Forced Tube to the Nose = Crying.

[Wade]

So I've come across a video which intrigues me for a very particular reason. In the video rapper/actor Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) agrees to undergo a forced nasal gastric feeding which is supposed to be the identical procedure used on Guantanamo inmates who are on hunger strike.

Many people in the comments section of Youtube and the Huffington Post seem to think that Mr. Definitely is overreacting. Many do not. The video (created by The Guardian) is certainly designed, filmed and edited in such a fashion as to provoke an intense emotional response from the viewer as it shows the cruelty and inhumanity of such a procedure.

I'm not sure where I stand. Let me also be clear, this has nothing to do with politics (though I'm sure this thread will head that way in oh... two posts maybe? Once that happens I will most likely stop contributing for I am dumb. But please don't let that stop you, by all means).

I don't know if Mos Def's response is over dramatized or not. My guess is that it is not. If it is, then he deserves an oscar.

However, in other simulated torture scenarios, there is always a safe word or some other type of signal, like dropping weights as a sign to stop. In this video, Def just screams stop repeatedly until they take him seriously, which seems a crap safe word to me.

Another thing that gives me some doubt is that I have put tubes in my nose everyday of life and I can't quite imagine someone reacting quite this violently. Mos Def wasn't really "forced," he went there specifically to experience it. Obviously they are handling him roughly as they would a real detainee, and that's enough to panic anyone... but I don't know.

Does anyone thing there's a chance that Mos Def was putting on a bit of a show? I mean, if he didn't then all that time and energy would be wasted. It'd be terrible if he said, "you know, that wasn't so bad. I don't know what everyone's so upset about."

Let me be clear again, I am not stating any political opinion, but if I had to I'd say whether the procedure is traumatizing or not, I think the force feeding of prisoners on strike is cruel psychologically if not strictly physically.

What do y'all think?

[Lilitu]

Oh god I saw that on the news. It was horrifying i just closed it a few seconds after he started squirming.

Ugh, I can't even take a swab in the nose.

And I don't think any of it is acted. It's real.

The time i had a swab in the nose was horrible as it was. And that was like a toothpick thin, and it really did feel like something wriggling about in your brain.

I can imagine a big tube up your nose is even worse, especially considering how rough they are with him.

[Dreamer]

I love Yasiin Bey, but I would think starving to death would be more of a hardship than a tube down your nose.

Mind you, those detainees are famished and close to death. They haven't the energy or will to struggle as he did. Thus, not ordaining the same experience he just went through, as a well-fed, free man doing this for show.

I'd say, not to get political, but they've been dealt a worse hand than a silly lubricated tube through the nose and into the stomach. You know, since they'd figured starving to death a better alternative than experiencing their everyday condition where they are now.

[Tyrion]

Looks real too me.. and is pretty disturbing. I couldn't watch more than a few seconds myself... I can't handle watching real life torture like that =x..

Props to him for bringing something like that to light..especially in the way that he did..

[megumidesu]

i've had a nasal feeding tube a few times before.
it hurts . a lot .

so i'd say it's real

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Being tied down/strapped down is not a fun experience. even if the one tying you up./down is someone you trust explicitly and you know its going to end in a good time for all - that vulnerability of being helpless can cause anxiety/panic/fear.

Granted he was willing to participate, so the fear factor is actually diminished here, but have no doubt his fear was real - maybe he did fudge a little and over act - but you can be certain there was real fear, real vulnerability when the straps were put in place.

Fear also heightens sensations. Having a tube shoved up your nose and down your throat to your gullet is 'uncomfortable' when you are not full of fear - it becomes incredibly excruciating to have that 'invasion' take place when you are tied down and helpless to stop it.

He held it together until he said stop and they kept on going. Then the real panic set in as he said 'stop' over and over again and it appeared that his 'make believe' captures were suddenly real captures. You can hear and see his panic mount.

So yes, no doubt for a real detainee, being manhandled by his enemies who are most likely not going to do the job gently this is a high trauma event. Its most likely a lot worse than what Mr. Bey went through.

Is it cruel? If we are doing it for shits and giggles, yes - very cruel. But to my knowledge it isn't being done out of fun, but being done to keep the detainee alive. So it is less cruel than the alternative, which is I believe death.

Frankly I have no problem with letting a detainee starve themselves to death - it is their choice.

However a lot of 'humanitarians' would think that that is far crueler than having a tiny tube inserted to force food into them to keep them alive.

I think that the procedure can be done with the patient unconscious.

[megumidesu]

i have nearly starved to death on several different occasions ...
the pain goes away eventually , because you get used to it or learn to accept it because the pain means it's working ... although now it's really hard for me to tell if i'm hungry or just feeling sick ...

[Buffylo]

This whole thread makes me nauseous... and hungry.... ugh

[VileKyle]

I wouldn't say it's torture really. It may suck, sure, but nasal tubes are used regularly in hospitals. If that's torture, then we are torturing hospital patients every day all around the world. That being said, hospital patients are in different situations than prisoners and they aren't as forced. I may be comparing them too easily without enough evidence.

[megumidesu]

I wouldn't say it's torture really. It may suck, sure, but nasal tubes are used regularly in hospitals. If that's torture, then we are torturing hospital patients every day all around the world. That being said, hospital patients are in different situations than prisoners and they aren't as forced. I may be comparing them too easily without enough evidence.

there are many , many things that happen in normal every day life that can be used as torture.
if it's forced and done without consent then pretty much anything can be torture