Bad Memories

This front page cover on the Times yesterday gave me a start. It brought back to me memories from my childhood when the newspapers and the television news programmes in the late 60's, early 70's would occasionally show the Tibetan monks immolating themselves as a protest against the Vietnam war.
I only saw the broadcasts (they were less squeamish about showing horror in these days) and the newspaper images, but the memory of these men, sitting cross legged on the ground, burning to death, consumed by flames, but their faces passive, not screaming, not moving, looking out through the fire into the camera lenses before they toppled slowly over to one side will be a horror that I suspect will stay with me until my dying day. This cover really gave me a start and the memories of these monks and their sacrifices, came flooding back. I wanted to remember them publicly here, and the others through the years who have protested against man's inhumanity to man.

PS. This is a placard of the president being burned, not a person. I just wanted to make that clear.