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Former UFC welterweight challenger Jake Shields recently reacted to the recent act of self-immolation by United States Air Force serviceman Aaron Bushnell.
The 25-year-old Massachusetts native doused himself with gasoline in front of the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. In his Twitch livestream, Bushnell explained the reason behind his act as an extreme form of protest against the genocide by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Bushnell said:
"I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit to genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at their hands of their colonizers—it's not extreme at all."
Bushnell then proceeded to ignite himself while screaming 'Free Palestine!' repeatedly as he burned and fell to the ground.
Watch Aaron Bushnell's last words below:
Shields took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and described viewing Bushnell's self-immolation as "pretty intense." Shields also lauded him for being courageous enough to do more than show support for Palestinians on social media while stating that he disagrees with the act itself.
He wrote:
"Watching Aaron Bushnell burn himself to death was pretty intense He sets himself on fire and repeatedly yells free Palestine As the pain becomes more extreme it gets harder but he never stops trying I don’t agree with what he did but he saw the evils of Israel and actually had the courage to do something instead of just tweet about it like the majority of us"
Bushnell was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his burn injuries.
Check out Jake Shields' post below:
Fans react to Jake Shields' comments on Aaron Bushnell's courage
Some fans debated with Jake Shields over him terming Aaron Bushnell's act as a courageous one.
"That's not "courage," that's off the charts levels of mental illness and stupidity. It's the equivalent of throwing yourself into an industrial paper shredder to protest the cost of paper clips going up 10 cents. We're just lucky that kook didn't blow himself up somewhere."
"Maybe it will help bring attention to the evils taking place."
"“.. actually had the courage to do something” what?! It’s not going to change a single thing. Except impact his family"
Others made their case for Bushnell's heroism in bringing attention to the plight of Palestinians. Many others argued against the popular labeling of Bushnell as a mentally ill and classified his act as one that was perfectly thought-out and purposeful.
"Empathy.....agree or disagree he made the ultimate sacrifice. Let's at least think about why."
"In my 40 years on this planet, I found out that there are people who feel things more profoundly then rest of us. We call them mentally ill, but I think it's us who feel less or nothing that are ill."
Check out fans' comments in the screenshots below:
