Suicidal protester dies in gas blaze next to abortion clinic

[liberal N proud]

Suicidal protester dies in gas blaze
Woman set self on fire next to Rt. 193 abortion clinic
By Jaime Malarkey
Senior staff writer


BERWYN HEIGHTS - A 53-year-old woman who poured gasoline all over her body and lit herself on fire off Route 193 Friday in an apparent anti-abortion statement died early Saturday morning in Washington Hospital Center.

The woman parked her car at the Metropolitan Family Planning Center and office of A.M. Gohari, located directly across from CVS Pharmacy and Atlanta Bread Company on Greenbelt Road in Berwyn Heights, at about 3:30 in the afternoon. She stepped out, doused her body in gasoline and lit herself on fire, according to a Berwyn Heights Police Department report.

"I see the flames and then I see it moving from one spot to the other," Agner said. "That made me realize it wasn't a car. I saw a person moving, and I sincerely could not believe it was reality. It was one of the most - if not the most - horrifying thing I have ever seen."

Passengers in bumper-to-bumper traffic, including a school bus full of children, also witnessed the suicide. Employees and passersby congregated outside the strip of shops opposite the clinic to watch the rescue.

http://www.inform.umd.edu/News/Diamondback/archives/2004/11/01/news1.html

That is really setting fire under the issue.

[tk2kewl]

1. now there's a culture of life for ya

[Renew Deal]

2. How eastern-European/middle eastern of her.

Another idiot off the streets.

[Jackie97]

40. How Vietnamese of her...

Remember that stuff in Vietnam? It worked! It worked because it shocked the world. I can't change my position because of this, but I can't take stuff like that lightly either. We need to do more than just protest the anti-abortion crowd. I think it's time we reached out to them more (especially since some of these people are still young and got to be the way they are through religious elders anyway; making them ripe for change).

Personally, I feel sorry for her and her family that she actually went through with something that awful.

[prodigal_green]

3. suicide

is considered a mortal sin in the Catholic church. In other words, she's going to hell. It is one sin for which you cannot be forgiven.

[puddycat]

15. good grief! another religious myth used against troubled people.

People who suicide will not be condemned under any God I can think of but only in religious dogma created by mankind. At any rate, she was obviously a victim of right-wing twisted thinking, where death = life.

I feel sorry for her.

[ibegurpard]

4. Finally, an anti-abortion protest I can get behind.

eom

[slor]

8. LOL...sick...

but I concur.

[CAcyclist]

22. Yesh, Maybe we women

should go pretend to have abortions in order to get more anti-abortion fanatics to immolate themselves.

On the other hand, the silver lining in the cloud of anti-abortion protesters is that they vehemently fight any infringement on free speech . Now, before anyone flames me:

What they do is go beyond free speech, but the attempts to control them haven't yet been able to figure out how to properly define what they do - we need a clear definition of domestic terrorism and here's to hoping the lawyers finally figure out how to do that.

[DenverDem]

9. Yes, let's see a couple of million morans make a statement.

Then we'd be getting somewhere.

[soleft]

23. About the Bush protestor who killed himself at the WTC

When posting on this thread you may want to recall some freeper comments about his death.

[DenverDem]

37. While we are immolating civilians in Fallujah, it's hard to be moved

by a poor insane person who is under the mind control of fundigellical sociopaths suiciding herself. She made her choice, the mother and babies in Fallujah had no choice but to be murdered for the fundigellical crusade.

I blame w, pat robertson, jerry fallwell et al for this woman's death. They are no different than jim jones as far as guilt goes.

And it would still be fine with me if a million more fundigellicals joined this woman in her protest.

[holboz]

20. I hate to say that I laughed at your comment...

but I did. I'll apologize to God later for it because there's obviously something not right with this person's mental facilities.

It's hard to understand the message behind this..."I'm pro-life so I'm going to kill myself!"

Hey! Why don't we protest world hunger by going down to the Sizzler and stuff ourselves rotten at the all-you-can-eat salad bar!

[CO Liberal]

5. Now How Many Women...

...contemplating abortion are gonna say to themselves, "I better not - someone set themself on fire!!"

Not very many, I believe. What a waste of a life, regardless of how misdirected it may have been.

[aquart]

6. Seems to be a big day for self-immolation.

I wish to thank the dead lady for not taking anyone with her in her grand gesture.

And I want to know exactly what her minister has been preaching.

[pnutchuck]

12. I give thanks to her solo exhibition as well!

and that's a good god damn question!

No pun intended...

[pnutchuck]

7. I thought suicide was a sin too?

am I wrong?

[jgardner]

And they call themselves PRO LIFE??? n/t

[cali]

10. How ironic

I just posted about a disgusting thread in freeperville. They're all making fun of some poor guy who set himself on fire in front of the White House. Now I find out we're no better than they are. Too bad.

[Renew Deal]

13. You should have been here when Reagan died.

[HuskerDem]

34. This is exactly how I feel. Very sad............ eom

To celebrate something like this indicates a seriously ugly character flaw.

[Democracy Died 2004]

11. Cool how can we talk the religious whackos

into similar acts of suicide for their beloved jeebus?

[northzax]

14. anyone think this is related

to the protester who self-immolated in front of the White house today?

[Renew Deal]

16. I don't but...

I think people are getting more extreme in this country. This sort of shit happens in the Middle East and Eastern Europe a lot.

[pnutchuck]

19. Maybe it's some cooky right-wing trend!

Serves 'em right too, giving these tax-exempt wackos the right to mix their politics with their religion. Now they got some bad press to spin or censor....

[pig.]

42. maybe it's contagious and all the right will spontaneously combust

could happen...

[Beguine]

17. Well, on the other hand

At least she's hurting no one but herself. The same can't be said for some of her "Pro-life unless it's a doctor" compatriots.

She might have been crazy, and I certainly think her ideals are misguided, but I admit to a certain amount of admiration for people with that much conviction. Better than the protesters ala Troy Newman that yell at women for being "murderers" from the safety of their SUVs, then turn around and urge their pregnant girlfriends to get rid of the evidence their own indiscretions.

[Strawman]

18. "She had a long history of illness."

Wonder if whatever fundie church this woman belonged to ever tried to get her any help for her obvious mental illness. I doubt it. Probably just took her money and encouraged and indulged her paranoia and affirmed her as a "true believer" until she went and set herself on fire and burned to death. That's just fucking sad. These fundie churches prey on people with mental illness.

[frylock]

29. they probably prayed for her..

laying on of hands, and whutnots. Truly tragic. I'm sorry to see some of the insensitive comments in this thread.

[bullimiami]

21. i guess if she HAD to kill someone

better this than shooting at the poor nurses and doctors at the clinic.

[Cat Atomic]

24. That's just sad.

Say what you like, but this woman was passionate enough about this issue to die for it. She didn't kill someone else for it.

[Renew Deal]

25. She just put some children and other people into therapy

if not worse, but that's OK.

[northzax]

26. um, I wouldn't say she 'died for this issue'

I'd say she committed suicide. There is no honor in suicide for the sake of public relations. none.

[Cat Atomic]

27. Isn't there? Would you say that to one of these guys?

[northzax]

30. the exact same thing

but with a few small caveats. First, in many Asian cultures, there is a tradition of honor-suicide, while we have no equivalent tradition in the west. (indeed, Western Cultural Traditions decry suicide vehemtly.) So looking at it from a cultural perspective, there is a large difference.

However, besides creating some horrible images, did the monks in Vietnam accomplish anything with their suicides? If you have the capability to fight on, then suicide is the easy way out (this leaves a loophole for the only acceptable suicide, in my opinion, that of the terminally ill who are rationally able to make the decision to end suffering for themselves when there is, quite literally, no other option. this also excuses those truley unfortunate people who leap from burning buildings and the like, When death is inevitable, one cannot blame someone for seeking the least horrific end for themselves.) the monks in Vietnam escaped the problems of this world and left them to others to sort out, as did this woman, inexcusable and selfish, in my opinion.

Who was it who said that a true hero is willing to die for his cause, but it more determined to live for his cause? Putting yourself at risk, or even intentionally dying to directly save another (giving the last parachute to a child, or diving in front of bullets aimed at someone else, a soldier falling on a grenade to save his comradess, for instance) is not suicide, but self sacrifice.) Deliberate suicide simply to make a political point is on the same plane as killing another to make a political point (the very definition of terrorism)

I don't see setting yourself on fire simply to attract attention as brave, I see it as insane. What's the point?

[Beguine]

31. In the end it's her body

I don't agree that it's the same as killing another person, but then I'm firmly of the opinion that you have the right to impose whatever you like on yourself, as long as you don't impose it on other people.

[northzax]

32. sure, she has every right to her body

that's the whole point. but it doesn't make the decision any less selfish or wasteful. I cannot respect anyone who would make the choice to die rather than fight for what they believe in. apparently she saw it differently.

I wonder if her family is happy and proud?

[izzie]

28. Is she from a red state?

If she is did any one tell her Bush won and has Congress and SC. She could have waited and got her way with out this show of being so crazy.

[progmom]

33. Have we been so numbed to violence and death...

...that we can't be moved by something as terrible as this? That we can actually make fun of such a tragic death?
I'm not saying you should embrace her message, but for God's sake, the woman was mentally ill and committed suicide. How is this funny?

[HuskerDem]

35. It's not funny at all -

and some of the reactions here are ugliness of the most juvenile and myopic sort.

[cali]

36. Incredible isn't it?

I really have had the scales removed from my eyes today. There are people here are virtually indistinguishable from freepers.

[slowroll]

41. yeah, I've noticed that

in many ways, DU is simply a mirror image of Free Republic.

[liberal N proud]

38. The difference between the DU and other forums

I saw this story posted on another forum and everyone there was brutal.
This forum is true to the Democratic spirit of compassion. People here actually do have a heart.
Yes there are some sneers and puns poked at this story, but I see a lot of feelings here.
It is great to come here for that reason.
Thanks DU

[Jackie97]

39. OMG.

I can't believe somebody actually did that. That *does* set the issue under fire; the fact that somebody was actually willing to do that to themselves.

I don't think that most anti-abortion people will approve of this though. Suicide goes against "pro-life" values. Hopefully, there won't be a lot if any more of this stuff happening.

I'm sorry for that woman's family though. I think it's way passed time to start talking to people about why this is not worth killing doctors or yourself for. In America, you're not supposed to talk politics, but oh my lord.

[REP]

43. I've Been Suggesting That for YEARS

Self-immolation or, for the timid, hunger strikes. If they really, really think "murder" is happening, then they should act like it. Truth is, pro-liars don't think abortion is murder any more than I do, and this poor woman was just another lost soul preyed upon by that filthy, evil movement. Pro-liars are vile; every single one of them.

[Mackenzie]

44. That's a great trick! Too bad she can only do it once!

Just like Daffy Duck at the end of that one cartoon!

[Jackie97]

45. I'm wanting to laugh, but I shouldn't.

The thread about a woman catching herself on fire has a fire currently flaming on the side of it.