(Chicago activist) Malachi burns himself alive to protest Iraq war

[Barrett808]

Malachi burns himself alive to protest Iraq war

Activist and artist Malachi Ritscher burns himself alive in Chicago in front of morning rush hour commuters to protest the war in Iraq.

The press has almost completely blacked out this news in mainstream press.

A long time Chicago activist, artist and contributer to the Chicago jazz scene has burned himself alive in an act of protest against the iraq war. He is only one of 10 Americans in history to have done this.

Buddist monks did this during the VietNam war.

On Friday, November 3, a man doused his body with gasoline and set himself afire to protest the war in Iraq. He died quietly in flames. His name was Malachi Ritscher.

Haven't seen it in the news? Me neither, which is kind of strange if you ask me, considering that it happened right here in downtown Chicago in front of hundreds of commuters during morning rush hour. The only conventional newspaper coverage to date was a tiny paragraph that appeared in the Saturday edition of the Chicago Sun-Times. Since then...nothing.

His death must not be in vain please spread the word...Chicago activists are planning a protest for Malachi and against the war saturday Nov. 198 in Chicago to get this out into the mainstream news.

(more)

http://cleveland.indymedia.org/news/2006/11/23624.php

Mods: This is from the Cleveland IndyMedia site, so it's not strictly LBN. Please handle as you think appropriate.

(on edit)

Here's the Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malachi_Ritscher

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Wow! I'm here in Chicago suburbs and didn't hear a word on this

:wow:

[Nickster]

24. Same here. n/t

[mopinko]

29. same here.

:wow:

[Anakin Skywalker]

47. The M$M Does Not Want the Public To Know

that there ARE Americans who are AGAINST the war.

[krkaufman]

59. And here (Schaumburg) n/t

[mike_c]

2. OMG-- vote this up-- this needs to be read by everyone....

OMG, I don't know what to say.

[cali]

3. I can't believe I haven't heard of this. n/t

[Teaser]

4. are we sure it's true?

there's got to be something on this somewhere. A traffic report, if nothing else.

[mcscajun]

16. See post #11

The story is there in the Chicago Sun-Times.

[tblue37]

35. It's true. I read about it when it happened. (eom)

[hedgehog]

5. I can't find any mention in the MSM - only blogs.

CAn anyone find a mention in the MSM?

[Barrett808]

7. Supposedly "a tiny paragraph" in the Chicago Sun-Times

It would be good to run this story down.

[mcscajun]

13. See post #11

There's more than a paragraph at the link.

[DaveJ]

10. Yes...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/130292,cst-nws-roep09.article

I read his parting words a couple weeks ago when this was first posted. It's a shame we lose the best.

[hedgehog]

17. I can confirm the above

I went directly to Chicago Sun-Times web site and under the columnists found this:


Act by 'martyr' to protest war in Iraq a futile gesture

November 9, 2006
BY RICHARD ROEPER Sun-Times Columnist
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.

The man who doused himself with gasoline and lit himself near a 25-foot-tall sculpture titled "Flame of the Millennium" was Malachi Ritscher, 52, a local musician and anti-war activist.

The medical examiner ID'd Ritscher on Wednesday through medical records. Friends were already convinced it was him.


I guess the MSM was afraid of bing accused of affecting the election!

[Ian David]

6. Even Andrew Veal's Wikiedia entry has been removed. n/t

[Barrett808]

9. Here's the Wikipedia entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malachi_Ritscher

[warrens]

8. The body was burnt beyond recognition

They may have the dental results back by now, but didn't have them last week, according to the Chicago Reader.

Here's a pic. RIP, Malachi.

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/image/330/

[mcscajun]

11. Chicago Sun-Times covered the story.

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.

The man who doused himself with gasoline and lit himself near a 25-foot-tall sculpture titled "Flame of the Millennium" was Malachi Ritscher, 52, a local musician and anti-war activist.

The medical examiner ID'd Ritscher on Wednesday through medical records. Friends were already convinced it was him.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/130292,cst-nws-roep09.article

[RandomKoolzip]

12. Malachi was the friend of a friend.

According to my friend, he was upset about a LOT more than just the war - he was having serious emotional trouble lately and was battling depression. The war was merely an ostensible reason for the suicide.

[Leopolds Ghost]

30. Well that's kind of a nasty thing to say about him.

"Move along, people, he died for nothing. It was a suicide"

[Pacifist Patriot]

41. I don't understand your response.

I didn't see anything nasty about putting actions into context. The fact that his death was affected by other factors than the war doesn't necessarily diminish the story in any way.

I imagine I am not the only person who figured there was more to the situation. That this might be confirmed makes no difference. This war as a tipping point for someone already vulnerable makes Malachi's decision more poignant to me.

[BrotherBuzz]

33. My childhood friend did the same in 1991. He too was...

upset about a lot more than just the war (Persian Gulf War). He developed serious emotional problems over a lot of things, but the war and American imperialism became his focus; his vent.

[sarcasmo]

14. Surprised this was never on K. O. my only MSM news source.

[Greyhound]

15. The fact that the media blackout of this has been so effective and complete

is really very ominous, terrifying really. According to the accounts this man immolated himself on Kennedy Expressway during the morning rush-hour, therefore it was witnessed by literally hundreds of people directly, and the traffic must have become an absolute nightmare. So how on earth can this have been ignored by the entire news industry? Shocking.

I guess this means it is 1938, I really thought we had more time.

:kick: & R

[mcscajun]

18. It wasn't totally ignored, the Chicago Sun-Times and a Milwaukee

paper (at minimum) covered the story.

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.

The man who doused himself with gasoline and lit himself near a 25-foot-tall sculpture titled "Flame of the Millennium" was Malachi Ritscher, 52, a local musician and anti-war activist.

The medical examiner ID'd Ritscher on Wednesday through medical records. Friends were already convinced it was him.

Much more at link: http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/130292,cst-nws-roep09.article

[Ian David]

19. I can understand blacking it out to prevent copy-cats and save lives

I'm not saying it blacking it out to prevent copy-cats would necessarily be a good idea, or that blacking it out would actually save lives.

I'm not sure.

But putting aside their motivation, what DOES worry me is how successfully the MSM has managed to keep this hidden, despite all the witnesses.

How easy this is for them.

What else are they hiding?

[IntiRaymi]

23. Yep, be thankful that the internet is up and running.

Soon to end, though.

[Judi Lynn]

40. It's bad advertising for the war, bad advertising for the Bully Method

of foreign policy. It makes the NeoCon leap into attempted complete world control look less than successful, if the word gets around an AMERICAN actually did this.

It's very sad our own news sources don't actually intend to publish the news, but will tell us only what the right-wing government wants us to know.

This was never a problem for them when Democratic Presidents were in office.

[uppityperson]

65. There have been 10 self immolations in USA.

Don't think they were worried about copycatting, but more about getting publicity. Hence the "mental illness" spin. RIP Malachi, it is up to us to get your story out and have your death be for more than a brief mention. Todays paper had a short article on someone who self immolated in Tibet. Why no coverage of one of the few that have ever happened in the USA?

[Pierre.Suave]

20. Thats just stupid

and pointless, and Idiotic, and etc...

Why would anyone do that, it will accomplish nothing.

[JAbuchan08]

36. "pointless and stupid"

That is a lie. You may not agree with the man's actions, or the reasons behind them, but they were anything BUT pointless. The whole purpose of this man's actions were to prove a point. By saying this was "pointless" you are basically saying that this man's life had no value. Perhaps he did not treat his life with the value it deserved, but the action itself was very pointed and I think that your comment is a devaluation of life - even if it was unintentional.

[Marie26]

38. His life had value

Death has no value, to anybody.

[JAbuchan08]

39. It is because I believe in the value of life that I posted

not because I believe in the value of death. Whether you consider him a martyr or a misguided soul his action DID have a purpose and a point, to say that it didn't devalues both his life and his freedom to do with it what he pleases. Self-sacrifice for what one believes should be considered honorable - even when it is misguided. It says something about the vanity of our culture that we are unable to honor self-sacrifice in *any* situation and that it is considered worthless as a general rule.

BTW I believe the value of death can be measured in oil.

[StraightDope]

45. That's a non-sequitur...

Death can have tremendous value. Hitler's death certainly did. If Gandhi had starved himself to death in protest, that action would have had value as well.

[JimDandy]

62. Suicide bombers would disagree with you. n/t

[schmuls]

64. I disagree. Death can teach people valuable lessons, as it is

doing for me after the death of my husband.

[greccogirl]

58. This man was obviously disturbed.

I'm not surprised to read what other problems he was having. I also read about this, I don't think there was any "plot" to cover up what happened.

[uppityperson]

66. From a friend of Malachi's, this is spin.

Yes, he had problems over the years as most people do. However, most of what has been published about him is spin to be able to ignore this act. Here are 3 links for you. Please read them and let us know if this sounds like writing by an "obviously disturbed" person.

http://www.savagesound.com/gallery100.htm
http://www.savagesound.com/gallery99.htm
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/39663/Malachi_Ritscher_19542006

[here_is_to_hope]

21. This is very sad. eom

[IntiRaymi]

22. Finally, a man who understood the enormity of all this.

Blessed are the idealists!

[Demit]

26. Are you implying that if you don't set yourself on fire, you aren't understanding

the enormity of all this?

I get that you want to pay some kind of tribute to this man's act, but that is a very thoughtless way to put it.

[w4rma]

25. A huge waste of a life. (nt)

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. An end of life, not waste of life.

A waste of life is the one who does nothing at all.

I can't agree with it, but after a fashion I can understand it.

[xchrom]

27. rest in peace sweet soul.

[Leopolds Ghost]

31. Does indymedia not count as LBN? n/t

[WI_DEM]

32. It's too bad that he decided to take this extreme step instead of

continuing to fight. But bless his soul and RIP.

[Peace Patriot]

34. We can put blinders on, but the slaughter of 600,000 people, 100,000

by our bombs alone in the initial "shock and awe," and the torture of many others, and the chaos and suffering created in our name, are a heavy burden. The raw wounds to the psyche would most likely hit the sensitive earliest and hardest--people who open themselves up and makes themselves vulnerable, for artistic or religious reasons--artists like Malachi Ritscher, and, in Vietnam, Buddhist monks. Also, the young, who are naturally open-hearted, and the most sensitive or youngest of our soldiers.

Most of us have some coping skills, to fend off the horror--to be able to make it through the day, and to try to do something about it. But, with the Bush Junta, I think many of us are carrying quite an emotional load. It's not just that our government was wrong and criminal in its actions, it's that nothing is being done to correct or recompense those crimes, more such crimes are occurring now and are being planned, and there is NOTHING positive--Nothing!--in the direction of our country. The only thing we can point to is this actually very limited Democratic win in Congress, which doesn't even come close to reflecting the SEVENTY PERCENT of the American people who want this war ended, and the EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT who want no part in a widened Mideast war.

"Impeachment is off the table." And maybe we can come up with a plan for "withdrawal" from Iraq (ahem..."redeployment" to nearby emirates), but Bush/Cheney/McCain are intent on MORE troops, MORE multi-billions for the war profiteers to loot, and the new Congress has insufficient power to override them, because our own party has failed to condemn this war, and, what is worse, has sat back in the face of tyrannical executive action and blatantly, egregiously non-transparent vote counting in the last three elections. They should be issuing Magna Cartas to the White House. Impeachment should be the first order of business in January, amidst calls for immediate return to a hand-counted, paper ballot system. To Hell with the minimum wage! If they don't correct this "balance of powers" situation, we can kiss our country goodbye.

But they won't, and we know it. They, too (most of them), are (s)elected by TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by Bushite corporations. By their own action--our own party, whose leaders supported this private corporate assault on our voting system--they are thus (s)elected. They, too, owe their power to the far rightwing interests behind Diebold and ES&S.

They further support the corporate military hogpen that our nation's capitol has become. And some of them are also motivated by, a) U.S. oil consumption and need to grab Mideast oil fields, and b) protecting Israel (even though the Bush Junta has put Israel into the most vulnerable position it has ever been in, and has literally become a wrecking crew for Mideast stability). (Stupid, short-sighted Democrats like Lieberman, who now holds the pivotal vote in the Senate, due to the party's stupid, short-sighted lack of support for Ned Lamont.)

70% want the Iraq War ended.
84% oppose any U.S. participation in a widened Mideast war.

These can be causes of despair. After reading his statement, I think Malachi Ritscher succumbed to despair and was not in a positive, enlightened state of mind when he died. For instance, he regrets not killing Donald Rumsfeld, which he says he once had a chance to do--as if that would have made any difference. We can see today, with Rumsfeld resigned, the war goes on, and will likely be escalated and widened. This is a corporate war profiteers' project, and, until we bust THEM--which is our right as a sovereign people--it doesn't much matter who the frontmen are. Intense focus on the visible frontmen is a distraction. Hatred and violence directed at them is useless, off point and counter-productive (in both practical and spiritual/ethical terms), and Malachi's inability to sort this out points to some amount of egocentricity and immaturity.

I think he was sincere--and was overwhelmed with grief at the horror that has been inflicted by the Bush Junta, and by our inability of stop it. I'm sure he desperately wanted his death to help end the war. And I think the lack of news coverage by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies is more than likely related to the timing--four days before the midterm elections. So they black-holed it. Nevertheless, quiet as his death was, the flames that consumed him truly did reflect the burning desire of the voters to change the country's direction, which was only partially reflected in who Diebold/ES&s's "trade secret," proprietary vote counting formulae permitted to be elected.

I also think that Malachi is mistaken about the American people. It is not a matter of insensitivity, lack of thought, or lack of care. It is simply a matter of the People having been outmaneuvered by a fascist coup (which I think occurred in Oct. 2002, with the passage of the ruinous "Help America Vote Act" by the Anthrax Congress). This has happened before--perhaps never before with such potential dire consequences, and never before in quite this way, but still, it is not without precedent. The "waking dream" that Ritscher speaks of--deriding his fellow Americans--is more a matter of our illusions about our power as a people, and our misplaced faith in democratic institutions that have failed us, than it is a matter of obliviousness or lack of care. I think the vast majority of Americans really do care--but they are at loss about what to do. They vote in great outpourings of civic virtue and anger, trying to change the nation's course--and nothing happens. They have done this twice, in 2004 and 2006, and sporadically in 2002--all Diebold/ES&S elections.

They even tried to stop the war--with the resurgent Paul Wellstone campaign (who had pledged to lead the fight in the Senate against invading Iraq). Around that time, FIFTY-SIX PERCENT of the American people opposed the Iraq War (Feb. '03). That would be a landslide in a presidential election. Yet we still had the war (and Wellstone, of course, was killed). And now it's 70%, and still we have the war, and more war threatening.

I am, in fact, amazed and admiring of my fellow Americans--at their astonishing ability to resist the 24/7 rightwing propaganda that they are subjected to. I also think that they are--most of them--at long last aware of what's going down with these electronic voting machines. Huge numbers of people voted by Absentee Ballot in the recent elections (50% of the vote in the entire state of California), trying to get around the rigged electronics. This was a protest--a boycott!--of the machines, and it bodes well for general awareness of what the problem is.

So, how I deal with my own "cloud of darkness" is by doing everything I can to re-empower that great, peace-minded majority. I work on election reform--along with many others, and perhaps that is the key to dealing with grief and despair. No one person can empower the many. No action of mine can achieve transparent vote counting. It is necessarily a collective effort, as is ending the war, and--for the future--defunding the U.S. offensive military capability (no more wars of choice!), a project that will have to follow re-enfranchisement. We really can do nothing about these great horrors without transparent, verifiable vote counting. We still have a window of opportunity to get this done--which I think has to be done at the state/local level--and, as long as that window of opportunity is open, and even if it closes, I CANNOT despair. Because....

56% of the American people opposed the Iraq War from the beginning.
70% want the Iraq War ended now.
84% oppose any U.S. participation in a widened Mideast war.
63% oppose torture "under any circumstances" (May '04).
60% of the voters in the recent midterms said the Iraq War was their No. 1 concern.

And their will is not being done. And that's no okay with me.

[In Truth We Trust]

54. "the flames that consumed him truly did reflect the burning desire of the voters to change"

How very eloquently put. I consider your thoughts and ability to express them to be nothing short of brilliant. Thank you.

[whoneedstickets]

37. This may sound callous...

I certainly share the sense of outrage and loss that has been expressed on the board so far. It is sad that any person should take their life this way, let alone have their passing (sacrifice) be ignored.

I suppose the lesson here is to have your protests recorded for YouTube and skirt the MSM. Since it was so close to a roadway, I bet some video of this exits.

[sss1977]

42. Norman Morrison anyone?

This is not a small thing to have happened, this is someone lighting themselves on fire as their final act of self-expression. You don't ignore this. When Norman Morrison performed the same final act in front of McNamara's office on November 2nd, 1965 in protest of the Vietname War, it was written about the next day in the Washington Post and the New York Times. If you think this wasn't published because of copycat concerns, think again. People don't do this for fun and profit and it's only happened a handful of times in American history. And even if people started lighting themselves on fire, they are killing themselves, not other people. I don't know why this missed the MSM. I assume it probably has something to do with it happening a few days before Election Day. Whatever reason the MSM has, it's the wrong one. This type of thing is not something that happens every day, and when it does happen, it's news. It may not be understood by those who read it, but it should still be made known.

In the article linked to above, this passage describes the reaction to Morrison's act:

Unfortunately, it seems that that symbolism was missed by many people. Instead of seeing Morrison's immolation as an act of sacrifice and an act of witness against an unjust war, a lot of Americans just seem to have missed the point. Luckily, there were a few who understood the power of Morrison's message - the people of Vietnam. The Vietnamese, especially in the North, revered Morrison for his act of sacrifice. The list of honors is rather surprising: a street named for him near Hanoi, a postage stamp displaying his image, and several poems dedicated to him.

Who knows, maybe the Iraqis would better understand this act just as the Vietnamese better understood Morrison. In any case, I'm disgusted I hadn't heard about this in the MSM, and am just thankful I peruse DU on a daily basis.

[judaspriestess]

43. RIP Malachi

rest in peace are fitting words

[robertpaulsen]

44. K & R! Hey mods, can we fix this on the greatest page?

:kick:

It should be a 4 star thread.

[nam78_two]

46. K &R

wtf -havent heard about this anywhere....

[niallmac]

48. CNN is the carnival freak show of TV land. If they are not running this

story up the flag pole for a one week hysteria-thon then something
does not add up.

[Obamarama]

49. What a pathetic, idiotic act if he did this solely to protest....

I suspect this guy had serious mental health issues. Rational people, no matter HOW upset they are over the war don't light themselves on fire to protest the war.

It's sad and tragic if he was that far gone mentally that he saw this as "the answer" to whatever personal demons he was battling.

If he was doing it out of pure protest, the man was an idiot.

[Jcrowley]

52. Who can say?

Who is the arbiter of a man's life? Who decides what's "rational?"



Simply because you can convince 200 million people that their pathological behavior is rational does not make that behavior any less insane.

There are so many people that are on the brink in this society it is obviously not the frailties of an individual that is at work.

[Obamarama]

55. Who decides what's rational?

I understand the point of your post. But no matter how you slice and dice this one, this poor soul wasn't anywhere near rational.

[uppityperson]

67. Read these and tell me he is not rational.

http://www.savagesound.com/gallery99.htm
http://www.savagesound.com/gallery100.htm

[NuttyFluffers]

50. when good destroys itself, evil rejoices.

well, whatever floats his boat i guess. could've been more productive, i think. and the media blackout is no surprise. in fact, it is the most powerful response to such "self-sacrifice;" it renders it null and void. apathy and ignorance trumps protest involving destruction of only one's self.

tsk, tsk... could've done better. oh well.

[LittleClarkie]

51. I knew a performance artist who called himself Malachi

but that was in Milwaukee. Not so far away though.

Is that a picture of him in your post?

[G_j]

53. The Self-Immolation of a Buddhist Monk

http://www.buddhistinformation.com/self_immolation.htm

Self Immolation
This Article acquired from http://urbandharma.org


Vietnam has marked the 40th anniversary of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc.

The monk's protest came to symbolise the repression of the US-backed South Vietnamese regime against Buddhism.

The Executive Council of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church and local government officials in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, attended the memorial service at the An Quang Pagoda.

On June 11, 1963, Duc, a 67-year-old monk from the Linh-Mu Pagoda in Hue, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon.




The Self-Immolation of a Buddhist Monk


On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from the Linh-Mu Pagoda in Hue, Vietnam, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon, Vietnam.. Eye witness accounts state that Thich Quang Duc and at least two fellow monks arrived at the intersection by car, Thich Quang Duc got out of the car, assumed the traditional lotus position and the accompanying monks helped him pour gasoline over himself. He ignited the gasoline by lighting a match and burned to death in a matter of minutes. David Halberstam, a reporter for the New York Times covering the war in Vietnam, gave the following account:

"I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think…. As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him."

..more..

[MsMagnificent]

56. Please read Malachi's Mission Statement

http://www.savagesound.com/gallery99.htm

before pronouncing his act as 'wasteful' or 'idiotic', etc.

[hsher]

57. Hits me in the gut. Very sad.

It confuses me. I'm not sure how to respond or feel. I think Malachi wanted us to feel that way too about the war, and think about it; if that was his aim, he met it. Rest in peace, darling.

[lonestarnot]

60. Brings back memories of when Buddhists Monks were doing the

same thing in trying to awaken the world to the travesty that was Vietnam.

[uppityperson]

61. oh crap. k&r RIP Malachi

[mom cat]

63. The ultimate sacrifice for peace. Rest in peace gentle spirit.

:hug: