If you’re a parent, you’ve probably had at least one instance where you’ve had to deal with a red-faced little monster kicking and screaming on the floor, refusing to eat dinner.
And most likely, your response to this little tantrum was to just leave him there until he was hungry enough.
But some elite Harvard students probably didn’t learn that life lesson from their nannies.
On Friday, over 30 pro-Palestinian Harvard students participated in a hunger strike to show solidarity with 17 Brown University students who had refused to eat for eight days, according to The Crimson, Harvard’s student newspaper.
The Brown students were protesting and demanding their university divest from companies connected to Israel due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza after the horrific attacks on Israel on Oct 7.
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After being denied by the Brown administration, the 17 students ended their strike on Feb. 9, after eight days, while 200 other students completed 32 hours.
The Harvard participants also broke their fast with them — after a whole 12 hours.
Organizers said that the Harvard students were “committed to a day-long hunger strike to prove to university corporations that we will not back down,” until the universities divest.
Or, as it turned out, until dinnertime.
More than 30 pro-Palestinian Harvard students participated in a 12-hour hunger strike Friday in solidarity with students at Brown University pressuring the Brown Corporation to divest from Israel.@mnamponsah and @AzusaLippit report.https://t.co/SePl9AvkHI
— The Harvard Crimson (@thecrimson) February 12, 2024
The point of a hunger strike is to show the seriousness of the cause.
Gandhi is said to have fasted 21 days at the age of 74 during his fight for Indian independence. Other documented hunger strikers have fasted up to 40 days, according to Scientific American.
The Harvard students? Well, they missed their midday snack to prove their dedication.
Harvard students may not have fasted long enough to achieve actual hunger pangs, but many on the internet were holding on to their bellies — with laughter.
“If you eat dinner at 8pm and breakfast at 8 am you too can be a brave hunger striker for justice,” one X user wrote.
If you eat dinner at 8pm and breakfast at 8 am you too can be a brave hunger striker for justice
— Doc Mingo (@unrepentantpop) February 13, 2024
“Then, after trying not to eat for 12 hours, each Harvard student texted mom and dad to send money for extra food so they could recover from this harrowing experience,” another joined in.
Then, after trying not to eat for 12 hours, each Harvard student texted mom and dad to send money for extra food so they could recover from this harrowing experience.
— rob berg (@robberg15) February 13, 2024
“I’m trying to live up to the high standards of the @Harvard students who just did a 12-hour hunger fast for some cause or the other, so I’m sleeping in tomorrow and having a late breakfast. 8 pm-8 am without eating a bite! Now you know why I call myself the New Gandhi,” political commentator Dinesh D’souza joked.
I’m trying to live up to the high standards of the @Harvard students who just did a 12-hour hunger fast for some cause or the other, so I’m sleeping in tomorrow and having a late breakfast. 8 pm-8 am without eating a bite! Now you know why I call myself the New Gandhi
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) February 13, 2024
Some people were more succinct.
Idiots pic.twitter.com/1Akwmdw8yU
— Rose1279 🇺🇸 (@Monet1279) February 14, 2024
Like the two-year-old who doesn’t like his Brussels sprouts, these students have no real-world worries or understanding of what it is to live with neighbors who have sworn to destroy you.
They will get their dinner and a fancy degree when they are done with their virtue signaling.
They’ll go back to their comfortable lives where the drinks flow and the food goes down easily.
Unlike the parents of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, for whom food will never taste the same until he comes home.
Hamas took more than 250 hostages from Israel on Oct. 7, including 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin. His parents have now become high-profile advocates for bringing Israeli hostages home from Gaza. They spoke on the radio show and podcast, “Israel Story.”https://t.co/AA8osELcJw
— The World (@TheWorld) February 13, 2024
Or the mother of Naama Levy, who is still waiting for her daughter to be saved.
“I know that she can be saved”
“ich weiß, dass sie gerettet werden kann”
“sé que ella puede ser salvada”
“je sais qu’elle peut être sauvée”
Ayelet Levy – mother/Mutter/madre/mère of/von/de Naama Levypic.twitter.com/87YEmFf8o2— Tom (@TimeBeRealMan) February 11, 2024
These students can go back to class believing they have done their part.
They’ll write their essays for extra credit about how they stood up for justice and participated in a hunger strike to end a war rooted in anti-Semitism that goes back thousands of years before they were born.
They are children throwing a tantrum on the kitchen floor, demanding to be the center of attention, while the neighbor’s house is burning down.
