Hunger Strikes

[Der Übermensch]

What is the point? A bunch of Iranians (Persians? Is that even PC?) are on day 7 in front of the White House, and when I bike by them I always feel sorry for them. Sure, I can appreciate their belief in their cause, but it is sad that absolutely nothing will be done because of their actions.

[Iskandar]

What is the point of any protesting.

Getting your opinions heard.

Now I have heard about them from you, and I might tell someone else about it, and so on, and maybe the higher-ups will have to respond at some point.

[mistersnitch]

thank you for bringing this to my attention

i will get to work on it immediately

[Haliburton]

its very unlikely that they are going to kill themselves over it so nobody should care really

[Iskandar]

The point of a hunger strike is not to die.

PS. they're Iranians.

[Haliburton]

so whats the point then

hey im hungry listen to me

what

im hungry all the time bro

[Against Miik!]

Whats the point?

It's an extreme form of nonviolent protest. You get noticed, and instead of just taking some time out of your day to hold up signs, you make it known that you care so deeply about an issue that you are willing to go through terrible discomfort, and possibly die for that belief.

You might as well ask what is the point of protesting at all.

[Iskandar]

I'm about to die, listen to me or I will I mean it.

Duh.

[Mr. Ron]

Thats pretty childish ^^^

[Iskandar]

I disagree but okay.

No more so than any other attention-getting mechanism.

[Haliburton]

you just said they werent about to die!

[Simon Cowell]

I think I'm gonna drive up this sunday to stare at them. Bobby Sands died in the Maze in the 80s for the IRA. For christsakes he was elected to parliament when he was doing it. Hunger strikes are bananas.

[Iskandar]

They don't die because it'd be a public relations disaster if they did.

Are you dense.

[Against Miik!]

Thats pretty childish ^^^

So is what they are protesting against, generally.

"You were born in a certain caste so for the rest of your life you will not be treated like a human..."

Yeah thats about as logical as a hunger strike

[Against Miik!]

They don't die because it'd be a public relations disaster if they did.

Are you dense.

**** public relations. People need to grow a pair.

Notice my complete lack of consistency in this thread

[Haliburton]

failing to see how it would be a public relations disaster if someone chose to commit suicide over it

i mean suicide bombers kill themselves to stand against free world ideals all the time and we're still doing pretty good pr wise

and the point was that very few of them are actually going to kill themselves, so you shouldnt care about these dudes outside the white house

if they were actually going to suicide for the attention i can think of quicker and more public ways to kill oneself

[Against Miik!]

The person committing suicide as well as the cause makes a big difference when it comes to judging it, obviously.

[mistersnitch]

fffffffuuuuuuuuucccckkkkkkkk

[Haliburton]

protesting is special interest lobbying without money

basically

[Der Übermensch]

PS. they're Iranians.

I'm inclined to say so too, but they are mostly old, and I am of the impression that the older generation prefers to be called Persian still.

[mistersnitch]

a lot of younger ones do too.

[Iskandar]

Persian is the term used for the language, but as far as I know not the nationality since like 1935.

[Der Übermensch]

Like I said, old people still self-identify by it. These people are olllld. Like, born before 1935 old :p

[Iskandar]

That's pretty old.

I met a guy the other day who was born before the Great Depression.

[Mr. Ron]

My grandfather told me stories about the depression. What a depressing era.

[Haliburton]

seems like time for a segue into libertarianism

[Smokey D]

The way I understand it, ex-patriot opponents of the Revolution prefer to style themselves Persians, probably because they feel it lends them historical legitimacy, even though the Revolution did not institute the name Iran.

I could be wrong though.

[Iskandar]

You mean they prefer to style themselves Persians right.

So it's like Myanmar/Burma.

[Smokey D]

Yes to both

[gregulus]

My grandfather told me stories about the depression. What a depressing era.

You don't say. Some damn good music came out of it, though.

[Pop music sucks]

Prince of Persia: Sands of Whine :p

Hunger strikes aren't enough to get anybody's attention. The drastic, often violent, forms gather the strictest and foremost attention. Guessing it's going to happen in the next two months since a lot of protesters were chanting "Death to the Dictator" when Ahmaflskd;jt;altjadad was sworn as President.

[Smokey D]

Having 20 people die on the White House lawn would probably be quite dramatic.

[Pop music sucks]

Not as shocking as self-immolation or mass, violent suicide.

[Smokey D]

What's your point. They're all shocking enough to get people's attention.

[mistersnitch]

no you ****ers i know that some young iranians want to be called persian

i know this god damnit

[Smokey D]

no you ****ers i know that some young iranians want to be called persian

i know this god damnit

Yes I agree

[Pop music sucks]

What's your point. They're all shocking enough to get people's attention.Is the news making a big deal of a hunger strike? Not really, there isn't a widespread coverage of self-starving Iranians. It's not even on a ticker. The massive coverage right now are about two reporters that just got back from internment in North Korea. Before that was Michael Jackson's personal doctor under scrutiny. Those Iranians on a hunger strike is hardly known by the general population. The infamous picture of a Vietnamese Monk self-immolating in protest of the Vietnamese President's oppression of Buddhist religion brought international outrage.

[Haliburton]

Having 20 people die on the White House lawn would probably be quite dramatic.
you think the white house is going to let iranians on the lawn

they're in the street or something

[easylee]

theyre starved for attention!

[Mr. Ron]

lol

[Der Übermensch]

you think the white house is going to let iranians on the lawn

they're in the street or something

They are on Penn Ave. next to Connie, the bat-**** insane eternal protest woman.

[Ceminon]

Hunger struck me too, about an hour ago.

Then I had dinner and it was gone.

[Bron-Yr-Aur]

the only protestor i saw in lafayette park was a guy holding a sign that said obama had princess diana's throat slit. so, hunger strikes, that's pretty cool.