Man sets self aflame in Calif. protest
Sat Dec 23, 10:48 AM ET
A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district’s decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.
The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.
Seeing the flames, Sheriff’s Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man.
Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.
Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.
Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.
The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.
“The man stood there like this,” the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, “Saying no, no, no.”
The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.
Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: “**** the religious establishment and KHSD.”
On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.
Okay…I admit it…I don’t get it. I can understand someone being upset that a school was using terminology that offended him. I can understand a non-Christian being upset over Christian terms. I can even understand someone being compelled to protest such an action. But setting yourself on fire? Really…is that the brightest (no pun intended) way to draw attention to your cause?
I’ve seen the photos of those Buddhist monks lighting themselves on fire in protest of the war in Vietnam. I’ve read stories of others doing the same sort of thing to draw attention to various atrocities. It’s not like setting yourself on fire is unheard of. But…isn’t it a bit extreme to do so because some school called it “Christmas” break instead of Winter break?
I’ll be honest…I’d be kinda ticked if they used other religious terms so I can empathize with those who don’t want Christian names attatched. But…setting yourself on fire?
I don’t know that there is anything I want to protest so badly that I’ll dowse myself in gasoline and flick my Bic. Poverty upsets me. World Hunger upsets me. The world-wide AIDS crisis upsets me. The joke that American politics has become upsets me. There are a LOT of things that tick me off…but I ain’t setting myself on fire for any of them.
How about you guys?
Kepa said,
December 23, 2006 at 10:37 pm
It’s never a good thing when people Fight Fire With Fire. All I know is that We Didn’t Start The Fire. And I know nothing about a Ring Of Fire. Although, I wish someone would Light My Fire. It would be awful if someone went to Sleep Now In The Fire. I’d never ask anyone to Jump In The Fire. But I’ll have to stop here, because the Roof Is On Fire.