Was man's last act message or madness? : War protester's violent public suicide ...

[jefferson_dem]

Fascinating article...>

Was man's last act message or madness?
War protester's violent public suicide leaves family, friends and strangers to consider the meaning of his tragic end

By Tonya Maxwell
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 29, 2006

In the four weeks since his death, strangers have come to their own conclusions about Malachi Ritscher.

He has been pegged as a courageous war protester. Or a man of convictions. Or a depressed, suicidal loner. Or a conflicted soul, plagued by a little of each.

On a crisp morning earlier this month, he focused a video camera in a wide shot of the "Flame of the Millennium" statue, officials familiar with the case said.

He walked into the frame wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a skull mask, then climbed onto the base of the 25-foot abstract sculpture. In front of him, Kennedy Expressway commuters rushed past the banner he had planted near the Ohio Street exit.

"Thou Shalt Not Kill. As Ye Sow So Shall Ye Reap" it read in black ink, and below that, the words "Your Taxes Buy Bombs and Bullets" penned in red.

Ritscher, 52, pulled a United States flag from a container and draped it over his head and shoulders.

He struck a flame and in that moment, became one of only a few dozen people to die by self-immolation in the United States.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0611290054nov29,1,750740.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

[bryant69]

1. I choose Madness

And I don't think this is a guy we need to lionize - he's a coward who checked in a symbolic but meaningless blaze of glory rather than face up to the less glamorous but more valuable work of just carrying on.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[YOY]

4. I concur

Death was the easy way out. This poor fellow neededn't have done this and should hardly be recognized as a sacrifice so much as a tragedy.

Alive and vocally objecting wins out. Suicidal just to make a point rings of a mental disorder.

[acmejack]

2. A coward?

I think not! It is more than a little presumptuous on your part to label him as such. Do you know this man? How can you possibly say such a thing? To even contemplate such a horrible painful death frightens me, the man had more courage than I.

You my friend, have a poison pen and nasty sense of self righteousness to back it up. Would we all be as brave as you. Army of Bryant.

[bryant69]

7. Suicide is cowardness

I don't care how you dress it up, it's still at heart a cowardly act.

And, just for the record, I don't use a pen at all when I visit Democratic Underground and I never have.

Bryant

[zbdent]

3. self edit

whoops, he did burn a flag ...

[demnan]

5. Suicide is never the answer

just another pointless death, and we've lost someone who could be out there protesting. On March 17 a massive protest march against the Iraq war is planned for D.C. and other major cities. We need all the bodies we can get to participate.

[Mist]

6. When I think of the pain of being burned alive, I wouldn't call him cowardly. I also

don't think "madness" and protest are mutually exclusive. He was a disturbed depressed individual who chose to end his life making a strong statement. Yes, "carrying on" is what will win in the end, but I don't think this person deserves insults or being called cowardly.

[BoneDaddy]

8. I would say a little of both

but I wouldn't call him a coward. I imagine it takes tremendous courage to self immolate. But it was obvious that this man struggled with sanity, I do think, however, there is NO reason to mock him or what his death symbolized.

During the Vietnam war a monk by the name of Quang Duk did this and it had a profound impact upon the West, nor was he the only one, just one of the most memorable.

Thich Nhat Hanh goes on to explaing why Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation was not a suicide, which is contrary to Buddhist teachings:

"Suicide is an act of self-destruction, having as causes the following: (1) lack of courage to live and to cope with difficulties; (2) defeat by life and loss of all hope; (3) desire for nonexistence….. The monk who burns himself has lost neither courage nor hope; nor does he desire nonexistence. On the contrary, he is very courageous and hopeful and aspires for something good in the future. He does not think that he is destroying himself; he believes in the good fruition of his act of self-sacrifice for the sake of others…. I believe with all my heart that the monks who burned themselves did not aim at the death of their oppressors but only at a change in their policy. Their enemies are not man. They are intolerance, fanaticism, dictatorship, cupidity, hatred, and discrimination which lie within the heart of man."

[randr]

9. It is living in the face of adversity that takes courage

He was a coward.

[CoffeeCat]

10. "The principle of rationality"

Although we might not understand or agree with what this man did--it made sense to him.

This act was rational to him.

This person was operating from a position that most of us will never understand--but
as his fellow human beings we should have compassion for him.