A man set himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C., now in critical condition

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: NPR

NATIONAL
A man set himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C., now in critical condition

UPDATED FEBRUARY 25, 20246:53 PM ET
Juliana Kim



Multiple law enforcement agencies arrived at the Israeli Embassy on Sunday afternoon after a man set himself on fire infront of the building.
Andrew Leyden

A man is in critical condition after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday afternoon, according to multiple law enforcement agencies.

The U.S. Secret Service said it was responding to reports of an individual experiencing a possible medical or mental health emergency. Local police arrived around 1 p.m. ET.

The fire has since been extinguished. The Israeli Embassy in D.C. said none of its staff were injured.

Vito Maggiolo, a spokesperson for D.C. Fire and EMS, said the man has been transported to the hospital, where he has "critical life threatening injuries."

{snip}



Read more: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/25/1233810136/fire-man-israeli-embassy-washington

[mpcamb]

1. Reminisent of Viet Nam War era- they were right about the morality of that war.

We fought while killing people in their own country and extracted huge damage upon ourselves.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. Possible?

a possible medical or mental health emergency

Pretty obvious that he's having both if he sets himself on fire.

[SunSeeker]

8. Sad that he didn't get the mental health help he needed before he did that to himself.

His family must be devastated.

[TeamProg]

3. Rage Against The Machine.

1st LP cover

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Active duty Air Force

Wow.

[More_Cowbell]

5. It's being reported he succumbed to his injuries

By the woman who's been in contact with his family

Link to tweet

?s=20

[IronLionZion]

7. That's the best outcome for self immolation

otherwise it's excruciating pain

[IronLionZion]

6. Horrifying way to protest

[SunSeeker]

9. Yes. And not effective.

It didn't stop the Vietnam War, it didn't free Tibet, and it didn't make life better for Tunisian fruit vendors.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. Amen

[limbicnuminousity]

11. Yeah, I guess Gandhi wasted his time too.

Didn't change anything, right? Mother Theresa too. What idiots.

Unless the act itself is meant to express something like, I dunno, moral outrage and a refusal to accept the status quo?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. I was not aware that Gandhi and Mother Teresa died by self-immolation. NT

[limbicnuminousity]

14. Irrelevant.

They didn't achieve world peace, hence whatever they did was pointless. Right? That was the implication I was referring to. Not sorry if you have a problem with that.

Maybe this man was disturbed as some have suggested. Maybe he was a Buddhist pursuing what he perceived to be the only morally acceptable course of action.

[LeftInTX]

20. Gandhi was an attorney by trade, who organized against British colonialism.

He organized strikes, peaceful resistance. He also had support. Although he appeared as a "coolie", (to the embarrassment of Nehru and other members of All India Congress Committee), he wasn't alone. He had mainstream support. He also gained support of Indian's peasants.

Even without Gandhi, the odds are that the British would have left India. The All India Congress was often in negotiations with the British. The relationship between the British and India was much different than the relationship between Israel and Palestinians.

I noticed you also called him a pedophile and another stuff...So what was the purpose of that? Yeah, yeah, it was India and he married when he was 14 and his wife was 13. He was rumored to have been with teen girls and was obsessed with celibacy and temptation, but that was irrelevant to what he did. Of course he was a misogynist. He was born in 1869. He was from a culture of arranged marriages. He wasn't out to create any "sexual liberation movement or feminist movement". His purpose anti-colonialism. My grandfather and great grandfather were also the same way. They were a product of their times, culture and arranged marriages. Many Palestinian men have more than one wife. Some have three or four. So, I'm pretty sure they're misogynists too. Marriages are also arranged in Gaza.

He didn't set himself on fire.

[Stuckinthebush]

21. Excellent response

And yes, self immolation has never been as effective a tool as doing the long, hard work of cultural change.

[limbicnuminousity]

22. Good reply.

Gandhi is a tangent. Mother Theresa is a tangent. I mentioned them in passing and instead of addressing the subject of self-immolation the response I received chose to address the relative merits of Mother Theresa's contribution on this mortal coil. I personally DGIAF about either of them within the context of this thread. I suspect they were imperfect people struggling to do some good in the world. I have zero interest in debating whether or not they were good people.

[JI7]

15. Mother Theresa made the world a worst place

[limbicnuminousity]

16. Gandhi was a pedophile and misogynist.

They're both cultural reference points, people that Westerners tend to associate with pacifism and service.

Whatever, it's irrelevant. The West has declined to the point that we're incapable of even considering the possibility that a person might actually act in accordance with their beliefs.

[JI7]

19. Beliefs are not always good and shoudn't always be commended

[Polybius]

25. I don't know if he was a pedo, but he tested the waters

He slept in the same bed naked with his nude grand-nieces when they were 18/19 to test himself. That's just nuts.

[ExciteBike66]

28. I think the point was that he didn't touch them, which makes him not a pedo.

That said, it would certainly be illegal under our laws. I can't say if it was under Indian law.

[LeftInTX]

29. Since they were 18/19, it would be legal here.

I really don't know the story. It seems muddled. Who knows what the age of consent in British India was back then? It was British, but they allowed very young child marriage, so who knows? I'm sure the Brits had morality police/vice units but would they really want to arrest him when they allowed alot of other stuff?

[Polybius]

30. Even if he did touch them, it wouldn't make him a pedo since they were 18 and 19

I don't think it would be illegal here either since they weren't minors.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

17. When did Ghandi or Mother Teresa set themselves on fire?

Did I miss that?

[limbicnuminousity]

18. See #14.

This is getting repetitive.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. Free Palestine. Free Palestine. Free Palestine.

[LeftInTX]

23. Aaron Bushnell...Active duty AF. Sounds like he was raised conservative, but followed free Palestine groups on FB.

Doesn't appear to have been active in protest groups.
Worked in cyber-security for the USAF.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13126695/Airforce-Aaron-Bushnell-setting-fire-DC-Israeli-Embassy.html

[Happy Hoosier]

24. What a waste....

Just tragic. It's insane how some folks will throw away their life for nothing.

[LeftInTX]

32. I think he was already suicidal. Might as well go out with a message.

Better than shooting up a bunch of kids first.

[Turbineguy]

26. It will make the same difference as Rachel Corrie's death did.

None

[snowybirdie]

27. Heard that he

Died today. A wasted life

[mahatmakanejeeves]

31. Airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C.

LOCAL CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C.

By Emily Davies, Peter Hermann, Dan Lamothe and Hannah Allam
Updated February 26, 2024 at 1:48 p.m. EST | Published February 26, 2024 at 8:10 a.m. EST



Flags and posters of kidnapped people are seen outside of the Israeli Embassy, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Washington. An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force has died after he set himself ablaze outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., while declaring that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.” (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

An active-duty airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy on Sunday to protest U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza has died, a D.C. police spokesman said Monday morning.

The spokesman, Paris Lewbel, confirmed that the man was pronounced dead at a hospital Sunday night. He has been identified as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio.

{snip}

Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this report.

[Seeking Serenity]

33. So let me get this straight

A soldier who advocated for a free Palestine decided to protest his government's participation in what he viewed is a genocide in a most dramatic and lethal way.

But that's not legitimate protest. He just had mental illness.

[EX500rider]

34. Was he as disturbed in wars we actually participated in with many more civilians deaths?

Apparently not enough to not join the military or not resign up.

[orangecrush]

35. My brother

Was stationed in DC in 1968, (Old Guard).
We had the 6 o'clock DC news on and they showed the guy who immolated himself on the Pentagon steps.
My brother started shaking and left the room.
He was fresh home from Nam.
I guess he had seen more than his share of people burned alive.
(He was combat infantry.)