Just a Thought

I was listening to the radio earlier and Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike" was playing. Now aside from realizing that I'm listening to a radio station with nothing better than Temple of Dog to play, I also came upon another realization.

Let's think about this by parsing the words just a little. Hunger is to desire food. When you're hungry, you eat. Hunger is defined by the need for food. A strike, in this political sense means that you are going without something. You strike from work, and don't go in. You know what I mean. Therefore, the logical meaning of a "Hunger Strike" would mean that you are refraining from hungering. That means you're eating, lots.

However, this is not what people do on a hunger strike. Instead, they starve themselves for some point to be made. So, shouldn't it be called "Food Strike" or "Eating Strike" or something like that? How about that good Biblical term of fasting?

Now, maybe it's just me but calling it a "hunger strike" when you are, in fact, encouraging hunger seems odd.