Wearing a “Suicidal Tendencies” baseball cap and inexplicably wielding a sign of a green, smiling sunflower, Whitten talked with passersby in front of his sidewalk station, hoping that his public hunger strike will inspire others to become more involved. The 2 p.m. rally drew about 25 people in support for Whitten’s demonstration in solidarity with the homeless community.
“Seeing that I’m putting everything in my life aside—refusing to eat food, camping outside City Hall — (I am) hoping people realize that if they just gave five minutes of their time to call up a representatives, volunteer in their community and talk about the issues that are important to you, they can bring about change,” says Whitten.
Whitten and his supporters are also calling on the city to place a housing levy measure on the November 2012 General Election ballot, and for the Multnomah County Sheriff to issue a 1-year moratorium on “Wall Street bank foreclosures” in the county.
Commissioners Nick Fish, who oversees housing, and Dan Saltzman, who oversees the Bureau of Development Services, were not immediately available to comment. However, Fish has said a levy request is years away, and Saltzman has supported the BDS's process regarding Right 2 Dream Too.
“It’s really good to know that there is conversation going on that wasn’t there before,” Whitten says. “Unfortunately, I haven’t seen too much of a response from elected officials who might be able to have some influence over R2D2’s situation, the levy or the foreclosure thing.”
Whitten says he has refrained from eating food but has consumed some fruit juice and water since starting the hunger strike.
Photos by Robert Britt