Sad... US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy

[luv2cheer92]

How would an American service member be directly involved?

Thought US wasn't in this directly so why was he there? Lots of questions.

Why was he where? In DC?

 

[soccerdad72]

How would an American service member be directly involved?

Thought US wasn't in this directly so why was he there? Lots of questions.

This was the Israeli embassy in D.C.

 

[tzolkin]

Suicide is always sad and confusing. This just is even more puzzling.

I'm curious why you find this act "more puzzling". To me, it seems more logical and the purpose was more clear than a "typical" suicide. Self-immolation as a form of protest has been around for centuries. I think this individual's death was absolutely horrible, but I can understand it in that context.

(To be clear, I am not condoning the act and am well aware of how suicide affects families from personal experience. I'm just fairly shocked that nearly all the comments have just been a dismissive "what a whacko" with basically no thought about why someone might choose to do this.)

Buddhist monks have self-immolated as a form of protest. None of them, it seems, were mentally ill. It's scarier to think that he was in his right mind.

Yes, self-immolation has happened in various religions throughout history for protest as well as other reasons like self-sacrifice or an act of faith. There have been relatively recent laws in India banning the practice of sati (widow self-immolating on her husband's funeral pyre). I certainly don't think that all of the people who have self-immolated over the last few thousand years of history were just mentally ill. In their worldview, they believed it was a valid way to give their life meaning.

I do think in this instance, this individual likely did have mental health issues that contributed to his decision. But, the cultural, religious, and political context for self-immolation is much deeper than "one crazy person decided to do this random thing to kill himself".

 

[LuvOrlando]

This was the Israeli embassy in D.C.

Ohhhh, my brain processed it as US embassy in Israel & seemed the title summed it up Thanks