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The Life & Death of Aaron Bushnell: Friend Says Self-Immolation Was a Demand for Justice
www.democracynow.orgIn an act that has captured the attention of the world, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington Sunday to protest Israel’s assault on Gaza and U.S. support for the military campaign. Bushnell, who live-streamed the action, said, “I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” before lighting himself on fire and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” as he was engulfed in the flames. He was pronounced dead in the hospital later that day. Democracy Now! speaks with Bushnell’s friend and conscientious objector Levi Pierpont, who says his friend’s death was not a suicide but was about using his life to send a message for justice. “We have to honor the message that he left,” says Pierpont, who says Bushnell died “to get people’s attention about the genocide that’s happening in Palestine.” Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army colonel and former diplomat, lays out the history of self-immolation to protest war and how Bushnell’s act could impact U.S. policy for the war on Gaza. “It was an act of courage, an act of bravery, to call attention to U.S. policies,” says Wright, who offers support to Pierpont and other veterans advocating for peace live on air.
It was for nothing.
Aaron Bushnell got CNN to say the word Genocide on live TV. Even when talking about marches with 1 million people CNN called it war.
And it will be right back out of the news cycle next week.
The Buddhist monk didn’t keep staying in the news for 20 years either. The world moves on. They want new stuff every day.
Global attention for a cause for (more than) a day achieved by a single person absolutely extraordinary.
Oh you mean the monk who set himself on fire in 1963? And totally stopped the Vietnam war by 1973.
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WOW!!! CNN said “genocide”??? Holy fuck pack it up boys, the work is done.
I mean it made you make a comment. Regardless of your opinion, it still did something.