• Zipitydew
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      9 months ago

      It’s definitely both. Lighting yourself on fire to make a point is a terrible idea. If your goal is to bring about change, killing yourself actively works against that.

        • Zipitydew
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          9 months ago

          Suicide as protest is the same act as silencing yourself. That’s not protest. It’s submission.

          • CassowaryTom@lemmy.one
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            9 months ago

            Well, we are talking about him now, and millions of people have hears his message in his own words. Or he could still be alive in a sea of picketers being ignored. I don’t approve of suicide either, bit he very effectively got a lot of people to listen to him, or at least to hear him. We all should be so silent.

            • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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              9 months ago

              I’m pretty sure the other commenter will continue to ignore this fairly obvious facet to his death.

            • Zipitydew
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              9 months ago

              For 2 weeks. And then he won’t be part of conversation until the next person does it. Then we’ll all look back. Say remember when they did this too. And forget again.

              Taking away your ability to bring about change isn’t effective protest.

              • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                I remember pictures and articles of such in textbooks growing up in Florida. That was 1963 in Siagom. 61 years, Half a world away and his sacrifice had an impact to this day. 2 weeks is a bit of an understatement.

                • Zipitydew
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                  9 months ago

                  Yet not only did the Vietnam war escalate, it went on another 10 years after.

                  • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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                    9 months ago

                    So are you calling for another 10 years, or learning from mistakes? I’m not sure what you are arguing for here. Gaza won’t last that long

          • Malfeasant@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            You’d have an argument if he had shot himself, or ODed on pills, or slashed his wrists, or any number of other painless, or at least very quick, ways of offing himself.

            He set himself on fucking fire. One of the worst ways imaginable to die that doesn’t require someone else’s active participation, and in fact resists someone else actively trying to stop him. It gets attention.

        • Zipitydew
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          8 months ago

          Yes I have. And you’re only thinking about that moment because another occurrence happened recently.

          You’ll even recognize if you’re honest about this that the situation for most people did not change. In Yemen they even got dramatically worse.

        • Zipitydew
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          9 months ago

          Not protest. It’s giving up with style.