13 community groups and student organizations hosted a vigil to honor Aaron Bushnell outside the ROTC building on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Scoone | Lantern Reporter
Over 100 students and community members gathered outside Ohio State’s ROTC building Friday to honor an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force who self-immolated in protest of the Israel-Hamas war Sunday.
The 25-year-old man from San Antonio, Texas, Aaron Bushnell, lit himself on fire outside of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., as he declared he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.” The gathering was hosted by 13 organizations — including Rising Tide OSU, Students for Justice in Palestine and Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists according to an Instagram post by Rising Tide OSU— aiming to “uphold the Palestinian struggle, memorialize those martyred by Zionism and condemn the imperialist system.”
Sabreen Obaid, a member of Doctors Against Genocide, was one of five speakers at a vigil that honored Aaron Bushnell and condemned the imperialist system. Credit: Kate Shields | Campus Reporter
Bushnell was dressed in his U.S. Air Force uniform and “calmly described his intention to engage in an extreme act of protest against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza,” according to the New York Times. He then poured a “flammable liquid” over his head, “pulled his camouflage cap tightly over his head and lit himself on fire,” shouting “Free Palestine” before collapsing.
According to a statement by the Air Force, Bushnell died on Monday after succumbing to his injuries.
Five speakers were featured at the vigil, followed by a prayer and open mic session. Speakers included Malcolm Sharp, a member of Rising Tide OSU, Dr. Sabreen Obaid, a member of Doctors Against Genocide, Coco Smyth, a founding member of Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists, Rick Wilhelm, a member of Veterans for Peace, and Ty Kiatathikom, an Ohio State law student and member of Columbus Democratic Socialists.
During his speech, Sharp said that the vigil was held outside the ROTC building because it is “an institution that directly serves U.S. imperialism.”
“We’re here today to condemn ROTC’s very existence,” Sharp said. “We’re here to contest their contribution to pain, misery and suffering in Aaron’s name for Palestine.”
Both students and community members attended a vigil for Aaron Bushnell on Friday. Credit: Kate Shields | Campus Editor
Wilhelm, who served in the U.S. military from 1972 to 1975, said “Our policymakers take their orders from those who profit from death and suffering.”
“We know who they are,” Wilhelm said. “The people who run the corporations that benefit from the selling of weapons and their fellow merchants of death — the politicians who finance what the merchants do. They as much lit the match for Aaron Bushnell. The fire that killed him was simply the collateral damage.”
Wilhelm said many Veterans for Peace members have seen the suffering that war creates and it will never leave their memory.
“All of us agonize over our government’s aiding and abetting the slaughter of innocence,” Wilhelm said.
Obaid said Bushnell “exemplified the profound principle of sacrifice.”
“Standing here, I am reminded of the meaning of the word martyr in Arabic — shahid — a witness who has met his death at the hands of an oppressor or in the pursuit of justice and freedom for others,” Obaid said.
The gathering was hosted by 13 organizations, and amassed over 100 students and community members. Credit: Elizabeth Scoone | Lantern Reporter
