US soldier dies after self-immolation

[DecisionFatigue]

I don’t know if there has already been a thread about this but I’ve just seen his last message/video and his cries and I just feel so exasperated that it’s come to this. Sources say he was a very proud airman and noted as being “top of the class” but he could no longer be complicit.

The Burning Monk obviously comes to mind, who changed the course of history forever. I hope this man’s actions and subsequent death won’t be in vain.

RIP Aaron Bushnell

Would you consider him incredible, brave and worthy of praise if you disliked his message? If he was protesting immigration, abortion, anti-Trump bias etc... Would you applaud him for trying to force the government to finally take notice of society's concerns? (I'm sorry to make assumptions that you might disagree with any or all of these views, if my examples don't work then please add your own!)

@therealcookiemonster /anyone similar thinking- WHERE in the realm of even a limited idea(L)of "mental health" can you possibly evaluate(from snippets on news/logic) he was "of sound mind"
ITS EXTREMIST.
it might-distract(from the unlawful unjust murder of countless civilians and children).unlikely to herald any sort of change.
May he rest in peace(age 25?!)

poor bugger

More likely the result of mental illness.
What has he achieved? Absolutely nothing.

I didn’t even know this was a thing. Apparently this is the second in the US since the conflict started. I can understand why he felt complicit given his job being what it was and the US position, but this is so sad. So many lives have already been lost and they are still supportive of Israel, it is just such a waste.

Looks to me as if he had been radicalised by online propaganda
Apparently he posted this a few months ago

This

This is a very good point. This was a man who clearly had mental health issues. There is nothing noble or valiant about this.

Agree. Unfortunately he lost all perspective.

However, if all suicide bombers had the courtesy to start with themselves, it would be the lesser of two evils.

Of course it won’t.

what I am saying is I won’t connect that young man’s mental health issues, the impact of his religious upbringing and subsequent suicide to it.

Wow hadn’t heard about it. Guess the story has largely been ignored by the Western media because of the government he was protesting against. Would have been front page everywhere otherwise. Expect this discussion will probably get pulled within a few hours too.

His views are give or take how most of the world perceive the conflict outside of the US media bubble/Western former colonial powers. You may agree or disagree but hardly evidence of radicalisation.

He wasn’t incredible! He was clearly severely mentally unwell

I haven't read enough about him to know if he did or didn't have mental health issues - but I do think it is possible to be of sound mind and believe in a cause strongly enough to want to give your life for it. Heck, many people join an army, navy or air force beecher they are prepared to lay down their life for their country.

Ghandi, the suffragettes, Irish political activists and a huge list of people have taken part in hunger strikes. I don't believe they were all mentally ill.

Basically ties into the lopsided reporting of the conflict since it began. Eg,from the Intercept:

“In the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, the words “Israeli” or “Israel” appear more than “Palestinian” or variations thereof, even as Palestinian deaths far outpaced Israeli deaths. For every two Palestinian deaths, Palestinians are mentioned once. For every Israeli death, Israelis are mentioned eight times — or a rate 16 times more per death that of Palestinians.”

This has been going on and been well documented for decades though. So of course it leads to a foreigner taking extreme action in protest against the huge loss of Palestinian life being dismissed as silly or mentally unwell, as we’ve been led by Western media into seeing Palestinian lives as without merit for decades.

Interesting, that’s the exact same logic China uses to censor reporting of certain “unpleasant” or “damaging” events.

I hate to pop some of the overheated antisemitic fantasies bubbling up here, but this story is not being muted because of sinister Jewish power, but because of the well established guidelines on reporting suicide.

Those of you who are glorifying this kid's actions (see also Owen Jones' dumb tweet about this young man being too good for this world) are encouraging other disturbed young people to follow suit. It's that simple.

Entirely agree with this post.

Exactly @Ketzele
Mental Health experts are very clear on this. It's also why MNHQ take down posts if posters are expressing overtly suicidal thoughts.

Why do you have an issue with Jewish people specifically donating to politicians?

He was just another severely mentally ill terrorist. I’ve seen his extremist Reddit posts.

He wasn’t a mentally ill terrorist. What a terrible thing to say about someone with a conscience. Who cared enormously about a population who many believe are at risk of genocide and starvation by a state sponsored by the USA.

I take it you haven’t seen his posts then, or you’re ok with saying that they’ll be peace ‘when all the Jews die’? There’s a word for beliefs like that, and it’s not called ‘having a conscience’.

Can you link to his Reddit posts please? Google isn’t helping and I’d like to read them.

Reddit has been deleting them, but here’s a taste.