swimming in the shallow end

there are multiple hunger strikes in the news today, including those in dublin and guantanamo bay. and i'm just going to go ahead and ask, because i've never understood: why don't people just let them die? it would be one thing if they were being starved, but starving themselves is quite another. call their bluff. take away their negotiating position and let them just starve if they choose to. it would be melodramatic, sure. but pointless. and i bet if someone let a few of them expire, others would be less keen to try it.

i really don't get it. why do folks keep falling for this?

maybe that's why i'm not in charge of the world.