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One lesson? The moment ideology enters a scene, we pretend that's what it's all about. Even his surviving family can only talk about his unhappiness in a pure

One lesson? The moment ideology enters a scene, we pretend that's what it's all about. Even his surviving family can only talk about his unhappiness in a purely political context. The writer doesn't note that the man's behavior leading up to the suicide is strongly reminiscent of other suicides and family annihilators. Many people reading this article will only think of the war and pacifism and not this guy's humanity. It's similar to how many people imagine suicide bombers are just random fervent Muslims given an explosive vest. In actuality, their recruiters target depressed and traumatized people and try to sell them a way out of their pain.

a3n 11y ago
It's usually foolish to 2nd guess a plane crash if you weren't the pilot
- poof131 11y ago
  No it’s not. We second guess every plane crash trying to figure out exactly what happened and how we can prevent another crash in the future. Lessons learned are then passed on to other pilots. The NTSB and other safety boards are huge second guessers and it’s how aviation has become as safe as it is today. Certainly you want to appreciate the stressors the pilot was under, but that’s no excuse for not evaluating the actions he or she took leading up to the crash.
  - a3n 11y ago
    But what's being second guessed here is the state of mind of the pilot, or the protester. You don't know that person, only what you read in the accident report or the news article. You don't know what was going on in that person's life or head at the moment of crisis.
unclesaamm 11y ago
On the contrary, it's meaningless to view this only through psychology. Was the monk who self-immolated in Vietnam depressed? Psychology doesn't have the vocabulary in place to understand political emotions, and the only people who insist that political emotions don't exist are people who would prefer you didn't have them. This action is inseparable from the politics that created it -- that's why people talk about politics in its context. Was it a cold action that hurt his wife and the people closest to him? Yes. But was it also a bold humanitarian move that made him a hero in Vietnam? Yes. It's possible for something to be both political and personal, and this article didn't try to oversimplify that. How about a different lesson? That unnecessary war causes untold suffering.
- Semiapies 11y ago
  "On the contrary, it's meaningless to view this only through psychology" Nice excluded middle. But realistically, this man wasn't a humanitarian hero. He accomplished nothing--nothing changed due to his immolation. Except that he died, which looks like it was his actual and ultimate goal.

a3n 11y ago

It's usually foolish to 2nd guess a plane crash if you weren't the pilot

poof131 11y ago
No it’s not. We second guess every plane crash trying to figure out exactly what happened and how we can prevent another crash in the future. Lessons learned are then passed on to other pilots. The NTSB and other safety boards are huge second guessers and it’s how aviation has become as safe as it is today. Certainly you want to appreciate the stressors the pilot was under, but that’s no excuse for not evaluating the actions he or she took leading up to the crash.
- a3n 11y ago
  But what's being second guessed here is the state of mind of the pilot, or the protester. You don't know that person, only what you read in the accident report or the news article. You don't know what was going on in that person's life or head at the moment of crisis.

unclesaamm 11y ago

On the contrary, it's meaningless to view this only through psychology. Was the monk who self-immolated in Vietnam depressed? Psychology doesn't have the vocabulary in place to understand political emotions, and the only people who insist that political emotions don't exist are people who would prefer you didn't have them. This action is inseparable from the politics that created it -- that's why people talk about politics in its context. Was it a cold action that hurt his wife and the people closest to him? Yes. But was it also a bold humanitarian move that made him a hero in Vietnam? Yes. It's possible for something to be both political and personal, and this article didn't try to oversimplify that. How about a different lesson? That unnecessary war causes untold suffering.

Semiapies 11y ago
"On the contrary, it's meaningless to view this only through psychology" Nice excluded middle. But realistically, this man wasn't a humanitarian hero. He accomplished nothing--nothing changed due to his immolation. Except that he died, which looks like it was his actual and ultimate goal.