On Bushnell

Heroicism in the Age of Apathy

We cannot allow the status quo to water down the martyrdom of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old hero who served in the United States Airforce and intentionally created a media firestorm against the ongoing agenda of the geriatric western ruling class. Contrary to reports from the press, this was not a shocking case of self harm, or a small minded tragedy. Yesterday, Aaron contacted reporters, donned his fatigues, and stood in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., and set an intentional, bold example of what heroes do rather than “be complicit in genocide.” 

Since western powers invented Israel by stealing land from Palestinians in 1948, colonizers have rained decades of genocide down upon the children of Gaza, with the latest 144-day assault claiming nearly 30,000 Palestinian deaths and murdering over 10,000 babies and children with every war crime imaginable, from burning white phosphorus to outright starvation.

Bushnell did not kill himself out of despair alone. No, he clearly stated “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 is not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided, will be normal.” His actions were in direct opposition to continued western imperialism and a deliberate decision to face death, making the most noble sacrifice to wake us from slumber. 

The refined western liberal (who dominate all western politics, regardless of being “red” or “blue”) is confused, of course. A perpetually shocked dupe who has been paying for ongoing genocide both at home and abroad without any awareness of how; no attention is paid over which genocidal mining project their investments and pension passively bankroll, over which weapons their tax dollars are exporting, or how the corporations they buy from invest their money. Their alienation from the interconnected world is largely complete, and no matter how many pills they pop, there's no arguing that the capitalist project has made them the most docile of slaves, blind to even their own coming extinction. 

But all is not lost. Bushnell’s courageous act was a wakeup call. From a serving member of the largest imperialist force this planet has ever seen, no less. It was a moment of genuine humanity in a sea awash with the platitudes of a declining west and its ancient politicians hobbling to patch the archaic capitalist project together. Do not give them or their media outlets space to dismiss this act as something small, weak, or isolated when it has the potency to save so many.

Bushnell saw through the rot we perpetuate and stood against it. We stand in awe of his heroic sacrifice and his name must be one of the many we remember now and forever if the tide is to turn against our temporary condition.

No more imperialist wars. No more tyranny of economic anarchism, dominated by the few benefitting from our labour. It is time for we, the people to civilize that frontier, raise our voices and demand full representation and control over the direction and result of our labour. Political AND Economic democracy, both. The two are not separate, but two sides of the same coin and by being restrained from economic democracy, we’ve never enjoyed the political power and purpose that we deserve for a free future or a  free Palestine. 

Peace. Land. Bread. This must be our minimum demand as we fan Aaron Bushnell's spark to a place of permanence in the west's collective memory. To the waking liberals, we must speak to the noble self-immolation of an active-duty airman and ask why are we paying for genocide when when cannot feed our own children, when we have so many homeless on our streets, and face such an uncertain future ourselves.

Peace, land, bread and a Free Palestine. Free Palestine. Free Palestine.