Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

No American should feel that going on a hunger strike is his only option amidst the government’s abuse of power.

Have you ever gone hungry before? I’m not talking about missing one or two meals. If you ever had the experience of not eating any food for several days, you would experience one of the most terrible feelings in the world. That is why most people do not intentionally starve themselves. 

Only in extreme circumstances, say, under a totalitarian regime, an individual (often a political prisoner) who felt that he was mistreated by the state and had no way out would go on a hunger strike. By punishing himself physically, he drew attention to the injustice he had to endure. A hunger strike is an individual’s final cry for justice. For example, in 2020,  Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist, was jailed for reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan. She went on a hunger strike in protest of her incarceration. The Chinese government has been force-feeding her to keep her alive, but her health has deteriorated. 

Given what I have described, will you be shocked to learn that a U.S. citizen has gone on a hunger strike to protest a government policy that has violated his property rights?