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First off, that website is an ad dumpster fire. UBlock is a requirement.
Second, here's the write from the article referencing his Facebook post:
He wrote: "Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now."
The video shows one officer pointing a gun at Bushnell, while others extinguished the flames. The MPD spokesperson did not confirm if that officer worked for the police department, but said the matter is under investigation.
Okay wtf is that supposed to mean? Who else should the pig be working for?
I don't know why they say suicide is illegal in the US, all you have to do is call the cops and they'll send someone to help finish the job.
They don't want to let a perfectly good practicing target go to waste.
Gotta wait for a man to turn black before you shoot him without cause
oof, nice catch
Then it's extra-legal!
There are dozens of police agencies in just a couple blocks of that area. And they can all dress similarly. MPD is for the entire district, but each government agency can have their own police.
https://publicsafety.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_law_enforcement_agencies_in_the_District_of_Columbia
(don't pay any attention to the similarities to the Roman Empire and its multitude of "security" organizations)
Not defending the practice, but at least in North America, it's relatively common for cops to get hired to work security by private companies. It's usually called Paid Duty and those are the cops you see who seem to be working security guard like details at retail shops and sports games etc. They are still technically working for the police department in that situation though I believe.
@masterspace yikes that sounds like all kinds of conflict of interest.
It also sounds like an extreme form of policing for the rich only.
Yup, that's why I wanted to make it very clear that I was not defending the practice. Seems inherently ripe for abuse. It often seems like it allows rich people to pretend like crime isn't an issue in their isolated bubbles rather than be forced to address it on a societal scale.
Though at the same time, if people are going to throw a massive event, you often do need to have extra police at least on standby, and I can see the logic of saying "well then that event organizer should be the one paying for it, rather than the general taxpayer"... that's still pretty radically different from a random Gucci store hiring a cop to patrol their bags with a gun though, and I don't even know if those two types of things would even fall under the same programs.
How do we convince conservatives that self-immolation is their ticket to heaven?
By telling them heaven is controlled by white, pure-blooded christians that are free from the worries of black people and transgenders.
They already have a death wish
Even scarier than that, they desperately want to meet god but know that they can't do it by their own hand, so they're now looking to install a leader that they know is the antichrist because he will bring about the end of the world (Trump so desperately wants to use a nuke it's got everyone on edge).
The video shows one officer pointing a gun at Bushnell
Sounds about right.
Hey! Stop dying or I'll shoot!
Off topic, but In Bruges is a great film.
If you are reading this, and haven't seen "In Bruges", do yourself a favour.
YOU'RE AN INANIMATE FUCKING OBJECT!!
Even when he's completely drowning in flames and falling on the ground, an American in a uniform has a gun pointed at him. Then an exasperated voice in the background yells "WE DON'T NEED GUNS, WE NEED FIRE EXTINGUISHERS". Surreal in a very grim way.
How did he film it? Did he have a tripod or something for the camera/phone?
That's the ultimate gesture for Palestine, isn't it. I hope, both for the sake of Palestine and for Aaron Bushnell's legacy, that something good comes from it. Maybe the wider population are too comfortable and brainwashed, but history happens in unpredictable ways.
Stunning 8K-resolution meditation app
In honor of the revolution, it's half off at the GAP
There it is again, that funny feeling
I don't want to sound cynical, but I really struggle with understanding what someone thinks they'll actually accomplish setting themselves on fire. I it would be the most horrific way to die let alone doing it to yourself.
You're Joe Biden. You need to win an election.
A US soldier just lit himself on fire about controversy that you know voters do not like about you. The situation clearly is developing for the worse for you.
You don't think they care? You should read up on Johnson's feelings about protestors mocking his killing of America's youth in Vietnam. He did not like it. I feel Biden is sensing much of the same.
Yeah. Understand the power now rereading your sentence? It’s horrifying to think someone would do that by choice because society is so evil.
I thought the name wouldnt be released until 24 hours after the final notice was delivered to his kin?
The guy streamed a video to his Facebook. Want hard for journalists to track down.
Well I don't think it's a resource or methodology issue, rather more of a glaring ethical one.
The department is working with the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incident, the spokesperson added.
Seems pretty self-explanatory. What is there to investigate?
I will never understand this kind of "protest," because it presumes that you have value to the people you are protesting. Israel certainly doesn't give a fuck about a US citizens' opinions, and the US government doesn't know who you are. You are killing yourself to make a point to people who literally don't care if you live or die, and any meaningful activism you could have done as an able-bodied person is lost forever.
People might remember that this happened, but it will be like a half-remembered dream when the next event oozes out of the ragebait news machine.
Based on what I leaned from the article about his final message, the protest wasn't for Israel's sake, it was to draw those living under the rule of a government's attention (whether Israel's, the U.S.'s, or wherever else's) to the situation. To point out that we are indeed living through a genocide perpetuated by our own government. Like I question his method, but realisticly speaking, you and I wouldn't be talking about it if he hadn't.
And maybe nothing will ultimately come of it, maybe it was a desperate act against his own powerlessness to stop it.
I would argue self immolation is a pretty powerful statement though, you weigh everything you are, everything you could be; against the hope that a message takes off somewhere.
Amen. This man did something. While we sit on our asses on Lemmy and complain. You can criticize his methods, but not his conviction.
You can absolutely criticize his conviction. It's exactly this level of conviction that precipitated this tragic conflict in the first place. Hamas is convinced killing Israelis is the solution to their problems. They did something about it. Israel is convinced killing Palestinians is the solution to their problems. They did something about it. This guy was convinced killing himself is the answer. He did something about it. Cheering on any of these murderous, extremist asshats for having the courage of their convictions is woefully misguided.
There’s no murder here, unless you’re accusing himself of murdering himself, which is a whole can of worms. The other examples are consistent but his is decidedly different.
It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.
Albert Einstein
Agree, this is an extremely brave and selfless act. There have been many cases of self immolation over the years and they stick in the mind. Jan Palach and the many Tibetans spring to mind
Never thought I'd see someone tone policing self immolation.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A man who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. in protest at Israel's war in Gaza posted a final message on Facebook.
Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, repeatedly yelled "free Palestine" as he set himself alight in what he called an "extreme" act of protest on Sunday.
The footage shows him walk up the driveway of the embassy, set his phone down on the ground and pour an unknown liquid from a bottle over himself and ignite it while yelling "Free Palestine" repeatedly.
The department is working with the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incident, the spokesperson added.
A LinkedIn account apparently belonging to Bushnell describes him as an "aspiring software engineer" with "a talent and passion for solving complex problems with code."
Bushnell's protest comes as Israel's war on Hamas has killed about 30,000 Palestinians, The Associated Press reported, citing the Health Ministry in Gaza.
The original article contains 556 words, the summary contains 165 words. Saved 70%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!