Malachi Ritscher, 1954-2006 Is suicide a valid form of protest?

October 2006: The last photo
According to the statements left on his website, 52-year-old Malachi Ritscher had set himself on fire to protest the war in Iraq and the politics that allowed it to happen. And thus began the same debate, among his friends, among the public, on blogs, and in comment boxes across the internet-- an argument about which of two pigeonholes we'd slot this into: Was it an important act of political protest, or the tragic end of a mentally ill person?

In my opinion, the final act of Chicago jazz musician Malachi Ritscher defies pigeonholing. There is too much courage, too much conviction... and obviously, too much crazy for us to fit this tragedy into any simple definition.

The story, from Pitchfork Media.

iheardyoumalachi.org, A memorial website.

Malachi Rischter's "autoobituary" from his website

Wikipedia


Malachi merchandise: "Buy a t-shirt and wear it daily."