The Hunger Show, 1969
Back in October 1969, a group of "antipopulation protesters" staged a "hunger show" (aka "starve-in") outside of San Francisco. The plan was to inflate a 100x100-foot plastic pillow, inside of which 300 of them would spend a week without food, only water. As they sat there, feeling hungry, they would have to watch "slides of pork chops and peas and carrots" and listen to taped sounds of restaurant noises. Also, sandwiches would be taped to the exterior of the plastic pillow, and non-participants outside would stage a pie-eating contest.
Participants were free to leave the pillow at any time, "but they can't return — they've died."
Organizer Stephanie Mills offered a slightly cryptic explanation of the goal of the protest: "People are just being too chicken, too chicken for their own good. We've got to encourage them not to be chicken."
The hunger show lasted half a week. Then it started to rain so they gave it up, saying, "We came here to suffer from hunger, not exposure."
[Pacific Stars & Stripes - Oct 9, 1969]
Participants were free to leave the pillow at any time, "but they can't return — they've died."
Organizer Stephanie Mills offered a slightly cryptic explanation of the goal of the protest: "People are just being too chicken, too chicken for their own good. We've got to encourage them not to be chicken."
The hunger show lasted half a week. Then it started to rain so they gave it up, saying, "We came here to suffer from hunger, not exposure."
[Pacific Stars & Stripes - Oct 9, 1969]
Comments
I agree with the message but the messengers are just plain nutz.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 05/21/13 at 09:55 AM
@Expat : That's Nucking Futz or at least something to do inside when the pork makes you think of it. :red:
Posted by BrokeDad in Midwest US on 05/21/13 at 04:34 PM
If Ms Mills banged on about people being "chicken" too much it may have resulted in some cannibalism from the participants, if they could have stuck it out longer than a couple of days.
Posted by dumbledoor on 05/22/13 at 04:09 AM
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Category: Food | 1960s