~ Chicago activist publicly burns himself alive in protest of Iraq War
Chicago peace activist and musician Malachi Ritscher burned himself alive Friday morning on the Kennedy Expressway, apparently in protest of the Iraq war.
Police found a homemade sign near his body which said “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Before the act, he posted a suicide note on his website.
According to some who knew the man who set himself on fire along the Kennedy Expressway last Friday, it wasn’t a suicide. They’re calling it the act of a martyr.
[source:chicago sun times]
Sad on Thu, 9th Nov 2006 11:36 pm
May God have mercy on his soul. Allayerhamou.
hamede on Thu, 9th Nov 2006 11:38 pm
Way to go.
Dave on Fri, 10th Nov 2006 8:24 am
Unfortunately, aside from a bit of press, these types of gestures never work. The Czech’s tried this many times during the Communist occupation, but it never resulted in much other than someone having to clean up the ash remains of a burned person.