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Monday, July 24, 2006

 

Hunger strike

On the way home today I passed a group of people who've been on a hunger strike for 21 days so far, as a way of protesting the war. They were at 18th and Church Streets NW, camped outside the church there. I can't imagine not eating for 21 days. I want to believe it will make a difference - but is the point of what they're doing to change the outcome of the war, or to make the leap of faith and live your beliefs so strongly? Either way, I find it inspiring.

Comments:
Gotta disagree on this one. I've always found hunger strikes to be an underwhelming form of protest. While I admire the dedication, I just see it as dieting for a cause. Especially in this case, the strikers either a) know that the strike will end with either their quitting the strike or their meaningless deaths, or b) are delusional. This isn't an administration that pays attention to large scale protests, let alone a small group of hungry people.

It may sound overly pragmatic, but I like my protests to have some sort of impact, which usually means being either large scale, or impossible to ignore. If you want to be noticed, try self-immolation. It tends to get people's attention more effectively, if more terminally.
 
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