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Self-immolation

Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself ablaze, most often in political protest. It is considered to be among the most powerful symbolic acts of sacrifice. It also may be a part of religious rituals (see ritual suicide).

While this is suicide, it is unconventional as it is long and extremely painful. This makes it a powerful statement, a way of stating ones absolute dedication to a position or belief, such that it warrants literal self-sacrifice.

A number of Buddhist monks, namely Thich Quang Duc, self-immolated in protest of the discriminatory treatment endured by Buddhist under the pre-communist South-Vietnamese regime -- even though violence against the self is equally discouraged in the views of Buddhist authorities, such as the Dalai Lama.

During the Vietnam War two Americans immolated themselves in 1965, in religious protest of the war; the first was Norman Morrison, who performed the act after reading an article by a missionary about the destruction of a Vietnamese village by napalm. The other was Roger Allen LaPorteRoger Allen LaPorte (? 1965) is best known as a protester of the Vietnam War who set himself on fire ( self-immolation) in front of the United Nations building in New York City on November 9, 1965 to protest the United States involvement in the war. At th. Another American, on or about May 11, 1970, immolated himself on the campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). His name was George Winne Jr, and he was 20 years old. He left a sign saying "For God's sake, stop the war."

On April 7April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). There are 268 days remaining. Events 529 first draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I 1348 Char, 19891989 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 7 Akihito becomes Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito. The Heisei period begins January 8 the Kegworth Air Disaster A British Midland Boeing 737 cra, the pro- Taiwan independenceTaiwan independence (, pinyin: Taiwn duli, Taiwanese Church Romanization: Tai-oan Tok-lip; abbreviated to , Taidu, Tai-tok) is a political movement whose goal is to create a sovereign, independent Republic of Taiwan out of the lands currently administered publisher Cheng Nan-jung self-immolated rather than submitting himself to arrest for having published a draft of the Republic of TaiwanRepublic of Taiwan can refer to either a historical, no-longer-existent republic or a proposed state. Historical: Republic of Formosa The Republic of Formosa ( Chinese: , lit. Taiwan Democratic State"; official English name: Formosan Republic Taiwan Repub constitution. His action was soon followed by the self-immolation of another activist during Cheng's funeral procession.

In the 1990s (?) Several KoreaKorea is a formerly unified country, situated on the Korean Peninsula in north East Asia adjacent to China in the west and Russia in the north. When World War II ended in 1945, the country was divided into two: the Republic of Korea ( South Korea) and then students also chose to self-immolate in the waves of mass protests against the country's then authoritarian government.

MIT student Elizabeth ShinElizabeth Shin ( 1980 April 14, 2000) was a MIT student whose suicide by self-immolation led to a lawsuit against MIT, and controversy as to whether MIT paid adequate attention to its students' mental and emotional health, and whether MIT's suicide rate w committed suicide in this manner.