So on Sunday, an active duty Air Force member set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy

in Washington, D.C. to protest the war in Gaza. And this, of course, has unlocked all of the

worst hordes of the internet who have decided that apparently this member of the Air Force,

who was a disturbed anarchist, was some sort of hero. And that has some really bad implications

for politics and for morality and for virtue. So let's start with the simple facts in this particular

case. The person's name was Aaron Bushnell. Aaron Bushnell was 25 years old, and he was, in fact,

a disturbed anarchist. How do we know that he was an anarchist? Well, because he said so. So first of all,

this should raise some serious questions about how we actually screen for the American military. And the simple fact of the matter is that these standards for the American military have been dropping pretty radically. This guy was an IT specialist and he'd been in the military for several years. And he was, in fact, an active anarchist. Now, you know that the military has been targeting so-called white supremacy

in the military. If you're a conservative in the military and you're open about it, that may call

into question your loyalty to the U.S. military, but apparently you can be a radical anarchist

publicly, and that has no implications whatsoever for your military service. Apparently, you can

also be a disturbed person because it turns out

you have to be kind of disturbed to set yourself literally on fire in front of the Israeli embassy

to protest a non-existent genocide, which is what this person did. So, according to the Washington

Post, quote, less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of the Israeli embassy

on Sunday, he and a friend talked by phone about their shared identities as anarchists and what kinds of risks and sacrifices were needed to be effective. Bushnell mentioned nothing violent or self-sacrificial. Then on Sunday, Bushnell texted that friend who described the exchange on the condition of anonymity to protect his safety, quote, I hope you'll understand, I love you. This doesn't even make sense, but I feel like I'm going to miss you. And then he sent a friend, a copy of his will on Sunday in which he gave his cat to his neighbor and a fridge full of root beers to his friend. And then 12 minutes later, he doused himself with liquid and set himself on fire while shouting, free Palestine. He died seven hours later at a hospital. Now, what's amazing about all of this, and we know his past, we know that he was raised

apparently on a cult religious compound.

We know that he fell out of that cult, apparently, and then he immediately went into the military

and started associating with radical groups, radical anarchist groups.

According, again, to the Washington Post, Lupe Barbosa, 32, said she met Bushnell and San Antonio

in 2022 at an event for a socialist organization.

She said they bonded over their politics and started working together to deliver clothing

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