Diary of a hunger striker

February 24, 2010 8:27 AM

What drives somebody to hunger strike? The hunger strike as a method of protest has been employed for a very long time indeed. The first thing I think of when the words "hunger strike" are mentioned is the story of Bobby Sands, despite the fact I was too young to know what was going on at the time. Is it fitting that the bizarre actions of a huge food company has inspired another hunger strike?

Naturally, the TV stations won't touch this story because of potential loss of much needed advertising revenue.

Despite the apparent Irish preoccupation with hunger, it's not just an Irish thing.

posted by Homemade Interossiter (15 comments total)

Firing people for little provocation and ignoring union demands are "bizarre actions"? Everything's relative, I guess. But in the US we call that "business as usual."
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:37 AM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Moto Gima's CEO goes on hunger strike as French banks pull the plug on his motorcycle company: http://bit.ly/988wzV
posted by agentmule at 8:39 AM on February 24, 2010

Cuban dissident dies from Hunger strike, yesterday
posted by milestogo at 8:49 AM on February 24, 2010

No 'dirty protests', i hope :)
posted by the cuban at 8:52 AM on February 24, 2010

Perhaps Mayor Curley, you should read the articles contained in the links. The Daily kos summary is a good one, included as the last link as I was only made aware of it seconds before hitting the post button.
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 8:54 AM on February 24, 2010

Bobby Sands' diary will not load completely.
posted by JanetLand at 8:58 AM on February 24, 2010

it appears Frank Schnittger's Diary will not load either. Swamped by the links from the Daily Kos Article no doubt...
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 9:04 AM on February 24, 2010

Bobby Sands' diary will not load completely.

Good thing. It's written in poop on a cell wall.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:23 AM on February 24, 2010 [3 favorites]

Green Isle hunger striker has endured pizza deliveries and co-workers mooning

Next up: "Kick Me" signs and atomic wedgies.
posted by sallybrown at 10:11 AM on February 24, 2010

Hungry Hungry Homer
posted by yoyoceramic at 11:10 AM on February 24, 2010

See also Cesar Chavez - A colleague of mine is making a documentary about his last hunger strike: Cesar's Last Fast.
posted by mzurer at 11:48 AM on February 24, 2010

...Irish preoccupation with hunger...

Erm, what? Because we still occasionally mention a famine that resulted in over a million deaths and a million people leaving the island (all while the country was a net food exporter)?
posted by knapah at 11:50 AM on February 24, 2010

Because we still occasionally mention a famine

Hunger is a common theme in Irish literature and Irish political action. Maybe because of famine(s), maybe just because of general poverty, maybe because of something else. Regardless, it's not inaccurate or even particularly unflattering. Every culture has some dark recurring themes.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:49 PM on February 24, 2010

Because we still occasionally mention a famine that resulted in over a million deaths and a million people leaving the island

Or possibly because it is an ancient Irish tradition going back to the Brehon laws, when a hunger strike was known as "achieving justice by starvation".

"In ancient times, the troscad was one of the most effective means of someone of lesser social position to compel justice from someone of higher social position. Thus Druids could fast against a King, or even a man or woman in one of the lower orders of society could fast against a Chieftain. To refuse to submit to fasting was considered indelibly disgraceful, and was one of the things which legally degraded a man by reducing or destroying his honor-price." from DeDanaan.com
posted by Fence at 1:31 PM on February 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

Huh. The “inappropriate material” was apparently in their email inboxes.
posted by hattifattener at 11:18 AM on February 25, 2010