As people learn of it belatedly, I suppose that there will be growing reaction to the protest suicide of self-described "spiritual warrior," Malachi Ritscher on November 3rd in Chicago. I suppose he hoped people would hear the message behind his protest before the November election. Everyone wants to analyze and explain away his act of suicide, but I, for one, respect his brave act of self-immolation where he must have hoped that his words themselves would blaze the truth. (If personal conflict had something to do with his suicide, his feelings about American crimes more than tipped the scale if he felt any debate in himself about ending his life.) Not dismissing his act of conscience with all of the analysis that will reduce it to something else, his final words deserve to be remembered and repeated. Here is the portion of them printed in an article by Ashley M. Heher (He has a much longer, perfectly cogent testament on blogs.chicagoreader.com/post-no-bills/ 2006/11/07/malachi-ritschers-apparent-suicide/ - 307k But there are already many entries available if you Google "Malachi Ritscher.")
"Here is the statement I want to make. If I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world. I refuse to finance the mass murder of innocent civilians, who did nothing to threaten our country. If one death can atone for anything, in any small way, to say to the world: I apologize for what we have done to you, I am ashamed for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country."
Collage: "Iphigenia"
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