Why Did So Few of Us Care That A Man Lit Himself On Fire This Earth Day?
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
Earth Day came and went this year on April 22nd, and you would be forgiven for missing it. Our society does not put a lot of emphasis on protecting this planet — after all, the almost apocalyptic IPCC report would not have us projected to possibly hit 1.5C in the next five years if our leaders gave a damn about the environment.
Another thing you may have missed is that a man lit himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court to protest climate change. His name was Wynn Alan Bruce. He was a 50-year-old man who appeared to love taking artsy photographs and sharing quotes about spirituality.
He frequently talked about the need to protect the environment on his Facebook page. He was passionate and political. Wynn appeared to have been planning this act for some time. A Facebook post in April of 2021 has the date he would die and a fire emoji next to it. In a message in February of this year, he prophetically reposted a bell hooks quote, which reads: “The light of love is always in us, no matter how cold the flame. It is always present, waiting for the spark to ignite, waiting for the heart to awaken.”
Wynn was a practitioner of Buddhism who took up the tradition of immolating himself to protest an injustice, hoping perhaps, like the bell hooks quote suggests, that this act would spark something within our society. “This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to climate crisis.” his alleged friend Dr. K. Kritee wrote on Twitter.
Yet if that's the case, I worry that we are not listening to his message. Most people I know did not hear about this incident — and I'm friends with a committed group of activists. Several news outlets reported the initial death. Fewer still covered his vigil in front of the Supreme Court. Then we all moved on to the next thing: politicians reneging on promises they never intend to deliver on; the latest show on Netflix; some bullshit done by celebrities or influencers. Anything to not focus on the problem at hand.
I urge you to go to his Facebook page and see the “friends” who have invaded it, belittling Wynn’s sacrifice. “So sad. Climate Extremist propaganda kills,” reads one of the first comments on the last message on his feed. “That wasn’t a sacrifice, it was narcissism,” goes another. “Trying to save climate change by putting out emissions… should’ve composted himself instead… dumbass.” And on and on, the hate goes. The news of this man’s tragic death broke their feeds, and rather than do something substantive with this information, they spent precious moments on this Earth tracking down his social and yelling at a ghost.
There have been so many bodies given in this fight, and the response they receive, assuming people hear about them at all, is mockery and dismissal. In the past couple of years alone, scientists have risked arrest, and youth activists have gone on hunger strike. Activists have been arrested after blocking the entrance of the New York Times printing plant in Queens, scaling an oil tanker in London, occupying the Department of the Interior, and so much more. People are arrested and attacked every day to protest our society’s inadequate response to climate change.
Have you heard about any of them?
Countless people have let their bodies be hit, starved, and brutalized, hoping that it would shock people out of complacency, and I am wondering what good it’s done. If so few react to or even hear about a man dousing himself in gasoline in front of one of the most famous buildings in the country — a man who died suffering one of the most painful types of protests imaginable. Then I don’t know what can be done to shock people from their complacency.
How many more of us have to give our lives before people start taking the crisis we are in seriously?
Those in power have enough resources to insulate themselves from this type of news. Rich people have entire publication teams (and in some cases, entire publications) that edit out the nasty business of reality for them.
As for the rest of us, we are either in active denial or just so overwhelmed by everything going on that a man killing himself in protest of environmental collapse causes us to hardly bat an eye. Wynn Bruce’s death has just become one incident in a string of horrors dotting our news feeds. Many of us are paralyzed with fatigue, and so many more of us refuse to acknowledge the problem at all.
I didn’t know Wynn Bruce, but I have the utmost respect for him and his sacrifice. I hope, for all of our sakes; people start to listen to his message before it's too late and, perhaps even more importantly, have the bravery to act.
If you would like to do something about the climate catastrophe threatening our planet, consider donating to or signing up for one of the organizations below: