Hunger Strike Set to End War. A Librarian at the Kitchen Table. No. 375.

Hunger Strike Set to End War

Cindy Sheehan, Dick Gregory, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and Hundreds More Launch Hunger Strike to End the Iraq War.

Hunger strikes have been used to change policy and social wrongs for hundreds of years. In early Ireland, where the tradition originated, hunger strikes were actually encoded in civic law. Fasters publicly denied themselves food on the doorstep of the person committing an injustice, because it was considered shameful for someone to come to harm in your home, especially for a crime you committed. That's why for the Troops Home Fast, we're headed to the offender's doorstep: the White House lawn!

Hunger strikes call attention to a grave issue, force change, and cause shame for wrongdoers and inspire others to take action.

The effectiveness of a hunger strike rests on the seriousness of the issue, and the gravity of putting one's body on the line. People have engaged in hunger strikes for an array of reasons; most notably to gain freedom, political participation, or to call attention to genocide. For our part, we are fasting to end the great suffering of war, bringing home the pain and injury of Iraqi civilians and U.S. soldiers.

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