Okay, heres what Im going to do, give me some feedback

[Mari333]

My son will be sent tommorrow at 4 am to his Guard unit..so far we have heard nothing about where...either the ME or a camp in Indiana..he is supposed to be legally discharged on Nov 13, and they have a stoploss on all Units being allowed their legal discharges.
IF they dont let him go on Nov 13, I intend to begin a media coverage hunger strike. I am going to see my doctor on Wed next week, and ask him how to go about it. I dont eat much anyway, but I will do this, so
What media do you suggest I contact?
Have any of you been on a hunger strike before?
Where would be the best place to do this? at home? (Id rather be home)
do you think it will do any good?
I am willing to go all the way with the hunger strike.
Id rather die then allow them to keep my son one more day past his legal discharge..

[DrGonzoLives]

1. Media - maybe Rolling Stone?

Sometimes, sometimes, they cover important things...

[GOPFighter]

2. How does your son feel about this?

*

[Mari333]

6. He wants his legal discharge.

The hunger strike is mine.

[Aristus]

3. Be very careful, Mari. It's so sad that it has come to this.

I hope your son gets his discharge. If you do begin your hunger strike, I hope the media cover it properly and the people who need to see it see it and are moved to act.

Nobody in the west understood the tyranny Ngo Dinh Diem held over South Vietnam until that brave monk immolated himself for the cameras. I hope it doesn't come to that here.

[Bertha Venation]

14. Hear, hear!

"Nobody in the west understood the tyranny Ngo Dinh Diem held over South Vietnam until that brave monk immolated himself for the cameras. I hope it doesn't come to that here."

[uberotto]

4. Not trying to be mean....

but shouldn't this be something that your son takes care of on his own. If he is in the National Guard, I am assuming that he is an adult. I can understand your concern, but if my parents had of done something like this while I was in the military, I would have been very upset with them.

What I would suggest you do is offer to help your son with whatever he decides to do. Whether he decides to stay or go, be supportive.

[Mari333]

9. he and I both have

contacted lawyers, sent letters, gotten Sen Levins office involved etc etc etc etc etc etc all the options have been done...now its either they let him have his legal discharge or not and they had better.
There is no way they are going to keep him, and if they try, I will do it.

[GOPFighter]

13. I agree

I urge you not to do this unless your son is comfortable with it. If he's not, the press might pit him against you in their articles. If he supports your hunger strike, GO FOR IT, and good luck! Make sure you let us know how you're doing.

[judge_smales]

5. No expert,

But I'd figure a hunger strike in some public place, esp Gov. or Military related, would have FAR more impact. "Hunger striker at Guard HQ" is much more attention getting than "Hungry lady in her living room".

[Mari333]

7. Thats an even better idea.

if it comes to that Ill do it.

[supernova]

10. Yes,

Be very public about it, attract the local TV news outlets, who in turn will pass it out to the national outlets.

[ixion]

8. try your local media affiliates...

that's a good place to start. The trick would be to get it picked up on the wire (AP - Reuters).

I'm not sure if it will do any good Mari333, but you just may be able to bring attention to stoploss garbage.

You have my hopes and good vibes coming your way. You should try and stay in touch with those of us here for as long as you can once you start.

You're one of the types of people that make America great. :-)

[Mari333]

11. My life or his

all parents would do this . I would hope so anyway.

[HEyHEY]

12. Are you sure a doctor will give you advice on starvation?

Is that against the oath?

Anyway, if you wanna make a BIG deal outta this, then perform your strike in Washington. Or better yet, on CNN's front door.

[Mari333]

15. I better do some media surfing of the net and get all the locations

and pick one that would make the most impact. My doctor cant stop me, he actually is furious with this Iraq scenario and probably would just smile and say "okay". Im going to do it anyway, and I let Levins office know too.

[qb]

16. IMO, hunger strikes do not get very positive coverage.

They may get reported once or twice in the news, but then they just tend to fade away. I know this sounds callous, but I think the average American who hears about a hunger strike thinks "How odd" and then tunes it out.

I suggest you raise hell wherever you can. Make noise, hold demonstrations, bug the media and politicians relentlessly. Civil disobediance like setting up a literature table at a shopping center and getting arrested for refusing to leave should get some coverage, and won't endanger your life.

Your article was excellent, BTW.

[denverbill]

17. I don't like the idea.

Do you really want your son to be worrying about you when he's over there? Won't he have enough to worry about already?

I absolutely support your cause, but I just think this is the wrong way to approach it.

[XanaDUer]

19. What denverbill said, but could you also

network with other mothers/fathers/relatives and see if you could stage a march or sit-in in DC?

That would get more attention, not harm your health (someone mentioned that hunger strikes don't get big press and tend to fade away in people's minds quickly-and I think they are correct), and not have your son worried about you while he is caught up in the military.

Then tell your rep/Sen about this.

[It was not a pretzel]

18. don't do it

really please don't.

But if you really have to, please do it in the most public place and contact the media. I'd also contact David ****ing Blaine, he did it becasue he has a death fetish, maybe you can get his attention for something more important.

Whatever you do, drink lots of water and have a doctor keep constant tabs on you...PLEASE. You can literally be given a death sentance of several weeks when doing a hunger strike. What I mean is you could be several weeks away from death, but whatever the doctors do, they cannot save you because of the deterioration of your organs.

I urge you, don't do this without close medical supervision, or without the intention of stopping when the docs tell you to.

[Mari333]

20. Thanks but its my last resort

Im 52, my son is only 25..I dont give a rats ass if I die but I sure as hell will do everything I can to keep him alive.

[Wickerman]

21. I admire you Mari

But hope you reconsider. Follow your doctors advise should you go ahead. Is SPIN magazine still in existence? They might look at an article, but you would be, uh, done, before it got published. Have to start local, most major print media isn't immediate enough, would need to be TV, I thnk.

[It was not a pretzel]

22. Shit, you've got to keep both of you alive

it serves no good at all if you die. I don't know an awful lot about the US media, but I do know you don't stand a chance unless you make it big.

I have no real idea on how to do this stuff but I figure to reach you goal (which I assume is to get your son out of there) is to make as much "noise" as possible. A "simple" hunger strike probably won't cut it in the US.

You should not do it, but if you really have to you MUST make it as BIG as possible. You must contact people with money, whether it's celebrities or whatever, contact folks like Martin Sheen or Tim Robbins. Maybe they'll try to talk you out of it, maybe they don't give a shit I don't know. TRY to make it as big as you can.

IMHO, only by making it BIG AND PUBLIC can you shame the scum in the WH to doing something about it. It may take longer to do, but you must plan it well.

David Blaine survived (has he really survived it yet?) 44 days in a glass box on the River Thames. The man was at first scorned and ridiculed becuase he did it for no other reason than "he hated life". PLEASE, I think you should get in contact with these types of people. If it takes a week or 2 longer to prepare so be it, your son's life may defend upon that too.

[Mari333]

23. Ya I would have to do it right and make it big

Ive already contacted my local station news desk that Im planning on it ...maybe just the threat of doing it will make the news and they will let him go..I have to work on a plan as to how to pull it off right..

[It was not a pretzel]

24. I can only urge you NOT to do it

if you plan to go ahead and your local media goes ahead please tell us so we can pass it forward to any news sources.

I remember you saying something a few weeks ago about you putting your life on the line, but the chances are your son will come though it.

[Mari333]

25. I dont want him to be even remotely close to anything happening to him

and I will do it even if there is a .0000000005% chance he could be sent anywhere or hurt in anyway.
Its sort of the same thing as knowing someone is about to shoot at him, and being prepared to stand in front of the bullet. This is standing in front of the bullet.

[Barad Simith]

26. Local is the first step

I was involved with a woman who had her "15 minutes of fame" last year. She was able to get KOMO 4, the local ABC affiliate, to do a story on her, and it was shared across the country on dozens of ABC affiliates. Soon she was being flown to New York to do the big shows. Eventually she appeared on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News, as well as network talk shows.

No guarantee, but if your story is compelling enough, you can see how the local news can be an effective way to get the national media's attention.