This was a tragedy. Surely the poor man had other demons in his life to do this. But I am reminded that suicide can be contagious and too much attention to one story can inspire other troubled people to copycat. More attention needs to be paid to mental health and more money provided for prevention. No, this shouldn’t be front page news.
76
Pouring gasoline over oneself and lighting it on fire in the middle of Prospect Park is not a useful way of calling attention to the baleful effects of using carbon-based energy or of climate change or to the difficult work involved in changing the social, political and economic framework that sustains climate change, or any other complex problem.
It is only--and will always be--an act of despair. It is nihilism, pure and simple. We can never, even in silence, condone gruesome suicide as a political tactic or a moral statement. I repudiate what he did.
Mr. Buckel might have realized had he been less intent on lighting the match that the form of his protest/self-murder guaranteed not only that his life's prior work will forever be considered in connection with how he died and not how he lived and that his "message" about climate change, whatever it is supposed to be, will be entirely lost amid the grimaces and averted eyes that greet any mention of his death.
Death only calls forward more death not moral clarity or majesty. He died in a haze of self-martyrdom. It was, and will be, nothing more than a tragic waste.
91
Yes, it's interesting that even self immolation only seems to make an impact when there's an angle that the media decides needs one.
We're still reminded of the Buddhist monk who doused himself with gas and burned in front of the cameras in the 1950s. but do we remember the man who set fire to himself outside 10 Downing Street in the 80s, in protest of the Thatcher government? Or, indeed, will this man be remembered in a month?
One would think that the business of inflicting an excruciating death upon oneself would be cause to garner very real attention, but alas, we live in harsher times, it seems.
Even the apparent career suicide of Morgan Freeman, daring to post a video suggesting The United States is suffering an attack by the former Soviet Union fails to make an impact unless, it seems, it's truly newsworthy.
One wonders if it is special interest groups, if not individuals, that make the decisions about what The Masses actually get to read about.
Because it sure seems that way...
61
Thank you, Nathan Englander. A lot of superficial verbiage surrounds the subject of global warming in our society but your piece cut through the here-we-go-again shroud of political correctness. When we have reached the point where someone burning himself to death around the corner is ho-hum, we are in deeper trouble than we realize.
90
Killing yourself to stress some point that is so significant to you personally that you've convinced yourself it overshadows the right to even debate it in a civil and rational manner amongst reasonable people IS what school shooters do. The same people who say that the press shouldn't glorify the motives of mass shooters, hostage takers and other terrorists, all of whom no doubt have their own 'deeply sincerely held' viewpoints that they think are transcendent over all the rights the rest of us have to live in a sane world shouldn't be asking the public to dignify this insane act just because they can find within it some rhetorical link to a topic they actually agree with. I don't care what your previous accomplishments are, by the time you are burning yourself in a public park to make a supposed moral point the only point worth noting is that you have thumbed your nose at the rest of us and what we stand for and chosen to exit civilization out the side door.
36
This act is mental illness. Attention should be paid to the forgotten white male, older, who has the highest rate of suicide. Instead white males, older are bashed constantly be everyone in our culture, mostly because they are hardworking and successful. The fact that he linked it with a social agenda is self serving and should not be encouraged from a mental health perspective as this article does.
31
I do not think it is "wrong" to choose the time and manner in which your life "ends".
I only wish that others would end their own life first, before sharing their pain by killing others.
23
I am astonished by the opinions of people here who have labeled this sad, meaningful self-sacrifice "idiotic" and worse. To those who presume to judge Buckel to have acted "only" from mental illness: Show me your license to diagnose, so I can burn it. The man made clear that, after a lifetime of tireless social-justice and environmental activism, he could no longer believe that the real-time devastation of climate-change would be mitigated without worldwide self-sacrifice. He wasn't calling for more self-immolations. He was calling for self-sacrifice through shedding our profound complacency and replacing it with compassionate action in the name of the future. How dare any of us judge him? And by the way, I thought the Times covered this event as deeply and sensitively as was possible.
160
Thank you for this.
58
Englander seems to want to know why mass murderers get more press.... people with large egos and hate-filled who really do want to die..key words hate and die. Mr. Bucknel was not hate-filled: self-immolation, jumping off a building ... horrible ways to suicide. And his death did garner attention. OTOH did he know that there are now out there boats capable of sweeping up plastic in the ocean?? (yes, a drop in the bucket..) But then think about it- does every police killing of an unarmed person make the headlines nationally? Anyone besides myself think gun limitation should includ the police??
10
Who is the "we" to whom the writer of this sanctimonious text refers? Who is he to assume that some or many people who heard or read the news about the suicide of the man in the park in Brooklyn and his stated reason for committing such an act did not care about or were not deeply moved by such an alarming event? Who is Nathan Englander to pass judgment on or speak for the entire population of New York City, the United States, or, perhaps in his immeasurable arrogance, the whole world?
10
I couldn't relate to Mr. Buckel's suicide at all no matter what the cause.
26
I too was fascinated by this event. An accomplished man, so young, so good with so much to offer for the last quarter of his life is now gone. His message will only be told by those who read the NYTimes. That vermin like Scott Pruitt live such sequester and now protected lives says legions about morality in this country. Davie Buckel, I salute you and what you accomplished in your short life. RIP.
66
The message David Buckel's suicide sent to all the children: Set yourself on fire to right wrongs. The world won't care; nothing will change.
What change for the good has any one of the horrible self-immolations anywhere effected?
26
There is no glory in having the masses take notice of the death of a good man. They would rather revel in salaciousness, intolerance and violence. No, don't have the masses taint this good man's dedication to a cause. The masses aren't worth a hair on Mr. Buckel's head.
29
Mr. Buckel was trying to send a message. I wonder if we'll listen in time. Here in New Mexico USA, we have seen 1.5" inches of rain since September 2017. In 25 years of living here I have never seen it this dry. It is April, and the wildfire season has already begun. Yet, the media never says anything about climate change. It is not when change will happen, we are already deep in it. The trade winds vortex which supplies the world with moisture is weakening. When it stops, the result will be anyone's guess, but I'm thinking it won't be good for lots of people around the globe. Our president and his cronies seem to think our planet inexhaustible in it's capacity to provide. They are wrong. Our Christian faith dictates that we should be good stewards of that which God gave us. We are failing in that task. There will indeed be hell to pay.
55
Thank you, Mr. Englander, for this thoughtful and necessary piece. I first learned of Mr. Buckel's self sacrifice in the British Guardian newspaper -- both the U.S. and British versions. The story made front-page headlines in both. I then opened The New York Times (online) and found no headline at all and finally, after a search, found the story buried in the New York/Region section of the paper. My Buckel's death was deemed more important in far-away Britain than in his own hometown.
I was deeply saddened to learn of Mr. Buckel's death and the horrifically painful way he died. I learned that he was a talented man who devoted his life's work to social and environmental justice. I, too, felt as though his supreme sacrifice would barely be noticed and soon forgotten, which saddened me even more. The profit-driven industrialized world is like a flesh-eating bacteria, devouring the planet. I can imagine that the current corrupt administration in D.C., with little, self-important "King Pruitt" hell-bent on destroying the EPA and the planet, could well have been a factor in pushing Mr. Buckel to his limits of what he could bear anymore.
It really is hugely disheartening that Mr. Buckel's death and message got almost no media attention in our country. Perhaps the truth he wished to expose is just too inconvenient and uncomfortable for our insatiable, profit-driven world.
69
The depth of this man's obvious sense of futility and suffering is heart wrenching. I am so sad for him and his family.
As we tool around town in our gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks, there are people like Mr. Buckel who are deeply concerned about what our selfish needs are doing to us all. "Not my problem" entitled attitudes are driving us toward a living hell of nature's wrath: unbearable heat and storms, human suffering and death. Take a look around. It is happening.
My eyes were opened wide and I was awakened out of my unconsciousness when I saw the documentary "Crude Impact." It is a very well-done film about the devastating effects on our environment and our humanity wrought by our dirty dependence on oil.
"Crude Impact" by Vista Clara Films is available for free on Vimeo. I am going to watch it again, and then take some small positive action, in honor of Mr. Buckel.
I hope you will do the same.
.
37
If a person burns himself alive in an act of civil protest and nobody films it and puts it on YouTube, FaceBook, or cable tv, does it make any sound or fury? Apparently not.
This poor guy needed a different PR strategy if he wanted to make his POV noticed by the modern masses.
33
Mr. Bucknel, Tragically, your death has drawn less attention than it should have. As an environmental scientist, however, I would have preferred to have your living voice and passion as an ally in the struggle to combat the grave danger the planet now faces.
189
One pebble thrown in a pond makes a small ripple.
I'll throw that pebble for Mr. Buckel today.
Did you know he was prominent lawyer for the cause of gay rights? A good man.
You throw one too. Please do.
And let's see how many others we can get to do the same.
Today, with instant sharing it's not that hard. I bet by the end of today, we can give this brave man's legacy and call to consciousness a start on going viral.
I'm going to share this beautiful piece with friends. I'll say it touched me deeply and I would like them to pause today and let it touch them.
I'll ask them to also read the Times account of Buckel's action. Share it also please.
This will take me about five minutes today.
If I truly honor David S. Buckel I'll take time in the coming days to speak to friends about what he did and stood for. I'll Google him and learn about him.
That's something I'd be honored to do.
These days, no falling tree goes unnoticed.
And, we can multiply it's sound.
Five minutes today.
This is from the Times article:
"Mr. Buckel was the strategist behind important same-sex marriage cases in New Jersey and Iowa."
A lawyer for civil rights.
He helped change this country.
We owe him some of our time and respect.
Today.
48
You point out that this was un-American in style and form. By and large, Americans quickly forget anything that doesn't affect one directly. This is what makes the current sustained anti-gun movement unusual, yet it is still not among the top concerns of most people. Compassion has been steadily bred out of society over decades, a factor that has been enhanced by shortened attention spans brought on by the WWW.
11
While I thought that your article was well-written, thoughtful, and came from a place of compassion, I have to disagree. David Buckel's shocking death did not merit more coverage than it received on the cover of the NY Times on the day that it occurred (and now, with your op-ed, for a few days longer). His was not the kind of activism we should encourage.
As I read the news of Mr. Buckel's shocking death, I thought that the man had more serious issues than his stated reasons for killing himself. Most suicidal people have multiple issues that they find so overwhelming that life for them cannot continue. I know virtually nothing about David Buckel, but from what I've read, he was a man of firm, no - rigid - beliefs, values and moral imperatives, and perhaps his rigid thoughts were part of the problem. If he were able to think more flexibly and proactively, perhaps he could have conceived of some way to make a more positive impact on the problem of worldwide pollution. His method, sadly, elicited only a momentary shock in most readers - probably not the reaction he had planned.
25
I am much too happy to consider suicide, even as a final statement about saving the planet.
But I have great empathy for the despair a human can feel, both on a personal level and when considering the symbolic "immolation" of climate change we are enabling with our indifference, greed and cowardice.
For whatever reasons, Buckel was despairing so deeply that ending his life was not as painful as living. That he chose to draw attention to our tragic inattention is indeed worthy of our deep reflection.
If not for my wife, children and grandchildren, I could imagine myself reaching a point when no option would seem possible other than to go out with one, final Cassandra-like scream, hoping the world would listen this time.
18
Had Mr. Buckle's tragic suicide been committed in a less horrific way, would this op-ed or online media even have covered it? Our inquenchable thirst for sensationalism has diminished what was once a life by the mere fact that we have all read it with shameful interest and passed judgement on a troubled soul.
23
I think his death was given comparatively little attention because most perceived the manner of his death as a manifestation of severe mental illness and that does detract from the credibility of the message.
16
It's considered one of the most basic ethical norms in journalism not to sensationalize senseless, meaningless death, particularly suicide. I guess I'm forced to agree with you and Donald Trump when you say that this norm is trampled upon by current coverage of mass shootings. But I don't see how we can counter that disgrace by making a spectacle of a sick man's pointless death. You are promoting the very error that drove Mr. Buckel to his doom.
28
The only way this person's suicide should be publicized is as a cautionary tale about the need to consult a mental health professional for suicidal thoughts. This person threw his life away, choosing to die in a one of the most painful, agonizing ways possible, and for what? Nothing will change. His death was an empty, futile gesture. What he needed was a good psychiatrist.
16
I am reminded of Norman Morrison who, on November 2, 1965, immolated in front of the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War.
Rest in power gentlemen.
16
I noticed. This story was painful and sad last week, and still is precisely for the reasons Mr. Englander explains. I suspect the powerlessness that Mr. Buckel felt is more widespread than most of us realize. I feel it daily. Unfortunately, we live in a system that bulldozes over those who challenge and strive to improve it, including the most intelligent and reasonable among us. This is the real tragedy.
18
This was a sad case of suicide clothed as activism. While I agree with the need to attack global warming, I feel certain, absent mental illness, Mr. Buckel would have chosen some other way to bring attention the cause and continued to live. We did not get here in a few years. Changing the way we work and live will take time, and I am optimistic it will happen. Mr. Buckel was apparently one of those people who have helped make that change happen while he was living. I am sorry for his loss.
11
Nathan, thank you for sharing this note. I'm so sorry for Mr. Buckel finding himself so impotent and alone, even in his act of ending his life in such a painful way. I certainly believe his struggle was real, not doubt. I just wish he would have addressed all that energy and determination differently, not against himself.
21
Climate change, due to the burning of fossil fuels, is the biggest (self made) threat our species has ever faced.
The second is the mass extinction event already underway.
Neither can be avoided now. There are too many humans on the the planet. I fear we know enough to delay our fate for a time but that just means there will be more, and greater, pain in the future (10 billion people by 2050).
9
I was saddened to hear about his death.
I confess that I didn’t know who he was nor the many other unsung heros who have fought the battles for LGBT civil rights and the environment behind the scenes.
Thank you for your life’s work. I was not in vain.
12
Thank you for this so-true commentary on a good man's suicide.
Yes, it should give us all pause. We must reflect not only on Mr. Buckel's sacrifice, but also on the millions of people suffering now from our SUV driving, movie streaming, large-screen TV viewing, BigMac eating lifestyle.
We can all take steps to push back against the fossil-fuel machine in which we are small cogs.
13
When history is written in the next hundred years about climate change that we today deny Mr Buckle’s name will shine as who did the ultimate protest against the climate change deniers
8
A desperate act by an apparently kind and decent man...above all, Mr. Buckel’s suicide is sad. No doubt there are many friends and family mourning his death, and the horrible means by which he chose to end his life and deliver a message. A message that happens to be wrong - people are living longer than ever, there are far more than we can support, and fossil fuels are not the first, second or third problem in their lives. We want to believe that a suicide like this by a man like that has great meaning that we should all contemplate and heed...But here, we had an emotionally ill man take his life in a way that will cause years of suffering, anger and sadness to those who loved him. Honor Mr. Buckel’s life, but do not glorify his final act of emotional desperation and personal defeat.
12
Thank you for this, and for holding up a exclamation point, a needed a annotation, to David Buckel's meaningful act.
10
Beautifully written piece. Whatever one thinks of how Mr. Buckel delivered his message (and my condolences to his family and friends), one cannot fault the conviction with which he led his life.
It’s clear that Mr. Buckel could see the catastrophic implications of climate change for the planet’s future. That he died too young is tragic. That his message is going largely unheeded is beyond tragic.
But I predict that 50 or 75 years from now his story will be resurrected by some enterprising journalist to illustrate yet another data point in just how willing the masses were in refusing to confront the impending cataclysm.
18
It is obvious to some as to why this tragedy was allowed to fade away. Then there is the other obvious. Both the media and many viewers are interested in sensationalism.Lets not leave out war and silly social issues.
2
America
glorify violence
focus -- binary system, we call it politics?
Polarization of Politics
One extreme or the other
when will people vote for a moderate candidate
have 3 real parties
I saw the news of David Buckel on April 14 in this newspaper. After reading the entire article, I was annoyed with the headline the paper used. It did not address Mr. Buckel's environmental fights and concerns as the reason for his self-immolation but referred to his past work for gay rights. His suicide note was about the environment, his choice of fossil fuel to self-immolate, was not even alluded to in the story's headline. This is absolutely the worst, most misleading headline I have ever read in this paper. In these times when many just read headlines, this one would given such a reader no understanding of this man and his purpose. Many papers now give the projected time needed to read articles ( 2 min. read; 3 min. read), there is no longer depth to reading or to purpose. While this article brings a little more attention to David Buckel, it does not do justice to Mr. Buckel's concerns, the choice he made, and the purpose. Just as this paper is paying tribute to all the women they overlooked in their obituary columns for the past 100 years, they are continuing to overlook this man, his work, and his death. This should have been a focal point for further discussions/investigations how fossil fuel is destroying the earth in many ways in many countries. Just because Americans can't see fossil fuel degrading the earth in their neighborhood, doesn't mean it is not the destructive force that David Buckel saw and used.
121
Thank you for bringing more attention to this. I read the Times' report last week and was horrified. I thought of the Buddhist monks in S. Vietnam who burned themselves to protest Diem's rule and persecution of their religious orders in the early 1960s.
I have no idea what factors brought Mr. Buckel to this terrible suicide. I wish he would have instead worked to bring more awareness to global warming and the pollution of the environment by fossil fuels. He was an advocate for so many who needed his help. But he was correct that global warming is probably the most dire situation facing all of us on the planet. We are now moving in the wrong direction and soon it will be too late to act.
May he rest in peace.
22
I too was struck how little media attention was given to this. Thank you sir for point out this fact and reminding us.
26
Thank you for a beautiful piece of writing Mr. Englander. I think that what you are speaking of is true and to the point, but I fear we are way past the tipping point.
The need and will to conserve and to make the changes necessary to save our own lives will only come when it is quite apparent that we are now truly fighting for our survival. With a great portion of our nation ready to abdicate their own responsibility in that same fight and to depend on a "tough guy" in the White House, to take on that responsibility for them--and a well intentioned, but fairly entitled nation of young people, with limited attention span in their wake-----we are not ready for that fight.
14
Lawrence56 " a well intentioned, but fairly entitled nation of young people, with limited attention span in their wake-----we are not ready for that fight." On the same front page we have an article about your city over-run with electric scooters...the latest billion dollar rage. Time to stop and take stock.
6
It is grotesque in the extreme to laud the fatal actions of a suicidally depressed person. Desperately trying to give higher reason to those actions smacks of whistling past the graveyard.
22
I don't see any praise in this piece of Mr. Buckel's decision to take his life. The point the writer is making is about the lack of attention to this desperate act--and the message Mr. Buckel tried to communicate, however distressing the method.
20
I got his message. I am a street actor, and, although my one-man show of the speeches of the "Great Agnostic" Col. Robert Green Ingersoll has been at performance level for a while, I have been reticent about impromptu performing because of my own performance anxiety. But the story of Mr. Buckel's sacrifice annihilated my fears and anxiety and yesterday I was out on the streets of downtown Sacramento telling the world in the great Ingersoll's words how we must cast off the myths of the past and embrace reason and science. Not much audience, but one young man of perhaps 15 stopped and listened intently, and hopefully he will carry Ingersoll's message to others. Mr. Buckel did not die without causing a ripple. Who knows how big?
12
Heartbreaking story about Mr. Buckel and heartbreaking story about the the effect of climate change. I don't know what to do. I wish I did. I don't know how to fight our environmental and don't-care-about-the-future government
10
Honor my Buckel's memory...and the sentiment of this profound editorial...by taking concrete steps TODAY to begin lightening your own carbon footprint. Even as we await more enlightened leadership, each of us has the power to make countless small decisions every day that represent a contribution to the solution. Drive a little less. Recycle a little more. Buy organic. Go solar. Use LEDs. Forego a flight. Each and every one of us can be the saviors Mr. Buckel, sadly, was crying out for.
26
I agree with his goals, but I think his actions were a terrible waste and a terrible way to go about advancing his goals. My reaction was that perhaps he suffered from mental illness that led him to such an action - though, of course, also motivated by his beliefs (which I agree with). I did not react in the way he would hope because I believe what he did was wrong, counterproductive, and tragic - a tragic loss for himself, of course, and for those who cared for him, and those who would have benefited from his continuing advocacy. This is an act to mourn, not an act to admire. I feel nothing but sorrow at his actions.
12
"This is an act to mourn, not an act to admire. I feel nothing but sorrow at his actions." This is the whole point of such an unthinkable act, i.e., what is being protested is beyond human reason and the only statement possible is sacrificing one's very life. We have become a society so cynical that no value is larger than a day's schedule.
6
The writer nowhere expresses "admiration" for Mr. Buckel's decision to take his own life.
4
When I first read of David Buckel's self-immolation I immediately flashed on the videos of Buddhist monks self-immolating in protest of the Viet Nam war. I was a young teen at the time and the horror of those images was forever seared onto my mind. That they were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to call attention to the situation in Viet Nam was something I could barely grasp. But their bravery in confronting oppression stirred me to take a stand against that war, and others, and that has been a profound impact on my life.
Today we live in a world where, feckless Logan Paul, with millions of You Tube viewers, can drag a video crew to Japan's suicide forest all the better to get clicks on his website and satin jackets from Gucci.
Mr. Buckel took his life in a field leaving behind a note. It appears he was alone. His unwitnessed death was quiet, and deliberate.
Nathan Engander laments the lack of attention paid to Buckel's actions. But I think that as years pass we may look back on this one man, and recognize as a seriously flawed, but in someways heroic.
55
Thank you, Mr. Englander, in sharing the kindest memory of Mr. Buckel.
19
These comments said it all. NYtimes readers are possibly the most educated compared to other newspapers. But still, a lot condemn this person act thus confirming the author belief that mass killing and violence is the american way of suicide.
NYtimes did not even put this to front page.
It further validates the theory that violence gets more attention.
very sad indeed.
10
The world didn't notice because David S. Buckel was (obviously) a disturbed and unstable individual with a martyrdom complex--and a martyrdom committed to a cause most people around the world do not think about in their day to day lives.
9
“Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.”
- Terry Pratchett
1
I'm a fan of that quote, but I think it's a little inappropriate here.
8
Nathan Englander ~ You've given the nail a pretty good whack on the head, but there's more.
"It occurred to me that Mr. Buckel didn’t have the banner headlines because what he did was so un-American. "
Rather, he didn't get banner headlines because it's not a subject liberal media can sensationalize, or demonize, to sell copy & ad space. Nor does it align purposefully with current political agenda on the far left.
Had Mr. Buckel taken his life with a short, fat, revolver he would join the ranks of 50% of gun deaths in America : white male suicide. He would have done something very (unfortunately) American. And he would have received ZERO attention.
Had Mr. Buckel taken his life with an AR-15 rifle, however, he would be well outside the mainstream and far more likely to have captured an above the fold headline regarding the demonic threat to society posed by such a weapon. Were he to have used another semi-auto rifle, say an AR-7 or AR-10, he would likely (again) have received ZERO attention. Ironic, no?
The state of much American news media has descended to be of value not much more than the colorful tabloids we've all seen at the checkout line for 40+ years.
7
"Rather, he didn't get banner headlines because it's not a subject liberal media can sensationalize, or demonize, to sell copy & ad space. Nor does it align purposefully with current political agenda on the far left." Amen to that.
2
So many of the comments here from privileged people who don't understand sacrifice...probably the same people who won't sacrifice their plastic straws and bags, their takeout, their fast fashion, their throwaway culture..
20
David Buckel, there had to be a better way.
13
Self immolation is not foreign to the U.S. In the case of sacrificial death by fire during protests against the Vietnam War between 1965 and 1967 two chose to die below Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's Pentagon office, one on a Detroit street corner, and one in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles.
5
If he had arranged for video or a livestream he would have gone viral.
3
Imagine the response if this took place in the offices of Scott Pruitt.
5
It was a tragic act performed alone with noone in the public there to witness. It wasn't done in front of the White House etc or in a city center - that's why it's gone "unnoticed" unlike the monks making a graphic public protest in the middle of the street. People are getting shot unjustly all the time by police, we have mass shootings, we are still involved in military action all over the world leading to the death of people, destruction of societies, damaging the environment. We are surrounded by greed and corruption by government officials and corporations. It's all pretty numbing.
11
I feel great sorrow for Mr. Buckel's family and friends. But no, he won't stop climate change by self-immolating, just as the rest of us won't stop climate change by modeling it or talking about it with friends. The farmers in Malawi know this much more about it than most of us do. Our only hope as a species is to adapt. "The planet" couldn't care less.
6
Yes, I noticed.
Yes, climate change is not taken nearly seriously enough. Not remotely.
Yes, Mr. Buckel's method of self-destruction was far preferable to that of AR-15 wielding mass killers.
But no, I found nothing admirable, significant or worthwhile in his suicide. He helped no one. He solved nothing.
I don't understand what he was trying to achieve. The whole episode puts me in mind of that line from Catcher in the Rye about how an immature man wants to die for a cause, while the mature man wants to live for one.
15
"He helped no one. He solved nothing." A very American reaction. Other cultures see it differently.
9
Those of us who are old enough also remember monks setting themselves on fire to protest the Viet Nam war. Thank you for writing this.
8
Good grief. "We" did notice. "We" read more than one story. "We" are still in some doubt as to whether there weren't other reasons contributing to the suicide.
It seems far too strong a reaction to concern about fossil fuels. Buddhist monks immolated themselves in response to war ripping apart their tiny country, to being invaded by Americans, to seeing children napalmed.
7
I’ve read about the anthropocene and have come to realize two things;
We have 30 good years left and nobody seems to care.
I don’t have children and never will so I’m not purposefully ignorant like most people around me and in thinking about how we could solve our problem have concluded that there is no viable solutions.
Consider this- if we closed all the factories, took all the cars off the road and grounded all aircraft it would take 50 years before we saw an improvement in the climate.
6
I too wondered why Mr Buckel's self-immolation so quickly disappeared from the news. It reminded me of Jan Palach, who killed himself in the same way in Prague in 1969. He was 21. The memorials to Palach are too numerous to mention here (they include an asteroid). How will we remember Mr Buckel, and what will it say about us?
Perhaps, the difference is that it took Palach 3 days to die. If Mr Buckel had not died immediately, perhaps we would have heard more about him.
3
The author seems to be promoting public coverage of suicides when the media have long refrained from doing so in order not to prompt others to do the same. And a wise policy it is, too. I'd hate to think that some might be encouraged to kill themselves over gun control, #Metoo, or the North Korean threat.
Of course, it is hard to believe that Mr Buckel's personal torments were limited to concern over fossil fuels. Other potential suicides should not be made more likely by the belief that the event will achieve public notice if a noble belief is attached to it.
10
Like many other commenters here, I just had to say "Thank you." This is beautiful writing, and beautiful writing is just one of the many things that makes me adore living. I had wanted to discuss his suicide with friends, all of us amateur activists and advocates for various causes, but the distractions and responsibilities of everyday life drew my attention away. Mr. Buckel's suicide was baffling and disturbing, certainly something that he justified, but probably also had roots in factors that had no virtuous agenda.
My first reaction was the discouraging message that despite the fact that he did more things to make the world a better place than I do, it did not deliver him from the frustrations of setbacks or bring the joy of virtue. But it did shame me, as it was probably intended to, to care more and to do more. Clearly, it inspired you to write this thoughtful meditation on how we have collectively reacted.
11
What Mr Buckel should have considered carefully before ending his life, is that it's always been about the marketing. Without advance advertising, this man's act was the proverbial "tree in the forest". Watch a movie like Frank Capra's "Meet John Doe" in which a solitary individual, crying out against injustice and promoting brotherly love, advertises in the press that on a specific night he will hurl himself to his death from a public building. The story and the man are both fabrications, created to sell more newspapers, but what's unexpected is the huge avalanche of national attention and the mass movement that resulted. I guess you could make the argument that if somebody tried that today he would be locked up before he had the opportunity to make his violent statement. I would counter that with the assistance of social media it would be very easy to stay out of sight and have plenty of time for promotion.
It’s not taken serious because every comment will start with sone form of “I was shocked and saddened” and we will assume depression took over his life. Issues of mental illness will outweigh policy issues.
Alive, he could have done much more to make Americans aware of the damage being done by fossil fuels. With suicide, he gets his 5 minutes of fame ending in “isn’t that sad”.
Seems like a sad waste of a talented life. I can’t image the pain he was going through prior and I can’t image the pain his family is going through now
Rest In Peace David Buckel
5
This is a sad story, but it is difficult to recall any act self-martyrdom that ultimately served to advance the causes of its victim significantly.
9
Mr. Englander's well-deserved indictment of the news media for its glancing-at-best coverage of Buckel's shiver inducing suicide speaks volumes about what, despite the cancerous spread of "social media", a cold, uncaring society we have become.
When a Buddhist monk immolated himself on the streets of Saigon early in the Vietnam War, the images of his charred corpse toppling over, still smoldering, were front and center news for days. They are among the most iconic photographs to come out of that horrible war. That David Buckel chose to end his life so, and at a time when he knew there would be little immediate publicity makes his death even more intimate than had he chosen the noon hour.
3
Thank you for calling attention to Mr. Buckel's brave but sad action. And for the Times in printing it. I hadn't heard about it.
3
When a Muslim person commits a suicide bombing, we believe that they did it on the basis of their beliefs. When Tibetan monks self-immolate, we accept it as an act of protest. When a white man commits suicide with a message about fossil fuels, it's a mental health problem. When a white man commits a mass shooting with racist underpinnings - mental health.
Perhaps mental health issue were going on - perhaps in all the cases above - but this man's last act before killing himself was to try to give his death a larger meaning, to try to tell us all something. Maybe we could take him seriously, even just for a moment?
Also - in the movie or novel (Ray Bradbury?) version of the future, this kind of thing becomes more and more common, as more and more people find our current environmental situation unbearable. Not saying that's a good thing, just... it could happen.
53
Not to be crass...but its hard to make a public statement hidden in the bushes. If you're gonna go out like this, and call it a protest...you cant hide. (Which kinda makes this death/suicide suspicious.)
I will always recall the Vietnamese Buddhist monk/s, who set themselves on fire to protest - as they did it in the streets. In view of passersby, and people with cameras. I will never forget those images, no more then when that Vietnamese police chief shot that VC prisoner in the head. IN THE STREET! That cop was sending a message. he didnt drag the guy off into a alley. No, he sent the message to any VC sympathizers in broad daylight. (likely only hardened the resistance in any witnesses)
Protests dont take place in someone's basement, or a deserted alley. They take place in public.
Protests don't place on these comments boards either...for those who think you're doing so. As none of the targets - POTUS, Congress,etc - are reading these.
Student walk-outs take place..where? Yes, in public! Teacher strikes? Not in the classrooms...no, out of the buildings in public view.
Its sad that Mr.Buckel reached this point, and decided on such a horrific means to end his life. Very sad. But I'm more interested in the final days that brought him to such a horrific end, not the alleged protest.
Any of us gonna divest of our fossil fuel use?
5
This is a tragedy. We have lost a valuable activist and human being, But, this was the wrong way to try to achieve his goal. The key is to KEEP fighting, not to give up. What a terrible shame.
9
We heard about it, we agreed with him, we knew that we didn't have the courage to act alone and we moved on with our lives.
11
I'm really glad to see this piece. I too was deeply troubled by the way we all just moved on from this moving and disturbing--and, as the author rightly puts it, "un-American"--act on David Buckel's part. My own uncle self-immolated several years ago in India, where he had lived for years in an attempt to find an alternative to a lifestyle built on consumption and casual disregard for human life and for the planet. By the time he took his own life in protest, he was completely alone. Like Mr. Buckel, it seems that he had no witnesses for his act and that the message he tried to send was lost in translation. To the extent that his suicide was acknowledged at all, it was received as the sad act of a crazy and desperate person. I can't say that I disagree entirely with that assessment, of course. But why is it that the few people who are willing to acknowledge environmental disaster as the crisis it is as the people who get dismissed as mental cases, while the rest of us get to move on in the certainty that we're the sane ones?
14
America is the land of competition, even though cooperation might work better.
It is also a land of “greed is good” even though the greed of the few is destroying the lives of the many.
Fossil fuels will probably outlive their usefulness and do much more damage than they should due to the unchecked greed that is rewarded, rather than discouraged by our economic structure.
We need change, but it is unlikely as long as people are too busy trying to satisfy the insatiable greed of our “rulers” to find real solutions.
Maybe the death of Mr. Buckel is one of a thousand steps needed to move us toward a better future.
10
Yes, thank you for writing this thoughtful, complex comment on one human being and on the challenges facing all of us.
23
I would hardly say it was barely noticed.
But events have a short life span.
If he did it in Times Square at noon, it would have been noticed. But it was discovered after the fact early in the morning in a Brooklyn park.
9
Thank for this. The other day I was in a confrontation on Twitter with a high profile person on the democratic side who was going after James Comey. I said to her, don't you care about the Coral Reefs? And she mocked me, saying what did that have to do with anything? Well, it has to do with everything. Every moment we waste that isn't aimed squarely at the government that is accelerating climate change is another inch closer to disaster. But no one has this kind of bravery. I can only flail in anger on Twitter. Which in turn uses energy, which in turn leads to the burning of fossil fuels. It is the most important threat we face and the one people, even on the left, care about least. Over to you, millennials.
10
How can you possibly say, in such a categorical, sanctimonious way, that "people on the left" care little about the effects of climate change? Who are YOU to assign blame or responsibility to, or to judge people whose minds you cannot read or whose concerns and intentions you do not know? Only an American could say something so stupid. It's why your country is in the mess it's in right now. Now how's that for a blanket statement about an entire people? Get it? Sending out Twitter messages accomplishes nothing, What did YOU do today to really effect positive change?
1
Mr. Englander:
I almost cannot find the words to express the sorrow and frustration that came over me as I read your article.
All I can add is that I agree completely with your sentiments and hope that the major news media outlets cover and follow-up on tragic stories like this one.
Thank you for shaking our consciousness!
33
I agree completely. What a beautiful human voice in a sea of chaotic grabbed headlines.
9
Climate change will continue to occur despite protests just as it has for millions of years. It is produced by the Milankovitch Cycle, predictable changes in the Earth’s orbit that combines with changes in the tilt of the earth orbit and the present positioning of the continental plates to produce very long glacial periods (ice ages) and very short interglacial periods (warming periods). The glacial periods last millions of years while the interglacial periods average about 10,000 years. In geological time, the current interglacial period has a few minutes still to go.
4
Thank you, Mr. Englander, for writing this. I was distressed in the coverage of Mr. Buckel's death that the reasons he gave for his self-sacrifice were glossed over, as if they couldn't possibly have been sufficient, and that there must have been something wrong with him. I take him at his word. We are ruining the planet, and there appears to be no sense of urgency that we change our behavior. It was a brave act by a brave man, and we should start paying attention to it.
The day after Mr. Buckel's noble act, Justin Trudeau announced that his government would spend whatever it took to get a pipeline built that would allow the climate destroying oil sands to be more easily exported, for "strategic reasons". I ask: Who's the insane one? Who's the one who did something to try and save us from ourselves?
57
The insane one is the person who flies, uses the internet, goes to work using fossil fuels, participates in modern life and then cries foul that the oil industry is ruining the planet. In this regard, I respect the bon fire man. We’re poisoning the planet faster than killing it with oil and gas. Our water is a resource in peril and when we’re off petroleum, there won’t be much left to live with without water.
5
The level of attention give Mr. Buckel is reflected in the comment section of this article. Less than a hundred comments a day later. Yet, we give so much of our attention to inane tweets of a dotard. We as a civilization have lost our way. Our grandchildren will pay the price. Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice Mr. Buckel. It was not lost on everyone.
66
This was a beautiful piece, and those who say it glorifies suicide should read the end more closely. I vote for more op-eds by novelists.
34
Articles about the current and future terrifying dangers of climate change should be front-page news every day. That's one of the messages I received from Mr. Buckel's tragic act.
21
A nicely written article, but when I first read of this man's self immolation, the first and foremost thought I had was "another nut case decided to kill himself". Did the man not realize that this society does not applaud people who do such things and that his cause needs a constant, strident voice, not a ball of fire?
21
Some suicides are logical, justifiable, even necessary.
This one wasn’t.
17
This poor man's action was due to mental illness. If he had been well, he would have found other ways to put forward his message.
22
It's so easy to blame tragic and horrific acts on the "mentally ill". What does that even mean? Having a mental illness does not mean one is also unaware or compassionate, it can be quite the opposite.
4
Thank you for this epiphany, Nathan, it is indeed the least you can do. The rest of us, I believe are fortunate to read it and in its recitation, become more solemn and thoughtful. I can remember the photograph of the soldier, an officer, shooting the protester or just suspect in the back of his head as he knelt in silence. I also remember the picture of the Buddhist monk burning in a posture symbolic of prayer while a crowd stands and watches. What was the purpose of these deaths? Undoubtedly the brave response to the government's violence against the poor, a practice that occurs from the Phillipines to the USA, still.
Climate change that is affecting us worldwide with little response from the government and much desperation from a lack of idea and will to combat this general plague, is not so different from total tyrannies that repress lives from cradle to grave.
My condolences to Mr. Buckel's family and friends. He did not die without result, if anything, his action powerfully focused our attention on the sheer laziness of those who have all the power and are too greedy from having everything to use any of it except to fill their insatiable gullets.
100
The author appears to support the concept that self immolation is an appropriate form of protest and that we should pay attention to people who do it. I do not understand why the Times felt it appropriate to publish this piece and thereby attempt to induce others to kill themselves in support of their views.
18
Its hard on your family and those who love you, and of course people think of it as 'selfish', but every individual has the 'right' to take their own life. It's your choice and your responsibility, I do not grant you the decision over my life. Honestly, who are you to decide yea or nay if I should choose to end my life?
4
Trying to be optimistic, I tell myself « this is a watershed moment in American politics « .
Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.
And with this « President Trump » thing, things have clearly gotten worse.
Hitler and World War II, that was even worse. But the 1960s were better. The 70s and 80s too. Not perfect, but better than the 1940s.
5
Very sad. It is apparent he was in great pain, no matter what his beliefs and ideals were. It's too bad he did not reach out for help and hope.
8
A sad story. I think he thought his death might cut through all of the noise and have a real impact, but it simply did not. May he rest in peace.
10
We did notice but it was insanity, so we politely moved on. Insanity.
21
Insanity?
I disagree. Insanity is being out of your mind. I think that Mr. Buckel was very much in touch with reality, unlike, say, climate deniers who refuse to believe the evidence of their own eyes.
No, Mr. Buckel wasn't insane, but he may well have been in despair, and desperate, something that I can understand very well.
The past is being devoured by the present, and giving way to a future that many see worthy of despair.
That Mr. Buckel saw so little recourse other than to take hs own life is tragic, and a waste. We needed him, as we need everyone else, not to give up on fighting for a better future than we see following in the wake of present day folly.
Mr. Buckel's death reminds me of the death of a man who committed suicide after 9/11; another man whose prescience caused him to despair. Another man forgotten by almost all but those who knew him personally, shortly after his death.
One act of self-destructive despair followed by silence is no way to make one's voice heard in any lasting way; only by living, by refusing to be silenced by oneself or others, can one affect the future for the better and beat back despair.
6
I wish these points had been made without suggesting that the media failed to cover something (Mr. Buckel's self-immolation; global warming). In fact, the problem is that people don't take heed of the coverage before their eyes. It's there.
4
"Save the Planet. Kill Yourself." We've all seen the bumper sticker.
He took it literally. If we really want to save the planet -- and other species -- from humans, we should all kill ourselves. But of course we won't do that. Instead, we invent modern medical science, designed to keep us alive, to suffer, as long as possible. It's a kind of karma, really.
Maybe we'll get it together, eventually, for the sake of the planet. But if we do, it will really be motivated for the sake of saving ourselves. We're fundamentally selfish creatures.
When we're gone, the planet will heal. It always has, after great sacrifice.
We should not encourage suicide. We should endorse birth control. And we should work to mitigate and reverse the damage we have done.
We should also acknowledge that Mr. Buckel died for a cause he believed in with passion. That's more than most of us will be able to say.
14
It's difficult to grasp that in our cynical age there are still people willing to die for a cause. Most people I know don't care much about anything, beyond themselves and their small circle of friends and family. Many just brush off Mr. Buckel's gesture as mental illness. But, maybe he wasn't. History is full of tales of the deaths of those willing to give their lives for their beliefs. In Christianity, we call these people saints. That in our current age Mr. Buckel's act was essentially meaningless and ignored may say more about our collective mental state than it does about his.
12
There's a stark difference between being willing to die for a cause and killing oneself for a cause.
Dying for a cause at the hands of another puts the moral onus clearly on the other person for killing you in a likely unjust way. Killing oneself does nothing in that regard, since it is voluntary by the victim.
This doesn't mean the issue for which the person died isn't worthy of notice, but it means that the level of attention is likely to be much less, at least here in the U.S.
7
There are people willing to die for a cause. We call them firefighters and cops and soldiers. That is very different than killing yourself for publicity or dying from untreated mental illness.
5
In Christianity they are called martyrs, not saints.
3
Thank you for writing about David. I am sad for this brave man (yes, brave!) and sad for all of us. I gave serious thought about doing this to myself during the Bush years. I was so angry that this country seemingly accepted the horror of what we had done in Iraq. Ultimately I decided against that type of action because I love my family and also I envisioned not being successful. Now in this era of the narcisstic sociopath in chief I am angry enough to not consider leaving. And now I know based on David’s example that no one would have noticed if I had died while Bush was president. What a sad sad country we are.
5
Everything about this is sad. We see the forecasts for the potential end of our species or at least much of it and the vast majority can't be bothered to change their lifestyle, speak out when it matters or join with others in working for solutions. We just say we are concerned and then get back to ordering stuff online or posting about our latest trip to Cancun on Facebook.
4
Beyond what personal problems/issues that were afflicting him that led him to commit suicide, I don't think what he did deserves attention. In his note he mentioned wanting people to lead more selfless lives, but what is more selfish than committing suicide. He had a partner, a child he was raising, friends and colleagues who admired his work. He had so many skills as a litigator and advocate that he could have applied if he truly wanted to make a difference. But he chose to set himself on fire. Martin Luther King didn't commit suicide to protest war and racism; Nelson Mandela didn't set himself on fire to express his disgust with apartheid. I can go on. Sadly Buckel quit. And he left behind those who love him to sort it all out and he did those who are advocating policies to try to impact climate change no favors. He's no hero and shouldn't be accorded as such. Though he set himself on fire, a horrible way to die, in a sense he took the easy way out by checking out rather than using his skills and abilities to fight.
11
If he had done this as a woman the coverage would still be vibrant.
1
Your remark deserves an explanation.
4
The story didn't get online clicks. It didn't go viral on Facebook.
That's what it comes down to these days.
3
"How do Americans kill themselves when they want to get attention? Just look at gun-related massacre after massacre..."
Or media only responds to sensationalized violence. Perhaps if environmentalist want to really get Americans to notice, they need to adapt their methods.
That seems to be about the only thing that might move our society.
What does that say about us?
1
suicide as a manner of protest?
when Buddhist monks set themselves
on fire during the Vietnam war, what
exactly did it accomplish?today,they
are grainy images in documentaries.
and nothing changed. the only way
to resist and fight is to live.
7
Enough Americans want to ignore global warming - are we surprised that they ignored a suicide that protested it? We are not really at at time or place in our national zeitgeist in which "any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind." We don't ask for whom the bells tolls, and we don't really believe it tolls for us.
Our media look for spectacle and large scale horror, of which there is enough to drown out small scale horror and despair.
Not long enough ago, a young man I knew and loved killed himself and broke the hearts of all who loved him. Yeah, the bell tolls for all of us, if we'd stop and notice it.
4
When I read about Mr. Buckel’s death, the recent death of Eric Garner’s sister, Erica came to mind. While it is true that her death was widely covered while Mr. Buckel’s was not, they both seem to have suffered greatly for their activism. Ms. Garner fought for justice after the death of her brother; Mr. Buckel fought for gay rights and the environment. In covering her death, the Times noted that “The physiological and psychological effects of battling injustice and racism…” were now part of the conversation surrounding her death. Perhaps if this discussion were continued, we could properly honor these two people and safeguard the mental and physical health of those who have taken up difficult causes. I am thinking here of the Parkland HS students. There are many crusades ahead, but death should not be the outcome for the warriors.
3
Self immolation has become the equivalent of a bumper sticker. A political message so common it no longer has the ability to shock. How terrible and sad. Had he filmed the whole thing and made sure the so called news media received the video then he would have received far more attention. And how terrible and sad that is as well.
3
Who self immolates? This is sadly a mental health issue. A sane person who wants to change the world takes steps and actions that make a difference and that inspires others to change their behaviour. I feel for the people who witnessed his final act or had to clean up afterwards.
5
Dear Mr. Englander, I DID notice with great alarm and sorrow and even admiration for the courage it took David Buckel to immolate himself in protest for the crimes we commit against our "common home", our only home, planet earth. I mentioned his act to friends and colleagues, none of whom knew of it and this made me even sadder, that he gave his life to wake us up. Who else does this sound like? I believe one day David Buckel will be SAINT David Buckel.
2
Correction Please note:
When I read about Mr. Buckel’s death, the recent death of Eric Garner’s daugher, Erica came to mind. While it is true that her death was widely covered while Mr. Buckel’s was not, they both seem to have suffered greatly for their activism. Ms. Garner fought for justice after the death of her father; Mr. Buckel fought for gay rights and the environment. In covering her death, the Times noted that “The physiological and psychological effects of battling injustice and racism…” were now part of the conversation surrounding her death. Perhaps if this discussion were continued, we could properly honor these two people and safeguard the mental and physical health of those who have taken up difficult causes. I am thinking here of the Parkland HS students. There are many crusades ahead, but death should not be the outcome for the warriors.
4
The media thrives on viral images. To some extent, we have a YouTube media. “Film at 6.” A self-immolation becomes infinitely more newsworthy if caught on camera. When competing for air space, sensationalism counts for a lot.
Climate change matters for humans. It doesn’t matter for the planet. Earth will live until our sun dies. We do not make the rules for Earth. Earth does.
Okay, that sounded way more new-agey than I meant it to be. My point was that we are all here, and we are
staying on this planet as long as possible. But we might not make it. Extinction happens.
Please trust science.
Tom
11
Thank you so much for this. It's heartening to know someone else noticed, and cared deeply. I've been haunted by his death, and its meaning, for many days--and haunted, too, by the world's shrug.
25
Completely agree---had been wondering about how and why this got relatively no play in the media--thank you for caring enough to attach your name and reputation to this man's heroic deed.
34
Mr. Buckel made a genuine statement in the old fashioned way: without publicity.
In our age of sharing pictures and instant communication it is easy to believe that everything happens for the camera.
This reminds me of another NYT article about a 70 year old man that kayaked across the Atlantic three times, with almost nobody to acknowledge his accomplishment. No attention asked; none given. I have to respect that attitude.
18
Thank you so much for your deep, embracing compassion, not just for Mr. Buckel, but for all humanity, including as it always should, all those you you love as well as the wider world. This is a haunting depiction of how we are so deeply connected, divided, flawed, and courageous -- and that is what compassion is. It is the most of what will save us.
32
Thank you for writing this article about Mr. Buckel. When I saw the story about him I was absolutely aghast with sadness. What a horrifying way to bring attention to a very important subject that we should be discussing and working on Not the distractions at the White House! Rest in peace Mr. Buckel. You will not be forgotten.
24
Thousands of people deal with despair, work to support families, work for causes they believe in. They soldier on somehow and continue their efforts. While suicide is a tragedy when it occurs, it isn't an argument or a statement, and it certainly doesn't make a point.
15
This was not "just" a suicide. It was a protest of the highest order, intended to draw attention to how humans are systematically and thoughtlessly killing themselves and destroying the planet.
107
It certainly seems like the news media noticed, as I read about it everywhere. I don't think it helps to focus on this tragedy, as it may inspire copycats among other people who are depressed like Mr. Buckel and want to put a noble spin on their self-harm.
10
We should quietly honor the gentleman while regretting his gesture. He should have gone to jail for his convictions instead. Suicide does not equal sacrifice except in an act of military bravery. We actually have a cultural read on suicide, whether we know it or not. In our culture, suicide is not linked to nobility, it's considered a desecration of life. It's not viewed as purification, as it is in the East, it's just a cry of despair. Finally, millions of vulnerable people, especially teenagers, have thoughts of suicide; the media are not supposed to glorify suicide, in part, for that reason.
17
People go to jail for their beliefs all the time. No one pays attention.
3
I thank you so much for writing this. I too was struck that the urgen message the young man wanted to give warranted a one-liner in the news. Then-poof- like him - it was gone. Noone at my college mentioned it, noone from my social media contacts mentioned it, even those whose posts are typically about the environment. I could only conclude America decided this was not a PC way to go. So very sad we've lost his voice of caring.
37
Truth is that the newspapers and other media outlets have actually reported frequently over many decades about the nefarious consequences of fossil fuels -- the horrendous smog back in the 1970s, the link between air pollution and cancer, pipeline explosions across the country, the Exxon Valdez, BP's Gulf of Mexico disaster, the Porter Ranch gas leak, how fracking is affecting the drinking water In PA and destroying neighborhoods across Oklahoma with thousands on mini-earthquakes, and Pruitt's destruction of the EPA.
They have also reported consistently on scientific studies about climate change, the destruction of the ozone, ice melting in the arctic, the plight of the polar bears, the retreat of glaciers around the world, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris COP 21 accords, Trump's reversal of Obama's commitment to COPs, and Pittsburgh Mayor's rebuke of Trump for doing so.
This past week, the NYT has featured on the front page an exclusive report on "How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint".
My point is that enough "room" has been made about the dangers of our fossil fuel dependence. We don't need 24 / 7 screaming about it.
Either way, most people won't take action unless they are confronted with an in-your-face collective crisis or a personal life-or-death situation. And even then -- as with our epidemic of gun violence -- apathy, cowardly public officials and monied interests seem to rule the day.
It's a sad commentary on the humans David Buckel left behind.
23
Thanks for writing this. It is a sad subject, a sad truth, but very poignant. I will carry this story with me to provide perspective as I confront the unyielding profanity of our next news cycle.
23
Not often do I tear up when reading a story anymore. Age? At nearly 75, maybe. But this piece has brought a welling of emotion. The ordinariness of the pretty spring day despite the lingering winter. The telling of Mr. Buckler's immolation book ended by this extreme weather. The meaning of his unimaginable desire to die in such a painful way. The almost routine acceptance of others so harmed by our collective callousness far removed from that Brooklyn park. I had to catch my breath. Mr. Englander has done well by Mr. Buckler in giving us (the few who do read it) a bump to our conscience. We will go on, too, with our lives, but, hopefully, with a little deeper understanding of anguish. Thank you, Mr. Englander.
127
Thank you for this piece and honoring him. It’s the first one I’ve seen.
74
Prospect Park is filled with trees. I recently read The Hidden Life of Trees, in which the author discussed the life of redwoods suffering in a park life in their non-native Europe. If you want to make a statement about nature, you will have an impact if you make us care. I bought a copy of this book for my mother, who just took a visiting friend from Indonesia to the Giant Redwoods forest in California. The book will change her life. I am not sending her this deeply troubled man's obituary. It will not make her or her friends stop burning jet fuel to go look at trees on the other side of the planet. No one's obituary, in the end, matters to the trees.
8
We, our children, and our grandchildren are all self–immolating, although at a slower rate than Mr. Buckler.
How many decades have we had to mitigate global climate change, and how far we have not come?
61
Nathan, thank you for honoring David Buckel and his beliefs. You have helped send his message and he would be thankful for that.
99
For the first time in history a human is more likely to die by their own hand than get murdered, evidence that in many ways we are doing things right. It sometimes does seem like the end of the world, but it seemed more so during World War II, for instance, or during one of the countless plagues and famines that were routine in earlier times. The astounding reduction in global poverty and global child mortality over the last 30 years are good things that are linked to a system that seems like it is killing the planet. I agree that we should stop storing fossil fuel wastes in the atmosphere, but it's not so simple as the essay seems to suggest, that a few people are destroying the world. For the vast bulk of humanity, life has never been better.
7
I too have thought a lot about Mr. Buckel. I thought of the man in Tunisia who set himself aflame and so, it is said, began the Arab Spring. I suspect Mr. Buckel thought that there would be more attention given his death. And in that, more attention to the state of our planet.
The news media picks and chooses — prefers giving Roger Stone a public voice over Bill McKibben. Trump is president because the news media liked his insane sound bites. People, it seems, prefer sensationalism, over content. I was deeply saddened by Mr. Buckel’s death because I knew it wouldn’t matter to most people. Or would be buried by the latest tweet-storm. It heartens me to read your OpEd. And to read other readers’ responses. Maybe, just maybe, we can make his death meaningful. This is the only planet we have. I thank Mr. Buckel for his bravery. I am deeply moved by his selflessness.
220
I just finished reading The Overstory by Richard Powers. Its rich prose holistically portrays the story of continuing trauma to the earth and its creatures through the killing of trees and the seemingly futile efforts of a few to save it. It was during my reading that I heard about Mr Buckel's suicide. He may have been a troubled man but he also may have felt and seen only too clearly that we all are on a path to a kind of suicide and was in his own despair trying to give a warning.
46
Thank you so much for writing this piece. I see David Buckel as a hero in life and in death, a deeply generous person. We should give him something in return - our attention.
89
I join other commenters who imply that while they would like to see Mr. Buckel as a hero, and his death as a catalyst to change, I share their sadness that neither is the case. The fact is, those who will and have taken note of his act are already aware of the issues he sought to emphasize, and many are devoting their energy to making what difference they might. The rest will hardly notice, or care. And that is the central theme of modern civilization - especially in the US - we simply do not pay attention, or care. Until it is too late. If Mr. Buckel was depressed, I am certain that is why.
39
It seems to me that the reasons why people barely noticed is that the end (protesting against fossil fuel), do not appears to be much related to the means (self-immolation) in that case. To me, he missed the point by far. Personal untold appears to be his real motivations here.
11
Kill dozens of people for no good reason and get headlines. Kill yourself for every decent good reason and you are quickly forgotten. It is truly the sign of our times.
28
Not really- examples like this are strewn throughout history.
3
Mr. Buckel did not commit suicide to protest fossil fuel use; he committed suicide because he was a troubled individual.
36
Did you ask him?
4
Killing yourself isn't rational commentary, and killing yourself is no sign of an ability to adequately weigh the benefits and deficits of specific acts.
It ought to be ignored; it's a bad debating technique. If we barely notice it, it's a good thing. It's not an argument, it's a powerplay. Feeling so strongly about people using gasoline that you'd kill yourself —with gasoline — means we can't take your argument seriously, because it's a sign of mental illness.
162
The quote from his suicide note shows the logical fallacy at the core of his belief - "...my early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves.”
"My early death BY fossil fuel..."!!!
No, his death was not by fossil fuel.
His death was by his own hand. And it was tragic, misguided and wasteful. His voice was/is needed now more than ever.
Admiring Tibetan buddhist monks doesn't make us remotely comparable to their ancient authenticity & traditions. Compared to them, we are all tourists.
12
Thank you, DJ. You just saved me several minutes of composing my post by saying exactly what I was thinking.
We shouldn't be "noticing" the deadly acts of the insane any further than is necessary to guide healthcare policy, and this is true whether those insane are mass-shooters or self-immolators.
6
Absolutism may be a sign as well.
Thank you.
7
Nobody noticed much either when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself afire in Tunisia on December 17th, 2010. He triggered the Arab Spring which remade the Middle East. I wouldn't be be so sure that David Buckel's sacrifice went unnoticed just because nobody gave it front page news status. Certainly those of us concerned about the planet's future were paying deep attention to his message.
15
Mr Buckel's death resonated with me. I studied biology for many years, and know what is being lost through humanity's self-obsession and obliviousness to other of earth's creatures. I am also gay, and understand how excessive reproduction is promoted in our cultures by teaching our young that intimacy is possible and worthwhile only between man/woman. I've been in Mr. Buckel's shoes often enough to understand his passionate desire to save our kind from ourselves, but I also knew that most people would just think he was crazy.
Humanity is self-immolating, but ours is in slow-motion.
135
I reject your ludicrous insistence that the fate of the human species can serve as the basis for ethics, political activism and social goals.
1
Is it because you are gay that you 'understand how excessive reproduction is promoted in our cultures by teaching our young that intimacy is possible and worthwhile only between man/woman'? Possibly there is a sensitivity that goes with that, allowing you to notice things others might miss. So, is the gay perspective that our cultures are reproducing excessively and that they teach that intimacy is possible and worthwhile only between man/woman? Perhaps you are in a blue mood because of the early and no doubt painful death of a young man espousing good intentions. Whatever you do, sir, please don't allow this to persuade you to set yourself aflame. Is it a certainty that 'humanity is self-immolating, but ours is in slow-motion' Or is it more likely that the world is a mixed bag and much depends on how you take it. If you find yourself loving death, you might want to reconsider your premises.
3
"Humanity is self-immolating, but ours is in slow-motion."
I agree.
I'm also thankful to Nathan Englander for making me aware of this man's extreme action; regardless of how absurd it seems to others. In fact their seemingly casual dismissiveness of his sad last act suggest even more to me what your statement above implies.
It's to bad he chose this way. The future could have used another voice opposing those who want to swallow the earth up with their selfish ways.
It's not easy to put all the pieces of our collective actions together. What we see as only a minor assault gets multiplied over and over.
Good luck future peoples. You are all going to need it - your predecessors know not (don't care) what they do.
6
"...if he set himself aflame to send a message, and it’s impossible to unburn him, and too late to direct his energies another way, the least we can do is spread the word."
Or not. Sorry, but there is no message in this suicide worth spreading. We may never know what compulsion or illness drove Mr. Buckle to his senseless act but celebrating it is the last thing we should do.
13
Thank you for your very thoughtful and much needed op-ed.
11
Self-immolation is the act of a madman and a fanatic. Therefore, he surely did a disservice to the issue, which is based on science. Science is based on reason and facts. Those who are pursuadable at all will not be pursuaded by people appearing irrational and fanatical.
10
I guess the lesson here is never set yourself on fire to make a point.
10
interesting that no one seems to think about the people who had to clean up after this act. i guess the man's deep concern for humanity & the planet didn't include them.
12
actually it did. in his suicide note he apologized for "the mess" created by his act.
2
Spread the word? And encourage others to do the same? No way.
8
We read about Mr. Burkel, expressed momentary regret, and then skipped to salacious Stormy. We made coffee with disposable plastic pods, got in our Mommy cars and drove ten blocks which took forty minutes through the gridlock. The subways were delayed because another 1935 signal stalled. We clutched our cell phones like an umbrella just in case it rains on a sunny day to get those "flash flood" warnings. Just another crazy suicide? We give pages when a mother and child are hit by an errant car, but get in our Mommy cars and dive on gridlocked streets past the blood on the macadam. We refuse to protest the lack of simple measures like congestion pricing because it might cost the price of a latte in a foam cup. Would we have noticed this death in Times Square? Will anyone ask the congregation to pray for Mr. Burkel at church, synagogue or mosque? Will we then ask for forgiveness for our complacency? We rationalize. "Just another crazy person in need of a therapist", the magic pill. We worship the gods of oil, social media and the stock market to feel better. Liberals complain but do little but complain. We refuse to understand mass killings with assault rifles. We refuse to understand global warming. We refuse to understand racism, or voting rights. We refuse to understand economics. We can't understand Mr. Burkel. Should we ask that pretty blond lady on that storied AM Fox show to explain?
13
In Austria years ago, there was an out break of suicides, in which people would send a letter to a local newspaper and throw themselves in front of a train. The local authorities asked newspapers to stop publishing suicide notes and the names of the deceased. They complied and the suicide-by-train epidemic stopped. While news organizations will never pass on sensationalist stories like this one (NYT already publishes clickbait editorials like those by George Yancy and is well on the way to becoming a NY Post for the Ivy League set), the answer to publicity suicides (which are essentially manipulative) is to not report the name of the person or their motives. Simply report the event ("a mass shooter killed....), not the individuals name or intention.
11
I disagree; almost every major newspaper covered his death.
10
I am so glad you wrote this. The warriors of decency live and die in quiet today while the narcissistic, lying draft-evaders tweet on into oblivion. What a world. I wish David Buckel was still here fighting by our side.
10
I agree. I knew David - not well, but we collaborated on a case or two and I had great respect for him. But I am troubled by his death. A great lawyer and a great man. It seemed such a waste but it has affected me enough to cause me to examine my own life and to make my life more meaningful.
So, yes, David, the message you gave with your life and death resonates with me and others. Like the pool of water on RFK’s grave, the ripples from David’s death will spread and, I hope, bring about change in unexpected ways.
3
"But if we can give our newspapers over to gun-toting maniacs for days on end, maybe we should make a little more room for this."
As news, "gun-toting maniacs" and self-immolation are the same thing: news.
Sorry, if you want to have an impact, which you won't, you have to suffer to the very end.
1
The deliberate attempts to prevent warming mitigation by the Republican party, and especially Scott Pruitt, are Crimes Against Humanity.
But, do not expect noble or rational actions to have any effect on the Cult of Ignorance that is the republican base.
5
I dare say that the poor soul who doused himself with gasolene and then lit a match noticed and then had deep regrets, too late. I find it impossible to laud and glorify such irrational behavior and so possibly encourage other unbalanced, but well meaning people to do the same. I can feel pity and regret that he did not receive adequate psychiatric care beforehand.
13
The reader's opinions published below are more profound than my own reaction; I suggest you read in particular what Louise Phillips and Judith Kalter had to say.
I'm simply chiming in here to point out that, even though I peruse the Times' website several times a day, it was through a *French* newspaper -- Le Monde -- that I learned of David Buckel's suicide by immolation.
P.S. FWIW, I agree with the opinion that there must have been more personal issues at stake that lead Mr. Buckel to take his life, over and above his concern for climate change.
1
Headline: A Man Set Himself on Fire. We Barely Noticed.
Sub-head: If we can give our newspapers over to gun-toting maniacs for days on end, we can spare some attention for this.
OR we could recognize those gun-toting maniacs as the sick, attention-seeking aberrants that they are and STOP giving our newspapers over to them for days on end, thus depriving them of the publicity/notoriety they seek. This one change would far more greatly diminish the carnage than would adding more laws to the 25,000 or so extant.
5
The title of the article alluded to the fact that this suicide was barely noticed. It is tragic that someone is driven to suicide for any reason. That being said I feel this suicide could have no other effect than the little effect it produced.
The reason for the act was to protest fossil fuels and how they affect the environment. Well....yes... and what else is new?? Society has been bombarded with information about the effects of fossil fuels ad nauseum for decades! Sometimes it seems almost daily!! And no matter what side of the fossil fuel question a person may be on, this self immolation did not bring one iota of new information into the mix. Though the act was noticeable it had no more impact than a sad end for this man because his message was very old and thoroughly known already. I know my comments sound harsh. But in my estimation this is the reason for the title of this article!
7
Sorry, no.
We should not spend our time talking about either the people who burn themselves "for a cause," or those who shoot others because they are aggrieved about one thing or another.
Let's talk about people who talk and do the hard work for a cause, rather than seeking "shortcuts" catering to their own lunacies, delusions and disregard of lives of others. The latter are people to be ignored and erased from memory (except of course for those whose lives they destroy).
9
Thank you for this lovely piece, Nathan. Sharing far & wide. I hope that at least a few more people read about Mr. Buckel's sacrifice for all of us.
17
We may have barely noticed the self immolation of David Buckel but his message should be immortal, just like the fruit vendor who triggered the Arab spring in 2011. We are living in times when fossil fuel guzzlers fill our streets and it is the new normal. I drive a small fuel efficient car to work and navigating through the parking garage to park my compact mirage, I am struck by the incredibly large hunks of cars, SUVs and trucks larger than the parking spaces meant for much smaller cars. Many are hypocritical than self critical when it comes to the harm one does to the environment and to the health of our fellow human beings when we move around our second house (large single passenger vehicles). I get it that a large number of Americans spend quite a significant number of waking hours in commuting but does have to contribute to such an extent of fossil fuel burning?We probably are the only country in the world with a high per capita burning of fossil fuels. Each of us should be required to pay a penalty or tax for exceeding reasonable limits of carbon foot prints. Rest in peace David you have lit a fire under those who are irresponsible for recklessly polluting the shared environment. Two of the most populated countries of the world take notice of this article by Nathan Englander and don't let suicide left by the self immolation of David in NY go unnoticed.
17
Agreed....we should charge people more per gallon for gas based on the fuel efficiency of the vehicle they drive. You drive a gas guzzler that gets under 15 mpg add $1, 16-20 mpg add $0.75.....there should be some sort of penalty for outright waste. Trump has rolled back cafe standards encouraging even more SUV and truck purchases....as usual Trump is leading us down the wrong path!
3
I like the tax on those who blatantly disregard responsible use of a privilege of using one's own automobile to get from one place to another. Trump or no Trump each of us starting with one self should think of the damage to the environment. When I drive my petite car, I am always aware that if I am in an accident with any of those huge trucks or SUVs, I will have less of a chance of surviving than the passenger/s in the tank. It will be safer for everyone if our jungle of moving steel is lesser and less fossil fuel consumption.
The least we can do. Thank you for doing just that.
14
There are countless examples like this. One of my frequent comments is that this is not news. Almost everyone else accepts the fact that if the TImes says so it’s news But world poverty, deadly local wars and environmental disasters in obscure areas get next to no publicity. The media repeatedly misses the stories that matter. And readers wrongly assume that 10 days on Parkland and barely a menntion of a self-lmmolation is, without question, the way it spozed to be.
3
David Buckel did much good in his life, but burning himself to death was a violent and futile act. No one should glorify his suicide as a sacrifice for a noble cause.
38
I can see killing oneself dramatically as a final deliberate act in the face of oppression. When Buddhist monks self- immolated in Vietnam it was out of desperation in the face of a brutal and corrupt South Vietnamese leadership and the sheer power of American forces supporting them.
Global warming is not oppression, and the ongoing policy debate on how to handle it is complex. This act probably appeared insane to most proponents of action to stop GW. It certainly isn't likely to push either doubters or industry to behave differently.
12
Mr. Buckel's public self immolation was a profound act in an absurd world of trivial nonsense and bad faith.
There may have been other reasons but he chose what he wanted his death to mean and how he wanted to convey it.
Ending his life in public and in such a horrific manner was a final statement of conscience and conviction.
His life was committed to higher purpose and he wanted his death to reflect that.
Buddhist monks, whether Tibetan or Vietnamese, follow a path that seeks release from a tawdry material world to a higher spiritual one. Self-immolation in protest of injustice or tyranny is a transcendental act of defiant freedom.
Some may object or be offended by his suicide but they're not who he was trying to reach.
The French existentialist Albert Camus believed life was absurd and to not choose suicide committed each of us to intensely engaging in lives defined with purpose. Those who avoid the choice, he believed, were absent of authenticity and inhabited inanimate lives.
For 60 years Mr. Buckel denied suicide and chose to defy absurdity.
In a noisy, distracted world his death may have been quiet but I think those who can hear through the din got his message.
77
I tend to agree, though I suspect Buckel had serious underlying psychological problems. Nevertheless, they may have been brought on by our own unfortunate and biased society. Those who criticize his suicide fail to take into account the beliefs and customs of Eastern thinking. We are citizens of a larger world.
3
Much as I prefer not to learn the name of a mass murderer from the media — since that connection may result in more such people — I don't want to reinforce anyone's motivation to get attention by setting themself on fire, lest that result in more such people. So I am hoping people continue to barely notice such acts, in the hopes that the long-term consequence will be fewer of them.
7
I was sorry to read about his suicide when it was first reported, but I do consider it to be rather disturbing on his part to commit such a grisly act in public, in a way that is deliberately upsetting others. That is a side effect of most suicides: someone has to find the body and deal with it.
It is rather presumptuous to hope to make a change without being part of the process. It also reminds me of someone storming out of the room during an argument and expecting the other person to change their mind. It is important to be part of the solution. By committing suicide, he is no longer in a position to address the causes that matter to him. That is indeed sad.
11
It's un-American in an even more basic way. Risking ones life through protest actions or activism can be seen as heroic; i.e. risking oneself for a cause. But suicide in itself is neither an explicit protest, nor is it taking a risk. It just seems like a fruitless way for someone in obscurity to make a statement.
6
For me it's the polar bears. They keep me awake at night. I wish there was something I could do to help all of us. I'd like to plant a foot in the mouth of climate deniers. Or maybe not their mouth.
16
A shame - that this man felt he had to do this... and that those with a conscience are so discouraged by the appalling descent of our country.
8
It is undeniably sad and tragic that someone would take their life in so painful and final a manner. Yet is it really a surprise that “we” took little notice? Not being unkind but honestly, this is a futile action, a stunt if he was of sound mind (the act itself tends to make one doubt that) and a waste of a life if it was not. This is not the way to sway opinion on a complex issue, using sheer shock and emotion rather than logical persuasion. I’m sorry, but such actions are not deserving of being game changers.
10
This man’s tragic suicide by such horrible means demonstrates a profound lack of perspective on his part along with it appears serious mental illness.
One can certainly protest environmental policies you disagree with but his method and motivation of doing so should not be lauded or held up for others as an example.
10
Climate change I absolutely a tragedy and something that needs to be addressed. Al Gore has led the charge and the Paris Climate agreement gives me hope that we are finally addressing this issue. Even though Trump pulled the US out, cities and states are doing their part to honor the agreement.
If he had truly wanted to call attention to his cause his suicide would have been more public. As someone who has struggled with suicidal ideology I can tell you that the reasons people come up with for justifying why they want to take their own lives are complicated and varied. The reason why may seem logical to the person who acts while seeming excessive and a little nuts to those who don't deal with mental illness. I always remind myself that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary crisis when I go down that dark tunnel.
The decision by the media not to overly focus on his death was wise. Seeing someones suicide glorified can inspire others to take their own lives and we don't want that to happen. The media coverage of Robin Williams death was perfect and saved my life because it pointed out the signs of suicidal ideology and provided information on how to get help. That's the only way the media should cover a suicide.
7
Well said, Mr. Englander; well and necessarily said. Thank you.
6
In a real free market, you pay for what you get. Those that use fossil fuels do not pay for what they get. Rather, they are subsidized because they do not pay for the waste they create—the waste that is creating global climate change.
Pay for what you get. Carbon tax. Anything else is socialism.
10
I've been seeing a steady stream of articles about this suicide since it happened so I don't think it's quite accurate to say it's been ignored. However, there are some actions that don't deserve widespread notice and this grotesque suicide is one of them. Whatever drove this man to set himself on fire is tragic. Perhaps some writer will investigate and write a thoughtful and knowledgeable article or book about Mr. Buckel examining his life and his psychosis. It sounds like he had a life worth examining. But until then there is no need to have his final actions served up, devoid of context, as part of the daily noise coming from cable news and the tabloids and the internet. It's good that the life of the park and the city and other people have gone on. It says that if you want our attention this is not the way to go about it. The last thing we need is for anyone else to get the idea that self immolation is a good way to spread their message about any cause. I'm not heartless. I just don't believe in encouraging or rewarding suicide.
12
The first rule of non-violent resistance -- well, okay, the second rule, after the non-violence -- is that the protest itself has to vividly convey the message. Without the need for explanations or notes left behind.
This failed at that so completely that the only silver lining is probably that many people felt -- as I did -- just sadness and compassion that he was so misguidedly compelled to do this to himself. Indeed, I was surprised that the NYT would report a suicide.
6
As difficult as it might be to say this, I think that Mr. Buckel's protest suicide may have had the opposite from the intended effect. And what I mean was captured in some reflections by a couple in the park at the end of the New York Times article. The suicide makes one feel hopeless. If Buckel who lead such a purposeful life in environmentalism and other causes could only think of suicide as a way further to advance those causes ..., what can the rest of us do?
And this in the same week that the New York Times published an article about how composting is one of the most effective things we might be able to do about carbon. And, of course, David B was at the absolute forefront of community-based composting. What purpose was served by cutting short David's efforts in that realm?
9
I read about this and was profoundly affected by it, to the point of being motivated to compare my pathetic efforts to make a difference with this man's courage and sacrifice. I think many others may feel the same way.
I fully agree with this article that the way our click-bait driven press-coverage works is sad. I have always argued that we should publish nothing, not even the name, certainly not psychological and character analyses of murderers.
That said, and reading some very thoughtful comments below, I begin to see that this case isn't so simple - and indeed, while there are historical cases where one person has committed suicide and so dramatically helped causes like the Arab Spring or the Suffragette movement, we probably do not want to be encouraging this form of protest, especially in a world where suicide is such a tragic occurrence in so many families.
At the time of reading it, I was not aware of any mental-health or depression issues he may have had, and I interpreted it as a great sacrifice taken in a state of sound mind. So what I've described above was my first reaction. I really hope others had the same reaction, even if in retrospect we shouldn't encorage this.
5
If a butterfly deep in some rain forest can change global weather by how it flaps its wings, surely this poor man has changed the global climate by immolating himself on a city street. With this Times report, among others, that change may well be for the better. I dearly hope so.
5
A friend's daughter was unfortunate enough to witness a self-immolation when she was in college. It affected her so terribly that several years later, essentially suffering from PTSD, the daughter committed suicide herself.
So I no longer have much sympathy for the public act of self-immolation when others are present (or soon to be finding a charred, dead body), whether done for monkish religious reasons or otherwise. It is an emotional assault on innocent bystanders.
16
Mr. Buckel wanted to shock Americans into noticing our impending climate change crisis. Sad that the continuing carnival in the Washington has so blunted our collective sensitivities that nothing is truly shocking anymore.
8
When I first heard about his death, I thought about Mohamed Bouazizi and the start of the Arab Spring. I knew that nothing like the turmoil inspired by Bouazizi’s death would happen here, and was deeply saddened by our failure to react emotionally and forcefully to the destruction we’re wreaking upon ourselves.
4
I read about Mr. Burkel's action the day it happened. I was shocked and grimly impressed. I don't know if he had psychological issues or was in a mental space akin to the monks you discuss. His warning is timely. Here in Canada, the country is transfixed by a conflict between the governments of Alberta and BC. Alberta wants a pipeline that will double the flow of tar sands oil to the BC coast; the new govt of BC is trying to block this, for fear of what a spill could do to the Vancouver coastline. The subtext is the need to stop tar sands oil altogether. The govt of Canada is solidly on the side of AB. Getting oil - even the filthy oil of the tar sands -to market is critical for Canada's existing economy. Yet it is also clear, to anyone with eyes, that the tar sands are an environmental disaster that must be limited if not shut down - not doubled in size, as AB hopes to do. In Canada, the tension is between doing what is "good" for the economy - at least, in a very narrow, myopic sense - and doing what is morally right and environmentally necessary. I understand that dilemma. But there is no doubt that AB and the federal govt are in the wrong. They are supporting something that is destroying all of us and they know this. Both have promoted alternative energies and recognize climate change. Short term expediency defeats long-term wisdom, decency and commonsense. There are millions of jobs in green technology. Yes, there needs to be a transition, but when?
14
I am angry at Mr. Buckel for doing what he did. We all have responsibilities to others, in addition to ourselves. If we can’t single-handedly save the world from environmental degradation, maybe we can plant some trees or
provide a better life for a dog, a cat or a horse. He was evidently a talented man, but his talents at the end evidently failed to include an appreciation of the fact that in this life the things we can do to improve things for others count as much or more than our failures.
11
... count for as much as our failures and shortcomings.
2
Thank you for helping make David's message more than a blip in the cacophony ... his sacrifice more than a patch of burnt grass that will soon grow green again.
15
If the soul is indeed immortal and all encompassing, then I hope David's soul is at peace.
I do also respectfully disagree with this piece.
Suicide is always an end to something. An end to pain. An end to suffering. An end to hunger. Depression. Hopelessness.
It can be either spontaneous or, more likely, premeditated.
It is never a beginning of something. It cannot be that. It is an act of ending. And therefor the hope of David Buckel, that a dramatic exit would wake people up to something was misplaced.
This is aside of the assumption, that David Buckel probably would have committed suicide regardless. His consciousness dictated him to use it for some greater good.
Peace upon his soul, if indeed our souls live on.
22
Thank you for drawing our attention back to this terrible sacrifice. It's true there is so little context in our culture for how Mr. Buckel killed himself, that we hardly know how to react. In reading the comments posted here that focus on the “mitigating factors” like Mr. Buckel’s health or mental state, and the “futile” or “irrelevant” nature of his act, I'm reminded of similar responses to strong protests. In February, the Times Magazine published an essay about the Valve Turners, a small group who planned and executed a symbolic turning off a valve of the Keystone Pipeline. The essay carefully portrayed the protestors as admittedly humans with flaws and inconsistencies, but utterly thoughtful citizens diligently following their deeply held convictions. Nevertheless, the same critiques appeared: e.g., unstable persons, futile actions. In 1846 Thoreau refused to pay the poll tax to protest slavery and our war of aggression against Mexico. His close friend Emerson (and so many ever since) complained of Thoreau’s irrationality and the uselessness of that act. (Emerson, in time, came around to a greater appreciation of his friend's rebellion.)
The lesson in each of these instances, I think, is to not rush to judge or explain. We are called, in the short term anyway, to pause and contemplate. Good and hard. As Sylvia Bornstein titled her book, "Don't just do something, sit there."
47
Dear Paul Dobbs
I do appreciate your advice to pause and contemplate.
What I contemplate is a pain someone felt that was too much to bear. I do have a periodically suicidal friend (three attempts including hospitalization), almost lost an uncle and have lost a grandfather (on a different side) to suicide. Also the mother of my childhood friend and a dear friend herself jumped to her death. Meaning the topic is not unfamiliar, nor do I claim to be an expert.
Contemplating it I can tolerate it as an end to suffering and the feeling of pain. This pain can include a pain felt for the entire creation and humanity. I cannot accept it as an act of defiance or a political act. I believe it is a highly private act.
10
I feel for this poor, severely depressed and unfortunately misguided man. Forty years ago the Air Quality in The
United States was poor. That is not the case today. There can be no argument about that. Forty years after the Clean Air Act was signed into law by president Richard Nixon, even though we have increased in population by 50% the quality of our air is significantly cleaner thanks to more efficient use of life saving, quality of life enhancing FOSSIL FUELS....
As far as Global Warming theory is concerned .....If this poor soul self immolated because he thought the weather Might be a fraction of a degree warmer in the next Century....We’ll, .....let’s leave it at that.
6
Wow. It's as if you think that the future of the human race is somehow correlated with a history of increasing population figures. Let me know how that works out on your extrapolation tables. If you figure out how to live elsewhere than Earth I will be particularly interested.
4
Perhaps this will cure your ignorance:
Can You Guess What America Will Look Like in 10,000 Years? A Quiz - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/20/sunday-review/climate-flo...
5
There are some assumptions here. One is the idea that we should care whenever someone commits suicide. Well, yeah, but we can't go through our lives feeling guilty over the deaths of people we have never met. And then there is the acceptance of his claim that he wanted his death to be a political statement. Yet even in the initial stories it was stated that he was suffering severe health problems, with the implication that he was most likely taking strong medications. Yes, people do sometimes commit suicide under such pressures. We can feel sympathy for his pain, and agree with the formula that he was not of sound mind (which in earlier days would have allowed his body to be buried with honor, rather than outside a churchyard). But that doesn't mean we have to abandon our previous beliefs in order to appease his wandering spirit.
13
Thank you, Mr. Englander. I, too, felt that this should have gotten much more coverage. I think the stigma attached to suicide and the fear that there would be "copy cats" kept the media response tamped down. I wish the full text of his note had been published for all to read.
When I think that this dear and passionate man is dead and his suicide will not stop the desecration of our planet for one nano-second, my heart hurts. One wonders if Mr. Pruitt or Mr. Trump were briefed. Doubtful. It's critical of Mr. Trump, so that means it's fake news.
What a very sad story. I hope David Buckel's soul is at peace. I pray that those who loved him can eventually come to grips with their immeasurable loss. And, I deeply hope his actions have the effect of causing us to be more careful with this beautiful planet on which we live. Let's do that in his memory. May his memory be a blessing.
126
I noticed. But what I thought then is what I think after reading the article: the act was profoundly solitary. I can't to be sad in the sense I would be if he had been a friend or even someone I knew of, but his suicide sounds so lonely. And that's both disheartening and ineffective.
Real change on social issues, or indeed a global issue like climate change, comes from large numbers of people working together.
Mr. Buckel was a lawyer for activist causes, it's true, but taking his life seemed entirely devoid of any social movement context. There was no sympathetic group showing support, nor indeed a clear message of any kind as to what an ordinary person like me is supposed to do to improve the climate situation given this death.
It feels odd to critique someone's suicide, and that's not my intent. The point is that we must work together to move things in the right direction.
Lastly, as a mental health professional, I can't help but wonder if there was more to his mindset than politics when he took his life. I have no way to know that, but I do know that a lot of people think of ending their lives when they are unhappy.
I hope Mr. Buckel has arrived at a peaceful place.
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I noticed, but felt immensely sad over this man's self-immolation. This is not what will move this country further along on global warming. Why he chose to express his profound dismay over the trajectory of this planet is just unknown. For myself, I ask, without answers, how those of us who are beyond words for the current state of disarray, are supposed to care for our souls until something better is voted in. I recently decided that I could no longer feel enraged every time I read something antithetical to my moral compass. I go to any March I can, if only to know there are countless others who feel the same way. David Buckel couldn't face his days anymore, but I would not want anyone else to follow him.
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I noticed. I read the 14 April NYT article, "Prominent Lawyer in Fight for Gay Rights Dies After Setting Himself on Fire in Prospect Park".
And then I read the Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide -- which were published by a bunch of policy organizations and included input from suicide prevention, mental health, and journalism organizations.
And I noticed that the news coverage of this suicide strayed quite far from the standard recommendations without saying why.
The standard recommendations say that instead of quoting extensively from a note -- which the Times article did, in four paragraphs -- you should say something like "A note from the deceased was found and is being reviewed by the medical examiner."
The standard recommendations are designed to help news organizations inform the public about suicide as a mental health issue, based on evidence that certain kinds of coverage of suicide increase the likelihood that vulnerable individuals will kill themselves.
As an op-ed writer you should absolutely feel free to write that suicide is a "sacrifice" with political aims, as in Tibetan protest, and to imply that you think that climate change advocates should also set themselves on fire. Go ahead and say that if you like. I wonder whether it's a good thing to say, but that's fine.
But the consensus among most journalists is that reporting on suicide should cover it as a public health issue first and foremost - not a political statement.
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I'm not sure it's fair to say that his suicide meant no more than a bullet to the head or an overdose of pills. Would you say the same of those monks in Lhasa or Saigon?
9
I believe this is a very valid consideration, but also that we must distinguish between a suicide fueled by, for example, mental illness or depression, and a suicide which was a conscious and intentional, albeit desperate attempt to draw attention to some cause.
In this case I do not know which was the case, or to what extent. So I'm not disagreeing with what you write!
6
I'm sorry, but if you think reporting on this particular sacrifice is a public health issue, than you should also believe that the deaths of U.S. soldiers all over the globe since 9/11 is also a public health issue, and by your insinuation, that we should be doing something to intercede to stop their deaths as well.
Your interpretation that this is an ordinary suicide degrades the nobility of this act, indpedendent of Buckel's motives, which he himself spelled out.
So when a climate warrior gives his life for the cause of justice of future generations, the act is classified as mental illness. Good, by this reasoning we can now understand that when a solider in the U.S. armed forces gives his life in pursuit of national global domination, that too is a type of mental illness foisted upon him by the State which creates the false narrative of redemptive violence.
Let the men and women who risk their lives not have their memories of their sacrifices tarnished by those who would tell them what their sacrifices do or don't mean. I object. The meaning of giving one's life in this manner transcends the tawdry politicization of such acts by the media.
17
Well expressed. Everything indeed just moves blithely on, and usually powered by far too much fossil fuels as we lead lives of mindless excess, with a bonfire of vanities we certainly don't need -- whether cuts of beef or tourist flights to Antarctica or massive pickup trucks that serve as passenger vehicles. The tragic self-immolation gave me pause, and reminded me that I've sometimes waded into existential territory thinking, "I'm just carbon consuming carbon, and far too much of it, and the planet, and many other species, would be far better without me." Mr. Buckel apparently came to a similar conclusion and used his exit to make a statement in that regard. But almost no one was really listening, if his final action registered at all. In the lyrics of Bruce Cockburn, a Canadian folksinger: If a tree falls in the forest / Will anybody hear?
21
I respectfully disagree. First because there were numerous articles documenting this man and his contributions to the values he cherished. His death was not ignored. Secondly, there isn't a man, woman or child over 5 who hasn't heard about global warming via pictures of dying fish, bears, crumbling icebergs and other natural disasters assigned to it. But most importantly, I disagree because I do not think this man's actions should be honored as some kind of spiritual or heroic act. Surely, death by immolation was a dramatic statement in his mind. But in the scope of what is required to change energy policies worldwide, it will not move the needle one millimeter. His life was not in vain, but his death may have been.
259
A profound statement. Not long ago I contemplated a "heroic" suicide. Lots of reasons stopped me from going ahead, but one of them was the way in which the suicide of the livery driver in front of City Hall after Uber had ruined his life made so little impact. I cannot help thinking about what Mr Buckel might yet have done to get the world back into equilibrium if he had been able to hold on. Tragic whichever way one looks at it.
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Maybe it wasn't heroic, though I'm almost ready to make that argument and not just for forms sake. But the real fault I see here is ours, not his. A lifetime of fighting for a better world and suddenly the antithesis of everything he fought against sweeps to power. We let him down.
When everything rational is no longer valued, when greed and hatred overcome the legacy of so many good people, it seems almost wildly optimistic to expect much different.
119
This story makes me so sad on so many levels. Here is a man who devoted his life to helping others; even to the point of taking his own life as a warning that people were dying as a result of the overuse of fossil fuel, yet his dire warning goes basically unnoticed.
I need to think about how I can do something; make some change in my behavior so at least I will remember his sacrifice.
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