“We are all culpable,” Matt Nelson said before lighting himself on fire. This is the third such incident in a year.

“We are all culpable,” Matt Nelson said before lighting himself on fire. This is the third such incident in a year.

  • LustyArgonian@lemmy.worldEnglish
    52·
    2 months ago

    Gross simplifications that push drugs and involuntary hospitalization are an extreme

    Yes agreed. We have mental illness due to fascism and authoritarianism, it doesn’t help to then dial that up to 100000 via forced institutionalization

    You can be in your right mind and kill yourself, I truly believe this. Whether he was in particular, idk. But we allow 18 year olds to sign up for the military and don’t medicalize them, so society has some concept of this.

    Personally, I have deep respect for people who protest in this way.

    • Rekorse
      11·
      2 months ago

      I think the only counter argument really is that if you protest like that, you can’t protest again in the future, usually.

      I would hope that he could have done more net good with the remaining 80 years of his life if he had dedicated it to the causes he believes in.

      They also run the risk of there being zero coverage when it happens, which makes it a regrettable decision. I didnt hear about the second person who did this, just the first and third.

      • LustyArgonian@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        I think self inmolation protests tend to linger for a while. While you personally may not know every person to do it, I do think it gets attention and I remember them. I dont think i couod ever forget the videos ive seen. Certainly the witnesses and people who cleaned up the remains will remember forever.

        None of us have a guarantee of life. We aren’t entitled to life. There’s nothing saying he wouldn’t have died of cancer in 3 years anyways. This is similar to people saying “what if you aborted the future scoentist to cure cancer?” It’s nonsense based on an intangible future.

        None of us are entitled to work from another person. I mean this really sincerely, the state believes we belong to them and forces work out of us because we live in a giant work camp. So that’s the legal basis for why the state stops us from self harm - denying them the economic advantages of my labor.

        He did dedicate the rest of his life to causes he believed in.

        • Rekorse
          1·
          2 months ago

          Okay sure, thats likely the perspective he had. Its not the only one that exists though.