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Not his best song, alas...

Does he have a good song? Oh, I suppose the song from the Borne Trilogy isn't that bad, but I think we all know that he got stomped by Obie and that nobody listens to techno.

Are they donating the food they are not eating to children that are currently hungry, or are they only worried about the theoretical future hungry children? I guess I just don't understand how anyone is being forced into starvation by this crap. Maybe I just need to waste a crapload of paper plates to make myself feel better.

Did I just give you the signal? I guess not, because you're not here with a list full of new insults.

Play is an awesome CD all the way around. Whenever I watch the first Bourne movie I remember being young and chasing women.

Mannahnin wrote:I remember being young and chasing women.

...and eventually the police caught up with you and you've been relegated to Dakkadakka ever since.

I don't really understand what this is protesting and how it will achieve its ends.

Mannahnin wrote:Play is an awesome CD all the way around. Whenever I watch the first Bourne movie I remember being young and chasing women.

I actually really like 18 as well. Only problem is that it's almost exactly the same as Play, and Play came first.

sebster wrote:I don't really understand what this is protesting and how it will achieve its ends.

It isncreases Moby's sense of self worth. Did you see Scott Pilgrim? Remember Brandon Routh's character? That is Moby.

Isn't 'rolling fast' a bit of an overblown way of saying 'skip eating for one day'? I can see 'this guy is starving himself in protest' garnering some support for a cause, but 'this guy skipped 2 meals and then another guy did and then another' just doesn't seem like it's going to actually outrage anyone. It seems like one of those things that people do to feel self-righteous that doesn't require them to really sacrifice much but has a fancy name that sounds impressive.

It's symbolic. Not as impressive as a real hunger strike would be, of course, but I think they know that if they had a real hunger strike over it, the people striking would die.

I really think this sort of thing explains why Fox News exists.

Manchu wrote:I really think this sort of thing explains why Fox News exists.

To counter the idiots who think "rolling fast" is actually meaningful?

No, to tell us that low income women can get pap smears and breast exams at Walgreen's.

You can give yourself a breast exam...

Unless your talking about a mammogram, thats a little different.

Mannahnin wrote:It's symbolic. Not as impressive as a real hunger strike would be, of course, but I think they know that if they had a real hunger strike over it, the people striking would die.

LOL no, the people involved in a 'rolling fast' wouldn't die from a hunger strike, they'd get tired of feeling like crap on day two or three and ditch it. A real hunger strike gets people's attention because someone is willing to put themselves into a very unpleasant circumstance that doesn't injure anyone else, this is just something people do to feel like they're Doing something without any major inconvenience, much less a significant sacrifice.

I found this page when I was looking for what the definition of the term is, I think it sums the idea up pretty well: http://billybearingwitness.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-pathetic-effort-to-fast-in-protest.html . I really don't think this is likely to change anyone's mind on the federal budget.

I agree that the gesture is not that strong.

I don't think you can conclusively say that NONE of the 30,000 people involved would actually take a real hunger strike seriously.

Mannahnin wrote:I agree that the gesture is not that strong. I don't think you can conclusively say that NONE of the 30,000 people involved would actually take a real hunger strike seriously.

I'll be happy to retract my statement when you produce a counterexample!

But seriously, I don't think there's any significant overlap between people who are willing to make big sacrifices for a cause and people who want to just do a feelgood gesture - I think that the guy with the willpower and drive to put himself through weeks of hunger wouldn't see the point of a minor feelgood gesture. They're not even all fasting on the same day (which would probably do some good for awareness), just each picking a day when they don't have a wedding or lunch meeting scheduled.

FYI, I've fasted a day before while looking for religious enlightenment, it's a little unpleasant but it's really not hard. It's about the same difficulty as staying up all night, and a good bit easier than going without cigs for a day was back when I smoked. (It also did not lead me to religious enlightenment, in case you were wondering). People in various religions fast for short times regularly, some do a 24-hour fast every month or several times a year, others do things like 40 days of not eating during the day, it's not like this is really a huge deal.

My brother fasts during Lent. My religious tradition includes nine day fasts around high holy days. I understand religious and other fasts.

I agree that it's a relatively minor gesture, but I don't see the point of being contemptuous toward these people.

Mannahnin wrote: I don't see the point of being contemptuous toward these people.

I agree, it is more fun to be contemptuous towards Moby, and Moby alone.

I think the point is is that some of those plates being wasted for no reason were Styrofoam. Those are biodegrading any time soon. Way to go, jerks.


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Plus I don't think it's been adequately explained how the budget is going to not only reduce appreciable numbers of pregnant women and children to starvation, but how this is an effective way of dealing with that instead of say, donating money to charities. The whole "I'm doing something." without actually doing anything attitude that persists these days needs to be called out whenever possible.

Bromsy, I see no reason to assume that the folks doing this aren't also donating to charities, volunteering locally, writing their senators or congressional representatives, etc.

$500 million cut from WIC would seem to have an impact on children and pregnant women.
$600 million cut from community health centers would seem to have an impact on the poor and needy.

http://republicans.appropriations.house.gov/_files/41211ProgramCutsListFinalFY2011CR.pdf

Although the pain would be felt across virtually the entire government — the deal includes a $1 billion across-the-board cut shared among all non-defense agencies — Republicans were able to focus the sharpest cuts on areas they have long targeted. The Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services departments, which represent about 28 percent of non-defense discretionary spending, face as much as a combined $19.8 billion, or 52 percent, of the total reductions in the plan.

In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency, long a target of conservatives, will see a $1.6 billion cut, representing a 16 percent decrease from 2010 levels. At the Department of the Interior, affected agencies include the Fish and Wildlife Services ($141 million cut from last year), the National Park Service ($127 million cut from last year) and “clean and drinking water state revolving funds” ($997 million cut from last year).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/38-billion-in-cuts-in-budget-deal-will-cover-various-domestic-areas/2011/04/11/AFJihQMD_story.html?hpid=z1



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Ahtman wrote:

Mannahnin wrote: I don't see the point of being contemptuous toward these people.

I agree, it is more fun to be contemptuous towards Moby, and Moby alone.

Can't you come up with some more funny ways to do that? I enjoyed the Eminem reference. Here, I'll give you something to mock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ewOOWVSZow

Mannahnin wrote:Can't you come up with some more funny ways to do that?

Nope. Really after the Eminem reference I really don't have any issue with him. Though the Brandon Routh character did remind me of Moby.

Mannahnin wrote:I agree that it's a relatively minor gesture, but I don't see the point of being contemptuous toward these people.

I'm contemptuous of them because they're tacking a grandiose name on a minor act - if this was called 'Fasting for Fairness', my opinion of it would be very different. But instead of being honest about what they're doing, they're trying to overblow it into a 'rolling hunger strike' and leach off the non-minorness of a hunger strike, which to me diminishes their own message ANd that of actual hunger strikers.

They didn't call it a hunger strike. I think they were entirely honest. They didn't even call it a "fast", but openly labeled it a "rolling fast".

Ahtman- That character in Scott Pilgrim was quite funny. I really enjoyed that movie.

BearersOfSalvation wrote:
I'm contemptuous of them because they're tacking a grandiose name on a minor act - if this was called 'Fasting for Fairness', my opinion of it would be very different. But instead of being honest about what they're doing, they're trying to overblow it into a 'rolling hunger strike' and leach off the non-minorness of a hunger strike, which to me diminishes their own message ANd that of actual hunger strikers.

Am I missing something here? I didn't see anyone associated with the fast actually call it a hunger strike. Lots of stuff calling it a "fast" or "rolling fast" though.

dogma wrote:Am I missing something here? I didn't see anyone associated with the fast actually call it a hunger strike. Lots of stuff calling it a "fast" or "rolling fast" though.

It's really weird - when I googled to see what it was originally, I saw 'rolling hunger strike' (and I think someone called it that here), and found one or two other bits mentioning it so thought that was the name. It doesn't look like anyone is actually calling it that except people critical of it, so I withdraw my mockery of the people doing it, since they're not doing the absurd overblown bit that I thought they were.

BearersOfSalvation wrote:

Mannahnin wrote:It's symbolic. Not as impressive as a real hunger strike would be, of course, but I think they know that if they had a real hunger strike over it, the people striking would die.

LOL no, the people involved in a 'rolling fast' wouldn't die from a hunger strike, they'd get tired of feeling like crap on day two or three and ditch it. A real hunger strike gets people's attention because someone is willing to put themselves into a very unpleasant circumstance that doesn't injure anyone else, this is just something people do to feel like they're Doing something without any major inconvenience, much less a significant sacrifice.

I found this page when I was looking for what the definition of the term is, I think it sums the idea up pretty well: http://billybearingwitness.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-pathetic-effort-to-fast-in-protest.html . I really don't think this is likely to change anyone's mind on the federal budget.

Yea this is a pathetic longer duration binge and purge. Its a shame I can't get hold of those paper plates. they make excellent targets for practicing action shooting.
They better be recycling those plates or no worse than evil Republicans (looks at energy cost for recycling paper plates)...er...never mind they still are evil Republicans.


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Ahtman wrote:

Mannahnin wrote: I don't see the point of being contemptuous toward these people.

I agree, it is more fun to be contemptuous towards Moby, and Moby alone.

Agreed. Its much more fun to focus collective contempt. Pointing and laughing helps too.

BearersOfSalvation wrote:

dogma wrote:Am I missing something here? I didn't see anyone associated with the fast actually call it a hunger strike. Lots of stuff calling it a "fast" or "rolling fast" though.

It's really weird - when I googled to see what it was originally, I saw 'rolling hunger strike' (and I think someone called it that here), and found one or two other bits mentioning it so thought that was the name. It doesn't look like anyone is actually calling it that except people critical of it, so I withdraw my mockery of the people doing it, since they're not doing the absurd overblown bit that I thought they were.

Kudos to you sir, for admitting the error. That is gentlemanly of you, and far better than some of us manage.

Frazzled wrote:
Yea this is a pathetic longer duration binge and purge.

Do you not know what a binge-and-purge is?

No, he doesn't. He just likes to call people pathetic when their attempt to stand up for poor people, women and children doesn't meet his standards.

Gods forbid that people try to do something good in the world. Even if their gesture is kind of weak, at least they're trying.

Mannahnin wrote:Gods forbid that people try to do something good in the world. Even if their gesture is kind of weak, at least they're trying.

While I agree with your sentiment 100%, I can't help but get a negative vibe off of people getting a bit sanctimonious over something that really, when you get right down to it, doesn't do much.

If 30,000 people got up and volunteered to hand out food or work in a soup kitchen or ponied up 10$ apiece and donated it to a worthy charitable organization or something more concrete I think it would be received much more warmly.

Just throwing my .02, there.