Aaron Bushnell, who died last month, ‘sacrificed everything’ for Palestinians, says mayor of Jericho

Aaron Bushnell, who died last month, ‘sacrificed everything’ for Palestinians, says mayor of Jericho

A few of the initial paragraphs for context follow - but the article is worth reading fully:

The Palestinian town of Jericho has named a street after Aaron Bushnell, the US air force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest against the war in Gaza.

The 25-year-old, who died on 25 February, “sacrificed everything” for Palestinians, said the mayor of Jericho, Abdul Karim Sidr, as the street sign was unveiled on Sunday.

“We didn’t know him, and he didn’t know us. There were no social, economic or political ties between us. What we share is a love for freedom and a desire to stand against these attacks [on Gaza],” the mayor told a small crowd gathered on the new Aaron Bushnell Road.

Bushnell livestreamed his self-immolation on the social media platform Twitch, declaring he would “no longer be complicit in genocide” and shouting “free Palestine” as he started the fire. Law enforcement officials put out the flames, but he died in hospital several hours later.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 31,000 people, the majority of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The war was triggered by the cross border attack on 7 October when Hamas killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250 people.

Even as governments in Europe and the US have largely continued to back Israel’s campaign in Gaza as part of the country’s right to self-defence, Palestinians have taken heart from popular protests held from Michigan to Madrid.

  • Binzy_Boi@supermeter.social
    1112·
    10 months ago

    I still question the intentions of the media and how a lot of outlets immediate ran to claim his actions as mental health related.

    Like sure, I can see where that’s coming from in a sense since self-immolation is inherently self-harm and you have to question a person’s mental health for doing so, but at the same time, I don’t know of anybody off-hand who says the same about the Buddhist monks who did the same in Vietnam.

    Maybe times have changed and people don’t see that action the same way as they used to back then, but if they are going to call this a result of mental health, I really hope they keep consistency with that from here on forward.

    • Rooskie91@discuss.onlineEnglish
      754·
      10 months ago

      Mental health is a scapegoat for reasonable reactions to the absolutely horrible times we are living through.

      • harderian729@lemmy.worldEnglish
        42·
        10 months ago

        I agree. Recognizing that “greedy scumbag” is the default for humanity has really put things into perspective for me.

    • SuddenDownpourEnglish
      44·
      10 months ago

      Someone does something crazy for a cause I agree with -> Heroic, valiant, inspiring

      Someone does something crazy for a cause I disagree with -> Mentally ill, traumatised, brainwashed

      Lest I’d have to begin to consider I might have been supporting monsters all along.

    • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      311·
      10 months ago

      The only mental health issues I see are from the people in power that stand by and let these atrocities go unchecked.

    • harderian729@lemmy.worldEnglish
      188·
      10 months ago

      I still question the intentions of the media and how a lot of outlets immediate ran to claim his actions as mental health related.

      They’re beholden to Zionists.

      They don’t report in good faith.

      Ex: Israeli prisoners are “hostages” while Palestinian prisoners are “detainees.”

      This whole shitshow is a case study of propaganda and indoctrination, along with the war in Ukraine.

            • harderian729@lemmy.worldEnglish
              23·
              10 months ago

              Yeah, I thought they were gonna take back Crimea too :(

              At least I can learn from my mistakes. That’s more than most of you can say.

              • Bernie_Sandals@lemmy.worldEnglish
                2·
                10 months ago

                It’s still in the cards but would take some major major negative developments for the Russians, like major mutinies or supply issues or economic collapse.

                The War could still very much go either way, hence the US and Europe caring about it so much.

                Also I apologize if my original comment sounded hostile, your comment came off tankieish and I always get feisty with those.

    • Pips@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      97·
      10 months ago

      Just to explain why, not to take from your broader point, it’s because he’s not of the people being harmed. Typically this form of protest is done by those being harmed.

      • Land_Strider@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        10 months ago

        The thing is, and I’m not bringing it to say it is anyone’s obligation no matter what they do or who they are, but Bushnell was a soldier. A soldier is usually already not as removed from the idea of death or harm coming their way, unlike most other people. Ideally, they are not readily available to put their own lives in the line, but they are aware the job entails duty and that duty may require more than common resources, hence putting the body at risk.

        When you simply shift this duty to uphold justice for oppressed people on the other side of the planet rather than to sit with thumbs twiddling for your own country’s military orders, it is easily justifiable to use this resource in line to protect others.

        A journalist, a psychiatrist, or many of the other life occupancies have different resources they use and can also utilize as a last resort.

        • SkyezOpen@lemmy.worldEnglish
          39·
          10 months ago

          Airman. He also had some pretty extreme claims about who exactly was doing what in Gaza.

          • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
            21·
            10 months ago

            An airman is a specific subset of soldier. I know you’re just trying to be dismissive, but stop being a pedantic asshole, and wrong at that.

            • SkyezOpen@lemmy.worldEnglish
              21·
              10 months ago

              Soldiers serve in an army. The USAF hasn’t been a part of the army since 1947. Pedantic, sure. Wrong? No.

              • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
                1·
                10 months ago

                A definition for soldier is one who serve in an army and an army is “a large organized body of armed personnel trained for war especially on land” (emphasis mine, note not explicitly on land) or “a unit capable of independent action and consisting usually of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary troops”

                https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/army

                The Air Force absolutely fits the latter definition, and it fits the former as well if you don’t consider the land part exclusive, which it isn’t.

                Other definitions of soldier also exist, which do not require it be a member of an army, but a military in general. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soldier

                If you’re going to be pedantic, at least be pedantic and accurate. There’s no sense in being pedantic and wrong.

      • FUBAR@lemm.eeEnglish
        14·
        10 months ago

        What is the connection between a monk immolating himself and American soldiers having ptsd?

        The OP has a valid point in that both cases were instances of self immolation.

        • JWBananas@lemmy.worldEnglish
          31·
          10 months ago

          OP made the connection to the monks and said that what they did was not questioned as a mental health issue. I only meant to point out that there was not a great track record of mental health issues being identified/treated during that time.