When you are fighting a battle that is so difficult that it seems like you'll never win what are you going to do? At least a hunger strike isn't self-immolation.
jacob Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When you are fighting a battle that is so > difficult that it seems like you'll never win what > are you going to do? At least a hunger strike > isn't self-immolation.
Sometimes you won’t win. Even if you starve to death. While I agree with the cause the reality is that hunger strikes rarely work. People just don’t understand them. In this case the church simply is not going to change because Sam isn’t eating. Members won’t care because they don’t see the problem. It is ineffective. Eventually he will eat and figure out another tactic.
The reality is that sometimes you lose and don’t win. The only way to win with the church is to leave or convince enough members to stop paying tithing. Starving them of funds makes better sense. The most this might do is cause PR damage to the church that is done everyday anyways.
Perhaps I could have phrased this differently. His actions are commiserate with how effective he feels they will be. The extreme nature of his protest is proof of the unlikely success.
However like I said at least he isn't self-immolating, by which I mean, he isn't causing himself irreparable harm. So I say good for him.
It just is a tough topic to really gain traction on with the church. They are not going to budge, sometimes you can only do the best you can and in this case he has done the best that he can.
The public that cares about it are powerless and the public that could change it (members) won't.
I'm with you. He's wasting his time and wasting away for a cause that isn't going to change any more than the Church already has changed.
Not that I'm fully satisfied with the changes the Church made, but I am satisfied that they one, pointed themselves in the right direction and two, implemented the changes they made relatively quickly.
There is still more to be done but one man starving himself isn't going to push the needle any further at this point.
He wins by drawing attention to the problem. You have to admit, it's the hunger strike that got the media there. That's the goal, to bring attention to this horrible abusive practice. Because in the end, what makes the church change anything is either a) they are getting negative press or b) something is hurting the bottom line.
He's achieving the maximum success an individual can have against such a large and impervious organization.
Every news article, every mention on the radio: these matter on the margin. The church is on the defensive because many people have achieved this little victories.
It is the sum of these little wars that makes a difference, not any single one of them.