David Buckel, prominent gay rights lawyer, burns himself to death in New York to protest global warming
Category: News & Politics
Via: badfish-voted-most-popular-member-for-4-years • 6 years ago • 30 comments
A “green” activist who was a pioneering lawyer for gay and transgender rights — including in the notorious “Boys Don’t Cry” rape murder case — committed suicide by setting himself on fire Saturday morning in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in a grisly act of protest against the ecological destruction of the Earth.
David Buckel, 60, left behind a charred corpse and a typed suicide note that said he was burning himself to death using “fossil fuel” to reflect how mankind was likewise killing itself, police sources said.
He left the note in a manila envelope marked “To The Police,” recovered from inside a black metal pushcart he discarded at the scene.
“Most humans on the planet now breathe air made unhealthy by fossil fuels, and many die early deaths as a result,” Buckel wrote in his note, which he also sent to the New York Times .
“My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves.”
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What a senseless and pointless act. If anybody is moved to do anything about climate change it won't be because of self destructive foolishness like this.
Agreed, but small positive unlike some others in this day and age at least he chose to take himself out without killing or harming innocents.
Not really.
He committed suicide using the very source he was "protesting" and it went into the air we breathe.
Exactly. It's like me protesting the plastic trash in the oceans by encasing myself in plastic and jumping in the ocean.
Seems a little overly pedantic interpretation of my comment. But ok I apologize and amend my statement to read he did not directly kill or directly physically harm anyone else.
You combined my words and those in the article to make it seem like I said everything you block quoted. No problem. I know what I posted, and so does everyone else.
Cool
I see opportunity building a motor powered by this new renewable energy source.
I've heard of flaming gay guys but this is ridiculous.
I'm pretty sure that smoke isn't good for the environment. He probably should have come up with a different idea.
he could have used a gun but then the gun grabbers would have been upset
There is nothing funny about this. This was a human being. My guess is he was feeling suicidal already and chose this method.
Agreed. It is difficult to imagine an emotionally stable person purposely setting oneself on fire to 'send a message'.
Of all the ways I can think of dying, being on fire is one of the last I'd ever choose.
Still, it is ironic that his death contributed to the very cause he's so against, so you can't be that surprised by the comments.
I had the same thought. Seems like one of the worst ways to die.
Perhaps he took inspiration from Thích Quảng Đức, the Tibetan monk who self immolated as a protest to the Vietnamese persecution of Buddhists?