.
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That’s a great word for it. I wasn’t at all trying to downplay the egregious slander. It’s extremely patronizing.
If it makes you feel any better, you have to knowingly be in an echo chamber to call what he wrote anything that even resembles “journalism” …
“so it’s conceivable that Bushnell was on his command’s radar but hadn’t done anything to warrant action . . . at least until now.”
Uhm, excuse me? Is this what passes for journalism now, blatant speculation?
The only people who would willingly read that garbage are well aware their head is in the sand, they just want to hear validation.
Dawg, I spent all pandemic scrolling r/HermanCainAward.
I’ll tell you what I told conservatives crying about that sub - it’s really hard to care when they do it to themselves.
I mean, he apparently does not realize that Israel is a separate country from America, with its own military and chain of command, that is distinct and outside of America’s military and command structure.
He flat out said that he thinks it’s the job of America to dictate to our allies their own domestic policy, and if they don’t go along with our demands, America should abandon our allies. I mean, what is that if not utter ignorance? In no way is that how diplomacy is conducted and doing it that way would be counterproductive to most of America’s foreign policy goals; how does he think all of our other allies would react? How would we continue to conduct diplomacy if an alliance with America isn’t worth anything?
What message does it send our other allies if we continue providing military aid even when their ‘targeted military operation’ devolves into a genocidal bloodbath?
I don’t see it that way and neither do our other allies.
Well this is the fucking problem and the reason the guy set himself alight in the first place Sherlock. All western governments are burying their head in the sand if not actively helping with the genocide.
What’s your next perl of wisdom, water wet?
pearl
LOL autocorrect.
Perl shouldn’t even be in my dictionary
I think it’s a programming language?
yeah something like from the past, I still have nightmares from 20 years ago
Did I get tricked by terrorists who use human shields and sympathy as a tactic?
No, it’s the entire diplomatic and intelligence corps of the Western world that’s wrong!
Sorry, isn’t this like, a fallacy? I couldn’t help but post to be honest.
But like, so they support what you believe in, what does that mean? Does that make you correct? Does that make them correct?
That’s you responding to me and our allies. Even Canada disagrees with you.
Your beliefs’ popularity doesn’t make them correct. The nazis had a majority. They got japan and italy and croatia and hungary and thailand and finland to go along with their genocide. what’s your point?
Very well taken point. My views on this is are very unpopular though, seems like they are only shared by western diplomatic and foreign services people and heads of state, and the patience is wearing thin.
I think those who agree with me just find preserving democracy in the Middle East to be the greater moral imperative than is tip-toeing around Gaza asking Hamas to come out nicely and leaving the tunnels intact.
Hamas is very popular in Gaza. Houthis are very popular in Yemen. Their popularity might be considered democratic, but it is fouled by its authoritariansm: the lack of minoritarian rights; no freedom of speech or religion, no due process, no equal protection, no prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. These are rights that, to your point, protect the unpopular from unchecked populism. Hamas and all other Islamist movements do not recognize these rights. They are unchecked populism, comparable to Nazi populism.
As revulsive as is 30,000 people killed, much more revulsive is 3,000,000, or 30,000,000, which is what we will see if these terrorist groups manage to put Israel on its heals enough to make Iran take its shot, or if Trump gets elected and forces Iran to take a shot.
Anyone on the fence about Biden may recall that this already happened once, when Trump ordered an airstrike on an Iranian general while he was visiting Iraq. I’m glad the dude is dead but it was reckless as fuck to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. The only reason Israel avoided hot war with Iran in that moment was because Iran missed its shot and hit a civilian airliner instead.
I hope that of all these belligerents, the ones with democracy are going to use it to excise their authoritarian tumors, and that we will see Trump and Netanyahu firmly rejected, popularly.
Preserving democracy in the Middle East = Indiscriminate bombing of civilian families