The Hunger Strike in 1981

seekingthepatienceofjob

Prisoners refused to eat food for these reasons:

1. The right not to wear a prison uniform
2. The right to not perform prison labor
3. The right to interact freely with other prisoners and have educational/recreational pursuits
4. The right to 1 visit, 1 letter, 1 parcel per week
5. Restoration of remission lost during the process of refusing food

The coroner came to the verdict of "self-imposed starvation"

The reason for the Irish hunger strike in 1981, apart from the 5 reasons above, was because prisoners wanted to be known as "prisoners of war" and not "criminals"

The Washington Post claimed it was more for international publicity.

Do you agree/disagree with the 5 reasons for the hunger strike? Do you agree/disagree with prisoners wanting to be known as prisoners of war and not criminals? Do you agree/disagree with the claim of international publicity?

Fred77

I think the situation in Northern Ireland was absolutely dire at the time. there was effectively apartheid based on religious grounds, and economically, the country, largely thanks to Thatchers right wing policies was on its knees financially. Those in prison didnt see themselves as criminals. In the same way that Nelseon Mandela, when he was in prison, probably didnt see himself as a criminal either, nor did he see Umkhonto we Sizwe as a terrorist organisation. the old saying, "one man's terrorist is anothers freedom fighter" is very true

It was a huge mistake by the British Government at the time to let the hunger strikers die. Thatcher was probably the greatest recruitment officer the IRA ever had. When they started dying, young men and women up and down the country flocked to join the IRA. It gave the IRA renewed emphasis, money poured in, they were able to buy more weapons, and the upsurge in violence in the 1980's and early 90's resulted probably directly as a result of the impact of those who died on hunger strike.

Do you agree/disagree with the 5 reasons for the hunger strike? No
Do you agree/disagree with prisoners wanting to be known as prisoners of war and not criminals? agree
Do you agree/disagree with the claim of international publicity? disagree

1996gtstang

threaten to start hanging criminals again and wearing a uniform wont seem so bad after all

Fred77

yep. because capital punishment has been shown to work, hasnt it? and by that i mean it hasnt worked at all.

problems with capital punishment

Mistakes get made, innocents die
corruption
not everyone gets the same level of legal representation, meaning its the poorest that seem to be getting the death sentence more than those who can afford the good briefs
its backward and barbaric
i could go on, but i'm sure you get the gist. but thanks for sharing your ignorance on what was going on in ireland at the time

1996gtstang

enjoy paying for a lifetime of health care,clothing, and better food than kids in school for someone that rapes/murders people.

edit: i am a kind hearted person though. i would have supported the prisoners demand for one letter per week.

Fred77

It costs more to execute someone than keep them in jail for life.

you know, sometimes its better just to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and prove everyone right.

it costs about $90000 a year more to keep someone on death row than in a regular prison.

so enjoy paying for extra security, various legal fees, meals, clothing , and enjoy having on your conscience that some people are getting executed for something they didnt do.

happily, i live in a civilised country where the death penalty is considered barbaric and backwards

1996gtstang

with the high cost of being on death row, the stay there should be shorter..

MaximalLife

Sorry, but there is no cause on planet Earth I feel so strongly toward that would prompt me to miss a single meal.

Fred77

of course, shorter stays, more innocent people murdered by the state. good thinking there, batman.

why didnt i think of that?

can i ask you a serious question? well, i'll just ask anyway.

Do you think anyone has ever been executed who was actually innocent of the crime for which they were executed?

because if the answer is yes, than, thats reason enough to get rid of the death sentence. If you think answer is no, then you really need to look into it a bit further.

PrincessLou71186

I think the situation in Northern Ireland was absolutely dire at the time. there was effectively apartheid based on religious grounds, and economically, the country, largely thanks to Thatchers right wing policies was on its knees financially. Those in prison didnt see themselves as criminals. In the same way that Nelseon Mandela, when he was in prison, probably didnt see himself as a criminal either, nor did he see Umkhonto we Sizwe as a terrorist organisation. the old saying, "one man's terrorist is anothers freedom fighter" is very true

It was a huge mistake by the British Government at the time to let the hunger strikers die. Thatcher was probably the greatest recruitment officer the IRA ever had. When they started dying, young men and women up and down the country flocked to join the IRA. It gave the IRA renewed emphasis, money poured in, they were able to buy more weapons, and the upsurge in violence in the 1980's and early 90's resulted probably directly as a result of the impact of those who died on hunger strike.

I agree with the above.

xtinalovexo

im not sure i really understand this so i dont want to make comments based on things im uninformed about... BUT i dont agree with prisoner protesting... you are in prison for a reason, you have no rights.

1996gtstang

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

Faye_Anderson

OMG, you can actually tell where in the world people are from by reading the responses to this thread :laugh:

1996gtstang

we should get rid of prisons and build "time out" centers for the bad people

Faye_Anderson

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

1996gtstang

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Fred77

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

thats a fantastic argument right there. lets just put everyone in jail to be safe, eh? because lots of people get killed by people who have never been in prison before, so its probably going to be a bit safter just to lock everyone up, just in case.

1996gtstang

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

thats a fantastic argument right there. lets just put everyone in jail to be safe, eh? because lots of people get killed by people who have never been in prison before, so its probably going to be a bit safter just to lock everyone up, just in case.

no, lets release everyone from prisons because they might be poor and innocent and could not afford a top notch legal team

Faye_Anderson

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Which brings me back to WHAT IF THEY ARE INNOCENT??? Jurors make mistakes and bad calls, they are human too

Fred77

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Every convivcted murdered? so lets say a woman suffers years of mental and or physical abuse from a partner or husband, eventually snaps and kills them? jail for life? never released? thats your solution?

FWIW, i have no objection to keeping people in jail for their natural lives if their crimes are so heinous or that they are forever a danger to the public.

Jferg69

This is a weightloss site, how on earth does this help or encourage me, or anyone else to lose weight.

This is not the place for this topic.....

Faye_Anderson

This is a weightloss site, how on earth does this help or encourage me, or anyone else to lose weight.

This is not the place for this topic.....

Thanks for your input

1996gtstang

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Every convivcted murdered? so lets say a woman suffers years of mental and or physical abuse from a partner or husband, eventually snaps and kills them? jail for life? never released? thats your solution?

FWIW, i have no objection to keeping people in jail for their natural lives if their crimes are so heinous or that they are forever a danger to the public.

that case could very easily be self defense. my example is more like someone shooting another person in thier face during a carjacking.

xtinalovexo

This is a weightloss site, how on earth does this help or encourage me, or anyone else to lose weight.

This is not the place for this topic.....

'


LOLZ

Fred77

This is a weightloss site, how on earth does this help or encourage me, or anyone else to lose weight.

This is not the place for this topic.....

lots of topics posted in this section have nothing to do with weightloss.

this is the chit chat section

now, it might be a bit of a heavy subjection (excuse the pun) to be classes as chit chat, but still, chit chat it is

xtinalovexo

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Every convivcted murdered? so lets say a woman suffers years of mental and or physical abuse from a partner or husband, eventually snaps and kills them? jail for life? never released? thats your solution?

FWIW, i have no objection to keeping people in jail for their natural lives if their crimes are so heinous or that they are forever a danger to the public.

i just thought of casey anthony.

1996gtstang

hunger strike= weight loss

Fred77

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Every convivcted murdered? so lets say a woman suffers years of mental and or physical abuse from a partner or husband, eventually snaps and kills them? jail for life? never released? thats your solution?

FWIW, i have no objection to keeping people in jail for their natural lives if their crimes are so heinous or that they are forever a danger to the public.

that case could very easily be self defense. my example is more like someone shooting another person in thier face during a carjacking.

see, you didnt give an example, you said all murderers should be locked up for life. i'm just pointing out your "lock em up and throw away the key" theory, is, at best, ill thought out, at worst, just plain silly

Faye_Anderson

what about the innocent people that are murdered by someone paroled from prison? oh no, that never happens

So you're saying we should just kill everyone in prison to be safe??

every convicted murderer, yes

Every convivcted murdered? so lets say a woman suffers years of mental and or physical abuse from a partner or husband, eventually snaps and kills them? jail for life? never released? thats your solution?

FWIW, i have no objection to keeping people in jail for their natural lives if their crimes are so heinous or that they are forever a danger to the public.

that case could very easily be self defense. my example is more like someone shooting another person in thier face during a carjacking.

Quite a bit of back pedalling going on now (wonder if you'll be able to log that as exercise?) , it was ALL convicted murderers a minute ago

1996gtstang

self defense isnt murder.

Faye_Anderson

You would have to prove it was self defence, still down to the jury to decide