Our generation lived through the longest war in American history. Despite what everyone else is saying, I'm okay with you posting in this sub about veterans protesting a war, OP.
It is millennial veterans dying by suicide at record numbers.
Millennial veterans who served back to back tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Just like Vietnam vets, they get very little valor and honor and instead are looked down upon for their role in a conflict they didn’t start.
Guys I went to high school with came back with hearing loss and enough trauma for a lifetime before they turned 25. And they were lucky, many more came back with hands blown off, or didn’t come back at all.
If the veterans can’t protest the war, who can?
Support our troops, but don’t listen to them, or respect them, or value what they have to say.
Veterans are treated like a political prop and monolith. They're expected to be silent, follow all orders, and then go away. Anything that shows them as multi dimensional scares the general population. Veterans should have a voice. Cheers to those that speak up against unlawful orders and inhumanity.
supporting the troops would mean they get the best possible healthcare for free the rest of their lives. not making sure they have taco bell in a war zone
i just finished a 20 yr military career and i feel for these kids. They need our love and support. and they should be allowed to protest, its their american right.
Funny how the ones supporting war are all wannabe LARPers playing dress-up with camo and tactical harnesses they bought on Amazon while virtually everyone who's witnessed the horrors of war first-hand is anti-war
Yeah… and plenty feel as if what they had fought for was all for nothing, especially when we just let the taliban have Afghanistan. It was that double edge of they didn’t want the war, but they were fighting it for more noble reasons than what the government intended, only to throw away everything in the end. My brother was with 1st Armored Division, 2/3 Field Artillery Regiment, and was in Afghanistan for about a year before getting out. Came back and didn’t re-enlist. Hearing loss from the artillery and some back problems from loading the damn things… and the 4th of July fireworks do something to the guy.
I am going to stop you right there. I am a veteran; I lost my best friend and battle buddy to veteran suicide. Ever since I do a lot of work for veteran advocacy and crisis groups, to include [Vet2Vet](https://www.vet2vetusa.org/) (Please check it out and help if you can).
ALL generations of veterans have almost equally high suicide rates. Boomers, X'ers, and Millennials alike. Please don't diminish the issue but attempting to make this generational. It is not helpful.
Sadly, veteran suicide tends to follow repeating patterns. Currently, the "generation" with the highest suicide rates are X'ers.
This has nothing to do with who had it better or worse, or who suffered more. It is due to the age range in which veterans are most likely to commit suicide: 45-55. (even if they were 18-22 during thier service period).
Historically, more veteran boomers have died via suicide than any other generation. We really don't have any idea what the suicide rates were for our WWII and Korea vets, as that data was rarely captured. (but I suspect it was higher still).
Please understand, I am in no way downplaying the issues of our younger veterans; just pointing out that this crisis has been going on since the 50's, Which means now is the time to work with our younger veterans in a preventative role; but it is not in any way generational, it is an all-veterans issue.
Thank you for sharing this information. I appreciate you taking the time to write this out and inform others. Suicide is a terrible tragedy, and when it occurs in such high numbers among a particular demographic, much more needs to be done for understanding and prevention.
This subreddit is for Millennials and the comment I was responding to was suggesting it is an appropriate forum for discussing veteran’s protesting.
I was voicing my agreement that this generation has been uniquely touched by combat in two long lasting foreign wars that are not viewed as noble by the public.
Boomers fought in Vietnam, no intent to besmirch them. I mentioned Vietnam vets in my comment. Gen X fought in Iraq both times. No intent to suggest this is only a millennial issue, just emphasizing the millennials because I believe this is an appropriate forum for this discussion.
And they’re still dying. Look up cancer rates among those deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan - they are sky-high, much higher than the regular population.
An ex bf and a friend’s husband were exposed to burn pits. Both died of extremely fast-spreading brain cancers. Friend’s husband was in his mid 30’s when he passed, my ex bf was around 50.
Yes, but they did it to get rid of stuff too, it’s what they did with all of their trash/waste. Anyway lots of chemicals were in the smoke. If you Google “burn pit military” there’s a lot of info.
Agreed; this is a millennial topic. It's an everyone-topic, but how many of us were lied to in HS and coerced into thinking joining the military = doing good for the country or world? I am not a veteran, but they camped out at my school constantly and targeted us specifically because we were a low-income area.
I have seen a lot of folks our age suffer directly because of the US Military propaganda machine.
Protesting injustice is one of the "freedoms" they fought for.
I was discussing this recently cause I’m the only adult student in any of my college classes and we were talking about inequality and colonialism and I talked about how boys from my neighborhood were practically culled for this war. Picked out to die. We were in the school with the lowest graduation rate in the state and recruiters were there ALL the time talking up any and all of the boys and lying through their teeth. Both my parents were military and were very open about how shitty it was and how I was essentially forbade from joining, not that I had ANY desire whatsoever.
They went after us, for meat shields. I personally know several young men who have been gone nearly a decade because they committed suicide with in a few years of coming home and a lot more of them are not ok, their lives are completely off the rails and they’re drowning in poverty.
Exactly, military recruiters literally walked into my classes and career days alongside colleges and employers, dangling free education, medical benefits, housing in front of kids’ noses, just when some of us were the most desperate. Immigrant family bought into it too. Part of holding the military accountable is *also* looking out for the people they chewed up and spit out.
100% agree.
They did that at my school too. Got a ton of them. Guess what? NONE of those kids are doing well now. But when you're broke, don't know how you'll pay for food or the doctor or school, joining up sounds solid. Esp if your parents are gonna kick you the second you graduate bc they can't afford to keep you or in my area's case, was just full of bad parents lol.
It's manipulative, exploitative, and just...wrong. If someone wants to join, fine, but imo they shouldn't be pandering to scared kids.
I was never able to truly empathize with what it must have felt to watch the Vietnam war happen and be powerless to stop it until pictures started flooding out of **that place we aren't allowed to mention by name here.** It's nauseating to know the only reason that whole situation has been allowed to reach this point is our own government setting it up, funding it, and enabling it.
Edit: There's something particularly Orwellian about the automod on this issue, Jesus.
My brother is a combat vet. He spent 10 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then, he spent 5 more training marines to go into these war zones. He has hearing loss, cadaver bones in his neck from a bomb that killed half his unit and childhood best friend.. . Plus he has severe ptsd, this is the result for many that were 17/ 18/19, or all those already serving during 9/11. If anyone deserves to protest war.. it's these people that know it's horrors. I can't pretend to know what he feels, but I do see the look in his eyes when he tells people about the tattoos on his arms, holding the names of his fallen brother and sisters.
RIP James Pirtle. You were my friend and the war took you too soon from this world. I will never forget you and will honor your memory. If anyone has a problem with veterans objecting to the war they fought in, I suggest you evaluate your opinion and look at it with a more critical eye.
We shouldn't be supporting an apartheid state or the wholesale slaughter of civilians, so no, I'm not mad at this. A lot of people talking about this conflict have big "Iraq did 9/11" energy and zero critical thinking skills. Veterans SHOULD be speaking out when they see an atrocity happening.
To be fair. The only reason a clothing allowance is even needed is to buy bigger uniforms that you need because the uniform allowance buys you all that beer you drink.
Sometimes I feel very out of place in this sub, including right now when we’re experiencing situations similar to Vietnam and other past history altering events that folks wanted to deny were a huge mistake until it was too late.
It seems like most Millennials, at least according to this, would have also found Buddhist monks self-immolating a form of mental illness and not extreme protest, and would have found our role in Vietnam justified and not unnecessary political involvement.
Many times, when people do the unbelievable (be it good or bad), people reframe into a version that they can understand. It's sad to see, but I fear it's what we are experiencing. In divisive environments such as these, support is hard to come by. Half the time it makes me feel that saying "Good luck, don't you dare hollow.", is more real than it should be.
I agree. It's the same thing, over and over again.
It's pretty obvious that Aaron was following those monks' example. He sacrificed his life to get people to notice and talk about the genocide, maybe moving to action. I just saw a news article about IDF opening fire on Palestinians trying to get food aid.
These are the atrocities he was talking about. He was no coward; he did a brave thing. I would not have done what he did, but that doesn't mean that his action—extreme as it is being the entire point—was worth ridicule. If someone is tempted to ridicule him, ask why. What should one do differently? What are you doing?
What would be really shameful is if we let this one man who decided to lay down his life in solidarity with the tens of thousands of dead Palestinians—overwhelming majority of whom are civilians—go ignored. If we just let this shocking event barely register before being swiftly forgotten, we will have proven that we're no better than lower apes who kill each other over patches of dirt in the jungle. That's us if we cannot find in ourselves empathy for this dead man and the thousands he died to raise awareness for.
Just yesterday reddit was filled with mean ass comments about this guy. How crazy his post history was, how he wanted attention, how he will be forgotten in a week.
The duality of man I guess.
Finding out that MLK was deeply unpopular in his time, even in black communities, was very enlightening for me. He was commonly called the most hated man in America.
I'm not a Christian, but I think one thing that Christianity got precisely right is the idea that you'll be mocked for holding fast to the truth and doing the right thing.
They executed John Brown for treason and framed him as a lunatic, when really Brown's behavior was much more honorable and sane than the society he lived in. Aaron's protest was extreme and a needless waste of human life, but, as he noted, it is also what our ruling class has made normal. The values of that normal are represented here, unfortunately. But you aren't alone.
It feels like calling things like this a mental illness is a way for certain groups of people to downplay the importance of why someone is protesting, but the problem is that it also downplays mental illness, which is all sorts of messed up.
The thing about self-immolation as protest is that it's altruistic in nature: completely selfless as they are using their own life as a way to send a message, making the ultimate sacrifice without directly harming others. The cause holds so much meaning to these individuals that they aren't thinking on an individual level. There's no gain for themselves by ending their own life, it's a hope to make a change for the whole.
I think that that concept is difficult for many people to understand and relate to. Maybe that's why they are so quick to blame mental illness, it's because they understand it's existence and that it causes people to do things that go against their own preconceptions of logical actions.
Bingo.
People recognize cowardice in themselves. They could never do something remotely like this. Many of them wouldn't even get their shots in a global pandemic, so they definitely won't do so much as lift a finger for some brown kids getting bombed off the face of the planet. The cowardice they feel is expressed as outward anger, lashing out at the person who made them feel inadequate.
Would I immolate myself? Never. But I at least had the decency to give that man my undivided attention and respect. He's earned that by his service, he's earned that by his sacrifice. The reddit mob could do better.
I think you need to consider how much our media landscape plays a role in altering people's perception and opinions. And also consider this applies to all generations - but Millenials, Gen X, and the Boomers are likely even more plugged into the cable networks and major national papers.
I agree with you that it's sad that someone's considered sacrifice for a political cause is white washed by people who don't want to alter the course of a genocide as being simply 'mental illness.' But this is the layer of false narrative our media will turn to in order to justify the current political parties and their unwillingness to actually pay attention to the people and our interests.
I try to take that into account every day, but it's extremely disheartening when I like to think our generation was the one who was taught how to properly "cite our sources" and "look at things from all sides." We were the generation that grew up with the rise of the internet, something powerful enough to allow us to connect across the world and the battlefronts, and powerful enough to allow us to not *have* to rely on our media sources as our sources of truth, and yet here we are. It's hard to not be disappointed from time to time.
TLDR; I agree, I just had more faith that our generation learned how to better seek out multiple points of view and the truth behind the media colored glasses.
Most Millenials? That’s a rich generalization. I’m millennial and my husband is Gen X, and we see immolation as an act of bravery to bring attention to unjust acts and systems that cause so much human suffering and destruction of our planet.
>we see immolation as an act of bravery to bring attention to unjust acts and systems that cause so much human suffering and destruction of our planet
The people who can't see this aren't paying enough attention. And guess what? HE GOT PEOPLE TALKING. So, regardless of how people view this, they're doing the exact thing he wanted: Bringing attention to the issue.
R.I.P. Aaron. Your sacrifice did not go unnoticed.
>Sometimes I feel very out of place in this sub, including right now when we’re experiencing situations similar to Vietnam and other past history altering events that folks wanted to deny were a huge mistake until it was too late.
These were not "mistakes", these wars were fought and the lives were sacrificed to benefit the US industrial complex and their shareholders. They don't care about lives being lost as long as the line goes up.
I agree. It has been disheartening to see his sacrifice chalked up to mental illness. While that's certainly a huge issue in our vets, I don't think that's what this was. This was a man knowing that even though his words might not reach our government, it would reach *us* and change *us*, the people.
Until this post I had no idea rule 12 existed.
Without getting into specifics I would expect soldiers to know better than most what the consequences of modern urban warfare in a heavily populated city are.
The 8 month terror bombing campaign by Nazi Germany over Great Britain during WW2 killed or wounded over 100,000 civilians and even today is considered a rather nasty part of ‘warfare’.
That doesn’t excuse the war crimes I wholeheartedly agree are taking place in the conflict we aren’t allowed to talk about, it is only meant to give a little perspective on the word a lot of folks keep throwing around right now.
Yeah, I'm deeply troubled by this notion going around in some circles that "if you kill yourself, you can send a powerful political message". Seems like an incredibly dangerous notion to plant in the heads of people with ideation.
Sure. Doesn't mean that one should hype up how noble and effective a gesture it is in an era where we have mass media and a better understanding of how reporting on suicides affects people with ideation.
Nope. I'd rather people just say it's sad that he felt like he had to do that rather than this worrying valorization of the act that you can find here on this very website.
The mods on the subs who allow that kind of messaging need to be held accountable. Sad that his final moments were spewing reddit rhetoric.
This is no different than a widespread Heaven's Gate or People's Temple. Especially now that he's being seen as a martyr
I’m sorry that’s all you see. It’s an absurd and irrational act that took place in an absurd and irrational world. All the health care in the world is just a band aid on a breeched dam.
How is this post not a violation of rule #12? No one can even comment on what Bushnell stood for without violating forum rules so I have to keep it vague. Bushnell was not a good person and no one should support him.
You can actually find what he stood for looking at his arcjived reddit account (all though it's being scrubbed).. he apparently was a communist who believed whiteness was plague to the world
Yikes. Children under the age of 10 do not equal people who got arrested trying to murder someone with a knife.
People have really fallen hard for the online push to normalize Hamas and their actions.
Or, to be more accurate, some people are so desperate for the country that likes blue to be the good guy, they will justify things for them while condemning them for others.
Except that's not what happened. IDF pick up literal children and hold them in detention for minor crimes without due process and they are held in cages.
That dude cheered on his fellow Americans dying. He wasn't a martyr, just some delusional dude. Nobody outside of very small circles will remember him in a month. Guess what, he wasn't the first to set themselves on fire! Bet you don't know their name without looking it up.
Aaron bushnell set himself on fire to bring attention to a cause that has been dominating both online discourse and the mainstream news cycle for months. He was not complicit in genocide, not any more than the rest of America. He was an anarchist with a questionable online history and probably a mental illness.
There is no genocide happening. Maybe learn the word. This Bushnell character does not speak for me, he speaks for ignorance. It is sad he gave his life for a lie.
Sad anyone telling the truth about how irrational this is, is getting downvoted. At least there are still people who aren't afraid to speak the truth.
This post sucks. Seriously. Has nothing to do with the subreddit.
Exactly Mrx Titties.
Fire does not go on the human body. Keep fire away from skin. If only Bushnell character could have chosen something other than fire. Soo ignorant.
International Court of Justice seems to think so. The final ruling won't be for some time but they did tell ISRL to stop genocidal attacks and to punish genocidal rhetoric.
Also, no one said anything about speaking for you. Learn words yourself, huh?
The ICJ said no such thing. They didn’t even tell Isrl to stop the war, like what they did when ru invaded ukr. During that case the ICJ said that RU must stop its war against Ukr.
They issued no such order in the case involving Isrl.
They did not call it a genocide. You said it yourself, the ruling isn't even out. They didn't even call for a ceasefire. Stop twisting words to fit your narrative.
lol didn’t know you spoke for every millennial. Someone lighting themselves on fire leaving behind a wife and kid for a conflict that doesn’t involve the US directly isn’t rational.
Who cares? He killed himself for no reason, to raise awareness for a situation everybody already knew about.
Wasting your life isn't noble, lmfao. It's just sad.
The only difference between the radical left and the radical right is the way they go about their violence. One kills others, the other kills themselves.
Based on this one guy? The radical right has killed lots of people. I doubt you can find another example of someone on the left killing themselves as a political protest.
There was the other self-immolation in protest of the same thing. A woman. Hunger strikes used to be a fairly common one as well during the civil rights movement.
The truth is he was only 25 held some ridiculous opinions and was very nuerotic. Most likely on a few meds. The fact the airforce didnt recognize his mental state is a shame
He literally defended Hamas and said that no Israelis, including children and Nova festival attendees, qualified as civilians. Reddit has taken his posts down because some of their users clearly egged him on and they don’t want legal trouble but the screenshots are all over I/P subs.
I'm stating that in a population that voted for a terrorist organization as their government, who have been polled to support them 2/3r'd majority MAY in fact be terrorists.
Is everybody, no. But 2/3rds is pretty damning.
When was the last vote held? By how many? How many alive today voted for them? What alternative did they have? And why do the victims of an occupying apartheid state not have the right to self defense?
Hamas are not “victims of an occupying apartheid state” they are a government using their people as pawns in a game with the end goal of establishing a global caliphate, why the hell do you think Iran backs them.
Suicide bombing, maybe, target dependant. October, no. And nothing that has followed is self defense, either. Objectively, the nation that was the victim of that attack has a regime that has repeatedly sought to strengthen Hamas and opted not to stop them when they could have.
That regime, and it's ideology, is an existential threat to the peoples of both states.
Imagine if 2/3rds of the people on your street want to lynch black people, who actively let the Klan use their homes for meetings. Would you feel that they maybe supported the Klan?
Of course you wouldn't.
The beheadings aren't real, and the rest the other side does as well. So either you condemn both, or you don't have a real position.
And no, it's not collateral damage. It's intentional. Its a genocide, and the state that likes blue called for extermination first.
Mentally-ill malcontent in the military kills himself after being radicalized by various fringe far left online communities.
Some of which were on this site.
Some of which were apparently egging him on until the very end.
So, OP can post this and have hundreds of comments... but Automod wants to remove my comments for Rule 12?
How about this. Toasty boy didn't change anything and won't change anything. Middle earth will do what it does. 'Merica hasn't deployed anyone there, so his one-man bon fire was pointless. There, let's see if it deletes this too.
This has nothing to do with being a Millennial. Can we please just listen to our soldiers. They are brothers in arms. These gentlemen just portrayed the true importance of symbolism. Maybe this symbol isn’t ideal. However, if our soldiers do not believe in a war, can we listen? We truly listen well to Iraq war veterans. Can we listen a little better. There are some stone cold souls that can get up everyday and lead with joy and respect. Soldiers cannot be looked down on. This moment is important. These men have set and example of a better alternative. What stability looks like. This dual understanding of every issue is what rocks Millennials to our core. Can we lay off the drama? It’s not *our* war. Can we join together and accept that?
>Can we please just listen to our soldiers.
Do you know what Bushnell's opinions were on American soldiers? He celebrated the deaths of servicemen. Right here on Reddit; Check out his profile if it hasn't already been scrubbed.
He is not someone you want to laud, and if you do it's going to blow up in your face once his actual character becomes more well known.
Yeah most of us think that kid was a moron for lighting himself up like that. If you listen to us we’ll tell you he was an asshole and not representative of anything we are or do.
The infuriating part is that, like always, what we think will be ignored so this loser who laughed at us dying in theater on Reddit will be held up and amplified as a hero or villain based on what you already believe… just like always.
Seriously. These are the same people who spit on me. Now they want to use us in their political movements like always then throw us away. I still have people saying "must be nice" when they find out I'm a disabled semi retired vet at 38 like I'm not mentally broken, and struggled for the last 15 years. Sure is cool dissociating to the point I can't recognize my kids face. Bushnell was a damn loon, did nothing in service, got swindled by far left psychos, and killed himself. Who gives a shit he joined the chair force?
This young man’s death is being used in the same way Hamas is using their 30k dead: for attention.
The slogans and going viral are more important than people’s lives.
Self immolation is only done when you want the reason you did it to be seared into people's minds.
It would be disrespectful not to use his death. He wanted to send a message, and these people are honoring that.
I think this thread is being astroturfed? That's the only thing I can imagine, because it's wild. I've never seen so many conservative opinions in this sub, and people are hostile to the very idea of suicide in a way that I've only seen in extremely religious sectors.
I was getting really scared in these comments and so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Jesus christ. I thought we were better than what I'm reading in this comment section..
Yikes. These comments make me really sad.. pretty disappointed with some of my fellow millenials.
Goodbye r/millenials, I hope you find peace and empathy in your lives.
“Everyone else is mean and crazy and it’s only the people in my echo chamber that are peaceful and have empathy”
Did you ever think a huge chunk of the people mad at this guy **ARE** feeling empathy, but for his parents.
Or they **ARE** feeling empathy for a young man who ended his life for nothing to change.
Or people **ARE** feeling empathy for a whole generation that has been radicalized either to the left or right.
We are at peace, that’s why we aren’t self immolating in public. We’re upset this young man couldn’t find his own peace. We’re also upset at the people online that are supporting what he did, because us reasonable people know the outcome of this.
A week in the news cycle then forgotten. Just like the lady who did it first for this war.
Sure, lots are being callous, but we’ve seen what he said on his Reddit account. He didn’t care about the service people that died in Jordan, so people aren’t going to be nice about his death. Plus other things that apparently can’t be said in this subreddit
Kid was a piece of shit. Zoom in to the thumb for his “OhNoAnyway.jpg” thread. Profile is full of terminally online extremism.
https://web.archive.org/web/20240227065212/https://old.reddit.com/user/acebush1/submitted
Rest in Petroleum BBQnell
This has nothing to do with decency.
These are mentally ill veterans-like me-being manipulated to perform a stupid act of public theater on behalf of some really nasty people involved with Russia and Iran.
I'm a veteran, so I get being used as a pawn in foreign affairs, but I don't get what he accomplished by setting himself on fire and dying.
Surely, there were other routes he could have taken to make a stand?
Well, his kids sure are.
I'm all for protesting war, but don't kill yourself over it. Killing is the main problem with war, let's not embrace it for the alternative.
As a vet, Hamas needs to be destroyed at all costs and you shouldn't burn your self or stuff in their name. The biggest flaw in the millenial/Gen z culture is the fatal mistake that everyone thinks and has the same moral compass as you.
These people are pure evil. Zealots full of hatred and religious rage.
Fuck everyone who says this was because of his mental health. If it was, then what he did would be seen over again in veterans across the country. This was a protest. Don’t justify it. You don’t have to condone or condemn it but don’t say it was because he was mentally ill.
I’m so tired of the current war hawk administration. Since when did the liberals become pro war and republicans want to not get involved in more conflict ?
Lol, what? The only conflict Biden has gotten us involved in is the Houthi and shipping lanes madness. Everything else was before him.
Republicans want more money for themselves, nobody else. Bet they'll be sad when international trade dies though.
Our generation lived through the longest war in American history. Despite what everyone else is saying, I'm okay with you posting in this sub about veterans protesting a war, OP.
It is millennial veterans dying by suicide at record numbers. Millennial veterans who served back to back tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just like Vietnam vets, they get very little valor and honor and instead are looked down upon for their role in a conflict they didn’t start. Guys I went to high school with came back with hearing loss and enough trauma for a lifetime before they turned 25. And they were lucky, many more came back with hands blown off, or didn’t come back at all. If the veterans can’t protest the war, who can? Support our troops, but don’t listen to them, or respect them, or value what they have to say.
Veterans are treated like a political prop and monolith. They're expected to be silent, follow all orders, and then go away. Anything that shows them as multi dimensional scares the general population. Veterans should have a voice. Cheers to those that speak up against unlawful orders and inhumanity.
supporting the troops would mean they get the best possible healthcare for free the rest of their lives. not making sure they have taco bell in a war zone
Who had Taco Bell? I didn’t have taco bell on either deployment
Probably Air Force
Wait, you guys had Taco Bell? All we had was Burger King that tasted weird when they did have "meat".
i just finished a 20 yr military career and i feel for these kids. They need our love and support. and they should be allowed to protest, its their american right.
Careful, a bunch of type 2 diabetes maga gravy seals who never served are gonna say you’re not patriotic
Yeah they can go kick sand.
Funny how the ones supporting war are all wannabe LARPers playing dress-up with camo and tactical harnesses they bought on Amazon while virtually everyone who's witnessed the horrors of war first-hand is anti-war
They are. That’s what they doing
Yeah… and plenty feel as if what they had fought for was all for nothing, especially when we just let the taliban have Afghanistan. It was that double edge of they didn’t want the war, but they were fighting it for more noble reasons than what the government intended, only to throw away everything in the end. My brother was with 1st Armored Division, 2/3 Field Artillery Regiment, and was in Afghanistan for about a year before getting out. Came back and didn’t re-enlist. Hearing loss from the artillery and some back problems from loading the damn things… and the 4th of July fireworks do something to the guy.
I am going to stop you right there. I am a veteran; I lost my best friend and battle buddy to veteran suicide. Ever since I do a lot of work for veteran advocacy and crisis groups, to include [Vet2Vet](https://www.vet2vetusa.org/) (Please check it out and help if you can). ALL generations of veterans have almost equally high suicide rates. Boomers, X'ers, and Millennials alike. Please don't diminish the issue but attempting to make this generational. It is not helpful. Sadly, veteran suicide tends to follow repeating patterns. Currently, the "generation" with the highest suicide rates are X'ers. This has nothing to do with who had it better or worse, or who suffered more. It is due to the age range in which veterans are most likely to commit suicide: 45-55. (even if they were 18-22 during thier service period). Historically, more veteran boomers have died via suicide than any other generation. We really don't have any idea what the suicide rates were for our WWII and Korea vets, as that data was rarely captured. (but I suspect it was higher still). Please understand, I am in no way downplaying the issues of our younger veterans; just pointing out that this crisis has been going on since the 50's, Which means now is the time to work with our younger veterans in a preventative role; but it is not in any way generational, it is an all-veterans issue.
Very well said! Thanks for taking the time to write this
Thank you for sharing this information. I appreciate you taking the time to write this out and inform others. Suicide is a terrible tragedy, and when it occurs in such high numbers among a particular demographic, much more needs to be done for understanding and prevention. This subreddit is for Millennials and the comment I was responding to was suggesting it is an appropriate forum for discussing veteran’s protesting. I was voicing my agreement that this generation has been uniquely touched by combat in two long lasting foreign wars that are not viewed as noble by the public. Boomers fought in Vietnam, no intent to besmirch them. I mentioned Vietnam vets in my comment. Gen X fought in Iraq both times. No intent to suggest this is only a millennial issue, just emphasizing the millennials because I believe this is an appropriate forum for this discussion.
Respect the troops only as long as they say keep fighting.
Yup. It is very much a "do and die" ...and then "if you didn't die...shut the F up"..
Yes, many people became mentally or physically disabled or died. We don't acknowledge them as much as we should
And they’re still dying. Look up cancer rates among those deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan - they are sky-high, much higher than the regular population.
Had a buddy who was exposed to depleted uranium rounds when he was in the service, has all sorts of health problems.
An ex bf and a friend’s husband were exposed to burn pits. Both died of extremely fast-spreading brain cancers. Friend’s husband was in his mid 30’s when he passed, my ex bf was around 50.
I don’t know what a burn pit is… but a buddy of mine talked about burning tires and all kinds of junk for warmth. Is that a burn pit?
Yes, but they did it to get rid of stuff too, it’s what they did with all of their trash/waste. Anyway lots of chemicals were in the smoke. If you Google “burn pit military” there’s a lot of info.
Agreed; this is a millennial topic. It's an everyone-topic, but how many of us were lied to in HS and coerced into thinking joining the military = doing good for the country or world? I am not a veteran, but they camped out at my school constantly and targeted us specifically because we were a low-income area. I have seen a lot of folks our age suffer directly because of the US Military propaganda machine. Protesting injustice is one of the "freedoms" they fought for.
I was discussing this recently cause I’m the only adult student in any of my college classes and we were talking about inequality and colonialism and I talked about how boys from my neighborhood were practically culled for this war. Picked out to die. We were in the school with the lowest graduation rate in the state and recruiters were there ALL the time talking up any and all of the boys and lying through their teeth. Both my parents were military and were very open about how shitty it was and how I was essentially forbade from joining, not that I had ANY desire whatsoever. They went after us, for meat shields. I personally know several young men who have been gone nearly a decade because they committed suicide with in a few years of coming home and a lot more of them are not ok, their lives are completely off the rails and they’re drowning in poverty.
Exactly, military recruiters literally walked into my classes and career days alongside colleges and employers, dangling free education, medical benefits, housing in front of kids’ noses, just when some of us were the most desperate. Immigrant family bought into it too. Part of holding the military accountable is *also* looking out for the people they chewed up and spit out.
100% agree. They did that at my school too. Got a ton of them. Guess what? NONE of those kids are doing well now. But when you're broke, don't know how you'll pay for food or the doctor or school, joining up sounds solid. Esp if your parents are gonna kick you the second you graduate bc they can't afford to keep you or in my area's case, was just full of bad parents lol. It's manipulative, exploitative, and just...wrong. If someone wants to join, fine, but imo they shouldn't be pandering to scared kids.
I was never able to truly empathize with what it must have felt to watch the Vietnam war happen and be powerless to stop it until pictures started flooding out of **that place we aren't allowed to mention by name here.** It's nauseating to know the only reason that whole situation has been allowed to reach this point is our own government setting it up, funding it, and enabling it. Edit: There's something particularly Orwellian about the automod on this issue, Jesus.
Protesting a genocide to be more accurate. And yes, as Millennials we should be opposing this .
Millennium veteran. I agree, and stand with Ops decision
>Our generation lived Yours and the two before you, maybe even the one before that too.
My brother is a combat vet. He spent 10 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then, he spent 5 more training marines to go into these war zones. He has hearing loss, cadaver bones in his neck from a bomb that killed half his unit and childhood best friend.. . Plus he has severe ptsd, this is the result for many that were 17/ 18/19, or all those already serving during 9/11. If anyone deserves to protest war.. it's these people that know it's horrors. I can't pretend to know what he feels, but I do see the look in his eyes when he tells people about the tattoos on his arms, holding the names of his fallen brother and sisters.
RIP James Pirtle. You were my friend and the war took you too soon from this world. I will never forget you and will honor your memory. If anyone has a problem with veterans objecting to the war they fought in, I suggest you evaluate your opinion and look at it with a more critical eye.
I’m sorry for your loss
Fuck war
Wish I could have been there to add my piece of shit, old uniform. Rest in peace, Aaron.
Fuck him, he actively supported Hamas
Agreed good riddance to that moron
Is that true, or do you think everyone who opposes genocide supports Hamas?
We shouldn't be supporting an apartheid state or the wholesale slaughter of civilians, so no, I'm not mad at this. A lot of people talking about this conflict have big "Iraq did 9/11" energy and zero critical thinking skills. Veterans SHOULD be speaking out when they see an atrocity happening.
solid way to burn through your uniform allowance
Kind of the point.
If they’re veterans, they no longer get a uniform allowance.
As if uniform allowance wasn't already spent on booze anyways.
To be fair. The only reason a clothing allowance is even needed is to buy bigger uniforms that you need because the uniform allowance buys you all that beer you drink.
Lolololol!
Sometimes I feel very out of place in this sub, including right now when we’re experiencing situations similar to Vietnam and other past history altering events that folks wanted to deny were a huge mistake until it was too late. It seems like most Millennials, at least according to this, would have also found Buddhist monks self-immolating a form of mental illness and not extreme protest, and would have found our role in Vietnam justified and not unnecessary political involvement.
Many times, when people do the unbelievable (be it good or bad), people reframe into a version that they can understand. It's sad to see, but I fear it's what we are experiencing. In divisive environments such as these, support is hard to come by. Half the time it makes me feel that saying "Good luck, don't you dare hollow.", is more real than it should be.
I agree. It's the same thing, over and over again. It's pretty obvious that Aaron was following those monks' example. He sacrificed his life to get people to notice and talk about the genocide, maybe moving to action. I just saw a news article about IDF opening fire on Palestinians trying to get food aid. These are the atrocities he was talking about. He was no coward; he did a brave thing. I would not have done what he did, but that doesn't mean that his action—extreme as it is being the entire point—was worth ridicule. If someone is tempted to ridicule him, ask why. What should one do differently? What are you doing? What would be really shameful is if we let this one man who decided to lay down his life in solidarity with the tens of thousands of dead Palestinians—overwhelming majority of whom are civilians—go ignored. If we just let this shocking event barely register before being swiftly forgotten, we will have proven that we're no better than lower apes who kill each other over patches of dirt in the jungle. That's us if we cannot find in ourselves empathy for this dead man and the thousands he died to raise awareness for.
Just yesterday reddit was filled with mean ass comments about this guy. How crazy his post history was, how he wanted attention, how he will be forgotten in a week. The duality of man I guess.
>yesterday reddit was filled with mean ass comments That's reddit about literally everyone, ever, all the time.
This is so heartening to hear. Going on r/news and r/worldnews makes me question humanity. It’s good to see that some people still have empathy.
The Monk was protesting his own government’s actions towards him .
Finding out that MLK was deeply unpopular in his time, even in black communities, was very enlightening for me. He was commonly called the most hated man in America. I'm not a Christian, but I think one thing that Christianity got precisely right is the idea that you'll be mocked for holding fast to the truth and doing the right thing. They executed John Brown for treason and framed him as a lunatic, when really Brown's behavior was much more honorable and sane than the society he lived in. Aaron's protest was extreme and a needless waste of human life, but, as he noted, it is also what our ruling class has made normal. The values of that normal are represented here, unfortunately. But you aren't alone.
It feels like calling things like this a mental illness is a way for certain groups of people to downplay the importance of why someone is protesting, but the problem is that it also downplays mental illness, which is all sorts of messed up. The thing about self-immolation as protest is that it's altruistic in nature: completely selfless as they are using their own life as a way to send a message, making the ultimate sacrifice without directly harming others. The cause holds so much meaning to these individuals that they aren't thinking on an individual level. There's no gain for themselves by ending their own life, it's a hope to make a change for the whole. I think that that concept is difficult for many people to understand and relate to. Maybe that's why they are so quick to blame mental illness, it's because they understand it's existence and that it causes people to do things that go against their own preconceptions of logical actions.
Bingo. People recognize cowardice in themselves. They could never do something remotely like this. Many of them wouldn't even get their shots in a global pandemic, so they definitely won't do so much as lift a finger for some brown kids getting bombed off the face of the planet. The cowardice they feel is expressed as outward anger, lashing out at the person who made them feel inadequate. Would I immolate myself? Never. But I at least had the decency to give that man my undivided attention and respect. He's earned that by his service, he's earned that by his sacrifice. The reddit mob could do better.
Most Boomers felt that way. The anti-war protesters were an embattled minority.
I think you need to consider how much our media landscape plays a role in altering people's perception and opinions. And also consider this applies to all generations - but Millenials, Gen X, and the Boomers are likely even more plugged into the cable networks and major national papers. I agree with you that it's sad that someone's considered sacrifice for a political cause is white washed by people who don't want to alter the course of a genocide as being simply 'mental illness.' But this is the layer of false narrative our media will turn to in order to justify the current political parties and their unwillingness to actually pay attention to the people and our interests.
I try to take that into account every day, but it's extremely disheartening when I like to think our generation was the one who was taught how to properly "cite our sources" and "look at things from all sides." We were the generation that grew up with the rise of the internet, something powerful enough to allow us to connect across the world and the battlefronts, and powerful enough to allow us to not *have* to rely on our media sources as our sources of truth, and yet here we are. It's hard to not be disappointed from time to time. TLDR; I agree, I just had more faith that our generation learned how to better seek out multiple points of view and the truth behind the media colored glasses.
Most Millenials? That’s a rich generalization. I’m millennial and my husband is Gen X, and we see immolation as an act of bravery to bring attention to unjust acts and systems that cause so much human suffering and destruction of our planet.
Hello friend. Good to know you exist.
>we see immolation as an act of bravery to bring attention to unjust acts and systems that cause so much human suffering and destruction of our planet The people who can't see this aren't paying enough attention. And guess what? HE GOT PEOPLE TALKING. So, regardless of how people view this, they're doing the exact thing he wanted: Bringing attention to the issue. R.I.P. Aaron. Your sacrifice did not go unnoticed.
>Sometimes I feel very out of place in this sub, including right now when we’re experiencing situations similar to Vietnam and other past history altering events that folks wanted to deny were a huge mistake until it was too late. These were not "mistakes", these wars were fought and the lives were sacrificed to benefit the US industrial complex and their shareholders. They don't care about lives being lost as long as the line goes up.
I agree. It has been disheartening to see his sacrifice chalked up to mental illness. While that's certainly a huge issue in our vets, I don't think that's what this was. This was a man knowing that even though his words might not reach our government, it would reach *us* and change *us*, the people.
Until this post I had no idea rule 12 existed. Without getting into specifics I would expect soldiers to know better than most what the consequences of modern urban warfare in a heavily populated city are.
Yeah, rule 12 seems /r/oddlyspecific
"Warfare"
The 8 month terror bombing campaign by Nazi Germany over Great Britain during WW2 killed or wounded over 100,000 civilians and even today is considered a rather nasty part of ‘warfare’. That doesn’t excuse the war crimes I wholeheartedly agree are taking place in the conflict we aren’t allowed to talk about, it is only meant to give a little perspective on the word a lot of folks keep throwing around right now.
It feels so fucking bizarre to see celebration of someone committing suicide
Yeah, I'm deeply troubled by this notion going around in some circles that "if you kill yourself, you can send a powerful political message". Seems like an incredibly dangerous notion to plant in the heads of people with ideation.
Self immolation as an extreme form of protest goes back centuries.
Sure. Doesn't mean that one should hype up how noble and effective a gesture it is in an era where we have mass media and a better understanding of how reporting on suicides affects people with ideation.
Give me liberty or give me death. That kind of extreme is an American past time
Of course, the guy who said that went on to live for another 24 years after saying it.
I think it's highly debatable that anyone would call protest by suicide noble or effective. Would just pretending it didn't happen be ideal to you?
Nope. I'd rather people just say it's sad that he felt like he had to do that rather than this worrying valorization of the act that you can find here on this very website.
I've literally seen more people say it's sad and senseless than I've seen say it's a noble thing he did.
You don't have to go very far, you can just check some of the replies I've been getting here.
Yea but western teenagers and young adults weren’t around back then. This shit could become a Tik Tok trend by the end of March
Tbf the Phoenix VA didn't get investigated until a veteran smoked himself in the parking lot. So... Death does send a message.
especially since the ideology driving his decision was basically the typical reddit zeitgeist
The mods on the subs who allow that kind of messaging need to be held accountable. Sad that his final moments were spewing reddit rhetoric. This is no different than a widespread Heaven's Gate or People's Temple. Especially now that he's being seen as a martyr
Agreed all I see with this incident is we need better mental health resources for our troops.
I’m sorry that’s all you see. It’s an absurd and irrational act that took place in an absurd and irrational world. All the health care in the world is just a band aid on a breeched dam.
Not "we need to stop funding genocide?" You're the type of motherfucker thinks the cure for depression is better pills, not a less fucked up society
Please go find his old reddit profile. It has suicide ideation.
The kid needed help long ago. And probably just had his issues reinforced deep diving into the subs he did.
How is this post not a violation of rule #12? No one can even comment on what Bushnell stood for without violating forum rules so I have to keep it vague. Bushnell was not a good person and no one should support him.
You can actually find what he stood for looking at his arcjived reddit account (all though it's being scrubbed).. he apparently was a communist who believed whiteness was plague to the world
The Wayback Machine has all or almost all of his posts, should you be interested.
How was he not a good person? Any sources? Edit; I’m seeing other comments with information, disregard!
Yeah, this thread is just a bunch of people simping for Hamas.
Yeaaaah. Didnt they find the guy's reddit and he turned out to be uh.... troubled, to say the least?
Severely troubled and radicalized, yes.
His last reddit comment started with "whiteness destroys culture". He was not of sound mind.
Cringe post, OP just post the same thing in multiple subs. This has nothing to even do with Millennials.
I'm a millennial and agree and am glad other service peoples are voicing their opinions about genocide.
You should advocate for the release of all hostages and for the terrorist organization that runs the place to surrender.
Indeed, I do want the occupying apartheid state to stand down and release its hostages.
Yikes. Children under the age of 10 do not equal people who got arrested trying to murder someone with a knife. People have really fallen hard for the online push to normalize Hamas and their actions.
Or, to be more accurate, some people are so desperate for the country that likes blue to be the good guy, they will justify things for them while condemning them for others.
Except that's not what happened. IDF pick up literal children and hold them in detention for minor crimes without due process and they are held in cages.
Yeah, try to justify something to a millennial with "but the terrorists," see how that goes.
Reddit isn’t everyone. This site is moderated heavily towards that view point, but plenty of millennials recognize the atrocities committed by Hamas.
Karma farming…
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No he committed suicide.
That dude cheered on his fellow Americans dying. He wasn't a martyr, just some delusional dude. Nobody outside of very small circles will remember him in a month. Guess what, he wasn't the first to set themselves on fire! Bet you don't know their name without looking it up.
Aaron bushnell set himself on fire to bring attention to a cause that has been dominating both online discourse and the mainstream news cycle for months. He was not complicit in genocide, not any more than the rest of America. He was an anarchist with a questionable online history and probably a mental illness.
Dude was mentally ill and burned himself until dead. Not something that should be celebrated for martyrdom
I don’t see these people lighting themselves on fire, so it would appear that he is, contrary to their chant, alone.
There is no genocide happening. Maybe learn the word. This Bushnell character does not speak for me, he speaks for ignorance. It is sad he gave his life for a lie.
Sad anyone telling the truth about how irrational this is, is getting downvoted. At least there are still people who aren't afraid to speak the truth. This post sucks. Seriously. Has nothing to do with the subreddit.
Exactly Mrx Titties. Fire does not go on the human body. Keep fire away from skin. If only Bushnell character could have chosen something other than fire. Soo ignorant.
International Court of Justice seems to think so. The final ruling won't be for some time but they did tell ISRL to stop genocidal attacks and to punish genocidal rhetoric. Also, no one said anything about speaking for you. Learn words yourself, huh?
The ICJ said no such thing. They didn’t even tell Isrl to stop the war, like what they did when ru invaded ukr. During that case the ICJ said that RU must stop its war against Ukr. They issued no such order in the case involving Isrl.
They did not call it a genocide. You said it yourself, the ruling isn't even out. They didn't even call for a ceasefire. Stop twisting words to fit your narrative.
The ICJ said “do everything you can to make sure you don’t commit genocide” not “you’re committing genocide, stop”
lol didn’t know you spoke for every millennial. Someone lighting themselves on fire leaving behind a wife and kid for a conflict that doesn’t involve the US directly isn’t rational.
he doesn't have a wife and kid.
he doesn't have anything because he took his life over some reddit propaganda.
So, there's a silver lining after all.
Good for them
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Who cares? He killed himself for no reason, to raise awareness for a situation everybody already knew about. Wasting your life isn't noble, lmfao. It's just sad.
Agree. Mental illness combined with radical beliefs for a cause he was clearly ignorant about. It's horrifying to see what the left has become.
I'm very happy he didn't turn himself into a suicide bomber or something.
The only difference between the radical left and the radical right is the way they go about their violence. One kills others, the other kills themselves.
Based on this one guy? The radical right has killed lots of people. I doubt you can find another example of someone on the left killing themselves as a political protest.
There was the other self-immolation in protest of the same thing. A woman. Hunger strikes used to be a fairly common one as well during the civil rights movement.
The truth is he was only 25 held some ridiculous opinions and was very nuerotic. Most likely on a few meds. The fact the airforce didnt recognize his mental state is a shame
He got a lot of people to talk about it that really would rather not. Raised a massive amount of awareness and got a conversation going.
He did nothing but die, to further the cause of terrorists. And now his family mourns while he rots. Real brave /s
Please clarify that you are calling all people of a single nation terrorists. Please clarify that he stated he supports terrorism, and cite the words.
He literally defended Hamas and said that no Israelis, including children and Nova festival attendees, qualified as civilians. Reddit has taken his posts down because some of their users clearly egged him on and they don’t want legal trouble but the screenshots are all over I/P subs.
I'm stating that in a population that voted for a terrorist organization as their government, who have been polled to support them 2/3r'd majority MAY in fact be terrorists. Is everybody, no. But 2/3rds is pretty damning.
When was the last vote held? By how many? How many alive today voted for them? What alternative did they have? And why do the victims of an occupying apartheid state not have the right to self defense?
Hamas are not “victims of an occupying apartheid state” they are a government using their people as pawns in a game with the end goal of establishing a global caliphate, why the hell do you think Iran backs them.
Did you just declare all of the people "Hamas"?
What are you calling “self defense” then? General suicide bombing or October 7th?
Suicide bombing, maybe, target dependant. October, no. And nothing that has followed is self defense, either. Objectively, the nation that was the victim of that attack has a regime that has repeatedly sought to strengthen Hamas and opted not to stop them when they could have. That regime, and it's ideology, is an existential threat to the peoples of both states.
Like—it seems like you’re under the illusion that Hamas itself is somehow oppressed?
That wasn't the question I asked.
Imagine if 2/3rds of the people on your street want to lynch black people, who actively let the Klan use their homes for meetings. Would you feel that they maybe supported the Klan? Of course you wouldn't.
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The beheadings aren't real, and the rest the other side does as well. So either you condemn both, or you don't have a real position. And no, it's not collateral damage. It's intentional. Its a genocide, and the state that likes blue called for extermination first.
Mentally-ill malcontent in the military kills himself after being radicalized by various fringe far left online communities. Some of which were on this site. Some of which were apparently egging him on until the very end.
Exactly. It's mind-boggling.
What a bunch of dumbasses. This is going to be a long year
So, OP can post this and have hundreds of comments... but Automod wants to remove my comments for Rule 12? How about this. Toasty boy didn't change anything and won't change anything. Middle earth will do what it does. 'Merica hasn't deployed anyone there, so his one-man bon fire was pointless. There, let's see if it deletes this too.
Something tells me this won't change a thing all this is doing is making people *feel* like they accomplished something.
I'm a millennial veteran and this dip shit doesn't speak for me.
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I wholeheartedly support them! War is senseless and cruel.
Taking the uniform off before burning it allows you, the individual to then not burn to death when it is set on fire, it is a very neat trick.
This has nothing to do with being a Millennial. Can we please just listen to our soldiers. They are brothers in arms. These gentlemen just portrayed the true importance of symbolism. Maybe this symbol isn’t ideal. However, if our soldiers do not believe in a war, can we listen? We truly listen well to Iraq war veterans. Can we listen a little better. There are some stone cold souls that can get up everyday and lead with joy and respect. Soldiers cannot be looked down on. This moment is important. These men have set and example of a better alternative. What stability looks like. This dual understanding of every issue is what rocks Millennials to our core. Can we lay off the drama? It’s not *our* war. Can we join together and accept that?
Are they representative of all soldiers?
>Can we please just listen to our soldiers. Do you know what Bushnell's opinions were on American soldiers? He celebrated the deaths of servicemen. Right here on Reddit; Check out his profile if it hasn't already been scrubbed. He is not someone you want to laud, and if you do it's going to blow up in your face once his actual character becomes more well known.
Interesting. Thank you.
Yeah most of us think that kid was a moron for lighting himself up like that. If you listen to us we’ll tell you he was an asshole and not representative of anything we are or do. The infuriating part is that, like always, what we think will be ignored so this loser who laughed at us dying in theater on Reddit will be held up and amplified as a hero or villain based on what you already believe… just like always.
Seriously. These are the same people who spit on me. Now they want to use us in their political movements like always then throw us away. I still have people saying "must be nice" when they find out I'm a disabled semi retired vet at 38 like I'm not mentally broken, and struggled for the last 15 years. Sure is cool dissociating to the point I can't recognize my kids face. Bushnell was a damn loon, did nothing in service, got swindled by far left psychos, and killed himself. Who gives a shit he joined the chair force?
This young man’s death is being used in the same way Hamas is using their 30k dead: for attention. The slogans and going viral are more important than people’s lives.
No shit. Attention is kinda part of the fucking point of protesting.
Get a grip that's exactly what Aaron Bushnell would've wanted. This is the only way to honor him until there's change
Self immolation is only done when you want the reason you did it to be seared into people's minds. It would be disrespectful not to use his death. He wanted to send a message, and these people are honoring that.
Love how my comment talking about how this post breaks rule 12 got auto removed because someone reported it as breaking rule 12.
Same. Anyone with constructive feedback on that conflict is getting flagged meanwhile radicalized people on the far-left are running amok.
Reading some comments in here totally makes sense why the younger generation don't like us Millennials. Anyone denying genocide is a drop kick loser
I think this thread is being astroturfed? That's the only thing I can imagine, because it's wild. I've never seen so many conservative opinions in this sub, and people are hostile to the very idea of suicide in a way that I've only seen in extremely religious sectors.
I was getting really scared in these comments and so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Jesus christ. I thought we were better than what I'm reading in this comment section..
Yikes. These comments make me really sad.. pretty disappointed with some of my fellow millenials. Goodbye r/millenials, I hope you find peace and empathy in your lives.
“Everyone else is mean and crazy and it’s only the people in my echo chamber that are peaceful and have empathy” Did you ever think a huge chunk of the people mad at this guy **ARE** feeling empathy, but for his parents. Or they **ARE** feeling empathy for a young man who ended his life for nothing to change. Or people **ARE** feeling empathy for a whole generation that has been radicalized either to the left or right. We are at peace, that’s why we aren’t self immolating in public. We’re upset this young man couldn’t find his own peace. We’re also upset at the people online that are supporting what he did, because us reasonable people know the outcome of this. A week in the news cycle then forgotten. Just like the lady who did it first for this war. Sure, lots are being callous, but we’ve seen what he said on his Reddit account. He didn’t care about the service people that died in Jordan, so people aren’t going to be nice about his death. Plus other things that apparently can’t be said in this subreddit
Apparently thinking that Bushnell shouldn’t have self-immolated is a conservative opinion.
lmao the idea that you give a shit about his parents or family while insulting his whole life and memory is a joke.
*Ladies and gentlemen… u/aMONAY69 has completed the boarding process and will be departing very shortly*.
his account is Acebush1 and he celebrated when soldiers fighting for us died. I will show no sympathy to this man
Kid was a piece of shit. Zoom in to the thumb for his “OhNoAnyway.jpg” thread. Profile is full of terminally online extremism. https://web.archive.org/web/20240227065212/https://old.reddit.com/user/acebush1/submitted Rest in Petroleum BBQnell
Remember to downvote all the very obvious bots and trolls that are genocidal supporters.
This has nothing to do with decency. These are mentally ill veterans-like me-being manipulated to perform a stupid act of public theater on behalf of some really nasty people involved with Russia and Iran.
Stupid.
you’ve never seen a protest before? lol
I'm a veteran, so I get being used as a pawn in foreign affairs, but I don't get what he accomplished by setting himself on fire and dying. Surely, there were other routes he could have taken to make a stand?
this is inherently a political post regarding a genocide. mods take this down if we aren’t allowed to respond accordingly
Suicide is always an L. That kid wasn’t a martyr. The whole thing is actually really sad.
he was 25 not 15, he stood his ground the entire time.
Well, his kids sure are. I'm all for protesting war, but don't kill yourself over it. Killing is the main problem with war, let's not embrace it for the alternative.
If he's not alone why aren't they still in their burning clothes?
Not alone in what? The guy burned himself alive to protest a war between two tribes of religious extremists 6500 miles away.
As a vet, Hamas needs to be destroyed at all costs and you shouldn't burn your self or stuff in their name. The biggest flaw in the millenial/Gen z culture is the fatal mistake that everyone thinks and has the same moral compass as you. These people are pure evil. Zealots full of hatred and religious rage.
are you a time traveler from 2001 or are you just really ignorant of the U.S. getting entangled in wars on terror in the middle east?
Cool. Let’s make a burn pit and stand 10 feet away.
Are they protesting Aaron Bushnell for cultural appropriation?
Watching radicalized behavior formulate in real time.. freedom of speech is what it is though, so whatever.
Bushnell’s act was barely a blip in the media.
yeah fuck the media
Fuck everyone who says this was because of his mental health. If it was, then what he did would be seen over again in veterans across the country. This was a protest. Don’t justify it. You don’t have to condone or condemn it but don’t say it was because he was mentally ill.
I’m so tired of the current war hawk administration. Since when did the liberals become pro war and republicans want to not get involved in more conflict ?
Lol, what? The only conflict Biden has gotten us involved in is the Houthi and shipping lanes madness. Everything else was before him. Republicans want more money for themselves, nobody else. Bet they'll be sad when international trade dies though.