by Mars Thera Pope
A man attempted to set himself on fire Jan. 17 outside of the international Trump hotel in Washington, D.C. The unidentified 45-year-old is quoted saying he was trying to light himself on fire “… as an act of protest. Protesting the fact that we’ve elected someone who is completely incapable of respecting the Constitution of the United States.”
The idea of setting a person on fire in protest is not a new one. In 1963, monks set themselves on fire in protest of the alleged persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. A well-known photo of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc circulated around the world and is believed to have made President Kennedy re-evaluate U.S. policy on Vietnam and essentially increase the number of troops.
The example in 1963 leads us to believe this type of protest not only gets attention but can possibly get important people to rethink. However, is that what we need right now? The thousands of individuals protesting Donald Trump’s presidency are not unheard. On Jan. 21, an estimated 2.9 million individuals protested by participating in Women’s Marches all across America and around the world. There have been many displays of protests around the United States since Election Night and still they continue. However, there has yet to be a universal breath-taking event that swings this country back onto a progressive path. Will immolation be that event? What would be the effect?
As for the case in the early 1960s, the act of self immolation by Quang Duc then inspired the same act to be performed in the Unites States by Alice Herz in protest of the escalating Vietnam War. She died of her injuries from the fire 10 days later at age 85. In 1970, George Winne Jr., a 23-year-old college student, also set himself on fire in protest of the Vietnam War. With gasoline-soaked rags in his lap, Winne lit himself on fire, sitting next to his sign that read, “In God’s name, end this war.” Winne died 10 hours later from the injuries.
Self-immolation was a serious portrayal of resistance in our history, making its reappearance deliberate and severe. Could it be that the man Jan. 17 was trying to dramatically disclose the mantra, “Give me liberty or give me death”? Has Trump’s presidency triggered a chain reaction that is so imprisoning that this response can be seen as valid? Hate crimes have spiked since Trump’s election, and hostile conditions are predicted to get worse. Are people already getting to a point where they can no longer bear this new environment’s conditions?
Even in Iowa, protesters have blocked streets and chanted against this new-found hate that has seemed to erupt since Trump was elected. There is a real division evident in every state. Was the man in D.C. trying to get us to see that division and fix it, or does he just want his side to win? Either way, a war between the people of America seems to be attempting to take flight. How long will it be until the signs go up? “In God’s name, end this war.”
