I'm going to out-fast the Hollywood fasters.

The BBQ Pit
1

Evidently, Cindy Sheehan is going to fast in her continued attempt to drive home her point. I don’t agree with her and think her rantings are often batshit crazy, but good for her. She has convictions and wants to make a statement.

Now, we have the likes of Hollywood eliters like Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, and others wanting to join in and show they that they, too, feel so strongly the the troops be brought home that they’re going to join their beloved Cindy.

Well, kinda.

It turns out that the Hollywooders are participatiing in a rolling fast. What’s a rolling fast? Well, they’re each going to fast for 24 hours, than “pass on” the fast to the next Hollywooder and other equally wise and principled Americans.

I have to hand it to them. Just when you’d think that they couldn’t be more self-absorbed and self-important, they deliver us the—dat-dat-dat-dah: the Rolling Fast.

Well, I find their rolling fast so dumb an insulting I’m going to fast myself. But I’m not going to just fast for just one day, I vow here and now to fast for a minimum of 30 days. That’s right, t-h-i-r-t-y days. In fact, as offended and annoyed as I am by their egocentric stupidity I vow to fast a minimum of 4 times a day.

And I will begin my first fast today, right—just let me finish this last waffle…(swallow)…NOW!

All notes of encouragement will be appreciated. I will try to provide updates as my condition allows.

2

You know, sometimes I think these people have way too much time and money on their hands.

3

Tell me, is this fast the adult version of holding my breath till I turn blue? I never entirely understood the point - if you want to draw attention to a cause, how does not eating prove anything?

4

Well, whatever one thinks of the “rolling fast,” your attempt to portray it as merely a self-absorbed Hollywood celebrity thing is dishonest, at best.

According to your own link:

As far as i can tell, the only thing that separates those Hollywood folks from the rest of the 2700 people is that the story mentions their names.

5

Which is why I said:

So, you’re attempt to characterize my post as dishonest looks, well, dishonest, at best.

But you are right about shithead Danny Glover. He can’t really be considered a celebrity.

6

Y’think? What I don’t get is why people bother paying attention anymore. This isn’t a protest, it’s a publicity stunt.

7

So, by your definition, how long does a fast have to last to actually count as fasting? Is no one actually fasting during Ramadan, when each period of non-eating lasts from sunup to sundown?

8

magellan, if you’re not too weak from missing your mid-afternoon snack, could you please come up with some word or catch phrase to clarify your position so that I can show my solidarity with you? As you may know, nothing manifests one’s support for a cause more passionately (or as cheaply!) as a bumper sticker. I’m thinking maybe a magnet that looks like a ribbon, possibly in magenta and lime…?

BTW, I’m planning on taking on the 3:00-3:30pm 07/04/06 shift. I’d sign up for a longer shift, honestly, but it’s July 4th and the ribs are baking in the oven…

9

That’s a religious fast, and has to do with one’s relationships with God: you aren’t trying to prove a point. The terms are entirely private.

A protest fast is a public affair, done to draw attention to a cause. It shows that you feel so strongly about something that you are willing to undergo signifigant suffering to draw attention to it. It proves the depths of your conviction. It only works if the suffering is signifigant. You have to be in real pain and be able to say “See this? This is NOTHING compared to how strongly I feel about X.” The fact that anyone could feel that strongly about something forces others to step back and reassess their own stance.

However, if someone feels strongly enough about something to give up food for 24 hours but no more, that really doesn’t suggest that they care all that much, and it’s almost counterproductive. Though to fair, some of those Hollywood types may only be about 36 hours from starvation, so the 24-hour thing may be tough.

The ultimate fast-where you threaten to hold out until you die–is essentially holding yourself hostage. It’s a way of saying “Their is nothing else I can do about this problem, and so I will very publically and very deliberatly (starving to death is not a matter of screwing your courage to the sticking point just once after all, but day after day for weeks) give my life in such a way that people will be sure to talk about the issue that I am dying over. It may not work, but it’s all I can do, and so I will.”

10

And it looks this one is working. And I guess the celebrities aren’t hurting the cause, without them this thread wouldn’t have been started and fewer people would know about it.

I’ve never gone 24 hours without eating before, I guarantee I’d be miserable all day. It wouldn’t be as tough as fasting for however long it takes, but it wouldn’t be easy either. And should people only be allowed to protest something if it entails weeks of slowly destroying your body with the possibility of death by starvation at the end? Otherwise you’re not hardcore enough?

11

Except that there is a perceived coorelation between how strongly you feel and how much pain you are willing to accept: I think this does harm to the cause because it highlights that they aren’t that devoted–had they never fasted at all but done other things, it would be more effective than a half-assed fast.

12

But they aren’t drawing positive attention, at least not in this thread.

13

Well, it’s never going to get positive attention from people who are pro-war or anti-Cindy Sheehan or anti-Sean Penn. If Sean Penn vowed to not eat another calorie until all American troops were brought home, even though it meant he’d most likely starve to death, there’d still be a lot of people saying “I hate that Sean Penn, what a jackass!”

But whether you have a positive or negative reaction to the fasting, rolling and otherwise, you are still reminded of the war every time you hear about the protest. And I think part of the reason the protesters are doing this is because they feel there aren’t enough reminders of this war. People are able to ignore the casualties and costs too easily. So when they hear about the fasting on the news, they might first think “I hate that Sean Penn,” but maybe after that they consider all the dead people in Iraq. And I think Sean Penn would be okay with that.

I find it annoying too that we have to know what our movie stars think of political issues. But that’s only because we as a society worship movie stars. It’d be much better if there was a group of foreign policy experts fasting to protest the war, but that wouldn’t get on TV. The celebrities are just using their fame to bring attention to issues they care about. If I could do the same thing, I would.

14

Yeah, sure, you were equally focused on the rest. Not.

If your focus wasn’t the celebrities, why make specific mention of them three times, and nothing but a passing reference to the other 2000+ people? The totality of your post gives the strong impression that these “Hollywood eliters” (whatever an “eliter” is) are the driving force and the large majority of the participants in the rolling fast.

As i said, i’ve got no problem with your criticism of the action itself, only the tendentiousness of your emphasis.

15

But now they can dismiss the protestors as pussies that don’t really care all that much/have little strength of charecter. People respect strength, commitment, and endurance. When people protest the war in a way that seems to lack these components, it does more harm than good. It makes it possible to dismiss the war protesting as a bunch of whinning from a group of people who have such a poor understanding of the real world that they think a 24-hour fast is real suffering.

16

It’s really not that hard.

Well… I guess this big rolling fast thing is a good way to generate publicity. In that sense, it’s effective.
But I always thought the idea was more that people would fast until they got sick, generating publicity in the process and support for the indivindual as well as the cause- then when the individual’s health was in jeopardy, the people in power would be pressured to do what the faster wants in order to get them to eat. or something. The point is to put your life in jeopardy gradually to get people to listen up- not to endure a few hours of discomfort.
I can’t really see people being too motivated by the idea of keeping celebrities from being peckish. It may generate publicity, but I don’t think it will accomplish much. I don’t think anyone’s really unaware that there’s a war going on in Iraq and people are getting killed.

17

Time Stamp: 13:14, Day: 1, Fast: 1

While I suffer mightily from you mocking my heart-felt sacrifice, I must remain calm…strong…keep focused on the long haul. I must weather the derision that will undoubetdly come my way as staunchly as I withstand the incessant teasing whispers emenating from the pantry.

I am touched that others share the deirse to lay down their utensils with me and are willing to go on record in assailling the Self-absorbed Hollywood Idiots Troupe of the Handsome, Egomaniacal and Deranged (SHITHEAD).

PunditLisa, welcome aboard Fasts of the Furious: no sacrifice is too small.

But regarding the “shift” you volunteered for. I’m afraid you misunderstand the point of all this. Having a rolling fast would make us just as spineless as SHITHEAD. There is no “sharing the pain” here. It is up to you to muster the strength to suffer for your convictions alone. May I make a suggestion. When those ribs are put in front of you. Enjoy one, wait 30 seconds, then enjoy another, then another, etc, etc. Say you have six ribs, that five fasts right there. And each one of them will have been withstood by you and you alone. Mind you, it must be a full thrity seconds between ribs, the clock starting after ALL teeth-sucking and and lip-licking has ceased COMPLETELY.

Now if you do not have what it takes to suffer alone, this might not be for you. If that is the case, don’t feel to bad as you can still help. We’ll no doubt need help sending out the bumper stickers. Remember, always, no sacrifice is too small.

Yours, with pangs of solidarity,

magellan01

**Bumper stickers available soon. Reserve yours today!!!
**
Fasts of the Furious
No sacriface too small

Contact PunditLisa for details.

18

“Mr. President, I have some terrible news: Cindy Sheehan is becoming ill!”

“No! Dammit, no! Not Cindy! 2,500 dead Americans I can deal with. Untold tens of thousands of dead Iraqis, no big deal. But I cannot live with the illness of Cindy Sheehan weighing on my conscience for the rest of my life. Let’s abandon the plans for military bases and a pro-American government in Iraq and pull out right now.”

Can’t they dismiss the protesters as pussies and then think to themselves, “but this damn war has dragged on too long, I am getting sick of Bush and the Republicans, and I will never allow myself to tricked into a war this easily again.” If they are still for the war at this stage, a more hardcore protest won’t change their minds. All this protest is designed to do is bring media and public attention to the anti-war cause.

19

More like “someone is so convinced that I am wrong that they are willing to slowly watch themselves die, watch their body eat itself, decide, minute after minute, day after day–with relief a mere sentence away–to ocntinue suffering in hopes that it will draw attention to their arguement. That’s some pretty serious commitment. They are either insane, or right. Let me at least consider the possiblity that they are right”. And no one hopes to change Bush’s mind–they hope to change enough other people’s minds who can bring pressure on the government.

But thinking first that the protestor–and therefore, war protesting–is pathetic and weak is more likely to drive them away than make them sympathetic. It would be more effective if they just bought advertising slots on TV and radio and talked about the war–that would be charecter-neutral, not pathetic.

20

That was good. Well done.

:eek: THERE’S A WAR?!!! Egad, why didn’t someone tell me?

I think your point would be more valid if there was anyone not fully aware of the little incident going on in Iraq.