A nationally known advocate for gay rights and the environment died Saturday
in a fiery Prospect Park suicide, with his self-immolation meant as a wake-up
call to save the planet.
The charred remains of David Buckel, 60, were discovered shortly after sunrise
when firefighters responded to a 6:40 a.m. blaze in the southwest corner of the
sprawling Brooklyn park.
“I am David Buckel and I just killed myself by fire as a protest suicide,” read
a hand-written suicide note left near the blackened circle of burned grass.
“I apologize to you for the mess.”
A second, longer note — left with the first inside an envelope marked “For the police” —
said Buckel doused himself in “fossil fuel” before starting the fatal fire as a metaphor
for the destruction of the planet.
“My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves,” he wrote.
“A lifetime of service may best be preserved by giving a life . . . Honorable purpose
in life invites honorable purchase in death.
“I hope it is an honorable death that might serve others.”
The only thing that remains to be seen is whether or not he rises from the ashes to lead
a more productive life in his efforts to save the planet. I wish him well.
in a fiery Prospect Park suicide, with his self-immolation meant as a wake-up
call to save the planet.
The charred remains of David Buckel, 60, were discovered shortly after sunrise
when firefighters responded to a 6:40 a.m. blaze in the southwest corner of the
sprawling Brooklyn park.
“I am David Buckel and I just killed myself by fire as a protest suicide,” read
a hand-written suicide note left near the blackened circle of burned grass.
“I apologize to you for the mess.”
A second, longer note — left with the first inside an envelope marked “For the police” —
said Buckel doused himself in “fossil fuel” before starting the fatal fire as a metaphor
for the destruction of the planet.
“My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves,” he wrote.
“A lifetime of service may best be preserved by giving a life . . . Honorable purpose
in life invites honorable purchase in death.
“I hope it is an honorable death that might serve others.”
The only thing that remains to be seen is whether or not he rises from the ashes to lead
a more productive life in his efforts to save the planet. I wish him well.
