So it’s been ten days since former mayoral candidate Cameron Whitten kicked off his “Hunger Strike for Housing Justice” outside of city hall. I know you’re curious: How’s he holding up? Judging by our conversation this morning, surprisingly well.
“I feel like a hundred bagels!” Whitten said cheerily, bundled up in a thick jacket and “Suicidal Tendencies” hat in the morning sun. While he isn’t consuming anything, Whitten is constantly fueling himself with vitamin-packed juices, water and coconut water. Strangely enough, the one “food” item he is craving is a hearty smoothie. People have been offering him food throughout his strike, clearly unaware of the point of a hunger strike. Most people, says Whitten, just think that he’s homeless.
Which, in a way, is the point. “This is the first time I’ve put myself in a homeless person’s shoes,” said Whitten. “I’m being ignored, judged and I smell funny. It’s interesting.” But, he says about half of the passersby stop to ask what he’s doing, and, after finding out, share their own stories of homelessness or start a discussion about the housing issues he’s protesting.
When he’s not talking with strangers or reading his Portland history book, Whitten is observing the oddities of downtown Portland and city hall. Here are a few things he’s seen:
1. A woman biting a dog’s leg
2. Chinese dragons
3. A pro-choice rally
4. A Sudanese man yelling “Left Right Forward” at least four times a day
5. Sam Adams, once
“Yesterday was bad,” he admitted. “It was the first time I thought ‘Damn, I should be eating.’ I felt like I was missing out on some cultural tradition.” So far, Whitten says he’s probably lost 12 pounds. The weirdest part? “My body fat feels rubbery and strange.” Hmm.
Regardless, Whitten says he aims to keep the strike up until he’s “satisfied with the city’s results.” He says that soon, if he still hears no response from the city, he’ll send personal emails to the city councilors and staff involved. Said Whitten: “I’m not going anywhere.”
This is a solid food strike. If it was really a hunger strike he would ONLY consume water. Glad he is having fun playing homeless.
Whitten isn’t going to eat until Duff tells the truth about where he’s moving the Springfield Isotopes.
“woman biting a dog’s leg”
sounds like he’s hallucinating. someone get that boy a big mac, stat!
WHO?
“I feel like a hundred bagels!”
I would have also accepted “I can count to potato!”.
What “results ” are those? I have heard he is pissed off at the lack of attention. Is he doing this for a concrete reason or for media attention?
Are those Tea Partiers walking by with boxes of Voodoo doughnuts every five minutes real? Or hallucinations?
Iceprez, have you researched hunger strikes? Even wikipedia acknowledges that most hunger strikes take liquis, but no food.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_strike
And read this article too, before you start judging this hunger strike.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_pol…
I challenge you try a ‘solid food’ strike for 10 days, and see how you survive.
@8- Ahh yes, wikipedia. No false info over there. Also, I fought in a fucking war where it was not too uncommon to go for a week or more on 1200 calories a day and virtually no sleep. I can bet that I would do just fine sipping juice boxes while sitting on a streetcorner in Portland. Nobody is judging anything, but liquids other than water have calories. This is not a hunger strike until he only consumes water.
This is more like a medifast strike, which is no small thing. That’s shit is gross.
“I fought in a fucking war . . . ” *slow clap*
“I fought in a fucking war”
Awesome, you got tricked by the establishment into supporting US Imperialism, hegemony, & theft of another sovereign country’s natural resources.
That’s not all I got. I hold a degree with ZERO debt to go with it.