Aussie girl living in Germany. Passionate about music and the arts, yoga, and the end of neoliberalism. Mother of two, partner of one, living a musical life! 🎶
One of the main reasons the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell is having such an earthshaking impact on our society is because it’s the single most profound act of sincerity that any of us have ever witnessed.
In this fraudulent civilization where everything is fake and stupid, we are not accustomed to such sincerity. We’re accustomed to vapid mainstream culture manufactured in New York and Los Angeles, airheaded celebrities who never talk about anything real, self-aggrandizing Instagram activism, synthetic political factions designed to herd populist discontent into support for status quo politics, phony shitlib “I hear you, I stand with you [but I won’t actually do anything]” posturing, endless propaganda and diversion from the mass media and its online equivalents which are algorithmically boosted by Silicon Valley tech plutocrats, and a mind-controlled dystopia where almost everyone is sleepwalking through life in a psyop-induced fog.
That is the sort of experience we have been conditioned to expect here in the shadow of the western empire. And then, out of nowhere, some Air Force guy comes along and does something real. Something as authentic and sincere as anything could possibly be, with the very noblest of intentions.
He live-streamed himself lighting himself on fire and burning to death in order to draw people’s attention to how horrific the US-backed atrocities in Gaza actually are. Knowing full well how painful it would be. Knowing full well he’d either die or survive with horrific burns and wish he’d died. Knowing full well that once he connected the flame with the accelerant he poured onto his body, there’d be no turning back.
He didn’t back down. He didn’t go home and stuff his face with snacks and gossip in the group chat and see what types of mindless escapism are available on Netflix or Pornhub. He lit the flame. He even struggled to light it at first, and he still did.
There’s nothing in our society that can prepare us for that kind of sincerity. That kind of selflessness. That kind of purity of intention. It stops us dead in our tracks, as if the fabric of our world has been ripped asunder. And, in a way, it has.
We’re not really living in the same world we were living in before Aaron Bushnell lit himself on fire at 1 PM on February 25th. It was far too sincere an act, committed in the least sincere city on this planet. It shook things around far too much for all the pieces to fit fully back into place.
I myself am permanently changed. I find myself reapproaching the Gaza genocide with fresh eyes, renewed vigor, and invincible determination. I now write with a different kind of fire in my guts.
And looking around I can see it’s much the same for others. Where previously we’d begun seeing the opposition to the incineration of Gaza beginning to lose a bit of energy due to despair and how hard it is to keep something energized for months on end, we are now seeing electrifying enthusiasm.
More importantly, this is shaking things up in mainstream society and not just within the pro-Palestine crowd. We’re seeing Bushnell’s final words about the US empire’s complicity with genocide shared on mainstream networks like CNN and ABC, while Israel apologists run around falling all over themselves trying to tell people nobody cares about what Bushnell did like a guy sending a woman dozens of texts saying he’s totally unbothered that she rejected his advances. A member of the US military lighting himself on fire while screaming “Free Palestine” is absolutely devastating to the information interests of Israel and the United States, because it shakes people awake like nothing else ever could.
All around our fake plastic dystopia people are now opening their eyes, saying “Wait, huh? That man did what? Why? I thought nothing matters but my comfort and my feelings and my small circle of people I care about? My country is complicit in a what now? Is it possible I’ve been missing something important?”
With his profound act of sincerity, Aaron Bushnell extended the world an invitation to a very different way of looking at life. An invitation to pierce through the veil of superficiality and narcissism to a radical authenticity and a deep compassion for our fellow human beings. To a profound sincerity of our own, with which we can shake the world awake in our own unique ways.
At 1 PM on February 25th, Aaron Bushnell lit more than one kind of fire. A fire that drives us to act. A fire that lights the way. A fire that inspires us. A fire that shows us another way of being. A fire which shows us a better world is possible.
We won’t forget his message. We couldn’t if we tried.
@MinorityView@MikeDonio And… there are those who will only trust peer-reviewed literature proving the dangers, which hasn’t been easy to find, and which I think is changing (happy to have links to peer-reviewed anything dealing with the dangers of any of these CV19 “countermeasures” if anyone has any)
Don't ever wonder again how the great majority of citizens of Germany et al were able to commit genocidal mass murder, 80 years on and the foreknowledge of what went before and the ability to watch it in real time Millions of westerners are cheering on the slaughter of new sub-humans #IsraelAttack
The reason you no longer get actual news and journalism is because Ronald Reagan removed the Fairness Doctrine laws in ‘87 which prevented media companies from becoming a monopoly.
They weren't allowed to own more than one type of media company, nor could they own multiple, and all companies were obligated by law to report both sides of an argument.
They legally were not allowed to falsely report or manipulate.
Thanks to Reagan, we now all drown under media influence and manipulation.
Today, I'm thinking of all those in Israel and Palestine suffering unimaginable pain, trauma and fear.
The horrific attacks on civilians in Israel were deplorable. This cannot justify the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians, who are paying the price for a crime they did not commit.
Half of Gaza’s population are children. Trapped in an open-air prison without food, water, gas or electricity, they are watching their homes turn to rubble with nowhere to go.
We should condemn the use of violence against all civilians, Israeli and Palestinian. And we must renew our calls for an immediate ceasefire to prevent any further loss of life.
In times of war, we need more voices for peace — and the only way to achieve peace is to end the occupation.
Pick a side? I side with the people. Civilians. All of them.
I've been to Israel. My father lives there, in Jerusalem.
I'm half Palestinian. But I have numerous amazing, lovely Jewish friends.
My doctor is Jewish.
The news, once again, isn't giving you the whole truth.
The VAST majority of Palestinians are not a hateful or violent people.
On the contrary, they're some of the most loving, welcoming, family-oriented, intelligent people I've ever seen.
They love their children, just like you do. They spend their time talking, dancing, sharing the most amazing food with extended family, every day.
They greet others warmly with hugs and kisses, always. They live their lives with a smile on their face, despite living in very oppressive circumstances.
The ones parading around dead babies or stoning women are a very SICK and FEW minority.
But they get all the headlines.
What happened to Jewish civilians is mind-bogglingly Horrific.
What's happening to Palestinian civilians is mind-bogglingly Terrible.
This is not a situation to be cheering for any one side.
This is a complex, dark, TRAGEDY.
There are 2 million human beings crammed into Gaza. Most have no ability to leave.
50% of Gaza is children.
If you find yourself cheering the fact that they're now cut off from food, water, electricity...
That children will now slowly starve to death or be blown up...
If you want to "wipe out" 2 million civilians...
I urge you to step back & evaluate where your heart is & what the media may be doing to you.
I encourage you to look deeper than the leading news headlines, meant to divide & elicit emotion.
If we have to pick a side, I invite you to join me in supporting innocent HUMAN BEINGS, of all types. ❤️
@tree6500@PatriotsArise1@naomirwolf Here’s a clip of Dr John Campbell (one of my YT heroes atm) discussing a new vaccine that actually seems worth taking. This clip is a summary of a longer interview with Dr Dalgleish. See what you think…
https://t.co/RMFgqvOizh
Alice #Schwarzer und ich haben ein "Manifest für Frieden" verfasst. Für #Verhandlungen statt #Panzer. Ab heute kann sich jede/r anschließen: https://t.co/UD8JGBXsVl Für den 25. Februar, 14 Uhr, laden wir zu einer Kundgebung am Brandenburger Tor ein. #AufstandfuerFrieden
Even in the wake of a devastating earthquake that has killed 5,000 people in Turkey and Syria, the US and EU refuse to lift the sanctions which prevent Syrians from receiving direct aid from many countries.
Remember this the next time they lecture the world about human rights.