Nonviolence – Kapu Aloha!
Nonviolence – Kapu Aloha!
In all of our efforts for justice, peace, and aloha ‘aina, the means that we use must be in line with the ends that we seek. This is a firm principle of nonviolence in the tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. If we want peace, then peace, not violence, including inflicting physical harm to ourselves, must be the path to peace. We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Aaron Bushnell and we pray for peace in Gaza, Ukraine, and the entire world. May Aaron forever Rest in Peace!
Remembering Aaron Bushnell! 1999 – 2024
“After Setting Himself on Fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C,, US Airman Aaron Bushnell Dies Declaring ‘Free Palestine.’
(from an article by Brett Wilkins in Common Dreams Feb. 26, 2024) https://www.commondreams.org/news/aaron-bushnell? Also, see articles by Ann Wright and Caitlin Johnstone https://consortiumnews.com/2024/02/26/
“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it.”
“My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all.”
“That’s how the 25-year-old introduced himself—and bade farewell—to the world in a livestream video of his Sunday afternoon (Feb. 25, 2024) walk to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Arriving outside the front gate, Bushnell set down his phone, took eight paces, turned to face the camera, doused himself in an unknown accelerant, donned his service cap, and set himself alight. He repeatedly screamed “Free Palestine” as he burned.
“More than 100,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed or wounded by Israeli bombs and bullets since the October 7 attacks on Israel. Around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced, and at least hundreds of thousands of Gazans are on the brink of starvation.
“The U.S. government backs Israel with nearly $4 billion in annual military aid and diplomatic support including three vetoes of United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolutions. The Biden administration is seeking an additional $14.3 billion in armed assistance for Israel, and has twice sidestepped Congress to fast-track emergency military aid.”
Peace, Not More Bombs & Killing in Gaza, Ukraine, etc.!
1 . Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Russian, anti-LGBTQ, etc. 5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760
Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.
For more information see https:malu-aina.org
March 1, 2024, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1170– Fridays 3:30-5 PM downtown Post Office
