Not all beaurocrats at the US State Department are cynic opportunists like its speaker, the spineless word-twister Matthew Miller.
Listen to Annelle Sheline, who resigned from her post as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor due to the unsurmountable contradictions between her humanitarian principles and the ongoing support of Israel's #genocide in #Gaza her ministry is in large parts responsible for.
What had special impact on her final decision to step down from her prestigious job were some of those important words #AaronBushnell voiced before he sacrificed his life to the cause of resisting this criminal policy.
This proves once again how powerful his self-immolating protest was - it pushed all the right buttons of people who are already in mental pain about their part in the annihilation of Palestinians and who grant themselves the freedom and courage to dissent and say No!
On the latest episode of #ThisIsAmerica, we speak with friends of #AaronBushnell in #SanAntonio, #Texas about their friend and what media narratives got wrong. We also speak with an anarchist from #Montreal about the ongoing history of resistance in #Haiti, colonialism, and much more.
#AaronBushnell’s words that he would “no longer be complicit” highlight one of the often overlooked aspects of the military: it’s never the rich and powerful behind the guns. They create an armed body of working-class men and women to fight and die for them instead.
We are constantly fed the idea that joining the military is honourable or that enlistment entails great fun and travel. For most enlistees, though, the military is sold as a way to get out of poverty. #CapitalismIsADeathCult https://redflag.org.au/article/aaron-bushnell-perished-palestine
“I will be no longer complicit in #genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of #protest, but compared to what #people have been experiencing in #Palestine at the hands of their #colonizers, it is not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal. #FreePalestine. Free Palestine. Free Palestine.”
#CivilSocietyRisesAgainstUnspeakableAtrocities: “And so not only is there this history of self-immolation by very genuine, deep thinking people who are so opposed to war and to killing by their government that they take this extreme act, this ultimate sacrifice, but it has also been the impetus for change from people like Daniel Ellsberg, like a domino effect of others rebelling, but also became galvanizing moments for the movement.”
Mintcast Podcast on #aaronbushnell: “I mean, Aaron Bushnell was not just part of this history of soldiers who become anti-war or become politicized, but someone who had become class conscious. And by identifying the ruling class as the perpetrators of this, was identifying that we live in a class society with a ruling class that is very small, that has all the money, that makes all the decisions, who are the ones, the small group of people who actually gain from the Gaza genocide, whereas the rest of us in the other class, the working class, are the ones who not only pay from it, but suffer from it and have so much in common with those in Palestine who are being killed when we don't have anything in common with people who are in the ruling class.”
"And yet the mere existence of this genocide on the heels of last century’s most famous Holocaust shows us that even time cannot mete out this blandly equalizing consolation if we don’t learn the correct lessons from history."
"VETERANS: "Our real enemy is the millionaire politicians and their billionaire owners who send us to die."
After US airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolated to demand a "Free Palestine," veterans around the country are burning their uniforms and raising their voices." - Breakthrough News
#Chinese#artist commemorates #AaronBushnell, who died from his injuries after self-immolating in an act of #protest against #Israel’s #genocide in #Gaza. Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the #USAirForce, passed away in February from injuries sustained when he self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy in #WashingtonDC. His final words were #FreePalestine in a video he recorded & live-streamed.
“Would Aaron have described this as suicide?” Goodman asked Pierpont.
“No, absolutely not,” Pierpont replied, adding, “He didn’t have thoughts of suicide. He had thoughts of justice. That’s what this was about. It wasn’t about his life. It was about using his life to send a message.”
On February 25, we received an email from a person who signed himself Aaron Bushnell, announcing that he was going to engage in an act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people.
Shortly afterwards, Aaron set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC.
All afternoon, while other journalists were breaking the news, we discussed how we should speak about this. Some subjects are too complex to address in a hasty social media post.
Here, we share some of our thoughts about tragedy, urgency, and sacrifice.
“I view enforced homelessness as a societal failing. I believe that no one deserves to be deprived of basic human necessities” #aaronbushnell . This was a man!