I wasn't sure whether to post here, or on ~enviro. I heard about this last night and was surprised it wasn't being talked about more (at least in the places I usually get my news).
I wasn't sure whether to post here, or on ~enviro. I heard about this last night and was surprised it wasn't being talked about more (at least in the places I usually get my news).
I think part of the reason for that is most of the articles written shortly after the incident were incredibly sparse on details, all the ones I saw only said the motive was still being...
surprised it wasn't being talked about more
I think part of the reason for that is most of the articles written shortly after the incident were incredibly sparse on details, all the ones I saw only said the motive was still being investigated, and none yet knew if he would survive. I was going to post about this to ~enviro a few days ago when it first happened, but honestly couldn't find any articles worth sharing since none mentioned it being a climate crisis protest (despite that being glaringly obvious based on his Facebook activity, and it taking place on Earth Day).
I am glad to see some news orgs are finally talking about it in more depth now though. So thanks for sharing this.
I'm surprised—and disappointed—that even liberal publications have not discussed his message at length. Self-immolation is the ultimate protest. We should at least hear out the message.
I'm surprised—and disappointed—that even liberal publications have not discussed his message at length.
Self-immolation is the ultimate protest. We should at least hear out the message.
WHO guidelines recommend avoiding extensive coverage of suicides because it can actually increase the amount of suicides in the population. In practice this means that the event will still be...
WHO guidelines recommend avoiding extensive coverage of suicides because it can actually increase the amount of suicides in the population. In practice this means that the event will still be reported, but the suicide angle will not be emphasized.
I'm not saying that's what's going on here, but it does make me wonder.
Buddhist monks have been doing this to protest things for centuries. The Chinese govt actively treats the practice as a form of terrorism. However, it seems to me that the act itself is far less...
Buddhist monks have been doing this to protest things for centuries. The Chinese govt actively treats the practice as a form of terrorism.
However, it seems to me that the act itself is far less effective than the level of exposure it gets in the news. By far, the most famous incident has to be Thich Quang Duc ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thích_Quảng_Đức ), from 1963, not (solely) because of what he did, but thanks to the iconic photos captured and published in Western media at the time. I find that especially sad. Malcolm Browne's photo won many awards, and is still one of the most famous and significant photos ever taken. It's been on album covers, and it's aftermath significantly impacted how the Kennedy Admin and the entire Western world interacted with Vietnam, ultimately bringing an end to the anti-Buddhist persecution that Quang Duc was protesting. 5 other Buddhist monks immolated themselves right after he did, in support and protest ... but none of them have their own Wikipedia page.
I wasn't sure whether to post here, or on ~enviro. I heard about this last night and was surprised it wasn't being talked about more (at least in the places I usually get my news).
I think part of the reason for that is most of the articles written shortly after the incident were incredibly sparse on details, all the ones I saw only said the motive was still being investigated, and none yet knew if he would survive. I was going to post about this to ~enviro a few days ago when it first happened, but honestly couldn't find any articles worth sharing since none mentioned it being a climate crisis protest (despite that being glaringly obvious based on his Facebook activity, and it taking place on Earth Day).
I am glad to see some news orgs are finally talking about it in more depth now though. So thanks for sharing this.
There's a Wikipedia page on the event.
I'm surprised—and disappointed—that even liberal publications have not discussed his message at length.
Self-immolation is the ultimate protest. We should at least hear out the message.
WHO guidelines recommend avoiding extensive coverage of suicides because it can actually increase the amount of suicides in the population. In practice this means that the event will still be reported, but the suicide angle will not be emphasized.
I'm not saying that's what's going on here, but it does make me wonder.
But also not so effective, and more indicative of the state of mental health than any convincing rhetoric.
It seems unlikely to change anyone's mind. What a waste.
Buddhist monks have been doing this to protest things for centuries. The Chinese govt actively treats the practice as a form of terrorism.
However, it seems to me that the act itself is far less effective than the level of exposure it gets in the news. By far, the most famous incident has to be Thich Quang Duc ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thích_Quảng_Đức ), from 1963, not (solely) because of what he did, but thanks to the iconic photos captured and published in Western media at the time. I find that especially sad. Malcolm Browne's photo won many awards, and is still one of the most famous and significant photos ever taken. It's been on album covers, and it's aftermath significantly impacted how the Kennedy Admin and the entire Western world interacted with Vietnam, ultimately bringing an end to the anti-Buddhist persecution that Quang Duc was protesting. 5 other Buddhist monks immolated themselves right after he did, in support and protest ... but none of them have their own Wikipedia page.