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Norman Morrison was a Quaker from Baltimore, Maryland, who became famous for his act of self-immolation (setting himself on fire) in protest against the Vietnam War. The event took place on November 2, 1965, outside the Pentagon. Morrison was a 31-year-old father of three who, on the day of his protest, brought his youngest child, Emily, with him to the Pentagon. He placed her safely out of harm's way before setting himself on fire beneath Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's office window. This action was a shocking and highly public act of protest against the U.S.'s involvement in the Vietnam War. Quakers, or the Religious Society of Friends, have a long-standing commitment to pacifism and social justice, which was a significant influence on Morrison's life and his decision to protest in the manner he did. His death had a significant impact both in the U.S. and internationally. The act was intended to echo the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, who had performed a similar protest against the South Vietnamese government in 1963. This event was heavily covered by the media and brought attention to the repressive policies of the Diệm regime, putting pressure on it from inside and outside the country. In Vietnam, Morrison was seen as a symbol of anti-war sentiment in the United States. He was widely commemorated, with streets named after him and his sacrifice taught to Vietnamese schoolchildren. Back in the U.S., his act was controversial, with some seeing him as a martyr and others condemning his methods. Self-immolation has been a method of protest used by individuals throughout history. It's a highly symbolic act often associated with intense despair or a deep commitment to a cause and is intended to draw attention to an issue or injustice. In 1969, Jan Palach, a Czech student, set himself on fire to protest the Soviet Union's suppression of the Prague Spring. This act shocked the world and sparked a wave of self-immolations across Czechoslovakia and other countries. In more recent times, self-immolation has been used to protest a variety of issues ranging from local grievances to large-scale political repression. A notable example is the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia in 2010, an act that is credited with igniting the Arab Spring. Bouazizi was a street vendor who set himself on fire to protest the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official. This act of protest resonated with millions of people in the region suffering under similar economic hardships and political repression. There have also been reports of self-immolations in Tibet to protest Chinese rule, as well as in other parts of the world to protest a range of issues including environmental destruction, war, and human rights abuses. Despite its symbolic power, I feel that self-immolation is a tragic form of protest that reflects the depth of frustration and despair felt by the individuals who choose to use it. It's a reminder of the human capacity for self-sacrifice in the face of perceived injustice but also underscores the severity of the situations that lead individuals to resort to such extreme measures.
