The Ghost of Malachi Ritscher

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(Subtitle: The Problems of Martyrdom)
It happened and barely anyone noticed. A few weeks ago, a grown man set himself on fire along the expressway in Chicago to protest the war in Iraq. He did it during the morning rush hour and beneath the Chicago Flame sculpture. On his website, he left an obituary and a suicide letter that rambled on about the injustice in the world, his struggle with alcohol, and some failed relationships in his life. So, to what end? I'm sure he horrified some accountants on their way to work, no doubt some daytraders, some secretaries, some janitors, some highway workers, some soccer moms.
I'm of the bizarre opinion that we are born as pure as we will ever be, and everything we add to that afterwards is just an insult to that life, including belief systems. And yes, I know, people hold dearly to their belief systems because they have convinced themselves that they are what they believe. It seems people live more in their mind during their lives than they do in their bodies. That's why the progression from belief system to suicide bomber, or soldier, or mass-murderer, or man-in-flames can be so easy for some.
The brain is a fragile thing and can be convinced of almost anything with enough repetition and emotion. Brains can turn against other people and against oneself. So....Malachi Ritscher commits an act of unspeakable violence against himself to protest the unspeakable violence in the world, therefore becoming the unspeakable violence himself, and adding one more drop of unspeakable violence to a world overflowing with unspeakable violence all for the fickle, unspoken opinions fluttering through a speechless mind. Brilliant.
It's a terrifying world. Take care of each other out there.

Signed, Mortimer Jones
Disbeliever
The Parts and Labor Collective