MIM Notes #225     January 1, 2001

Under Lock & Key

MIM Books for Prisoner Statement

Many people are aware that the US is the indisputable world leader 
in locking people up. Over 2 million people are salted away behind 
prison bars across America and the numbers increase daily. The 
majority of these prisoners are young and people of color; almost 
everyone (Black, Latin, Native American, Asian and white) come 
from poor and/or blue collar backgrounds.

American prisons were never very interested or successful in 
providing education or training programs, but in the past 5 or 10 
years, all pretense of "rehabilitation" has been cast aside. 
Prisons in the US do nothing but warehouse, repress and severely 
exploit (through various private and governmental industries) 
prisoners today. This Prison Industrial Complex seeks to damage 
and destroy lives, even as it feeds off them.

Despite this cold reality, in prisons across the country, at least 
some men and women are not defeated, do not retreat into despair 
and self-destruction. They seek to understand and learn more about 
the conditions and realities of this country and why and how they 
and others like them are in captivity. They strive for answers, 
for an analysis of America, its economy and politics; the history 
that led us here and most importantly for real, that is, 
revolutionary solutions. Depending on the conditions, time and 
place, prisoners sometimes get together in small study groups for 
intense reading and discussion. In other situations people read in 
their cells and then have running discussions from cell to cell. 
In the deepest segregation cells prisoners sit, read, think, 
perhaps share their thoughts through correspondence. This is 
happening right now and it could be happening even more, with more 
material. MIM's Books for prisoners Program is an important source 
for this crucial eye opening, mind enriching, and spirit 
strengthening revolutionary literature.

As a political prisoner, I have remained as informed and active as 
possible for these past 16 years of captivity. In every prison 
I've been in, I have seen and often shared in these study groups 
and revolutionary think tanks. In recent years MIM's book program 
has helped many, many prisoners achieve a deeper and more 
developed level of understanding. Supporting MIM's Books for 
Prisoners program is an important thing to do and an act of 
revolutionary building and solidarity.

Freedom is a Constant Struggle!

--Jaan Laaman

Ohio-7/Anti-Imperialist political Prisoner Walpole State Prison

7 December 2000

Every ounce of energy brings our day closer

As a recent subscriber to MIM Notes I have read many accounts of 
civil rights abuses in Amerika's prisons. I know these atrocities 
occur on a regular basis as I have had the opportunity to witness 
this sort of thing first hand. I would like to encourage all my 
brothers out there who have been subjected to inhumane and illegal 
treatment at the hands of the criminal injustice system. There are 
ways of dealing with those abuses which can benefit prisoners on 
an individual basis and more importantly, can help to fund the 
coming World Revolution and make it a reality.

As you have noticed the people who run Amerika's prisons are not 
the brightest bunch we've ever seen. They get over on us all 
simply because they are organized. If the 2,000,000 prisoners in 
this country were to organize we would strike fear in all their 
hearts. By working with our MIM comrades to educate, enlighten and 
encourage other victims of human rights violations we begin the 
process of organization. We must take every opportunity to make 
others aware of why these dehumanizations occur and what is to be 
done to bring about change. When one of our brothers has been 
abused that is the best time to share a copy of MIM Notes with him 
and let him know we are all in this together.

When you are stepped on by the Man, use your anger not to get 
another year's seg time, but to work towards revolution. When we 
allow ourselves to rise up in violence against the pigs, we play 
right into their hands. They would like nothing better than to 
bust your head with a baton and then take you back to court to get 
more time. This is counterproductive.

Take the hate you feel for the petty tyrants and focus it. Study 
your MIM literature, talk to others about the Revolution. We will 
have our day. It's not here yet, but it's coming and every ounce 
of energy we put into it brings it that much closer. If you have 
an outdate, don't forget all that has happened behind these bars 
when you walk out that gate. Use your freedom to organize and work 
to put a hurting on the pigs. Contact MIM, go to rallies, put your 
spare time to work and teach others about the reality of 
imperialism.

As I said earlier the pigs are stupid and by subjecting us to 
inhumane conditions and abusive treatment they are unknowingly 
making guerillas of us all! But only if we have set goals in mind 
and continue to fight will we be effective guerillas. Only by 
working together will we have the necessary strength to bring 
about Revolution.

The second point I'd like to make is this: by daily violating our 
civil rights they provide us with the means to fund the revolution 
we seek. The pigs are practically begging us to take their money. 
The government has provided legal remedies for all the things we 
suffer. This too involves organization, but predominantly on a 
personal level. By learning to document the civil rights 
violations and litigate effectively we can take the pigs' money 
and use it against them.

Now I'm not saying that legal remedies will by themselves bring 
about any real change in the system, far from it. In fact filing a 
lawsuit against concentration camp officials will in many cases 
bring about more abuse. But that just means you get to sue them 
again. All you brothers who take time to learn to litigate will 
get paid! It's simply a matter of study, hard work, asking 
questions, documentation, and organizing your paperwork. Sure it's 
going to take time away from TV, chess, kickin' it with the 
homeys, etc. But it's damn well worth it. The first time you get a 
case into court, smear the Man and get paid for it, you're going 
to know I told you right. There are brothers out there making 
serious money (by prison standards) by filing civil rights 
lawsuits.

What could be more rewarding than taking the pigs' money and using 
it to support MIM (at least by paying for your own subscription 
and books) knowing our comrades are out there working toward the 
same goals we are? Namely, crushing the Amerikkkan government out 
of existence and replacing it with a dictatorship of the 
proletariat.

But it's not going to happen unless we all stick together. The 
time has come to put aside our differences and work together until 
every political piggy worldwide is facedown, six feet deep. Sure 
we have our differences of opinion but we can work out the details 
after we've done the footwork. As long as the $ystem can play us 
against each other the status quo will be preserved. And that, 
comrades, means that our children and grandchildren will be eating 
pepper spray and hickory sticks just like us.

Living for Revolution! 

-- an Illinois prisoner

17 November 2000

MIM responds: We salute your call for organization. In our 
writings MIM consciously uses a tone that matches the righteous 
anger of the oppressed at their conditions, as we believe any 
gentler tone is inappropriate until we reach a stage of communism 
and peace.

We also applaud your call for greater legal education among 
prisoners, but we point it in a different direction. MIM's 
Prisoners' Legal Clinic (PLC) is a Serve the People program that 
organizes prisoners into fighting for their right to be activists. 
Right now our most important battle is against censorship. When we 
are unable to send and receive mail to our comrades behind the 
walls, we are unable to provide correct leadership and examples in 
political work. It is vital to our work that prisoners in all 
states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have the full right to 
receive their MIM Notes and Notas Rojas subscriptions, and other 
literature from MIM and our Serve the People Free Books for 
Prisoners program.

We do not instruct our prisoner correspondents to steer away from 
the courts in abuse cases. But we argue that financial support for 
the revolution is much too important to be left to isolated 
individual fundraising. Those comrades wishing to raise funds for 
the party should lead others outside of and being released from 
prison to do work within the disciplined structure of the MIM 
army: the People's Internationalist Rear-Area Organization 
(PIRAO). We fully agree with you that it is not our time for armed 
struggle, and recognize that we in the belly of the imperialist 
beast are in the rear-area of the international proletarian 
struggle. But this does not mean we must sit on our hands. We can 
organize some of the means of revolutionary work: books, medical 
advice and other pieces of the revolutionary infrastructure. For 
all of these things, we promote the PIRAO's systematic financial 
work.

Illinois prisoner supports MIM's independent organizing

I'm currently reading MIM Theory 9 and MIM's analysis and correct 
handling of the contradictions in psychology/psychiatry, etc., 
under capitalism by applying dialectical materialism is why I 
identify support and have more unity with MIM in theory and 
practice. Although MIM does not appear to have the financial 
resources comparable to that of other would-be self-proclaimed 
Marxist-Leninist Socialist organizations, MIM maintains its 
independence, has the most advanced line, and is the most advanced 
of all the organizations and parties.

I am assured of why I agree with MIM on the cardinal principles, 
party line, etc. the more I read MIM's Notes, Theories, letters 
and other materials I regularly purchase and receive from MIM. ...

My communications are being interfered with as you're already 
aware, but relatives may have sent contributions for me. If not, 
I'll find other means to communicate this to them so that I/we can 
contribute financially [in hopes of supporting an expanded Under 
Lock & Key section].

-- an Illinois prisoner

26 July 2000.

Revolutionary Nationalism, not Amerikan Integration

So many powerful nationalist and strong Independentistas had 
suffered and died to free one of the world's bravest islands. But 
now some Puerto Ricans want to vote for a Devil president just to 
see each other hand in hand. My peoples, open your eyes and stick 
your heads out of the sand. For one day only united we can claim 
what's ours even this American land.

What is the meaning of patriotism. Let's unite together so that we 
can exercise activism. Even if we have to put to practice what we 
call anti-pacifism. But I guess this is the way we take back 
what's ours, that no longer we live in imperialistic hours. And 
defeat those Devils up in those luxurious oppressive towers. For 
truly indeed we are the patriotic warriors, and the oppressors are 
the Devil cowards. No longer we should have to live by 
imperialism. The only way we live by our pride is by fighting for 
our nationalism.

We have to take our young brothers and sisters out of the 
Amerikkkan intelligence. So lets teach them what's patriotism so 
they can come forward. For now is the time we destroy the 
oppressor from trying to keep each other at a far distance....

--a prisoner in New Jersey.

MIM responds: MIM agrees that only through armed struggle for 
national liberation can the Puerto Rican people, or any other 
oppressed nation, truly be free to determine their own destiny. 
MIM builds for Maoist revolution through agitation of public 
opinion and through the construction of independent institutions 
of the oppressed. We urge Puerto Rican nationalists reading MIM 
Notes for the first time to study the many articles we have 
written on Puerto Rico, MIM's Congress resolutions on internal 
semi-colonies and the Maoist philosophy and political economy that 
we advocate. This study is necessary to more deeply understand the 
reasons for and method of fighting for genuine national 
liberation.