I really hate the US news media factory. Someone can literally set themselves on fire in protest and that story will be buried under a mountain of political news fluff. This is literally the first...
I really hate the US news media factory. Someone can literally set themselves on fire in protest and that story will be buried under a mountain of political news fluff. This is literally the first time I have heard of this story, a full month after it happened.
Edit: after reading a little more, I found out this happened last year, so I could have simply forgotten about it.
Where on Earth did you read that he was mentally ill? Regardless, to dismiss him as mentally ill is to completely disregard the intentions behind his actions, which I find deplorable.
Where on Earth did you read that he was mentally ill?
Regardless, to dismiss him as mentally ill is to completely disregard the intentions behind his actions, which I find deplorable.
there's a philosophy tube video touching on this exact subject of whether killing yourself is inherently a symptom of being mentally unwell or if people of a sound mind can rationally decide to...
there's a philosophy tube video touching on this exact subject of whether killing yourself is inherently a symptom of being mentally unwell or if people of a sound mind can rationally decide to choose not to live--and honestly, you'd be hard pressed in my view to prove the absolute statement that all people who kill themselves are indeed genuinely mentally unwell, given some of the scenarios we have available where people have done so (terminal illness, political repression, threats of violence against their family, etc). i think we probably can say most people who kill themselves are, but i genuinely doubt that you can for all, especially with those who kill themselves for political reasons.
I don't see a modern news source publishing images of him burning like some of the previous cases mentioned in the article. Maybe it's something to do with the difference between seeing a...
The muted response was probably, in part, an understandable reluctance to glorify suicide.
I don't see a modern news source publishing images of him burning like some of the previous cases mentioned in the article. Maybe it's something to do with the difference between seeing a westerner vs someone from a faraway place and culture. The Burning Monk [nfw] is on the Times 'Most Influential Images of All Time', but something like this, it's too close to home, idk. Maybe it's too shocking to show, and you get questions about his metal health instead. Maybe it's just the time we live in, a different world and sensibilities to 40-50 years ago.
Self immolation is a long-documented form of protest. It has literally started wars - when Thích Quảng Đức immolated himself in Vietnam it caused a chain of events leading to the Vietnam war. When...
Self immolation is a long-documented form of protest. It has literally started wars - when Thích Quảng Đức immolated himself in Vietnam it caused a chain of events leading to the Vietnam war. When a street merchant immolated himself in Tunisia it sparked the Arab spring. It's no surprise to me that US media won't touch these stories.
I really hate the US news media factory. Someone can literally set themselves on fire in protest and that story will be buried under a mountain of political news fluff. This is literally the first time I have heard of this story, a full month after it happened.
Edit: after reading a little more, I found out this happened last year, so I could have simply forgotten about it.
Why on earth should someone setting themselves on fire be news? They were mentally ill, should we blast people jumping off buildings on the news?
Where on Earth did you read that he was mentally ill?
Regardless, to dismiss him as mentally ill is to completely disregard the intentions behind his actions, which I find deplorable.
The part where he committed suicide was my biggest clue
there's a philosophy tube video touching on this exact subject of whether killing yourself is inherently a symptom of being mentally unwell or if people of a sound mind can rationally decide to choose not to live--and honestly, you'd be hard pressed in my view to prove the absolute statement that all people who kill themselves are indeed genuinely mentally unwell, given some of the scenarios we have available where people have done so (terminal illness, political repression, threats of violence against their family, etc). i think we probably can say most people who kill themselves are, but i genuinely doubt that you can for all, especially with those who kill themselves for political reasons.
Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation is still an iconic image of Vietnam War protest fifty-six years later.
I don't see a modern news source publishing images of him burning like some of the previous cases mentioned in the article. Maybe it's something to do with the difference between seeing a westerner vs someone from a faraway place and culture. The Burning Monk [nfw] is on the Times 'Most Influential Images of All Time', but something like this, it's too close to home, idk. Maybe it's too shocking to show, and you get questions about his metal health instead. Maybe it's just the time we live in, a different world and sensibilities to 40-50 years ago.
My understanding is that Norman Morrison was a big deal at the time, and he was an American.
Self immolation is a long-documented form of protest. It has literally started wars - when Thích Quảng Đức immolated himself in Vietnam it caused a chain of events leading to the Vietnam war. When a street merchant immolated himself in Tunisia it sparked the Arab spring. It's no surprise to me that US media won't touch these stories.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/28/nyregion/david-buckel-fire-prospect-park-fossil-fuels.html
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/remembering-david-buckel-the-pioneering-lawyer-who-championed-lgbt-rights
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/15/us/david-buckel-gay-rights-attorney-suicide/index.html
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/charred-body-found-prospect-park-walking-path-article-1.3933598
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/04/15/he-fought-for-same-sex-marriage-for-years-and-set-himself-on-fire-to-protest-global-pollution/
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/prospect-park-brooklyn-suicide-lawyer-fire-david-buckel
https://abcnews.go.com/US/renowned-gay-rights-attorney-environmentalist-immolates-brooklyn-park/
https://www.sfexaminer.com/uncategorised/gay-rights-pioneer-david-buckel-mourned-in-ny-after-suicide/
https://www.newsweek.com/new-york-lawyer-burns-himself-death-protest-fossil-fuels-886332
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/fl-activist-lawyer-sets-himself-afire-20180414-story.html
And there are lots more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=david+buckel&tbm=nws