MIM Notes #225     January 1, 2001

LETTERS

Gary Graham not alone in his innocence

Dear MIM,

About that brotha Gary Graham [a.k.a. Shaka Sankofa, executed in 
Texas -ed.]. I think that was wrong for them to do because deep 
down inside I myself really felt like he was innocent. And I know 
the white man knew he was also. ... I am 20 years old doing a 50-
year sentence aggravated for a crime I promise you I did not 
commit and they know it. But the only reason I'm here is because 
my white court-appointed lawyer said he could not help me so I 
signed for 50 years to stop from going to trial to get a life 
sentence. At the time I was 18, not knowing anything about the 
law. They are locking up these young Black men and throwing away 
the key. We need to make a stand quick.

-- A Texas Prisoner November 10, 2000

Enlightening MIM Notes bucks the trend

To MIM Notes:

I just read my first MIM Notes, and I must say it was very 
enlightening! I vaguely knew about the waste dumped in the 
Philippines. I was glad you guys went into that much detail. 
Conservative news outlets never even attempt to go that deep into 
subjects they feel would be "unpatriotic." So again, I thank you 
for shedding truth to the masses. You are indeed very appreciated!

I am a 20-year-young Black male, currently incarcerated. Though 
I'm not affiliated with any group, I do study and do (at least 
try) my part individually. I hope what I do helps benefit my 
brothers and sisters, or any and every group striving to uncover 
the truth, and help teach those who have received the lies. ... I 
apologize for not having a study group, but in administrative 
segregation this is not possible. I leave you now with my thanks 
and my blessings.

-- A Texas Prisoner October 2000

MIM responds: Thank you for the positive feedback on the 
newspaper. Even without a study group, if you can get mail in and 
out you have a valuable contribution to make. We are enclosing 
more information on imperialist dumping practices in Third World 
countries, in the hope that you will take it on and write a 
follow-up article for MIM Notes.

The proletariat needs science!

MIM Notes:

Ever hear of Natural Hygiene? It's a movement, an idea, a 
particular view (no, not a religion) that got going in this 
country around 1830, Herbert Shelton (1895-1985) its principal 
purveyor (as Marx in the socialist movement). Its current HQ is in 
Tampa FL, its journal the bi-monthly Health Science. It says, 
simply (though in lots of articles, books, tapes) that the living 
body, living organism is self-health, self-sustaining, providing 
one lives according to basically, natural law. i.e. natural foods, 
fruit in particular, fresh air, sunshine, and no tobacco, no booze 
or drugs, be these drugs illicit or legal. To fail to live at 
least approximately or mostly this way is to invite illness, 
disease.

All of which is the antithesis to the medical approach, the 
medical voodooism, with its drugs, pills, needles, screenings, 
surgeries and all the rest of the grossly, outrageously anti-
naturalisms. "medical science" An oxymoron! Hey, the living 
organism is not a machine. Anything wrong with a machine, like 
your car, it's not unwise to head for the mechanic. Your own body, 
on the other hand, comes down to the very opposite. Got an 
ailment? Head for your bed, rather than a doc, clinic or hospital. 
Severe ailment? Then fast, friends fast! Water only! How long? 
Anywhere from one day to a week depending on how severe the 
ailment.

So why am I bringing all this up? To lament over your lamenting in 
recent issues over "medical neglect" in prisons. "Medical 
neglect?" Great! All the better for a prisoner -- providing she or 
he is hip to Natural Hygiene, to naturalism in healthcare, along 
with practicing it, if but to some degree.

Ya see, folks, medicalism, though altogether separate from 
politics or imperialism, is yet analogous to imperialism, i.e. an 
adversary on par with imperialism.

Anti-imperialist and world socialism, yes! But anti-medicalism and 
world naturalism no less!

-- A reader in the Midwest, October 2000

MIM responds:

MIM does not agree with this persyn that there is no such thing as 
medical science. We do think that in Amerika there is far too much 
of a focus on whiz-bang technical treatments because this is where 
the profits can be found. Preventive steps such as healthy eating 
which would make these expensive and difficult treatments 
unnecessary are ignored. But this does not mean that there is no 
value to medical science.

Rather than discuss the history of medicine and scientifically 
evaluate where it has helped and where it has hurt humyns, this 
persyn considers all modern medicine to be humbug. MIM -- and 
anybody with a modicum of materialist common sense -- looks at 
history and sees that when no medical service existed people died 
younger and spent more time sick. Even when we separate out the 
preventive measures that were introduced (such as clean water) 
which this reader would presumably not disagree with, we can see 
that curative medicine has saved many lives. Diabetics can not 
give up insulin and just rest to control their insulin levels. 
Cholera, Malaria, Dysentery and the many other diseases that 
plague the Third World can not be overcome by just fasting.

This reader's position on health care resembles Ghandi's in many 
ways. Ghandi was a fruititarian for much of his life. And he would 
fast when sick and tried many alternative therapies. But he 
himself called his attempts at cures "Quackery" and he welcomed 
the advice of medical doctors only refusing to follow it when it 
came into conflict with his religious beliefs.

It is mysticism to give up the possibility of understanding humyn 
health. No doubt there are many natural, and cheap, remedies that 
would work as well or better than the medical cures currently 
prescribed, and humanity has a tremendous amount to learn about 
this field. Our learning on this will advance greatly once the 
for-profit medical system has been abolished.