A GENOCIDE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IS OCCURRING AT THE HANDS OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND AMERICA HAS FINANCED IT WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS
content/trigger warnings: graphic depictions of self-immolation, discussion of genocide
after “Palestine” by Samuel Mena, Jr.
Photograph of a man with his left arm on fire, clutching his face with his right hand, looking upwards, screaming in pain. Photograph of Samuel Mena, Jr., a photojournalist, his left arm on fire, his agonized face pointed up towards the heavens. Photograph of a light-skinned person in a lilac button-down, press credentials in plastic attached to a lanyard hanging from his neck, his sleeves rolled up, his left arm on fire, his face twisted up, his mouth agape. Photograph of Samuel Mena, Jr., a Mexican American photojournalist, in a light purple dress shirt, its bottom-left corner blown upwards by wind, the bottom-right corner draped over dark pants, where his shirt sits under his arms dampened by sweat, his right sleeve sloppily rolled up, the left sleeve a little more neatly folded, its bottom edge blackened by soot and combusting in flames leading down the shirt towards his elbow and leading up the bare skin of his arm to the point where pinky meets palm, the flame white-hot at the center and yellow-orange at the edges, emanating at least a foot away from his body. Photograph of a young person with his left arm on fire. Photograph of a young man with his left arm on fire, his left hand a half-fist, lifted up towards the sky, his right hand open and over his forehead and eyes. Photograph of a person of conscience with his left arm alight. Photograph of Samuel Mena, Jr., an artist, writer, and activist, his left arm in flames, face torn by exhaustion, body clenched up with pain, torso steady and firm, legs out of frame but holding him upright. Photograph of someone with something to say. Screenshot of a Tweet with the photo described heretofore, posted on October 6, 2024, at 5:37 pm, with 911,000 views, 444 comments, 12,000 retweets, 48,000 likes, 1,700 bookmarks, and the caption reading, in white text on black background, “In his words: ‘To the 10,000 children of Gaza who have lost a limb in this conflict, I give you my left arm.’”