With so many other methods of dissent available, what is it that provokes individuals like Aaron Bushnell to resort to such a painful way of protesting? An expert weighs in.
RALPH YOUNG
People place flowers at a vigil for US Airman Aaron Bushnell at the US Army Recruiting Office in Times Square on February 27, 2024 in New York City. Bushnell died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Sunday.
(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images).
Dissent is central to American history. Indeed, the United States itself is a product of dissent. Colonists protesting against Parliament’s taxation policies in the 18th century moved from petitions to boycotts to demonstrations to property destruction to outright rebellion against the Crown.
After independence was won, the right to dissent was considered so important that the framers of the Constitution inscribed it into the First Amendment.
Throughout the subsequent history of the nation, Americans have protested for every cause imaginable - the abolition of slavery, workers’ rights to organise, women’s suffrage, civil rights for Black Americans, and equal rights for Latinos, Native Americans and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Every war in American history has had its protesters, from the Revolution to the Vietnam War, from the Civil War to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Demonstrators protest inside the Rockefeller Center asking for a ceasefire in Gaza as US President Biden attends an interview in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S. February 26, 2024 (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz).
Throughout all these movements, dissenters have employed a wide variety of means to protest for their cause. Writing letters to the press, signing petitions to lawmakers, giving speeches, organising teach-ins, participating in demonstrations, designing posters, staging political dramas in theatres and on the streets, and singing songs of protest.
If their voices are not heard, protesters engage in acts of civil disobedience or defiantly break laws they consider unjust or they might go further and engage in property destruction, riots, looting, flagrant acts of violence, and in some cases taking up arms.
From the Boston Tea Party to the Earth Liberation Front’s destruction of a ski lodge, from Shays’ Rebellion in 1786 to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.
From Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831 to the torching of a police station in Minneapolis in 2020 during the George Floyd protests.
Demonstrators march through lower Manhattan during a rally to remember the murder of George Floyd on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in New York (AP/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez).
Many activists have exposed themselves to bodily harm during protests or political action campaigns. One thinks of civil rights volunteers on the Freedom Rides in 1961 or those risking their lives in Mississippi during Freedom Summer in 1964.
There have been times when dissenters around the world have put their lives on the line by engaging in hunger strikes—Alice Paul in 1917, Mahatma Gandhi repeatedly from the 1920s-40s, Cesar Chavez in 1968, Holger Meins in 1974, Bobby Sands in 1981.
Seldom, however, have dissenters expressed their outrage against injustice by deliberately committing suicide, especially through such unbearably painful means as Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation on February 25, protesting Israel’s war against Hamas, which he perceived as a war on Gaza.
Self-immolation is perhaps the most attention-grabbing protest a dissenter can perform, and it has a rich history.
A memorial to commemorate the monk Thic Quang Duc, who publicly set himself on fire in protest against the US-American backed South Vietnamese government on 11 June 1963, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 15 February 2015. The burning, which incited unrest that later led to the fall of the regime, took place publicly on the corner of Nguyen Dinh Chein and Cach Mang Tang Streets. Today there is a memorial and a sign commemorating the monk (Christiane Oelrich/picture alliance via Getty Images).
One of the most indelible images of modern protest was the self-immolation of Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Dúc on June 11, 1963. Thích Quang Dúc, and a procession of fellow monks, marched down a busy street in Saigon. Thích Quang Dúc sat down in the lotus position and began meditating. Monks chanted Buddhist chants while one of them poured gasoline over him and lit a match.
Thích Quang Dúc was instantly transformed into a pillar of fire, but he did not move or react to the flames until his body toppled over. Photographs and newsreel footage of the event shocked people around the world, especially Americans, many of whom were not even aware of what was happening in Vietnam.
During that summer, another five monks followed his example to protest against -South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem’s persecution of Buddhists. The impact of these protests helped bring about the coup that deposed Diem and eventually led to further US involvement and escalation of the disastrous war in Vietnam.
A group of US Armed Forces veterans burned their uniforms in a show of solidarity with the late airman Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated in protest over Israel’s war on Gaza — and Washington’s complicity — on February 25 pic.twitter.com/1VJOTkb2F1— TRT World (@trtworld) February 29, 2024
This has inspired others to use self-immolation as a compelling weapon for protest. In November 1965, anti-war protester Norman Morrison, a Quaker, committed self-immolation at a demonstration at the Pentagon outside Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s office window.
Antiwar protests in the United States intensified dramatically for the rest of the decade. In Prague, after the Russians militarily crushed the democratising "Prague Spring" movement in Czechoslovakia, 20-year-old Charles University student Jan Palach committed self-immolation in January 1969.
His act reverberated over the next 20 years, as anti-Soviet resistance in Czechoslovakia increased and eventually led to the 1989 Velvet Revolution precipitating the end of the Cold War.
Remember Mohamed Bouazizi? He was the Tunisian man who self-immolated to protest against his government in 2010. He wasn't labeled mentally ill. Obama compared him to Rosa Parks and the founding fathers. Although he shouldn't have connected her to them. But that's another story. pic.twitter.com/fGQvyFoCJ1— Margaret Kimberley (@freedomrideblog) February 28, 2024
More recently, in December 2010, a young street vendor in Tunisia named Mohammad Bouazizi committed self-immolation as an act of defiance and despair against the harassment and humiliation he suffered at the hands of the autocratic regime.
This was the spark that set off the so-called "Arab Spring," as citizens of other Arab countries took to the streets protesting for freedom from despotic rule.
Climate activists who despaired that politicians would never heed their demands to enact laws to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change also grabbed attention for their cause through the means of self-immolation.
David Buckel set himself on fire in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in 2018 and Wynn Alan Bruce did so in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC in 2022.
A vigil is held in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, April 29, 2022, to honor Wynn Alan Bruce, 50, of Boulder, Colorado. Bruce self-immolated in front of the court building on Earth Day, April 22, 2022, and died from his injuries the following day. Bruce was a devout Buddhist, climate activist and photojournalist
Dissent is central to American history. Indeed, the United States itself is a product of dissent. Colonists protesting against Parliament’s taxation policies in the 18th century moved from petitions to boycotts to demonstrations to property destruction to outright rebellion against the Crown.
After independence was won, the right to dissent was considered so important that the framers of the Constitution inscribed it into the First Amendment.
Throughout the subsequent history of the nation, Americans have protested for every cause imaginable - the abolition of slavery, workers’ rights to organise, women’s suffrage, civil rights for Black Americans, and equal rights for Latinos, Native Americans and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Every war in American history has had its protesters, from the Revolution to the Vietnam War, from the Civil War to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Demonstrators protest inside the Rockefeller Center asking for a ceasefire in Gaza as US President Biden attends an interview in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S. February 26, 2024 (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz).
Throughout all these movements, dissenters have employed a wide variety of means to protest for their cause. Writing letters to the press, signing petitions to lawmakers, giving speeches, organising teach-ins, participating in demonstrations, designing posters, staging political dramas in theatres and on the streets, and singing songs of protest.
If their voices are not heard, protesters engage in acts of civil disobedience or defiantly break laws they consider unjust or they might go further and engage in property destruction, riots, looting, flagrant acts of violence, and in some cases taking up arms.
From the Boston Tea Party to the Earth Liberation Front’s destruction of a ski lodge, from Shays’ Rebellion in 1786 to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.
From Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831 to the torching of a police station in Minneapolis in 2020 during the George Floyd protests.
Demonstrators march through lower Manhattan during a rally to remember the murder of George Floyd on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in New York (AP/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez).
Many activists have exposed themselves to bodily harm during protests or political action campaigns. One thinks of civil rights volunteers on the Freedom Rides in 1961 or those risking their lives in Mississippi during Freedom Summer in 1964.
There have been times when dissenters around the world have put their lives on the line by engaging in hunger strikes—Alice Paul in 1917, Mahatma Gandhi repeatedly from the 1920s-40s, Cesar Chavez in 1968, Holger Meins in 1974, Bobby Sands in 1981.
Seldom, however, have dissenters expressed their outrage against injustice by deliberately committing suicide, especially through such unbearably painful means as Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation on February 25, protesting Israel’s war against Hamas, which he perceived as a war on Gaza.
Self-immolation is perhaps the most attention-grabbing protest a dissenter can perform, and it has a rich history.
A memorial to commemorate the monk Thic Quang Duc, who publicly set himself on fire in protest against the US-American backed South Vietnamese government on 11 June 1963, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 15 February 2015. The burning, which incited unrest that later led to the fall of the regime, took place publicly on the corner of Nguyen Dinh Chein and Cach Mang Tang Streets. Today there is a memorial and a sign commemorating the monk (Christiane Oelrich/picture alliance via Getty Images).
One of the most indelible images of modern protest was the self-immolation of Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Dúc on June 11, 1963. Thích Quang Dúc, and a procession of fellow monks, marched down a busy street in Saigon. Thích Quang Dúc sat down in the lotus position and began meditating. Monks chanted Buddhist chants while one of them poured gasoline over him and lit a match.
Thích Quang Dúc was instantly transformed into a pillar of fire, but he did not move or react to the flames until his body toppled over. Photographs and newsreel footage of the event shocked people around the world, especially Americans, many of whom were not even aware of what was happening in Vietnam.
During that summer, another five monks followed his example to protest against -South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem’s persecution of Buddhists. The impact of these protests helped bring about the coup that deposed Diem and eventually led to further US involvement and escalation of the disastrous war in Vietnam.
A group of US Armed Forces veterans burned their uniforms in a show of solidarity with the late airman Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated in protest over Israel’s war on Gaza — and Washington’s complicity — on February 25 pic.twitter.com/1VJOTkb2F1— TRT World (@trtworld) February 29, 2024
This has inspired others to use self-immolation as a compelling weapon for protest. In November 1965, anti-war protester Norman Morrison, a Quaker, committed self-immolation at a demonstration at the Pentagon outside Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s office window.
Antiwar protests in the United States intensified dramatically for the rest of the decade. In Prague, after the Russians militarily crushed the democratising "Prague Spring" movement in Czechoslovakia, 20-year-old Charles University student Jan Palach committed self-immolation in January 1969.
His act reverberated over the next 20 years, as anti-Soviet resistance in Czechoslovakia increased and eventually led to the 1989 Velvet Revolution precipitating the end of the Cold War.
Remember Mohamed Bouazizi? He was the Tunisian man who self-immolated to protest against his government in 2010. He wasn't labeled mentally ill. Obama compared him to Rosa Parks and the founding fathers. Although he shouldn't have connected her to them. But that's another story. pic.twitter.com/fGQvyFoCJ1— Margaret Kimberley (@freedomrideblog) February 28, 2024
More recently, in December 2010, a young street vendor in Tunisia named Mohammad Bouazizi committed self-immolation as an act of defiance and despair against the harassment and humiliation he suffered at the hands of the autocratic regime.
This was the spark that set off the so-called "Arab Spring," as citizens of other Arab countries took to the streets protesting for freedom from despotic rule.
Climate activists who despaired that politicians would never heed their demands to enact laws to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change also grabbed attention for their cause through the means of self-immolation.
David Buckel set himself on fire in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in 2018 and Wynn Alan Bruce did so in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC in 2022.
A vigil is held in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, April 29, 2022, to honor Wynn Alan Bruce, 50, of Boulder, Colorado. Bruce self-immolated in front of the court building on Earth Day, April 22, 2022, and died from his injuries the following day. Bruce was a devout Buddhist, climate activist and photojournalist
(Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post via Getty Images).
With so many other methods of protest available, what is it that provokes individuals like Aaron Bushnell to resort to such a painful way of protesting? Clearly, it is a last resort. All other means of convincing people, whether the public at large or those at the top of the power structure, have been exhausted without effect.
Self-immolation will surely garner attention. But it is more than that. The individual feels a sense of personal responsibility so deeply that he can no longer tolerate being a part of a society that refuses accountability and refuses to find a solution.
,,
Is anyone listening to Bushnell's plea?
Aaron Bushnell served in the US Air Force as an active-duty airman and I imagine that he was quite aware of the consequences of military activity.
Perhaps this heightened his sense of personal responsibility. The despair that Bushnell must have felt at the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza was so overwhelming that he decided he could no longer live in a world that tolerated such atrocities.
Is anyone listening to Bushnell's plea?
With so many other methods of protest available, what is it that provokes individuals like Aaron Bushnell to resort to such a painful way of protesting? Clearly, it is a last resort. All other means of convincing people, whether the public at large or those at the top of the power structure, have been exhausted without effect.
Self-immolation will surely garner attention. But it is more than that. The individual feels a sense of personal responsibility so deeply that he can no longer tolerate being a part of a society that refuses accountability and refuses to find a solution.
,,
Is anyone listening to Bushnell's plea?
Aaron Bushnell served in the US Air Force as an active-duty airman and I imagine that he was quite aware of the consequences of military activity.
Perhaps this heightened his sense of personal responsibility. The despair that Bushnell must have felt at the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza was so overwhelming that he decided he could no longer live in a world that tolerated such atrocities.
Is anyone listening to Bushnell's plea?
SOURCE: TRT WORLD
Ralph Young
Ralph Young is a history professor at Temple University where he teaches courses on Dissenters and Protest Movements in the United States. He also leads weekly teach-ins on the historical context of contemporary controversial issues. His most recent book is American Patriots: A Short History of Dissent. He is also the author of Dissent in America: Voices That Shaped a Nation, Dissent: The History of an America Idea, and Make Art Not War: Political Protest Posters from the Twentieth Century.
DC vigil remembers Aaron Bushnell after his pro-Gaza self-immolation
Protesters gather outside Israeli embassy in Washington DC to honour life and mourn death of 25-year-old US Airman, who set himself ablaze in front of the embassy to protest Israel's "genocide" in besieged Gaza.
SADIQ BHAT
A mourner places incense at a memorial during a vigil for US Airman Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington.
/ Photo: Reuters
A solemn vigil, suffused with a sense of mourning and reflection, has unfolded outside the Israeli embassy in the heart of US capital, Washington DC. The occasion: to honour the life and mourn the death of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old US Airman, who immolated himself on Sunday in front of the embassy to protest Israel's "genocide" in Gaza.
Bushnell's fiery protest, seen as a harrowing act of defiance against the relentless atrocities inflicted upon besieged population of Gaza, has struck a deep chord with many across the US and around the globe.
The hashtag #AaronBushnell remained the most popular trend on X, formerly Twitter, with an astounding one million posts by Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, Bushnell began a Twitch livestream and walked toward the Israeli embassy with an insulated water bottle full of flammable fluid.
"I will no longer be complicit in genocide," he said in the video. "I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers, it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal."
As news of his death from severe burning reverberated far and wide, impassioned discussions were ignited about the moral complexities of Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, the US role in arming Tel Aviv, and an individual's capacity to confront injustice, even at great personal cost.
Against the backdrop of the Israeli embassy's stern architecture, Monday's vigil took shape with a gathering of diverse voices united by a shared sense of grief and solidarity.
Veterans stood shoulder to shoulder with students, activists with ordinary citizens, all drawn together by a common belief in the righteousness of Bushnell's cause.
Candles flickered in the gathering dusk, casting long shadows across the faces of those assembled, as they held aloft placards emblazoned with Bushnell's final plea: "Free Palestine."
As the vigil continued, subdued voices began to rise, sharing heartfelt reflections and emotions stirred by Aaron Bushnell's action.
'My heart breaks for Aaron'
Yet, amidst the solemnity, there was also a palpable undercurrent of defiance — a refusal to be silenced in the face of injustice.
Sarah, a college student who had come to pay her respects and gave her first name only, spoke of the profound impact Bushnell's death had on her own sense of purpose.
"His bravery has shaken me to the core," she told TRT World, her voice trembling with emotion. "It makes me question what I'm doing to make a difference in the world."
As the evening wore on, voices rose softly amidst the flickering candlelight, sharing stories and memories of a young man whose extreme act against the war on besieged Palestinians has touched the lives of so many.
On social media, tributes poured in from every corner of the globe, with ordinary people hailing Bushnell as a "hero" and a "martyr" for peace.
"My heart breaks for Aaron and his family. No one should ever feel so desperate that they resort to such drastic measures. It's a tragedy, a wake-up call for us all to do better, to be bette," Olivia Thompson, a retired teacher, told TRT World at the vigil site.
Yet, even as accolades were heaped upon his memory, questions lingered about what Bushnell's legacy would be in the turbulent days ahead.
For some, his sacrifice served as a stark reminder of the urgent need for change — a call to action that could not be ignored.
At the vigil ordinary people from all walks of life hailed Bushnell as a hero and a martyr for peace.
'Working towards peace in Gaza'
"He [Bushnell] is a martyr just like the rest of the Palestinians, Omar, a Palestinian American protester said. "Your sacrifices will not be forgotten. Your bravery will not be forgotten. The people of Palestine thank you."
David, an orthodox Jewish protestor, told TRT World that he came from a family that had been through the Holocaust.
"I understand this firsthand, and I can understand the despair that Aaron must have felt. Self-immolation... it's a desperate act, one born out of anguish. We owe it to him to honour his memory by working towards peace in Gaza, by fighting for a Middle East where everyone lives in dignity and respect."
As the vigil drew to a close and the last embers of the candles faded into the cold February evening, one thing remained abundantly clear: Bushnell's death, called a "tragic event" by Pentagon on Monday, will likely add more pressure on the Biden administration to rein in its ally Israel and force a binding truce in Gaza.
An active-duty member of the US Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, US, in protest of Tel Aviv’s war on Palestinians in Gaza.
The man reportedly declared he would not be complicit in genocide and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” after… pic.twitter.com/EawTbyCEr4— TRT World (@trtworld) February 26, 2024
A solemn vigil, suffused with a sense of mourning and reflection, has unfolded outside the Israeli embassy in the heart of US capital, Washington DC. The occasion: to honour the life and mourn the death of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old US Airman, who immolated himself on Sunday in front of the embassy to protest Israel's "genocide" in Gaza.
Bushnell's fiery protest, seen as a harrowing act of defiance against the relentless atrocities inflicted upon besieged population of Gaza, has struck a deep chord with many across the US and around the globe.
The hashtag #AaronBushnell remained the most popular trend on X, formerly Twitter, with an astounding one million posts by Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, Bushnell began a Twitch livestream and walked toward the Israeli embassy with an insulated water bottle full of flammable fluid.
"I will no longer be complicit in genocide," he said in the video. "I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers, it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal."
As news of his death from severe burning reverberated far and wide, impassioned discussions were ignited about the moral complexities of Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, the US role in arming Tel Aviv, and an individual's capacity to confront injustice, even at great personal cost.
Against the backdrop of the Israeli embassy's stern architecture, Monday's vigil took shape with a gathering of diverse voices united by a shared sense of grief and solidarity.
Veterans stood shoulder to shoulder with students, activists with ordinary citizens, all drawn together by a common belief in the righteousness of Bushnell's cause.
Candles flickered in the gathering dusk, casting long shadows across the faces of those assembled, as they held aloft placards emblazoned with Bushnell's final plea: "Free Palestine."
As the vigil continued, subdued voices began to rise, sharing heartfelt reflections and emotions stirred by Aaron Bushnell's action.
'My heart breaks for Aaron'
Yet, amidst the solemnity, there was also a palpable undercurrent of defiance — a refusal to be silenced in the face of injustice.
Sarah, a college student who had come to pay her respects and gave her first name only, spoke of the profound impact Bushnell's death had on her own sense of purpose.
"His bravery has shaken me to the core," she told TRT World, her voice trembling with emotion. "It makes me question what I'm doing to make a difference in the world."
As the evening wore on, voices rose softly amidst the flickering candlelight, sharing stories and memories of a young man whose extreme act against the war on besieged Palestinians has touched the lives of so many.
On social media, tributes poured in from every corner of the globe, with ordinary people hailing Bushnell as a "hero" and a "martyr" for peace.
"My heart breaks for Aaron and his family. No one should ever feel so desperate that they resort to such drastic measures. It's a tragedy, a wake-up call for us all to do better, to be bette," Olivia Thompson, a retired teacher, told TRT World at the vigil site.
Yet, even as accolades were heaped upon his memory, questions lingered about what Bushnell's legacy would be in the turbulent days ahead.
For some, his sacrifice served as a stark reminder of the urgent need for change — a call to action that could not be ignored.
At the vigil ordinary people from all walks of life hailed Bushnell as a hero and a martyr for peace.
'Working towards peace in Gaza'
"He [Bushnell] is a martyr just like the rest of the Palestinians, Omar, a Palestinian American protester said. "Your sacrifices will not be forgotten. Your bravery will not be forgotten. The people of Palestine thank you."
David, an orthodox Jewish protestor, told TRT World that he came from a family that had been through the Holocaust.
"I understand this firsthand, and I can understand the despair that Aaron must have felt. Self-immolation... it's a desperate act, one born out of anguish. We owe it to him to honour his memory by working towards peace in Gaza, by fighting for a Middle East where everyone lives in dignity and respect."
As the vigil drew to a close and the last embers of the candles faded into the cold February evening, one thing remained abundantly clear: Bushnell's death, called a "tragic event" by Pentagon on Monday, will likely add more pressure on the Biden administration to rein in its ally Israel and force a binding truce in Gaza.
An active-duty member of the US Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, US, in protest of Tel Aviv’s war on Palestinians in Gaza.
The man reportedly declared he would not be complicit in genocide and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” after… pic.twitter.com/EawTbyCEr4— TRT World (@trtworld) February 26, 2024
SOURCE: TRT WORLD
Sadiq S Bhat is a Senior Editor at TRT World.
@sadiquiz
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