Well, was John Brown crazy?
A man burned himself to death to protest the illegal and immoral Iraq war. First, the corporate media ("COMA") virtually ignored it, then the conversation turned on whether he was crazy.
His name was Malachi Ritscher, and his lucidity, intentionality, and, maybe, personal demons are evident in his mission statement and self-written obituary, both of which he posted on the web, before setting himself on fire in view of rush-hour commuters.
I’ve felt from the first that "Was Malachi Ritscher crazy?" was the wrong question to be asking. I reached out to a friend who is a John Brown scholar to make the point that the meaning of an act may stand independently of the actor’s alleged mental state.
Redbecca of Lefter, Warmer offers thoughts, and a link.
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