I am originally from Minneapolis, MN and I am currently a junior Sociology major at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA. I will fast these next ten days as an act of solidarity with prisoners held and tortured unjustly and my fellow protesters. As I deny my body and replenish my spirit, I will use this time to educate myself and others and to reflect on the state’s use of torture and imprisonment on "othered" bodies as a means of social control and to create fear. I will be thinking of those persons who we, as Americans, allow to be abused because their humanity is cloaked under the name of “terrorist,” and what that degradation means to their spirits, their loved ones, and their nations. I will also be thinking about our nation, how the atrocities committed in our names not only dehumanize others but also ourselves, how we are implicated in every act, and the impact of our actions and inactions. Ideally, my thoughts will not end in Guantanamo, but will extend out to all of those devastated by the use of torture--from the victims of SOA/WHINSEC graduates in Latin America to the Americans in torture cells in police departments in the United States, whose Americanness is taken away from them under the names of “crime” and “gang activity”. Most importantly, I fast in testament to my one faith--my faith in humanity and our hope to overcome injustice.