Early Nov. 3 on a Kennedy expressway off-ramp, 52-year-old Malachi Ritscher set himself on fire in protest against the war in Iraq. His charred body lay before the statue of the “Flame of the Millennium.”
A sign beside him read, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” In a statement written on his Web site, Ritscher maintains that all of us have blood on our hands because our tax dollars are funding the war.
For many, the famous self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc protesting the South Vietnamese regime in 1963 comes to mind. For Malachi Ritscher, his last act on earth is far from having the same impact.
His death is likely to be dismissed as an isolated and bizarre suicide. One can’t help but suspect morning rush-hour commuters being more distressed by the backup in traffic. Ritscher was someone who had written his own obituary, feeling that no really knew who he was.
He was born in North Dakota and dropped out of high school. He married young, got divorced 10 years later, and has an estranged son. Ritscher later immersed himself in the Chicago music scene.
His name, Malachi, coincidentally means “my messenger” in Hebrew. Ritscher described himself as a “spiritual warrior,” as someone who strongly opposed the U.S. war in Iraq. For him to send a “message of peace” through self-immolation is a sad and desperate act of someone consumed by anger, frustration, and despair.
For a deeply troubled man like Ritscher, the idea of being a “martyr” may have been attractive, believing that sacrificing himself for a noble cause would bring meaning and recognition to his life.
Such feelings can be dangerous and ultimately lead to fanaticism. Ritscher’s self-immolation may indeed have been a suicide and a political statement at the same time.
Already the beginning of a new millennium has been witness to inconceivable violence, death and suffering. The chances of lasting peace in Iraq, as well as bringing our troops home, seems terribly dismal at this point.
And yet, through the eyes of Malachi Ritscher, if his death leads just one person to pause and question our involvement in the war in Iraq, then his goal and cause, his dying wish, may indeed be fulfilled.