[craig_s_bell]

I gave up NPR a few years ago, after four decades of frequent listening. It has become more difficult to recognize the attributes which made it so useful and insightful, for so long. Once in a while, they run something which reinforces my opinion that they've strayed into the weeds. A recent example: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197955833

  LUSE: I talked to other professors in preparation for this conversation, and something that came up was, like, it's seen by many as a very extreme form of nonviolent direct action.

  WOODLY: Yes. I mean, it is the most extreme form of nonviolent direct action because self-immolation is not meant to hurt others. It's not meant to destroy property. It's really meant to use one's own life to make a statement. It's also on a spectrum - right? - like, you know, sort of on a spectrum from, for example, hunger strike. Some people do things like nail parts of their bodies to buildings. And then sort of self-immolation is, like, on that spectrum of the most extreme kinds of nonviolent direct action.