MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
Here at Tracy Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) the water has been
contaminated. It is rusty red and black and contains pesticides that
come from surrounding farmland which soaks into the water that DVI tries
to filter for our consumption.
Prisoners have been breaking out in rashes with hives all over their
bodies. Medical staff say this is a reaction to the contaminates within
the drinking water. On 19 February 2015 the California Department of
Corrections/Tracy (DVI) handed out to each prisoner 1 gallon of purified
water in response to this medical crisis.
Seems to me, this dirty water is just another way to wipe out prisoners
or to just save a lousy penny for the California Department of
Corrections’ pocket.
MIM(Prisons) adds: The
water
at Tracy has been notoriously bad dating back to before 2009. The
CDCR has also had major problems with the
safety
of water at Kern Valley. It’s realities like this that put the
interests of U.$. prisoners closer to the Third World proletariat than
the oppressor nation who sees unlimited clean water as a given. The
oppressed experience ecological destruction first hand, in the form of
things like lack of clean water. As comrades struggle for clean water at
DVI, we should push this in the context of a
revolutionary
ecology that recognizes the inherent destructive nature of the
anarchy of production under capitalism. We cannot keep pushing the
problem onto other nations, as eventually we all will suffer these
results of ecological destruction.
The January issue of ULK really grabbed my attention with its front page
article
Agreement
to End Hostilities is Main Struggle in CA. As my last article to ULK
can attest, there is a whole lot going on in CDCR right now with the SHU
lawsuits pending, a court order for CDCR to release people to manageable
levels due date on 2/28/15, STG “phase two” pilot program blowbacks, and
a general sense of what almost seems like panic among the prison
bureaucracy. It’s starting to look like CDCR just might have bitten off
more than it can chew and the hogs are starting to realize that the tax
payer gravy train isn’t endless and everyday more and more people on the
other side of these electric fences are waking up to the fact that they
have been lied to and stolen from by the very people they have placed
their trust in for years.
As MIM points out, although it’s nice to hear that finally after years
and years locked in the torture units, people are starting to be moved
back to the mainline, we all have to take heed and remind ourselves that
it’s just more of the smoke and mirrors that these prisoncrat cowards
have been hiding behind for decades. Although they are finally going to
acknowledge international laws regarding “long-term” isolation, the SHU
torture units remain open and as I can personally attest, still being
held and threatened with SHU placement, the pigs are far from being done
with using torture units and are currently, and as quietly as possible,
filling those same SHU beds with new “STG members and associates.”
It is simply a change in official CDCR stratagem. Now everybody they
cannot outright “classify” as a “gang member or security threat” they
now simply label as an “associate.” That way we are all eligible for SHU
placement under the terms of the new “phase two of the STG pilot plan”
and they can peddle to the public how CDCR “no longer holds prisoners in
long-term isolation” per international law. It’s a twisted game of
musical SHU beds and no one in CDCR, regardless of SNY placement, or
non-gang member status, or even an absence of disciplinary write ups, is
immune from catching a SHU term. The way the pigs look at it they can
cover up their illegal torture programs to the public while carrying on
with business as usual by keeping the SHU units constantly full with
large numbers of “new gang members/STG associates.” All they are going
to do now is rotate us in and out at will. I even heard an unconfirmed
rumor that they are currently opening up more ASU (Administrative
Segregation Units) at prisons in order to accommodate the coming influx
of torture victims while maintaining the lie that they will not build
anymore SHUs in California.
The orchestrated riot that I was found “guilty” of back in July 2013 is
an example of these new “phase two” programs at work. The pigs are using
prison yard politics, or better yet what they think are our politics, to
pit prisoner against prisoner and place everyone on their STG lists.
Once they have “official, confirmed STG activity” placed on every
prisoner’s file, they are able to pick and choose who they deem a
dissident and send them to the gulag units for up to 6 years at a time.
As I like to say, “it’s phase two, we’re all goin’ to the SHU.” And with
this new system in place, they don’t have to worry about wasting time
with all that “validation points” nonsense that they apparently had in
place before to separate the “gang members” from the average prisoner in
order to “keep the prison yards safe.” In fact, with the new phase two
STG program, they have streamlined the SHU placement process so although
it might appear that they are releasing those that they have held in the
gulag for decades, they are also quietly setting the stage for their
eventual return along with all of us “Associates.”
It appears CDCR has spent at least some of their stolen money on a think
tank along with prison litigators in order to conceive and implement
this new STG program as well as getting it written up in the official
Title 15 for the Operations of Cali prisons. So although it is pleasant
to read that a lot of those long-term political prisoners are being
“released” to mainline prisons, we all need to make sure we see these
events in the proper context. These pigs care for nothing but money and
power and want to be able to steal as much as they can with the least
amount of effort. If they are being forced to release those SHU
prisoners in order to appear just and in accord with international law,
you can bet they are going to do whatever they have to do to confirm
their hegemony over the prisoners.
We cannot let up the pressure until all the SHUs/ASUs are closed, prison
population levels are in check, and the illegal conviction rates that
these corrupt courts maintain in order to keep CDCR growing like the
malignant cancer that it is, is overthrown. Let’s not start celebrating
and discussing setting up a “round table” “powerhouse revolutionary
structure,” quite yet. Just as the swine are taking a fresh look and
stratagem so shall we. We must remember that the end hostilities
agreement is a great weapon against the pig dominance and they will do
everything in their power to destroy it thus, the orchestrated riots
they are staging in increasing fury.
I suggest we all take it up a notch and all start refusing to be placed
in a double cell environment. Imagine the chaos that would ensure if
CDCR was actually forced to proper prison capacity limits. As of now,
under section 3005(c ) of the Title 15 inmates that refuse to double
cell will be punished with SHU placement, (I know first hand, as of now
I am pending a SHU term for this very violation among other things), yet
the “sting” of this punishment for a non violent “crime” is worse than
it appears to be. With phase two SHU prisoners quietly, but quickly
being used to fill those SHU beds left vacant, they would physically not
have the SHU torture cells to punish all of us and set their “example of
proper behavior.” They might have the guns, but we’ve got the numbers,
which becomes glaringly obvious when all prisoners, of all demographics,
stand together on an issue. History has shown, it’s the only thing that
will without doubt, force their hand. Let’s not wait until phase two is
fully implemented. Let’s act now with a pre-emptive attack on their cute
little “rehousing plan” and start refusing cellmates! Much love and
respect to all in this struggle.
MIM(Prisons) adds: We agree with this comrade’s call for a
collective response to put an end to torture in Calfornia prisons.
However, we print h suggestion of refusing double celling only as an
idea, which others have brought up as well. We are not advocating the
use of this tactic at this time.
Comrades living outside of the First World, and specifically outside of
United Snakes borders, may be surprised at the social reality of this
prison house of nations. The methods employed on the internal
semi-colonies are in ways like what is seen in the Third World. The
concentration kamps in the United $tates are renamed control units and
(CUs) and in most cases the CU population are from oppressed nations.
Although the names of these torture centers change, the purpose is the
same. The CUs are the centers of neutralization.
Amerikkka attempts to bribe the population living under its heel, and
for those who cannot be bought off with luxury items, it tries hard to
isolate and dehumynize us lest we influence others. The state
understands that even a bribed population may be concerned with humyns
being housed in dog kennels without sunlight for decades, so they
created the “gang” boogeyman. Just like Nixon created the “war on drugs”
in order to criminalize the oppressed nations in the United $tates,
today the war on the oppressed continues and rages on, only the CU is
the contemporary “final solution.”
Understand the Enemy’s Control Units
Although most of us held in CUs think of ourselves as strong-minded
warriors and soldados, sometimes we underestimate the effects that CUs
have on us as people. Sure we are strong-minded, it is why we were
kidnapped from the mainlines and stuffed in here. But it’s important
that we understand the nature of the CU so that we can find ways to
combat its effects.
The Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov said in an
interview about a year ago, about whistle blower Edward Snowden and his
current circumstances,
“Snowden is not a trained intelligence agent. But those who are can tell
you, if you live in a controlled environment, you cease to be truly
independent-minded because everyone and everything around you is also
controlled.”(1)
If lumpen are “independent-minded” compared to most of the bought-off
populations in U.S. borders, then as the above journalist noted, a
controlled environment works to crush this independence. CUs can thus be
seen as a bigger tool than many realize. This is not saying that all
prisoners held in CUs are not or cannot be independent-minded, but it
does mean that we need to guard against this because CUs do attack our
independence.
Those of us who are held in CUs are those who threaten Amerikkka the
most; it is why we are buried alive in these tombs. Our methods of
social organization are outside the influence of the oppressor nation,
and this scares them. This fear to protect their privilege compels
Amerika to find new ways of neutralizing their enemies, and under the
guise of the war on “gangs” it can and does use torture by control units
with little notice from the majority of the U.S. population.
Bush 2’s legal mouthpiece John Yoo said abuse becomes torture if it
inflicts severe pain, and if the interrogator intends to inflict severe
pain or suffering. Yoo defined severe pain as necessarily being
associated with death, organ failure, or serious impairment of bodily
functions. And abuse isn’t considered torture unless there is “prolonged
mental harm,” with “prolonged” defined as over months or years.(2)
This gave the United $tates and its agencies unfettered reign to dive
deep into all of its torture projects and unleash them on oppressed
people in and outside of U.S. borders. Anything short of organ failure
can be used on prisoners. CUs are used by “interrogators,” because
before we are released from CUs the state wants us to debrief or do
journals. The state is also pushing profile requests, sometimes called
“compass” in order to build its intelligence on imprisoned lumpen. This
helps them repackage our oppression in the name of “corrections.”
Control units are tied to our colonization process. They are but
physical manifestations of colonization in the 21st century. So theory
that forms in response to CUs, and which attempts to give us ways to not
just cope but combat these torture centers, must keep in mind that
colonization is at the root of our current battle.
One author put it this way:
“It is my contention that any theory must take into account the fact of
colonization of Chicanos. This is not to suggest that colonialism is the
only or the ‘correct’ perspective, but rather that colonization is an
essential historical fact that cannot be ignored. Just as any theory of
black oppression must consider the legacy of slavery, so any perspective
on the Chicano must be cognizant of its colonial legacy.”(2)
Our theories revolving around the internal semi-colonies in U.$. borders
must take into account the reality of us as a colonized people. For
Aztlán, the First Nations, New Afrika and Boriqua, we are NOT
Amerikkkans. We are nations that are colonized by Amerika, and control
units are tools used in this colonization process.
What Good Can be Made of the Control Units?
Looking at it from a dialectical approach, yes control units are
horrific designs which I have seen suck the mental capacities out of
brilliant thinkers for years, but there is some promise for those held
in the kamps. Control units provide us with concrete examples of our
oppression so that we can teach people on both sides of the prison walls
exactly what national oppression entails. Another nugget that we can
glean from control units is that they concentrate the most rebellious
sectors of the prison mass. Those held in control units have an audience
and are in many ways leaders in their own right already, within their
own circles of influence. So it is from here where the seeds of
revolution will be sown to spread throughout the prison system.
The lumpen within control units, and those being released to the general
populations across the United $tates, often struggle against the state
and its oppression. This is good. But unorganized forms of struggle must
be transformed into organized forms of struggle. In order for this to
happen, conscious prisoners must exert a revolutionary influence on our
fellow prisoners.
Prisoners tortured in control units, no matter how long, are “baptized”
into the social reality of life in the United Snakes. It is a wake-up
call where lumpen of all nations are given a reality check. It is a
place where all bribes are stripped away and the mask of U.$.
imperialism is finally discarded. Although it is a painful process, the
flip side is that control unit prisoners are more open to revolution,
perhaps more so than any other sector of the U.$. prison system, and it
is from the control units that we will harvest the next generation of
revolutionaries.
by a South Carolina prisoner February 2015 permalink
The trademark Oscar is one of a group of statuettes awarded annually by
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in
motion picture production and performance. Lately there has been a lot
of buzz about the Oscar nominations, and the lack thereof when it comes
to the oppressed nations. The CBS morning news, Access Hollywood, and
other TV programs have made mention of the “whiteness” of this year’s
acting nominees for the Oscars.
It was said on the CBS morning news that the panel that has the
responsibility of deciding who to nominate for an Oscar is 94% white
male. Personally, I don’t see why there’s such a “buzz”, because
hystorically we know that this nation is controlled and dominated by
white male imperialists who do not have the oppressed nations’ best
interest at heart. After all, the “Oscar” is a gold statue of a white
man; the gold representing capitalism and the exploitation of the
people, and the white man of course representing colonialism and
imperialism at its core.
People are complaining that the top honors of the Oscars have been
whitewashed. But the Oscars have not been whitewashed – they’ve been
white all the time. The Oscars were not created to honor or acknowledge
the artistic endeavors of the oppressed nations. People in the hoods,
ghettos, and barrios know this, and thus, don’t give a damn about the
Oscars.
In Webster’s unabridged dictionary, the definition for Academy Award is:
“an annual award given to a performer, director, technician, etc., of
the motion picture industry for superior achievement in a specific
category: judged by the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences and symbolized by the presentation of an Oscar.”
The key phrase in the above definition is “superior achievement.”
Traditionally and hystorically in this genocidal nation that we call
Amerikkka, the lumpen and oppressed nations have never been given credit
or even acknowledged as having any “superior achievement.” And the fact
that the imperialists hold themselves to be “superior” is at the root of
white supremacy in this country.
Therefore, how could it be a surprise that none of the 20 acting
nominees for the 2015 Oscar nominations were people from the oppressed
nations? I suppose what is even more important, is why should it matter?
We (oppressed nations) should not look for acceptance or confirmation
from the oppressor nations to validate our achievements and success.
As long as Amerikkka is dominated by an imperialistic economic system,
and the injustice, racism, and oppression that come with it, she will
never be color-blind. We know and understand that the Oscars do not
reflect the true demographic of Amerikkka. Amerikkka is in a state of
constant browning, and in a just society, this would be reflected in
nominations of any kind.
However, it is clear that we do not live in a just society and we must
view this lack of diversity in the nominations accordingly. In a
socialist or communist society, the disparities we see today would not
exist, and one reason would be because there would be no golden white
man representing superior achievement. We also know and understand that
the entire Hollywood apparatus is owned and controlled by those who hold
capitalist values close to heart. We look forward to the day when people
are recognized for their achievements in service of the people, and not
the capitalists.
The imperialists use media outlets to promote their agenda, not ours.
Television (tell-lie-vision) and movies are two of the most effective
tools that the imperialists use to indoctrinate, brainwash and control
us. Therefore, when they don’t nominate oppressed nation people for
their token awards, that simply means that oppressed nation people are
not embarking upon the kind of artistic endeavors that their oppressors
want them to – and that is a good thing. To hell with the powers that
be! Damn them and Oscar!
As for me, I say we’ve been doing too much damn acting anyway – it’s
time to start doing some real revolutionary work. Power to the people
who stand up, act out, and act up in the interest of freedom, justice,
and equality.
MIM(Prisons) adds: This writer is correct that the Amerikan
entertainment industry only represents the imperialist segment of
society. Hollywood’s main ambition is to create culture that perpetuates
imperialist values, and makes all the woes that are an inherent part of
this economic system palletable to as many people as possible.
The exclusion of oppressed nation culture from the Academy Awards is
only one reason why reforms to the imperialist system is not where we
should focus our creative energies. Instead of grooming revolutionaries
to seek acceptance in bourgeois cultural institutions, we need to be
creating alternative culture, controlled by revolutionaries.
This is one reason why we are pushing a revolutionary art project
through which prisoner artists can create art that serves the people’s
struggles and share it with others. Besides creating art for the pages
of Under Lock & Key and our other publications, we are
distributing greeting cards, bookmarks, mini posters, and coloring book
pages that spread the incredible art of the Strugglen Artists
Association contributors. If you want to contribute original artwork to
this project, or help distribute the materials to others, get in touch!
As a prisoner I see this slogan almost every day while being housed in
prison. It’s the slogan stamped onto the inner sole of every pair of PIA
shoes. Shoes made ultra-cheap due to the quality control that doesn’t
even exist. This is yet another way the state is saving a buck on our
comfort. When I first came to join the PIA, prison issue were brown hard
bottom boot, which they gave every convict coming out of reception.
Those boots not only provided PIA workers with a job but also others
prisoners with one as shoe shiners.
You might be thinking wow, what a low position. But if so, that’s only
because you weren’t here. The shoe shine, if he mastered the art, got
plenty of business and made however much he was willing to commit on
working for. His customers were not only convicts, they also were
Correction Officers usually of high rank and they paid well. Now PIA, by
cutting cost and operating with the use of low grade, no quality
materials, have wiped out several in-prison work assignments and legal
hustles or trade exchange. Those boots were made out of leather and so
there were leather hobby shops where prisoners were taught how to make
belts, wallets, medallions, use special machines and recycle the
unusable scraps from the boot line. Creating income, gifts for family,
and educating prisoners on how to use their resources.
Now we have low-quality, low-top generic canvas shoes that they expect
to fall apart within 90 days when you can get a new pair creating only
more pollution and waste. No one benefits from these PIA show factories
except those who work there, and I’d be willing to bet someone is lining
their pocket with tax-payer money through building these contracts with
under-the-table industries who supply such low grade materials. Another
bad effect is due to the fact positions at these factories are low in
volume. It establishes a classism among convicts, with PIA and private
contractors being the highest source of income legally in the joint.
Their workers became the ruling class as far as prisoners economics are
concerned, with them averaging $100 a month compared to the top culinary
assignment at $37 monthly, deducting 55% if they owe restitution before
they even receive it.
Ask yourselves what is 45% of 9 cents an hour or 45% of 23 cents an
hour? Then there’s the poor non-employed convict who is the on the
bottom when it comes to privileges by grand design of whom when it’s
time to unite and stand against any form of oppression are usually
always down, with nothing to lose. On the other hand the slave class is
divided amongst prisoners, the majority of this class talk about doing
something to make a change in conditions, pay, treatment, but when it’s
time to peacefully demonstrate by striking at work they simply won’t go
that far. A smaller number out of the slave class will, knowing this is
the only process towards change that works. The majority of the slave
class are youngsters who enjoy the movement their job provides and don’t
want to rock the boat. Now the PIA working prisoners by no means will
write in solidarity with the convicts in any class including their very
own but will both encourage a strike for equal pay and treatment in the
hopes of moving up, and others will report it directly to their masters
the Correctional Authorities in the hopes of building a stronger rapport
and gaining favor.
MIM(Prisons) responds:This comrade gives us a glimpse at some of
the contradictions facing prison organizers at the PIA prisons in
California. While there are some parallels between the prison system and
slavery, we have
critiqued
the use of the term “slavery” to refer to prisoners. This comrade’s
description talks about how the prisoners are pawns in a system that is
becoming ecologically wasteful, and likely benefitting bureacrats. The
wages, while minimal, also play a role for the state in helping control
and divide the population via petty economic interests. Battles for
higher wages in U.$. prisons can be progressive in putting pressure on
the economic viability of oppression. But generally, prison unions that
represent the interests of all prisoners must focus on more pressing and
common problems.
I’m presently in the hole (Administrative Segregation) for fighting for
my rights. My rights were violated when a CO pig cut my pay from $0.18
an hour to $0.13 an hour unjustly with no explanation. So I appealed
this issue via the 602 inmate appeal and I also put a citizen’s
complaint 832.5 on this pig. Before I went to the 602 hearing, another
pig, Anguianos’ partner, Martinez, tried to bribe me with my pay to sign
off on the 602. I refused and documented these encounters and put in a
602 on Martinez for reprisal/retribution just to have this documented in
case something happened and sure enough after I refused to sign off on
this the Sgt. pig threw his pen on the table and asked me why I would
not sign off. He said, “you got what you want, your pay is back at
$0.18.” I told him my rights were violated and I want it to be known I
want my voice heard!
After this, about a month later I was being harassed by two pigs due to
this issue, DeFranco and Vasquez. Long story short, they threw me on the
fence to put me down. Nice and calm I let them put me down without
incident, which made them more mad! The next thing I knew the pig
DeFranco put me in cuffs. I asked calmly why I was being put in cuffs.
He smiled in my face and told me I would find out.
They put me in a cage and shipped me down. Come to find out the dirty
pig planted a weapon on me resulting with me being put in the hole
pending DA referal and a SHU term. I put an 832.5 on both these pigs as
well for retaliation and I’m pushing for criminal charges to be brought
up on said pigs. I’m going to file a lawsuit on all three pigs once I’m
done going through the pigs’ appeal process, which we all know the
outocme of that! I make sure to make a paper trail to back up anything I
do so I have proof.
MIM(Prisons) adds: We commend this comrade’s tenacity for
fighting for justice. We do remind everyone that filing paperwork is
just one tactic, as the comrade says, we all know the outcome of that.
Without organizing prisoners as a group, even individual legal victories
do not lead to building any real change.
Yo, un miembro honorable de la Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation
(Todopoderosa Nación Reyes y Reinas Latinos - ALKQN) mando mi
imperecedero amor, fuerza y sacrificio. El 14 de Diciembre la unidad 2
de la Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility (CCRFC) explotó en
una guerra entre la nación Folk y People. La mayoría de nosotros
estábamos dormidos. Siendo quien soy y mi obligación a mi gente, yo hice
lo que tuve que hacer. El fin resultó con 2 de nosotros mandados al
centro de emergencia. Recibí 8 puntadas y 4 grapas en 2 partes de mi
cabeza.
Unos cuantos días antes de este incidente unos cuantos estábamos
discutiendo materia que les estaba leyendo de ULK 41. Muchos de
nosotros hemos estado presos juntos en tres de las prisiones más
violentas de Mississippi (Missippi State Prison Unidad 32, East
Mississippi Correctional Facility, y Wilkinson County Correctional
Facility). Todos en estado de “security threat group” (“grupo de amenaza
a la seguridad” - STG) y alto riesgo. Fue la American Civil Liberies
Union (Unión Americana de Derechos Humanos - ACLU), activistas de
prisiones, la sabiduría, conocimiento y ánimo de MIM(Prisiones) quienes
ayudaron a cerrar la unidad 32 y conseguir que me trasladan a una
prisión de mínima seguridad como CCRFC. También tomó el buen
comportamiento de mi parte.
Después de la pelea cuando me estaban trasladando del hospital a la
prisión, el teniente y el jefe me preguntaron en cual unidad me sentiría
más seguro. Les dije que quería regresar a dónde ya estaba. Me llamaron
loco y no me querían meter en donde estaba anteriormente. Me preguntaron
que por qué yo quería regresar, les dije que es allí dónde yo vivo,
nosotros nos sabemos cuidar. Este es un asunto entre los Folks y los
Peoples no los puercos.
Lo que me vino a la mente fue un articulo de la primera corona de la
Black Order Revolutionary Organization (Organización Revolucionaria de
la Orden Negra - BORO) titulada “¡No Saquen, Organícense!” en ULK
41. Eso es lo que hicimos: solucionamos solucionar nuestros
problemas e hicimos lo necesario para mantener a los puercos fuera de
nuestros asuntos. Ellos se interesan más en quién tiene que y quién hace
qué. El día después de la pelea, las escuadras de canallas nos
registraron nuestras viviendas buscando contrabando. Claro que el
guardián salió en las noticias y dijo que fue un motín que empezó con un
individuo abusador que mandaron a correr de la zona. Todos sabíamos que
la American Corretional Association (Asociación Americana de
Correcciones - ACA) justo paso por aquí y no quería lucir mal por eso
fue que mintió.
Estoy de acuerdo con el punto que hizo BORO: cambio no pasara de un día
a otro. Tomara tiempo y vamos a cometer errores. Si podemos seguir
juntándonos con el entendimiento que estamos en la misma lucha, vamos a
poder resolver nuestros asuntos pacíficamente si es posible.
Ya ha pasado más de una semana desde la pelea y estoy honorado en decir
que todos vivimos en paz y unidad. Nadie habla de ese día en luz
negativa. Nuestras charlas se tratan de cómo podemos trabajar juntos
para vencer cualquier obstáculo en nuestra lucha de mantenernos libre de
opresión. Nos paramos en solidaridad y unidad. Rezo que todos en otras
prisiones en todo el mundo puedan armar una frente unido y que todos
tengan paz tras las rejas. Amor de Rey ayer, hoy mañana y siempre.
MIM(Prisiones) agrega: Este es un impresionante ejemplo de lo que
United Front for Peace in Prisons (Frente Unida Para Paz en las
Prisiones - UFPP) escribió en su declaración fundadora, “Nosotros ya
estamos ‘unídos’ – en nuestro sufrimiento y nuestro represión diaria.”
Este cambio rápido de hostilidad por unidad refleja el conocimiento
entre los presos de CCRFC.
No cabe duda que la presencia de organizaciones amontonadas (LOs)
contribuyeron a las condiciones para hacer posible tomar este paso
adelante para que la unidad fuera una realidad. Este ejemplo es porque
nosotros defendemos los aspectos progresivos que se encuentran en la
mayoría de las organizaciones amontonadas (LOs). Camaradas adentro de
las LOs que quieren desarrollar el Frente Unido para Paz en las
Prisiones deberían trabajar con nosotros para desarrollar los aspectos
progresivos de sus organizaciones a protocolos prácticos para armar el
frente unido.
La decisión de no enjuiciar al cerdo en Ferguson, Missouri por el
asesinato de Mike Brown ha desencadenado a la gente, y con mucha razón.
Este es un disco rayado de este sistema de injusticia y su intención
real. Cuando desperté y perdí las noticias esa primer mañana y vi la
reacción de las cortes de no presentarle cargos al policía asesino, yo
estuve contento de que la gente estaba expresando su descontento contra
este sistema. Digo este sistema porque es realmente este el que apoya la
capacidad del Estado de seguir masacrando brutalmente a la gente.
Entonces vi a ese mismo policía asesino en una entrevista y él sin
rodeos dijo que él no sentía remordimientos. Él estaba satisfecho de
dispararle a un hombre joven en la cara y la cabeza quien estaba
simplemente resistiendose a ser asesinado, oponiendose a su asesino. Él
era la cara de America y él ofreció un retrato real acerca de todo lo
que America es. El barrio en el que Mike Brown fue asesinado era como
los barrios de donde son los prisioneros, este es de donde es la mayoría
de la gente pobre en los Estados Unidos. Esto es lo que experimentamos
cuando interactuamos con el Estado.
No hay excusa para lo que esta ocurriendole a la gente pobre en las
calles. Esta es una descarga interminable de desesperación desencadenada
entre la gente oprimida. Y sí, todavía habemos muchos prisioneros
quienes somos inconscientes a lo que esta sucediendo, aunque esto este
ocurriendo en sus calles. Esto es como gente que tiene vendas en los
ojos y no ve que está pasando alrededor de ellos, no una o dos veces
sino diariamente a través de los Estados Unidos. Los prisioneros
necesitan ponerse las pilas y darse cuenta que lo que ocurre afuera en
las calles esta relacionado con ellos porque estas son sus gentes
quienes están siendo masacradas brutalmente, este es un lado de la
guerra que necesita ser volteada. La sublevación en Ferguson es una
respuesta a esto y esta es una buena respuesta pero la gente necesita
responder en muchas diferentes maneras para manifestar que estos
policías asesinos tienen que parar de estar asesinando a la gente.
MIM(Prisons) agrega: nos unimos a la llamada de este camarada para más
sublevaciones como en Ferguson. La gente tiene el derecho a estar
indignada con el sistema de opresión nacional dentro de los Estados
Unidos. y tenemos que llamarle a este sistema claramente por lo que es;
no solo hay una multitud genérica de gente pobre en este país, los
pobres son desproporcionadamente concentrados en las naciones oprimidas.
Estos grupos, Nuevos Africanos, Chican@s, Primeras Naciones, junto con
minorías nacionales como Mexicanos, viven en un país donde sus barrios
son ocupados por la fuerza de la policía imperialista y donde ellos
pueden encarar la muerte por el solo crimen de andar por la calle.
Relacionando los puntos para prisioneros incluye reconocer que este es
el mismo sistema de injusticia criminal que mete en la cárcel a naciones
oprimidas, el que esta matando a la gente en las calles. Los policías,
las cortes, y todas las prisiones son parte de este mismo control social
sistemático. Y así, protestando los abusos contra prisioneros detrás de
las rejas son parte de la gran lucha contra el imperialismo en las
calles. Tenemos que hacer estas uniones y mantener en mente los más
amplios objetivos mientras peleamos contra la opresión diaria detrás de
las rejas.
After the recent attack on Charlie Hebdo, the French
satiric weekly magazine, there has been a lot of focus on the Muslim
population in France. Islam is a religion and not a nationality, but
because Muslims in France come predominantly from North Africa and the
Middle East, anti-Muslim sentiments feed into xenophobia and attacks on
national minorities. There are a lot of parallels between the situation
for Muslims in France and the oppressed nations (such as New Afrikan,
Chican@ and First Nations) within U.$. borders. And recently these
contradictions have been exposed in French prisons as well.
French law prohibits asking people their religion and so no official
statistics are collected on the size of the Muslim population. Based on
a variety of studies it is estimated that about 10% (5 million) of the
the people living in France are Muslim. The 3 million foreign-born
Muslims in France mostly come from the former North African French
colonies of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.(1) Muslims in France face
significant economic hardship and generally do not enjoy the spoils of
imperialist plunder and exploitation shared with French citizens.
Unemployment among youth (15-29 years old) in France in 2002 was at 15%
for French citizens and 46% for migrants from North Africa, sub-Saharan
Africa and Turkey. Even for immigrants with a college degree the rate of
unemployment was twice that of natives with a college degree.(2) Similar
disparities are seen in educational achievement by Muslims compared with
non-Muslims. And a large portion of the recent immigrant population and
their descendants are found in housing projects concentrated in and
around France’s large cities.
As we find in Amerikan prisons, the French imprisoned population is
disproportionately from the oppressed nations. Although Muslims make up
less than 10% of France’s population, they constitute about half of
France’s 68,000 prisoners. (Overall France has a much smaller prison
population than in the United States, with less than 1 per 1,000
residents locked up compared with the Amerikan imprisonment rate of 7
per 1,000.)
One of the Kouachi brothers involved in the Charlie Hebdo
attack previously spent 20 months in prison just outside of Paris. Media
reports are claiming that he was locked up for petty crimes and turned
to radical Islam based on his education and exposure behind bars, and
that it was there he met another Muslim convert in prison who helped
with the Paris attacks. Detailed background on this man suggests he
became involved with Islamic leaders on the streets, but did radicalize
in prison. It’s hard to say how much of this prison radicalization story
is a ruse to justify targeting Muslim leaders behind bars.(3)
The Kouachi brothers, French citizens of Algerian parents, grew up in
housing projects in Paris. They were poor and surrounded by others like
themselves: national minorities in a country that is moving increasingly
towards xenophobia. These national minorities find themselves isolated
and disproportionately represented in the First World lumpen class.
A survey conducted in 2014 in France found that 66% of the French
believe there are too many foreigners in France. 75% of the factory
workers, who are part of that labor aristocracy which enjoys elevated
non-exploitation wages and benefits, oppose France embracing
globalization. The mass base for fascism is the labor aristocracy in
imperialist countries,(4) and these same people are the base for the
growth in support for the far-right National Front party which 34% of
French people polled see as a credible political alternative.(5)
Kouachi’s history in prison is being used to underscore France’s concern
about the radicalization of prisoners. Prisoners enter the system and
learn about Islam from fellow captives. To address this “problem” French
authorities are now experimenting with segregating those considered
“Muslim radicals” from general population. This sounds a lot like
long-term isolation or control units which are used in Amerikan prisons,
torturing politically active prisoners. While details are sparse about
the experimental units, prisoners subjected to these conditions are
protesting the treatment. We can expect that this isolation will be used
to target anyone who speaks out against the French government or other
imperialist powers.
At the same time France does not appear to be slowing down the
imprisonment of Muslims. For instance, in mid-January a 31-year-old
Tunisian man was sentenced to 10 months behind bars after a verbal
conflict with police in which he said that an officer shot in the recent
attacks “deserved it.”(6)
The French government is facing the contradictions of a criminal
injustice system that we see in all imperialist countries. Using prisons
for social control means locking up oppressed groups, those who are most
likely to disagree with and disrupt the capitalist system. But targeting
oppressed groups for imprisonment creates an opportunity for prisoners
to quickly become educated and radicalized against the system that put
them behind bars. This is the system itself creating the conditions of
its own demise.
While prisoners alone will not bring down imperialism, the lumpen in
First World countries are potential allies of the international
proletariat. And national polarization and xenophobia will feed the
development and political consciousness of this lumpen class.
Justice? What justice? There is no such thing as justice. Visit the
jails and here’s what you’ll see. “Just us” occupying these modern day
concentration camps.
Justice? What justice? Inside the courtroom you think you’ll find
justice? Absolutely not. You’ll find just-ice. What do we associate ice
with? Cold. Inside the the courtroom empathy is nonexistent, sympathy
nonexistent, feelings nonexistent, emotions nonexistent for the jury,
the judge & the district attorney.
I can’t find no justice in the courtroom. I’m innocent but they don’t
believe me. They want me to pay fines court costs and restitution for
something I didn’t do. So I reach into my pockets pull out the lint and
tell them my pockets contain “just this.”
Where was justice for Malcolm X, Tupac Shakur, Christopher (Biggie
Smalls) Wallace, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, the many Black Panthers
and Black Liberation Army members who were hunted & viciously
murdered with malice by the police & FBI just for association with
those organizations? Hmm what happened to the members of the most
vicious organization “Ku Klux Klan”? Nothing!