Aaron Bushnell: “I Will No Longer Be Complicit in Genocide”
Content warning: While this article doesn’t show the video of Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation, it does show a photo of him on fire (below intro).
“I will no longer be 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. Free Palestine. Free Palestine! Free Palestine! Free Palestine! Free Palestine!”
Aaron Bushnell – 1999 – 2024
These were the last words and declaration of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active duty US Air Force service member. A month ago, he self-immolated outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, February 25.
Bushnell live-streamed the entire event on Twitch. He screamed his utterances of “Free Palestine” in agony until the flames overcame him.
“Aaron lit himself ablaze in protest of the United States’ ongoing complicity in the genocide on Gaza,” the Palestinian Youth Movement posted on the matter. “In making the most extreme sacrifice a human being can in support of a moral cause – his own life – Aaron sent a message on behalf of the masses of the US and the world that people of conscience everywhere will refuse complicity in the unfolding genocide against the Palestinian people until our last breath.”
After paramedics rushed him to the hospital, Aaron Bushnell succumbed to the injuries from his act of protest and passed away hours later.
(Photo of Aaron Bushnell on fire directly below)
Bearing Witness to Aaron Bushnell’s Sacrifice
I chose to include the photo of Aaron Bushnell on fire for the same reason I included graphic images in other articles: it is important to see and grasp the weight of what happened.
I also believe seeing Bushnell’s video live-streamed and bearing witness to his selfless act is a way of honoring his sacrifice. But I warn you that it is incredibly graphic and hard to watch and hear even while blurred.
Bearing witness to the death of fellow human beings, especially those fighting for justice and liberation, is not an easy thing to bear. It sits with you forever.
With that warning, if you haven’t seen the video and wish to, you can view the blurred version on this Tweet from independent reporter Talia Jane, who received permission from Bushnell’s family to share the blurred video. A content warning is on the post, so the video will not automatically play if you visit the post. The author also offers a described/transcribed option as well, for those who are unable to watch the video.
The Memory Aaron Bushnell Leaves Behind
People around Aaron Bushnell described him as kind, caring, and deeply compassionate about social issues.
Talia Jane reported that Errico, a friend who met Bushnell in 2022, said he was “the kindest, gentlest, silliest little kid in the Air Force… He’s always trying to think about how we can actually achieve liberation for all with a smile on his face.”
Xylem, who worked with Bushnell to support unhoused people in San Antonio, called him “…one of the most principled comrades I’ve ever known.”
In an article discussing the incident and Bushnell’s life, Teen Vogue reported on what compelled Bushnell to engage in such an extreme act of protest.
“He was outraged, and he knew that no one who is in charge is listening to the protesters out there every week,” friend Lupe Barboza, who knew Bushnell from community organizing, told The Washington Post. “He knows that he has privilege as a white man and a member of the military.”
True to his cause all the way to his tragic end, Bushnell’s final Facebook post read, “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.”
In the wake of his death, Bushnell left this world trying to help others. In a will he drafted before his protest, he declared that his savings were to be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).
The Coverage of Aaron Bushnell’s Death and Others Like His
Coverage of Similar Incidents
Before I discuss what I’ve seen regarding coverage of Aaron Bushnell, I want to quickly discuss other recent self-immolations—one for the same cause and one from 2022 for a different cause.
You may be surprised to learn that Aaron Bushnell is the second person who’s recently self-immolated in protest of the US-backed genocide being carried out by Israel. A woman back in December 2023 also self-immolated in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. Her identity has not yet been released, but we last heard she was in the hospital recovering from her injuries.
If it weren’t for the fact that Bushnell live-streamed his own self-immolation, we might not have even heard about this other incident either.
If you’re like me, you might have only heard about Bushnell through social media posts talking about the genocide or creators supporting Palestinian liberation. And, like me, you might have only learned about this other act of self-immolation in the process of hearing about Aaron Bushnell.
Media networks seem to try and bury these kinds of incidents, just as they did when climate activist Wynn Alan Bruce self-immolated on Earth Day in 2022 to protest the climate emergency. (Which I wrote about in 2022.)
I am still talking with people today who have never heard about Wynn Alan Bruce. And a month after his death, I’m still meeting people who didn’t hear about Aaron Bushnell.
Coverage of Aaron Bushnell
An undeniably tragic and profound form of protest needs to be discussed everywhere, on every network and platform. If not the graphic video of such a sacrifice itself, which is absolutely disturbing to watch even when blurred, at least the coverage of such an incident or the mention of someone’s name who sacrifices themselves in such a way.
It should be something that makes us all pause and confront ourselves about what it means to be human. What are we doing wrong as a society? And what are we going to do to change?
The media’s coverage of Wynn Alan Bruce and the so-far-unidentified woman from December felt very subdued. However, this incident feels slightly different, as Aaron Bushnell live-streamed his self-immolation. And, likely, because he was a white, male, active duty military service member calling out the American empire and denouncing his involvement in their imperialism. As his friend Barboza mentioned, Bushnell “knew he had privilege.”
As a result, media outlets felt a lot more pressure to cover the event, especially after everyone had seen or received word of the video on social media in one form or another. You can’t as effectively ignore a story that everyone knows about and is talking about. And, of course, when a white man dressed in military fatigues sets himself on fire while screaming “Free Palestine,” it’s not something the media can ignore for long. People will start asking questions.
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The New “Normal”
Like Bushnell said in his final words, “This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
Whether it’s the issues happening all around us and around the world or incidents where people are compelled to give their lives for a cause, whether it’s risking arrest or something as extreme as self-immolation, the ruling class wants us to accept these things. They want us to ignore the issues staring us in the face, turn away, and accept everything as our new “normal.”
The ruling class wants us to move past the genocide and the self-immolations just like they want us to ignore or move past school shootings and gun violence, the climate crisis, and everything else.
They want us all to continue waking up and going to work every day, pretending everything is “business as usual.” All while tens of thousands of people are being slaughtered and millions starved on our dime. In a tragic way, it’s understandable how people have been driven to attempt or commit very public and excruciatingly painful suicides in protest of what they’ve witnessed day in and day out.
Instead of feeling our humanity, they expect us to look down, ignore what’s in front of us, and not question the degradation of our collective humanity.
A Note About Journalistic Integrity Regarding Coverage
What Journalism is Supposed to Be
The comparison between the coverage of recent self-immolations speaks to the control held over mainstream media regarding what news we hear about.
While in school for my journalism degree, we learned that journalism acts as an unofficial 4th branch of the government, intended to maintain the checks and balances on all the other branches. It wasn’t supposed to report what the government says blindly and without scrutiny; it’s supposed to ask hard questions, challenge what we’re told, and shine a light on the truth. Otherwise, journalism just becomes propaganda.
Turning Away From the Truth
Many mainstream journalists appear to turn away from or underreport what’s happening in Gaza and the response of people around the world, including Bushnell. In the process, they seem to be turning away from the truth and the journalistic integrity they claim to uphold. They are not reporting the truth. Instead, they’re pushing the propaganda given to them by governments, elected officials, advertisers, and special interest groups.
This is all the more revolting considering that the Committee to Protect Journalists’s website reports that “As of March 28, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the more than 32,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 31,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel.”
Other outlets claim that this number is a conservative estimate and that Israel has killed well over 100 press representatives in this genocide. Whatever the actual number is, journalists are being murdered, targeted, imprisoned, and tortured by the Israeli military. Yet journalists at home and abroad, safely far away from the conflict, are doing little to speak up about these war crimes. Instead, they share propaganda without verifying information and then do little to recount their statements when found false.
The disgraceful behavior of journalists who turn their backs on their integrity and humanity and refuse to report the truth or outright deny what’s happening is shameful. All while other journalists are murdered for reporting the truth. As a journalist myself, I find it disgusting to watch.
Facing Loss of Information
Much like with the genocide itself, mainstream media sweeps the coverage of those who sacrifice their lives for a cause under the rug. Unless you follow certain accounts or are online at the right time, there’s a chance you won’t hear about it. If it wasn’t for the independent journalists, activists, and other people I follow on different platforms, I might’ve missed hearing about any of these three incidents.
Even more so, many people wouldn’t know about the other genocides happening in the world. While Palestinian people face genocide in Gaza, genocides are happening in Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Now, our government threatens our already limited freedom of information as Congress swiftly attempts to ban the TikTok app or force a sale of the app to American investors or companies. And Instagram and Threads are now limiting “political content” while being vague about their definition of “political.” There’s much to discuss about these topics by proxy to Aaron Bushnell, but that’s for another article.
For now, I’ll leave it at this: Independent journalists and people on the ground in Gaza rely on platforms like TikTok to share news and information about what’s happening with the rest of the world in real-time. The same goes for people organizing here in America and across the world. With the genocide live-streamed on social media, TikTok is an important platform for that awareness, as Meta and other platforms increasingly limit information.
Awareness spreads quickly on TikTok, as does the connection and growth of community between people wherever TikTok videos are shared. The government banning TikTok and social media platforms limiting content deemed political will have dire consequences on independent journalism and the coverage of genocides and incidents like Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation.
A Contrast of Care
Lastly, a factor of news outlets picking up the story of Bushnell’s death was not only because of the viral live-stream of him setting himself on fire but also because it appears to show at least one U.S. Secret Service agent drawing his gun on Aaron as he burned while other first responders tried to extinguish the flames.
In some cases, it seems the news covered it more so because of the discord about whether or not this part of the incident speaks to the topic of police brutality and aggressive response tactics.
In the video, you can hear an agent shout, “Get on the ground,” over and over again, even after Bushnell collapsed in flames. As more agents arrive, in one instance, you see the stark contrast of one agent desperately trying to extinguish the flames while another stands there aiming a gun at Bushnell’s burning body.
One of the agents trying to douse the flames at one point frantically yelled, “I don’t need guns; I need fire extinguishers!” as the other agent continued to stand there with his weapon still aimed.
The contrast between compassion and the apparent lack of it is a testament to the ongoing genocide as we watch the contrast between people begging for it to end and others ignoring it, excusing it, or enabling it.
What Aaron Bushnell Accomplished in His Sacrifice
Getting the Media to Talk About What Happened
Bushnell did not die in vain. Over the past month since his self-immolation, we’ve seen many people talking about the incident. People who hadn’t discussed the genocide before began paying more attention and talking about it.
Despite the delay in coverage of his self-immolation, the fact that mainstream media actually covered his death feels like a turning point of some kind. The video of his sacrifice started new discussions as new outlets showed the blurred version. News pundits discussed his actions and his final words, though many were critical, saying this was just a mental health crisis or that his action was the same as promoting it in others.
In a Rolling Stone article, Talia Jane commented on her own coverage of the video and her response to such claims around Bushnell’s death.
“Critics eager to denigrate Bushnell’s action claim Bushnell’s self-immolation will inspire “copycats,” inaccurately dismissing the most extreme form of political protest as just suicide. They insist, detached from reality, that those in mourning are “glorifying suicide.” That “no one will remember” his protest, which “does nothing” and is merely a result of “mental illness.” These are voices who have panned pro-Palestine protests, crowing their absurd claims that sitting in the road to call for a cease-fire is “terrorism” and opposing mass death is “antisemitic.”
In spite of the opinions shared, the coverage of his death and last words no doubt stuck with viewers. Hearing everything that this man said before dousing himself in a fire accelerant and lighting himself ablaze on national television feels surreal.
Adding Fire to the Movement
Outside of the coverage aspect, there is also the response by organizers and activists who’ve been fighting to stop the genocide since October 7 and for the last 75 years. Vigils and protests across the country and the world were dedicated to his honor and sacrifice.
At a vigil organized by About Face: Veterans Against the War in Portland on February 28, veterans lined up to take turns burning their uniforms in solidarity with Aaron Bushnell.
Fifth Sun Project and Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation also held a protest on the Las Vegas Strip on March 2, during the Global Day of Action. A veteran spoke about Aaron Bushnell at the event.
But more than the news discussing his death and people standing in solidarity with him, his sacrifice bestowed something else upon the Palestinian liberation movement.
His sacrifice for this movement added to the fire in our hearts and spoke to the turmoil we’ve felt these past few months. It spoke to the rage, grief, and despair we’ve endured unendingly. His flames fed into the fire in our souls that has burned while watching a genocide continue unchecked. He inspired all of us to burn brighter for the movement.
No Glory in This Loss
To be clear, no one is condoning what he did; no one is celebrating his death; and no one is suggesting that others do the same. There’s no glorification of this incident. The loss of anyone, especially someone fighting for liberation and dying in this way, is beyond tragic. It should have never happened. Bushnell should still be alive. The U.S. government should have put an end to this genocide months ago instead of writing blank checks for it. Israel should’ve ended its colonization of Palestine decades ago.
Instead, we have lost a bright light in this world. We have lost someone who had such a generous and compassionate heart and who fought for others with his dying breath. In response, it is our duty to ensure that the world is not darker because we lost his light. It is our duty to honor his sacrifice, to borrow from the light he left behind, and to use it to glow brighter ourselves as we continue the fight for liberation.
To give up now, after he made such an extreme sacrifice, would be a dishonor to his memory. We all must carry his memory with us and remind ourselves of what sacrifice can be. We must think of him when we feel like quitting or succumbing to despair and remind ourselves that we have more work ahead of us.
For none of us are free until Palestine is free.
UN Ceasefire Resolution 3/25/24
A month to the day after Bushnell’s death, the United Nations Security Council finally passed a temporary ceasefire resolution in Gaza. This resolution finally passed because, for the first time in almost six months of constant airstrikes by Israel and after vetoing three other ceasefire resolutions, the United States chose not to veto the resolution and instead voted to abstain.
This then prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a planned trip to D.C. where he intended to address Congress on his plans to invade Rafah.
There’s much to discuss about this situation, like our government simultaneously approving even more funding for Israel right before voting on this resolution and, at the same time, defunding UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. Just as there is much to discuss about Israel ignoring the ceasefire, ramping up its strikes on Gaza, and preparing for a ground invasion of Rafah. Again, this will be a discussion for another article or for other people more nuanced than I am to speak on the matter.
Instead, I bring this up not only because of the timeliness of this resolution passing a month after Aaron Bushnell’s death but because I feel it’s connected.
Whether it is a correlation or a direct causation, I believe in my heart that Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice made a difference. His actions, coupled with the other recent horrors we’ve witnessed this past month, pushed people beyond the tipping point. Regardless of how directly related that impact was, enough changed in these past few weeks for a ceasefire to be called officially. And that matters.
Final Words on the Matter
Key Takeaways
I want to close this by briefly touching on the fact that after everything we’ve witnessed over the past almost six months, there are two things that stand out to me.
One is that this movement has only seemed to grow over the past several months. It hasn’t gone away, dissipated, or slowed down. The call for a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide and occupation of Palestine has only grown louder. And with Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice, the liberation movement for all people is stronger than ever.
By contrast, it’s been astounding to watch the doubling down of people who continue to discredit everything, whether it’s still denying or outright justifying that a genocide is happening or saying that Bushnell gave his life for nothing or that this was just a “mental health” issue.
Especially with the news that in the days following his death, we witnessed the aftermath of the Flour Massacre. On February 29, starved Palestinian refugees approached aid trucks that carried flour and were then slaughtered by the Israeli military.
In a statement from the United Nations, UN experts stated that they “condemned the violence unleashed by Israeli forces, which killed at least 112 people gathered to collect flour in Gaza last week, as a “massacre” amid conditions of inevitable starvation and destruction of the local food production system in the besieged Palestinian enclave.”
The statement went on to say, “Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since 8 October. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys,” the UN experts said. “Israel must end its campaign of starvation and targeting of civilians.”
Carrying the Memory of the Martyred
Protests held the following Saturday, March 2, bore witness to that week’s tragedies and honored the lives of those lost in the massacre and the sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell. Millions of people around the world came together to remember those lost in the genocide and the liberation movement.
Despite everything, people still choose to ignore what is happening, make excuses for genocide, and downplay the severity of so much loss surrounding us.
Much like how I can’t fathom people willfully looking away from the evil we’ve witnessed these past few months, I’ll never understand how anyone can watch another human give their life in protest and not be compelled by that to act. How they refuse to stop and think about what’s happening, why someone would be pushed to such an act, or what that means about our world.
A person was so distraught about the horrors we’ve witnessed that he lit himself on fire to denounce it. He gave his life for it. Ignoring that is to ignore our humanity, and refusing to ignore that is what separates us from those who have lost their humanity entirely. We must carry his memory in our hearts, as we do with the rest of those martyred in this genocide and the other genocides happening.
Rest in Peace, Aaron Bushnell.
Free Palestine.
To take action in Aaron Bushnell’s honor, donate to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and UNRWA.
To learn more about the genocide happening in Gaza, you can also read some of our other articles, which contain additional information, resources to take action, and suggestions of other pages/creators to follow in the liberation movement.
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