Federal Prisons

In recent months we've seen a huge number of people come forward with accusations of sexual harassment or assault against men in the entertainment industry, in politics, and well-known business leaders. And in many cases the exposures have encouraged more people to come forward, and the ending of careers. This has been integrated with a #MeToo movement of wimmin stepping forward to say that these highly publicized cases are not just isolated incidents. The point of #MeToo is to show all wimmin experience unwanted sexual attention at some point in their lives, often repeatedly. This movement has progressive aspects, and here we will try to take readers to the logical conclusion of all this exposure of sexual assault.

The Aziz Ansari sexual assault allegations perhaps most clearly illustrate where the #MeToo movement must go if it is to really address the root of these problems. Ansari is a famous actor, comedian and filmmaker. In January, a womyn came forward anonymously with a detailed account of her sexual encounter with Ansari. The womyn "Grace" described a very awkward and unpleasant evening in which Ansari repeatedly made sexual advances while "Grace" attempted to indicate her discomfort with what she called "clear nonverbal cues." When she finally said "no" to one of his sexual propositions, Ansari backed off and suggested they dress and just hang out.

Ansari claims he thought the encounter was entirely consensual. Grace claims Ansari ignored all her attempts to put a stop to the sex. This case has led to a useful debate over where to draw the line in terms of what we call sexual assault. This case has led some (Grace supporters and Grace opponents) to point out that calling her experience sexual assault means we've all been sexually assaulted. Or maybe not everyone, but most wimmin at the very least. Because most wimmin can point to a situation where they were uncomfortable or unhappy but pressured by a man to proceed with sex.

Ansari was oblivious to Grace's lack of enjoyment, and her inability to clearly verbally express this points to a power inequality. In a truly equal relationship between two people, each would feel totally comfortable walking away at any point. And each would be carefully listening to what the other said (verbally and non-verbally). Whatever it is that stopped Grace from walking away, whether it's Ansari's fame or wealth, or just her training as a womyn to do what a man asks, it's undeniable that she was not able to just walk away.

This is the crux of the problem with attempting to reform away sexual assault while we live in a patriarchal society. Rape is non-consensual sex. And, as the Ansari case demonstrates, there are many situations in which wimmin aren't giving consent even though men think the encounter is totally consensual. We call this non-consensual sex what it is: rape.

When there is a power difference in a relationship, the persyn with less power is limited in their ability to consent. You can't freely consent when someone is holding a gun to your head. And similarly you can't freely consent when you fear economic consequences. Those are obvious inequalities. Someone who says "yes, please" in those situations simply can't be freely consenting. The Ansari case gets at more subtle inequalities, but ones that have a very real impact on people's ability to consent. In a society where inequality is inherent in every interaction, we can't expect people to have sexual relationships that are equal and consensual. The problem isn't that Ansari raped Grace. The problem is that all sex under the patriarchy is non-consensual. Grace just wrote about one of the more subtle cases of non-consensual sex.

All this sexual assault in Amerikan society isn't the fault of the men who are being called out. It's the fault of the patriarchal society. Grace proponents point out that it shouldn't be wimmin's responsibility to help men learn how to read their discomfort. Grace opponents complain that wimmin need to empower themselves and speak up and demand that their consent (or lack of consent) be respected. This is a good debate, and we actually agree with both sides. But it's the wrong debate to be having, because neither side can achieve their goal under patriarchy. A lifetime of training to respect power (the power of men, the power of money, the power of fame, the power of a teacher, the power of looks, the power of skill) can't be overcome with an assertiveness training class. And educating people to ask for consent at every step of the way won't help when someone feels they have to say "yes" to their teacher/priest/benefactor/mentor/idol.

Some might hope that other changes in Amerikan society will move us towards abolishing the patriarchy. People fighting gender oppression argue that having a womyn president who speaks out against sexual harassment, and getting in judges who will prosecute people aggressively, and the broad education and exposure of the #MeToo campaign will eventually break down the gender power differential in this society. But even this level of reform won't change a fundamental system that is based on power differentials. We don't believe the patriarchy can be abolished under a system that is set up to help the rich profit off the exploitation of the Third World peoples. The #MeToo movement is trying to show people how pervasive sexual assault is. That's important. We need to take that further and show the link between power differentials in relationships and sexual assault. And we must be clear that these power differences will always exist under a capitalist patriarchy. We can't reform our way to pure and equal sex. Just as many wimmin are now dramatically calling out #MeToo, we dramatically call out #AllSexIsRape. Sexual assault is everywhere; revolutionary change is needed.

I’m now writing from segregation. They have really gone off the rails now. The L/L staff now disallow nonverbal communication as well as verbal communications. I found this out by allowing the prisoner seated next to me in the L/L to read my memorandum. He didn’t make it to page 2 before a staff member (same one who stole my legal documents out of my cell) came up and SNATCHED my memo out of his hands.

Knowing that this act was, once again, generated by the A.T.C. supervisor/law librarian I got up and asked her “under what rule do you have my legal document taken?” I was expelled from the L/L when, in response to her telling me to sit down, I asked the question a second time. According to the A.T.C. 040 and VIII we are allowed to pass legal material during a session in the L/L.

I packed my stuff up and signed out. Then I asked for my legal document—which, by the way, is exhibit “B” in my active TORT action where these two state employees are named defendants. She stared at the ceiling (15 feet from me) and ignored me. I stated “I want my damn document” and palmed the counter twice to get her attention. What I did was wake up the Medusa within her. I found out 3 hours later that in doing what I did I:

At the same time I was in neither within 15 feet of the “threatened” officer.

My ultimate disgrace is that no inmate interviewed gave a useful accounting or admitted that I did not say what the “troll” staff member claims I said. My brothers in incarceration left me high and dry giving zero support. Shame shame on every one of them. Institutionalized scared pussies. They just don’t realize that these folks only do to us that which we allow. We make these units TDCJ run.

What these defendants have done have elevated my state TORT action to a state 1983 civil rights violation suit. Due to their conspiratorial relative acts. I will prevail!!

In getting put into lock up these F…olks have…oops…misplaced 12 of my law books and my dictionary.

Los E$tados Unidos encierra a los Nuevos Afrikanos a una velocidad de 5 veces más rápido que a los Euro-Amerikanos. La tasa para los Chican@s es de por lo menos 1.4 veces más alta que la de los blancos, y la forma en que las prisiones recogen información sobre los “Hispanos” hace que probablemente este número sea muy bajo.(1) Este exceso dramático de encarcelación de las naciones oprimidas en las prisiones de U.$. no es nuevo. Pero el alto número de gente encerrada es un fenómeno relativamente reciente. En la década de los 60, la disparidad entre las tasas de encarcelación era prácticamente la misma de la de hoy. Pero la población en prisión era mucho menor, de forma que impactaba a mucho menos gente.

En 1960, la tasa de encarcelación de los hombres blancos fue de 262 cada 100,000 residentes blancos de los U.$, y la tasa de hombres Nuevo Afrikanos fue de 1,313; lo cual son 5 veces más que la tasa de los blancos. Para 2010 la disparidad se había elevado hasta 6 veces. Esto significa que los hombres Nuevos Afrikanos eran seis veces más susceptibles a ser encerrados que los hombres blancos. Esta discrepancia tuvo un impacto mucho mayor en 2010 porque las tasas de encarcelación se dispararon hasta el cielo, empezando en la década de los 70, de modo que para el 2010 la tasa de encarcelación de hombre Nuevos Afrikanos era de 4,347 cada 100,000.(2)

En 2000 la discrepancia en las tasas de encarcelación entre los Nuevos Afrikanos y los blancos empezaron en realidad a bajar, y para el 2015 ya estaba hasta en los niveles de los 60. Entre el 2000 y el 2015 la tasa de encarcelamiento para hombres Nuevos Afrikanos cayó 24%, mientras que al mismo tiempo, la tasa de encarcelamiento para hombres blancos se elevó ligeramente. Entre mujeres vemos la misma tendencia pero con una caída del 50% para las mujeres Nuevas Afrikanas y un 50% de aumento para las mujeres blancas.(3)

Tasas de hombres Negros y Blancos en prisión

Tenemos que poner estos cambios en contexto. La tasa de encarcelación de Nuevos Afrikanos es todavía increíblemente alta en comparación con la tasa para blancos. La opresión nacional en las prisiones no se ha eliminado, ni de cerca. A la velocidad actual de cambio, tomaría hasta aproximadamente el año 2100 para que haya igualdad de encarcelamiento en la nación.

Pero no podemos ignorar cambios como estos, especialmente cuando son consistentes a lo largo de un período de 15 años.

Las prisiones se usan principalmente como una herramienta de control social por el gobierno de los E$tados Unidos. Las naciones oprimidas siempre han sido una amenaza debido a la relación dialéctica entre los oprimidos y los opresores. Y por eso, las naciones oprimidas enfrentan las tasas de encarcelación mayores. Y los objetivos más grandes son aquellos que organizan el cambio revolucionario, como vimos con las operaciones masivas del COINTELPRO contra el Partido de la Pantera Negra (Black Panther Party) y el Partido de los Señores Jóvenes (Young Lords Party) en la década de los 70.

Así que, ¿por qué el sistema de injusticia criminal cambiaría para disminuir la tasa de encarcelación de Nuevos Afrikanos pero no haría lo mismo para los blancos? Una explicación posible es que los cambios en el sistema de injusticia criminal se han realizado a velocidades diferentes en las ciudades y en áreas no urbanas. La caída en las tasas de encarcelación se debe principalmente a las tasas menores en las ciudades, porque en las zonas rurales no han cambiado.(3) Tal vez veamos que estos cambios se nivelen con el tiempo.

Luego de la proclamación de la emancipación, hemos visto cambios en la opresión nacional en la sociedad Amerikana en varios momentos de la historia. Estos cambios generalmente suceden como respuesta a los movimientos sociales. Las reformas se dieron desde la segregación legal hasta la restricción de la discriminación abierta en ámbitos como el hogar, empleo, y préstamos. Pero estas reformas en realidad no pusieron un fin a estas prácticas; la realidad de la segregación y discriminación continuaron, simplemente cambiaron a formas más sutiles o escondidas. No obstante, podemos decir que en algunos aspectos, las condiciones para las naciones oprimidas dentro de las fronteras de los E$tados Unido$, han mejorado. Esto no sorprende porque el gobierno de los EE. UU. no puede realmente tener disturbios activos dentro de sus fronteras mientras pelea tantas guerras abiertas e indirectas alrededor del mundo. El imperialismo es más estable cuando puede mantener tranquila a la población de su país natal.

En un país imperialista rico, los capitalistas tienen el dinero para integrar parcialmente las semi-colonias, comprándolas con los beneficios del saqueo imperialista. Sin embargo, la opresión nacional está tan arraigada en la sociedad imperialista moderna que no anticipamos la integración total de estas semi-colonias internas. Y por eso, creemos que la distancia entre las tasas de encarcelación de la nación oprimida y la blanca no estará cerca de cerrarse. Pero las corrientes actuales en las tasas de encarcelación se prestan para seguirles la pista.

In January, I had open heart surgery. I now am in possession of a pig-part-heart. My aortic heart valve was removed and replaced with a porcine aortic valve. The surgery was to have been performed January 2, 2018, but was postponed as I had contracted methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a most virulent strain of staph.

The 24th day of December, 2017, I had scrubbed my cell floor on my hands and knees, something I had done thousands of times before. After having cleaned my cell, I noticed a small abrasion at my left knee on a scar from an old ACL surgery. Being ever mindful of infections, I wrapped the abrasion in a powered bleach poultice. The next day the abrasion had metastasized and my leg had begun to swell. I knew I had contracted staph.

December 25th, 26th and 27th, I submitted to the Estelle Unit Medical Dept. requests for medical treatment (RMT), citing MRSA for cause. These RMTs were ignored. Thursday, December 28, at 0500 hrs., when the cell doors were first opened for the day, I made a beeline for the infirmary. In route to the infirmary I attracted a gaggle of prison guards ordering me back to my cell or be subjected to physical assault. By the morning of the 28th, my leg had swelled to where my pant leg was stretched tight against my skin and the wound had drained pus and blood, not only through my trousers, but through my thermal underwear as well. The need for medical attention was readily apparent.

Standing outside the prison infirmary, I informed this gaggle of guards there were two options available to us. 1. I be allowed to access the infirmary; 2. They place me in isolation, but if it was to be option #2, I wasn't going easily.

At this juncture a nurse intervened advising me to return to my cell and I would be summoned to the infirmary when a primary healthcare provider arrived. I responded I would go for the okey doke one time and did return to my cell. Several hours later I was returned to the infirmary and immediately placed on a vancomycin IV for MRSA.

December 29th, I was transported to the prison hospital in Galveston per the aforementioned open heart surgery. The only reason I boarded the transport bus was I was in the hope I would be hospitalized and treated for MRSA. No such luck. When it was determined surgery could not be performed, as I knew it couldn't, I was treated like a leper. Swollen leg, pus and blood encrusted clothing, difficulty ambulating and all my pleas for medical attention were totally ignored. Twenty-four hours later I was returned to the Estelle Unit and immediately placed on an IV regimen of vancomycin, and extremely strong antibiotic. There was talk among the Estelle medical staff of saving my leg. Yeah, it was like that.

While on the vancomycin regimen I was informed by medical personnel it would be at least a couple of months before open heart surgery would even be considered as the porcine aortic valve I was to receive was extremely susceptible to infection and before the surgery could be performed it must be ascertained the MRSA had been absolutely eradicated. January 9, 2018, the plug was pulled on the vancomycin treatment. January 17, 2018, I had a porcine aortic heart valve implanted to my heart.

January, I was transported from the hospital in Galveston, to the hospital at the TDCJ Beto Unit in Tennessee Colony. Once arriving at Beto, it was determined my white corpuscle count was high, indicating I had an infection, further indicating my body was rejecting the porcine aortic valve, indicative the open heart surgery had been performed too soon after the MRSA treatment. I am currently on an IV regimen of Ancef, another very strong antibiotic.

Presently, it's wait and see.

Aside from the dry run to the prison hospital December 29th, once the MRSA treatment was commenced, overall, I have few complaints concerning the instant medical care I have received. But there have been occasions of incompetence and ineptitude that a University of Texas Medical Branch, John Sealy Hospital, Galveston, TX medical worker confided to me would not be tolerated on the "free-world" side of the hospital.

So here I am, an 18" surgical scar, running slightly left to right between my pectoral muscles. It looks like Picasso put me back together. I have always relied on my physical strength to see me through adversity. In the future, I'm not so confident that will be the case. PTT's statement "Our militancy tends to be inherently ableist," keeps running through my mind. On top of everything else, January 2nd, while I was being infused with vancomycin, a dumbass pig gave my prison issue jacket to a prisoner being transported away from the Estelle Unit. That, in and of itself, is no biggie—except the jacket had my corrective lensed eye glasses in the pocket. TDCJ does not want to replace the glasses, though I am designated visually disabled.

A day in the life...

Please send a copy of the Texas Pack. I've been in prison since 2002 and h ave never written a grievance. The information you offer makes it a no brainer for all prisoners the opportunity to correctly address situations with supporting codes.

A writ writer let me borrow his copy so I could fight a disciplinary case that was never investigated. That's a normal practice on this unit that needs to be corrected.

That resource is priceless and wanted to say thanks. This puts me on an even playing field to filing grievances with confidence. Won't let situations slide by when I'm in the right. I've enclosed 3 stamps.

I work at the farm shop at Ellis Unit. I am indigent here and this trusty camp refuses to feed any more than it has to. I have lost 54 pounds in just a few short months. Everyone here refuses to stick as one. I even received a case for socks that a church gave me on Xmas. "Free world contraband." Wow!

I work 7 days a week 7 to 4. The drama from other fellow prisoners is like a nightmare. I tried to transfer to a different camp because of all the drama. It's calmed down some in the last two months but still the officers treat us bad.

I am writing to report the rampant and blatant mistreatment of the mentally ill. Prisoners will spread feces in their cells and play in it, and SRTU staff will leave them in their own waste for days without a shower or food/water. When I've questioned this mistreatment, I was told that if these unfortunate prisoners "play in shit," they "won't get shit."

The smell is unbearable here in the SRTU, and this injustice is an outcry! Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to effectively deal with this issue? How can I help those that can't help themselves. Grievances and other administrative remedies are all but ignored by prison officials, and go unanswered. What can be done to stop this inhumane treatment of the seriously mentally ill? Help is needed to put a stop to this injustice and cruel and unusual punishment. Until next time, resist, resist, resist.

I have noticed that the New Afrikan people (NAP) have been crying out for justice for their people against oppression for ages. As an advocate and activist to end all oppression I stand beside them 100%. Oppression is an ugly thing and needs to be totally eradicated. However, I have also noticed that large numbers of NAPs and Latin@s oppress another "minority" group, namely the LGBTQIA community on a continuous basis. The same reasoning and ideology used by white supremacists to oppress others, especially NAP and Latin@s, is being used by NAP and Latin@s to oppress the LGBTQIA community. I feel that if people want to be free from oppression, they should in turn refrain from willingly and consciously oppressing other humyns and humyn groups. Justice and equality should be collective, not subjective and for certain people only. Does anyone else see this hypocrisy? I'm open to critique and feedback.

MIM(Prisons) responds: As communists, we struggle for an end to all forms of oppression. It's a constant struggle to educate ourselves and others, and consciously struggle against biases that have been ingrained over years of living in this corrupt system. But while we live in a society built on class, nation and gender oppression we can expect to see forms of all of these within progressive movements.

There are a few principles we apply here. One is recognizing the principal contradiction and focusing on pushing that forward. Another is unity-struggle-unity. So as we unite with all anti-imperialist forces to resolve the principal contradiction (the oppression of Third World nations by the U.$.-led imperialist block) we will struggle over questions such as these in an attempt to build greater unity with revolutionary nationalists who may retain reactionary ideas around gender.