Freedom fighter or terrorist... once you use violence on your enemies, you obscure whatever your original message may have been and force public attention onto the violence instead. Do we remember Osama Bin Laden's pleas for justice, or just the collapsing skyscrapers?

Self-sacrifice as an act of martyrdom lets you maintain the moral high ground, continue your role as the victim, and still speak your truth -- however quietly, in the modern attention-deficit, compassion-fatigued era.

Also, keep in mind the power differential between China and Tibet. There is no feasible way for Tibet to even put up a fight, much less win an actual armed conflict. Suicide bombing would just bring even more terrible oppressions upon their people.

The self-immolation isn't an act of grand military strategy. It's a desperate cry for justice in this world or their next, whispered into the wind and carried to an uncaring world. It's the sort of thing that requires a deep commitment to one's values, knowing its ultimate effect and still choosing to go through with it, not because it's strategically useful but only because you are exercising what little agency you have left with the ideals you've carried your whole life.

i can't agree about taking out a bunch of your enemies. the photographs of thich quang duc had such an impact because the practice was novel to the west. that novelty is gone. but there isn't any novelty in suicide bombing either. as far as sending a message goes, they are both outdated practices and a waste.