I wanted to circle back in this, both to post about him in his death, but also to grapple with the fact that, WTF: I literally don’t know what to believe about some things anymore. Or how to.
Idlib: Everything is pretty much the same, except, while not in Syria per se, the founder of the White Helmets fell off of a balcony in Istanbul and died.
The Guardian: British founder of White Helmets found dead in Istanbul
So, the death of James Le Masurier has been ruled suicide by the Turkish police; they report no forensic evidence of struggle.
The Guardian: No signs of foul play in death of White Helmets founder, say Turkish police
DailyMail.co.uk: Heartbroken wife of British White Helmet founder James Le Mesurier arrives at Istanbul police station after visiting his body, as report into his death finds no sign
It must be noted, though, that Le Masurier and the White Helmets have been under consistent attack by Syria and Russia because their work uncovers war crimes.
From the first link:
Their work has earned them Nobel peace prize nominations and a documentary on the group won an Oscar in 2017. But they have also been targeted by the Syrian government and its Russian allies, who have labelled the group a terrorist organisation and alleged, without presenting evidence, that Le Mesurier worked for western intelligence.
I don’t know what to think. But that fact that people simply don’t know and cannot know is both symptom and tool of repression.
Like, even if you know that a guy didn’t kill the guy, that fact that a death inherently makes you think he could do it and get away with it is generally enough to put the dampers on certain kinds of expression and behavior.
I don’t like not knowing what to think here. Maybe we should have a politics of conspiracy theory culture thread. I don’t know.
Having said that, I should round this out with some pieces written on his life and death.
NYT: The Brief and Inspiring Life of James Le Mesurier
I’ve got to think that only Assad would compare James Le Mesurier to Jeffrey Epstein.
Rojava to Rock 