By Josh Samuels
Copy Editor
Aaron Bushnell was a 25-year-old U.S. military senior airman who grew up in a Christian community in Orleans, Massachusetts. In May of 2020, he began his military training as a client systems technician for cybersecurity measures. He continued by pursuing a career in software engineering at Southern New Hampshire University. He seemed to be setting himself up for a successful career and a peaceful life. Then, on February 25th, at 12:58 p.m., he set himself on fire while screaming “Free Palestine” in an act of self-immolation in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He died seven hours later at the hospital.
The immediate question that comes to mind is: why? Why would an individual who was seemingly on the right track in his life devote himself to a cause so deeply to the point where he was willing to take his own life? In order to properly answer this question, the reactions of Bushnell’s friends must first be considered.
When news of Bushnell’s self-immolation first made headlines, several individuals spoke about him to the press. One of whom was Lupe Barboza, a good friend of his who met him in 2022 and bonded over their similar socialist ideologies. Barboza said that while he knew about Bushnell’s distaste for the United States’ stance (supporting Israel) in the Israel-Hamas war, he had no idea what Bushnell was planning to do in Washington. Another friend of his was Levi Pierpont, a fellow serviceman who met Bushnell in basic training in 2020. Like Barboza, Pierpont had discussed Bushnell’s political views with him, and learned of his willingness to pursue political activism and his dislike of any state-sanctioned violence. When Pierpont was last in contact with Bushnell, he spoke to him about potentially getting a degree related to his political activism, as he was hopeful for his future education.
The common factor with both of Bushnell’s associates is that they were both informed of his political views but at the same time unaware of his plans for self-immolation. Clearly, Bushnell did not want anyone to know his Washington plans, as he knew that they would not be accepted by his friends. In fact, it is fair to say that no rational person would support a suicidal act of self-immolation. Therefore, nobody should be celebrating Bushnell’s death. If you would not support his suicide before he did it, then why would you do anything other than mourn it once it was done? If his death is taken as a legitimate and useful political statement, then it is given meaning, and Bushnell is given status as a martyr, thereby supporting and arguably encouraging his actions for others to follow.
Hamas took this approach, and on the day of his death, they put out a statement offering their condolences and praising him as a defender of the Palestinian people. Additionally, in the days following his suicide demonstrators showed up at the Washington Israeli Embassy and supported his self-immolation while calling for the condemnation of Israel’s justified actions in the the Israel-Gaza war.
In reality, his death should be seen as nothing more than a tragedy and a suicide. As Joe Pierre, a writer for Psychology Today put it “suicide is suicide. Self-destruction is self-destruction. A life lost is a life lost.” Bushnell was mentally troubled by the war and the U.S. military’s involvement in it. It was not his political devotion that led him to death, it was his suicidal willingness to take his life in a desperate attempt to give meaning to his actions. Such suicidal tendencies are only found in mentally ill people who have lost their way in life. They need help because they are either attempting a method to escape from their struggles or a flawed method to make a difference.
Of course, this article is not at all meant to disrespect Bushnell’s legacy as a military veteran or detract from the value of his life. Rather it exists to recognize the fact that his death should not be celebrated as a meaningful political statement (regardless of your political views), but rather as a tragedy involving the death of a disillusioned individual.
This article is written in his memory.
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