I read today that there is a protest in Chicago this Sunday at 2pm. That's poor timing for a protest, considering they'll be competing against the Bears game. Parking is gonna suck. Although, I have to figure that the majority of protesters, regardless of the cause, use public transportation. Or, at the very least, they carpool. The purpose of the gathering is to commemorate the death of that anti-war protester that burnt himself to death near the Kennedy earlier this month. The guy set up a video camera, doused himself with gasoline, wrapped an American flag around his head and set himself on fire. That's hard core. I bet that somewhere in Oregon there was a hippie on a 3-day hunger strike that totally got upstaged when his girlfriend heard about this.
Sad thing for the guy is, outside the protesting community, it didn't really make headlines. At least I didn't hear about it. Of course, that only means it wasn't on the Fox News Chicago tease in between reruns of "The Simpsons" and "Malcolm in the Middle".
There has got to be a better way to protest than to burn yourself alive, also known as self-immolation.(That's right, I learned something today. Well, I actually learned 2 things. The other was that Axe Body Spray is not useful in removing the smell from gym shoes. It just covers it up. But that was a completely separate learning experience.)
The first major problem with burning yourself is the intense pain. I'd recommend something less excruciating, like maybe shaving without cream. It hurts, but you can then move on with your day.
Another thing this guy did wrong is to choose a protest that would kill him. Big mistake. If he only got maimed, he gets to be around to enjoy the fruits of his labor, plus garner some sweet sympathy and hero-worship from female demonstrators.
Worst of all, the poor dude didn't even get the news coverage he hoped for. Oh, well. At least he taped it. Maybe he'll make the cut for Jackass 3.