Aaron Bushnell's Suicide Was Tragic, Retarded, and Hilarious
It's time to sit back and enjoy the decline.
Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. in protest. Bushnell left no doubt in our minds what his motivations were. His actions and beliefs are being praised by the woke left and mocked by the right. I am of a mixed mind about this; his actions were retarded, yet deeply artistic and comedic.
Aaron Bushnell was an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, working as an engineer with a history in IT. He was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in computer software engineering from Southern New Hampshire University. Here's where things get a bit more interesting.
He liked two Ohio-based anarchist groups on Facebook—the Burning River Anarchist Collective and Mutual Aid Street Solidarity.
Leading up to his suicide, Bushnell posted a message on Facebook that read,
"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."
Bushnell was a pronouns-in-bio kind of guy and was active on Reddit. It was discovered because his username used to match his Twitch account username, LillyAnarKitty. Based on his social media history, there’s no doubt in my mind, Bushnell was a leftist anarchist.
On the day of the incident, he streamed his actions on social media, stating, "I will no longer be complicit in genocide." As he burned, he repeatedly screamed, “Free Palestine!” The act of self-immolation was a powerful statement against the Israeli government's actions in Gaza, which many—especially, though not exclusively on the left, have characterized as genocide.
The tragic event has sparked discussions and debates about the effectiveness of such extreme forms of protest and the responsibility of individuals and governments in addressing injustice. It is essential to remember that Aaron Bushnell's actions were driven by a deep sense of moral responsibility and a desire to bring attention to the plight of the people in Gaza. The guy had balls; I’ll give him that.
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