Man commits suicide over Bu$h's war.

[DemoTex]

On Saturday the Sun-Times ran a small item about a man who had set himself on fire during rush hour Friday morning near the Ohio Street exit on the Kennedy. His identity has still not been officially determined, but members of the local jazz and improvised music community say they are certain it was Malachi Ritscher, a longtime supporter of the scene. Bruno Johnson, who owns the free-jazz label Okka Disk, received a package yesterday from Ritscher that included a will, keys to his home, and instructions about what should be done with his belongings. Johnson, a former Chicagoan who now lives in Milwaukee, began making calls. Police are still awaiting the results of dental tests, but Johnson says an officer told one of Ritscher's sisters that all evidence pointed to the body being his; his car was found nearby and he hadn't shown up for work since Thursday.

Buried on Ritscher's web site Chicago Rash Audio Potential, a compendium of invaluable show postings, artwork, and photography, are a suicide note and an obituary. Both indicate that he was deeply troubled by the war in Iraq and pinpoint it as a motive for suicide (no method is specified), though there are indications that he may have had other issues as well. "He had a son, from whom he was estranged (at the son's request), and two grandchildren," reads the obit. "He had many acquaintances, but few friends; and wrote his own obituary, because no one else really knew him." Ritscher was a familiar face at antiwar protests, and he was arrested more than once for his involvement, including this time this past May. A note found at the scene of the immolation reportedly read "Thou Shalt Not Kill." (More ..)

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/post-no-bills/2006/11/07/malachi-ritschers-apparent-suicide/
http://www.bartcop.com/

RIP Malachi Ritscher. Ritscher joins Norman Morrison who immolated himself on the steps of the Pentagon in view of Robert McNamara in November 1965 in protest of the war in Viet Nam.

Too sad for words.

[coalition_unwilling]

1. Morrison's example was cited in several radio addresses by

Ho Chi Minh as evidence that the Vietnamese people had to distinguish between the American people and the policies of the American government.

There is a small memorial to Morrison in Hanoi, I believe.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I never knew that!

[DemoTex]

4. Morrison was a subject of Paul Hendrickson's excellent book:

The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War

[coalition_unwilling]

8. Thanks for the citation. I thought I had read all there was to read

in the way of secondary sources on Vietnam. I'll check it out next time I'm at the library or bookstore.

[Matariki]

3. was a friend of a friend - who sent me his blogged suicide note

http://www.savagesound.com/gallery99.htm

on edit - if only he would have held on a few days...

[Marnieworld]

5. so sad

:cry:

[DemoTex]

6. Absolutely chilling that Ritscher and Rumsfeld crossed paths ..

Just like Norman Morrison and Robert McNamara. In fact, I think McNamara commented on Morrison in the film The Fog of War.

[meuniermr]

7. Don't forget this either.................

<>

[DemoTex]

9. The first Buddhist to protest this way during Viet Nam was Trich Quan Duc.

1963 -- Vietnam: Buddhist monk Trich Quan Duc, 73, immolates himself in front of US embassy in Saigon in protest against US-sponsored South Vietnamese dictatorship (under President Ngo Dinh Diem).

[RiverStone]

10. Sad that a man of such eloquence chose to die.

I imagine he will be missed more then he could imagine in life. Thanks for sharing!

[DemoTex]

11. Ironic, too, that he should follow so closely the death of William Styron.

Styron wrote a best-selling memoir, "Darkness Visible," about his battle with depression, an illness that nearly prompted him to commit suicide. Styron's "Darkness Visible" is used as a depression primer in psychiatry now.