Performative martyrdom
LAST WEEK, American military personnel, Aaron Bushnell, immolated himself in front of an Israeli Embassy in the US. He did it to protest the Israeli-Gaza War.
Almost as soon as news of it was reported on the internet, Bushnell became a social media martyr, or to use an outdated internet meme, a hero.
For context, Bushnell was an American military personnel with leftist political views. He opposed the Israeli-Hamas war, and his selfimmolation was caused because he opposed American support for Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
For his actions, Bushnell has become a kind of martyr for antiwar and pro- Palestine groups on the internet. Personally, I think what he did was performative, and his death was more a kind of spectacle for people who care about politics. In our age of social media, Bushnell will be forgotten in a few weeks and Americans will move on to the latest thing.
It i s not unusual for some people to threaten or even attempt suicide for one reason or another. Bushnell’s self-immolation seemed something like that: a call or demand for attention rather than any real concern for Palestinians or even the victims of Israel’s bombings. Bushnell did not die for them. Bushnell died for Bushnell.
Bushnell’s death was done to deliver a message, but done in a very hysterical manner. In that sense, he succeeded. He did send a very clear message, but it is ultimately irrelevant. His death will not end the war nor will it change the geopolitical situation in the ground. The only thing he achieved was a few moments of internet fame.
His suicide seemed more like performance art, an expression of frustration carried out of a whim, rather than as desperate or fanatical gesture meant to achieve real results.
Bushnell’s suicide is the kind of suicide well-suited for social media, and like all things with social media, it will be quickly forgotten in a few weeks./
Bushnell’s suicide is the kind of suicide well-suited for social media, and like all things with social media, it will be quickly forgotten in a few weeks.