“The self-burning of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in 1963 is somehow difficult for the Western Christian conscience to understand. The Press spoke then of suicide, but in the essence, it is not. It is not even a protest.

What the monks said in the letters they left before burning themselves aimed only at alarming, at moving the hearts of the oppressors and at calling the attention of the world to the suffering endured then by the Vietnamese. To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of pain is to say it with the utmost of courage, frankness, determination and sincerity.”

Letter from Thich Nhat Hanh to Dr. Martin Luther King (June 1, 1965)

“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”
–Aaron Bushnell (Feb. 25, 2024)

A young man has taken his own life. Ordinarily, this would be another of life’s painful tragedies, but there was nothing “ordinary” about this death. On February 25, 2024, Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty Airman in the United States Air Force, while dressed in his uniform, walked to the front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, where he doused himself in a flammable liquid and self-immolated in protest of the genocide of the Palestinian people. Bushnell’s final words before being overtaken by agonizing pain were “Free Palestine!”

Bushnell recorded the following message as he approached the Embassy of Israel:

“I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit to 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’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

In an act that can only be characterized as emblematic of the absurd cruelty of American life, a Secret Service officer who was on the scene, rather than offering immediate assistance, drew his weapon and pointed it at Bushnell, shouting “Get on the ground!” as Bushnell burned to death.

Let us be very clear on one thing. This was a “suicide” only in the sense that Bushnell died by his own hand. This was not an act of madness or “mental illness”; this was a conscious, calculated act of political protest. The agony that Aaron Bushnell suffered stands for thousands of other agonies that occur daily in Palestine, Ukraine, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  

Let us be clear on another thing. We must always bear in mind the words of Kwame Ture: “Non-violence,” and this was the ultimate act of non-violence, “only works if your opponent has a conscience. The United States has none.” Individual self-sacrifice does not sway the imperialist war machine, as this machine does not value human life. The way forward is through the united mass action of the people to bring down the entire genocidal system, not an individual act of self-destruction. Such an act of sacrifice does send a message, however, not only to the ruling class but to all peoples of the world, and it is our duty as the oppressed and exploited masses to ensure his life was not given in vain. Mass organizing and resistance is the way to honor comrade Bushnell’s wishes for a free Palestine. We do not intend to disparage Bushnell’s anguish or dismiss his sacrifice, but rather to maximize the efficacy of his chosen tactic, in order to end the onslaught that has claimed over 30,000 Palestinian lives in only five months.

Let us be clear on one final matter. The blame for this tragic event, and for the genocide we see unfolding daily in Gaza, lies squarely on the shoulders of the imperialist warmongers and Zionists.

The American Party of Labor calls on all members of the US military, in Bushnell’s memory, to stand up against the atrocities being committed in Palestine and around the world by refusing to be part of the imperialist war machine. To be conscientious objectors, to launch a soldier’s strike, to put down your guns, and to prevent arms shipments are the best ways to honor and respect our comrade’s pain and sacrifice.

The American Party of Labor also issues a call to action to all people of conscience, to all working and oppressed peoples, to take to the streets in militant and righteous protest to demand an end to the atrocities committed by the Zionist entity, for freedom and self-determination for the Palestinian people, and ultimately for an end to all war and imperialism.

FREE PALESTINE!
NO MORE WAR!
AARON BUSHNELL, PRESENTE!

For the Secretariat of the American Party of Labor,
Camilo Lazo

Categories: American Party of Labor, Statements

Tags: Israel, Palestine, Zionism