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.
I recently thumbed through a hand-me-down Under Lock & Key.
It was the September/October 2018 issue, No. 64, and had an overwhelming
inspiration to write pledging my allegiance to your cause, and to make
comment on some of the articles I read concerning offenses against
women/girls.
Mostly targeted to those of which appeared to be attempting to justify
their actions with the phrase “consensual” sex with under-aged girls. I
just hope my thoughts and writings will be as readily accepted as those
of others written!
Crimes against women are the most cowardly atrocious acts one can do.
Especially when it involves violent forcible rapes, on down to taking
advantage of under-aged girls, and I am ashamed and humiliated to be a
man during instances as these!
I don’t write from a dark hateful place neither in a negative energy,
but must say, if you are going to stand for a cause, especially a cause
such as the revolutionary one, stand tall and with integrity.
I consider myself a revolutionist, suffering through struggles just to
help change the oppressive abuse of authority being displayed by prison
officials.
Because the current government structure, as you all would say the
injustice system, is designed to make prisoners worse, most likely to
return, for their benefit. It appears their attempt is not to
rehabilitate but destroy, creating spitefulness and anger especially
when they get away with their injustices.
But falling victim to this cycle only lessens us as human beings, if we
get caught up in the wheel of things we are not living up to what we
claim to be standing up for, which is change.
We are ambassadors for change and must conduct ourselves accordingly. We
must stand out from the crowd, not be afraid of individuality. We must
carry our heads high and keep our shoulders squared ready to support the
weight of others, and to lend a shoulder to cry on if need be, with no
ghosts lingering there in the closet.
We must be an energy more spectacular than the universe, an energy that
gravitates others to us, a life energy that creates, cultivates and
protects those we have around us. Building blocks for them to stand
upon, for them who wish to embrace and enjoy change, something new. All
of what we’re allegedly standing for.
If not we are just a fake and a fraud and a continued part of an ongoing
dilemma. Then we are no different than an immoral cult with a fancy
name.
Young ladies (and young girls) should not be preyed upon by older guys,
(especially not us). Guys, even if she were to show interest, and
because you’re a type of role model with a higher standard of morality.
As a revolutionist we are obligated to change the exploitation of girls
and women alike. Instead, we should help her identify her potential,
help channel her energy into something more spectacular, building her up
to becoming a powerful leader of her own kind who could lead the way for
others who either of us probably could not reach and relate to.
I am sadly disgusted, if not outright disturbed, when a guy, especially
an alleged revolutionist claims consensual sex with a young girl. Are
you truly incapable of handling a woman who knows how to handle a man?
I will not forget to mention that more despicable crimes against women
like forcible rape with drugs, drink or intimidation. We should be
advocating for these women, just as well. We cannot continue to accept
these types of cowardliness and we as men are just as cowardly if we
refuse to intervene. If you see a woman in need of help, help her. Don’t
turn a blind eye to her black eyes, in the hallway or at the store, step
in.
If not where’s the revolution?? It isn’t simply a donation one goes
through with while you’re incarcerated? Or is it?
So then where does it start? With us here and now while in prison with
the wonderful help from those there on the outside who understand and
sympathize with our struggle of oppression, and who also want to unify
and make changes.
Us as prisoners must strive to finally become educated women and men. We
must come to realize the government down to the prison authorities have
things just the way they want them, conquered and divided, defeated and
hopeless (don’t think) (don’t know) and surely never united, they
snicker and laugh.
We have slumbered for too long. We must allow the awakening of our minds
which is an extremely powerful entity on its own, coupled with your
energy and drive we can really make a difference. We are the biggest
army (and can be the most fearless army) any government could go up
against. They wouldn’t know what to do if we shook the illusions from
our eyes.
We as prisoners must lay down the knives and pick up the pens and books,
learn the law and your rights.
It starts here and now with us and carries on afterward onto the
streets. It’s war time, our slogan all lives matter equally, not just
the corrupt in high places, our pasts are gone, future is ahead.
MIM(Prisons) responds: Glad you found ULK so agreeable and
took the time to write us. We agree that being a shining example is an
important aspect of leadership. In thinking about recruiting and
retaining recruits, consistent behavior by our leaders that is
upstanding in the eyes of the masses is something that contributes to
this greatly. While we prefer people learn to follow correct ideas
rather than individuals and great leaders, we can benefit by always
trying to be and develop more great leaders. The fruits of this practice
can come to bear years down the line when you least expect it.
Being ashamed of being part of an oppressor group (men) is a righteous
response, and one that leads many of us to commit class, nation or
gender suicide; meaning to take up actions and politics that go against
the interests of the oppressor groups that we belong to. In the
imperialist countries we all must struggle in this way to be in
solidarity with the world’s majority.
We have addressed the question of dating/romantic relationships, how
they should be approached by revolutionaries, and specifically the
question of older men dating younger wimmin. In doing so we strongly
discourage dating recruits, especially in situations where things are
more likely to be construed as manipulative, such as dating younger
wimmin. (1) As for dating in general, again we echo your advice of being
shining examples that the masses will respect and trust.
We like your message of helping empower young wimmin with your
influence. This is in contrast to a patriarchal/protective approach,
that emotions around these issues can lead to. To say that crimes
against wimmin are the most atrocious tends to fall into this
subjective/patriarchal thinking. We do not believe that crimes against
wimmin are inherently worse, but that our society treats them very
differently because we live in a patriarchal society. A California
prisoner addresses the impact of approaches to gender oppression that is
purely emotional on the imprisonment of New Afrikan men in
“Due
Process in the Era of #MeToo.”(2)
While we frequently discuss gender oppression in the pages of Under
Lock & Key, most readers will notice a primary focus on national
oppression. This is intentional, as we see the resolution of the
national contradiction as the most successful path to ending all
oppression at this stage. But for any of our readers who like our focus
on nationalism, and have not taken the time to read
MIM
Theory 2/3: Gender and Revolutionary Feminism, i recommend you
take a look. It is in MT2/3 that MIM really dissected the
difference between class, nation and gender and justified its focus on
nation. Don’t just focus on nation because it’s more important to you
subjectively, understand why it is the top priority by reading MT
2/3.
All USW comrades should be working their way to the level 2 introductory
study program offered by MIM(Prisons). We start level 1 studying the
basics of scientific thinking. In level 2, we move on to study
Fundamental
Political Line of the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of
Prisons, which gives a good overview of the 3 strands of
oppression: class, nation and gender, and how they interact. This issue
of Under Lock & Key is intended to supplement that
theoretical material with some application to prison organizing and
contemporary current events. (Let us know if you want to sign up for the
study group.)
Academic Individualism vs. Revolutionary Science
Bourgeois individualism looks at race, class and gender as identities,
which are seen as natural categories that exist within each individual.
While proponents of identity politics generally recognize these concepts
have evolved over time, they generally do not explain how or why.
Dialectical materialists understand nation, class and gender as
dualities that evolved as humyn society developed. Under capitalism, the
class structure is defined by bourgeoisie exploiting proletarians. Class
looked different under feudalism or primitive communist societies. One
of the things Marx spent a lot of time doing is explaining how and why
class evolved the way it did. Engels also gave us an analysis of the
evolution of gender in The Origin of the Family, Private Property,
and the State.
One self-described “Marxist-Feminist critique of Intersectionality
Theory” points out that “theories of an ‘interlocking matrix of
oppressions,’ simply create a list of naturalized identities, abstracted
from their material and historical context.”(1) They do not provide a
framework for understanding how to overthrow the systems that are
imposing oppression on people, because they do not explain their causes.
This “Marxist” critic, however, falls into the class reductionist camp
that believes all oppression is rooted in class.
The MIM line is not class reductionist, rather we reduce oppression to
three main strands: nation, gender and class. This is still too limited
for the identity politics crowd. But when we dive into other types of
oppression that might be separate from nation, class and gender, we find
that they always come back to one of those categories. And this clarity
on the main strands of oppression allows us to develop a path to
success, by building on the historical experience of others who have
paved the way for our model.
While MIM is often associated with the class analysis of the First World
labor aristocracy, this was nothing really new. What MIM did that still
sets it apart from others, that we know of, is develop the first
revolutionary theory on sexual privilege. The class-reductionism of the
writer cited above is demonstrated in eir statement, “to be a ‘woman’
means to produce and reproduce a set of social relations through our
labor, or self-activity.”(2) MIM said that is class, but there is still
something separate called gender. While class is how humyns
relate in the production process, gender is how humyns relate in
non-productive/leisure time. And while biological reproductive ability
has historically shaped the divide between oppressor and oppressed in
the realm of gender, we put the material basis today in health
status.(3) This understanding is what allows us to see that things like
age, disability, sexual preference and trans/cis gender status all fall
in the gender strand of oppression.
Using “Feminism” to Bomb Nations
Militarism and imperialist invasion are antithetical to feminism. Yet
the imperialists successfully use propaganda that they wrap in
pseudo-feminism to promote the invasion of Third World countries again
and again. Sorting out the strands of oppression is key to consistent
anti-imperialism.
In MT 2/3, MIM condemned the pseudo-feminists by saying that
“supporting women who go to the courts with rape charges is white
supremacy.”(4) A recent Human Rights Watch report discussing alleged
widespread rape in the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) is
getting lots of traction in the Amerikkkan/Briti$h press.(5) This
campaign to demonize the DPRK is just like the campaign to imprison New
Afrikans, with potentially nuclear consequences. We have two leading
imperialist nations who committed genocide against an oppressed nation
touting information that is effectively pro-war propaganda for another
invasion and mass slaughter of that oppressed nation.
If it is true that rape is as widespread in the DPRK as in the United
$tates and Great Britain, then we also must ask what the situation of
wimmin would have been in the DPRK today if it were not for the
imperialist war and blockade on that country. In the 1950s, Korea was on
a very similar path as China. Socialism in China did more for wimmin’s
liberation than bourgeois feminists ever have. They increased wimmin’s
participation in government, surpassing the United $tates, rapidly
improved infant mortality rates, with Shanghai surpassing the rate of
New York, and eliminated the use of wimmin’s bodies in advertising and
pornography.(6)
An activist who is focused solely on ending rape will not see this. Of
course, a healthy dose of white nationalism helps one ignore the mass
slaughter of men, wimmin and children in the name of wimmin’s
liberation. So the strands do interact.
Distracted Senate Hearings
Recently, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh went through a hearing
before his appointment to assess accusations of sexual assault from his
past. This was a spectacle, with the sexual content making it
tantalizing to the public, rather than political content. Yes, the
debate is about a lifetime appointment to a very high-powered position,
that will affect the path of U.$. law. But there was no question of U.$.
law favoring an end to war, oppression or the exploitation of the
world’s majority. Those who rallied against Kavanaugh were mostly caught
up in Democratic Party politics, not actual feminism.
A quarter century ago, MIM was also disgusted by the hearings for
Clarence Thomas to be appointed a Supreme Court Justice, that were
dominated by questions about his sexual harassment of Anita Hill. Yet,
this was an event that became quite divisive within MIM and eventually
led to a consolidation of our movement’s materialist gender line.(7) It
was the intersection of nation with this display of gender oppression
that made that case different from the Kavanaugh one, because Thomas and
Hill are both New Afrikan. The minority line in this struggle was deemed
the “pro-paternialism position.”
The minority position was that MIM should stand with Anita Hill
because she was the victim/oppressed. The line that won out was that
Anita Hill was a petty-bourgeois cis-female in the First World, and was
not helpless or at risk of starvation if she did not work for Clarence
Thomas. While all MIM members would quickly jump on revisionists and
pork-chop nationalists, paternalism led those holding the minority
position to accept pseudo-feminism as something communists should stand
by, because they pitied the female who faced situations like this.
Similarly today, with the Kavanaugh appointment, we should not let
our subjective feelings about his treatment of wimmin confuse us into
thinking those rallying against him represent feminism overall.
Bourgeois theories and identity politics
The paternalistic line brings us back to identity politics. A politic
that says right and wrong can be determined by one’s gender, “race” or
other identity. The paternalist line will say things like only wimmin
can be raped or New Afrikans can’t “racially” oppress other people. In
its extreme forms it justifies any action of members of the oppressed
group.
Another form of identity politics is overdeterminism. The
overdeterministic
position is defined in our glossary as, “The idea that social
processes are all connected and that all of the aspects of society cause
each other, with none as the most important.”(8) The overdeterminist
will say “all oppressions are important so just work on your own. A
parallel in anti-racism is that white people should get in touch with
themselves first and work on their own racism.”(9) Again this is all
working from the framework of bourgeois individualism, which disempowers
people from transforming the system.
There is a paralyzing effect of the bourgeois theories that try to
persynalize struggles, and frame them in the question of “what’s in it
for me?” Communists have little concern for self when it comes to
political questions. To be a communist is to give oneself to the people,
and to struggle for that which will bring about a better future for all
people the fastest. While humyn knowledge can never be purely objective,
it is by applying
the
scientific method that we can be most objective and reach our goals
the quickest.(10)
Today’s principal contradiction, here in the United $tates, is the
national contradiction – meaning that between oppressed nations and
oppressor nations. MIM(Prisons) provides some very provocative questions
as to secondary contractions, their influence on or by and in
conjunction to the current principal contradiction. Class, gender and
nation are all interrelated.(1) Many times, while organizing our efforts
and contemplating potential solutions to the principal contradiction, we
overlook the secondary and tertiary ones. Such narrow-mindedness
oftentimes leads to difficulties, hampering efforts toward resolution.
Other times it makes resolving the principal, effectively, impossible.
Analogous to penal institutions making it possible to punish a citizenry
but impossible to better it due to the irreconcilable contraction
between retributive punishment and rehabilitation. This is why reforms
consistently fail and prisons persist as a social cancer.
In regards to intersecting strands of oppression, prisons are
illustrative of more than pitfalls of narrow-mindedness (i.e. reform of
one aspect while leaving the rest intact). Prisons also provide numerous
examples of oppression combinations. Interactions of nation and gender
oppression are some of the most evident. Penal institutions are
inherently nationally oppressive, because they are social control
mechanisms allowing capitalism to address its excluded masses. Since the
United $tates is patriarchal in practice, prisons over-exaggerate this
masculine outlook, creating an ultra-aggressive, chauvinistic
subculture.
Intersection occurs oft times when a female staff member is present.
Other than the few brave people, most wimmin in prison are regarded as
“damsels in distress.” Generally speaking (at least in Colorado prisons)
a male will accompany a female; though, most males make no effort to do
this for other men. Capitalism’s undercurrent to such “chivalrous
actions” is rooted in wimmin being the weaker, more helpless and
vulnerable gender. In prison, machismo culture such is the chauvinist’s
belief. While many wimmin aid in their inequality by accepting,
encouraging, or simply not protesting such “chivalry,” brave,
independent wimmin experience a form of ostracism – they are derided, an
effort to enjoin their conformity. At the same time men are being
chivalrous, they sexually objectify females, further demeaning them,
reinforcing their second-class status under machismo specifically and,
capitalistic patriarchy generally.
Furthermore, there is also the ever-present nation bias
(e.g. hyper-sexualizing Latina females, white females should only
fraternize with whites). As prisons are “snapshots” of general society,
the contradictions – their intersecting and interacting – hold useful
material for revolutionary-minded persyns.
Intersection of different oppression strands (as shown above)
demonstrates that the resolution of one does not automatically mean
resolution of others. For instance, should machismo in prison dissolve,
the national oppression will still remain and vice versa. Prisons are an
encapsulation of society, meaning, their abolishment will not
necessarily translate to class, nation, gender contradiction resolutions
throughout society. Although, it is a very good, versatile place to
start. Penal institutions are more of an observation laboratory where
the effects and affects of contradiction co-mingling manifest. A place
to watch, document, analyze, formulate and possibly initiate theory and
practice. There is no better way to comprehend oppression than to
witness it in action. Nor is there any better way of combating the many
oppressions than from the front lines.
ULK 61 was very informative to me. I’m 47 years old, and I have
what you call street cred. I’ve been a drug dealer all my life because I
didn’t see it as a crime, I saw it as an illegal business. I’m currently
serving a ten-to-twenty sentence, and all my charges are for drugs
except for one.
In 2001, I worked in roofing. When I got to the job site there were no
shingles so the boss sent us home early with half a day pay. When I came
home, as I started up the stairs, I heard a commotion in my front room
where me and my wife sleep. As I opened the door I saw my wife (or
ex-wife) naked and a man jumping out the window. I lost my mind, started
calling her all type of names and beat on her pretty badly. The
neighbors called the cops. When I was given my charges it was rape,
burglary, kidnapping, and breaking and entering. What should have been a
crime of passion turned into something else. They did a rape kit and it
was negative. I had keys to the house, and bills in my name.
I had a public defender because she had all my money. So me being a poor
Latino, afraid of the racist justice system, I took a deal of 2 years
for sexual battery plus ten years registering as a sex offender. I was
evaluated by a professional and was determined that I didn’t have a sex
problem. Therefore I did not have to take the sex program that a sex
offender must take. I’ve been to prison 4 times after that for
possession with intent to deliver and all four times I was evaluated to
see if I needed the sex program and every time it’s been determined that
I do NOT have a sex problem. My problems are with drugs. So my question
is, if I do not have a sex problem, why is the state of Pennsylvania
still registering me as a sex offender and wants to do it for life?
I want to change my life around but it’s a heavy load to have as an
older man. If anyone knows how I can get relief, please help me if you
can.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer underscores our point that
labels from the criminal injustice system shouldn’t be trusted. Ey also
raises an interesting question related to the topic of crimes against
the people. Ey writes “I’ve been a drug dealer all my life because I
didn’t see it as a crime, I saw it as an illegal business.” Drug dealing
is harmful to those who do and buy drugs, and their families and
community, and so we put it in the category of crimes that are against
the people. This is different from, say, robbing a bank, or tax fraud.
It sounds like this comrade now sees the problem with dealing drugs, and
wants to turn things around. This is a good example of someone who has
great potential to reform and become a productive member of the
revolutionary movement. Having a S.O. label is not a barrier to that,
though we would struggle with this comrade over whether they feels
justified in beating up eir ex-wife. Drug dealing is a business and a
means to get by for many who are deprived of better options. Some think
it is cool, others find it degrading. If someone has stopped and
understands why it’s wrong. We care most what ey does with eir life
going forward.
I just got done reading ULK 61 and I got to say it opened my eyes
to a lot of stuff that I did as a gang member of Aryan Brotherhood in
Texas to sex offenders coming into the system. When they came in, me and
several other dudes would beat them up to “break them” and then would
sell them to the butty bandits due to their crime of being labeled a sex
offender.
The system would not attempt to protect them either, due to the label
they had on them as a sex offender. So we had free reign to punish them
as we seen fit. But nowadays I look back on the stuff that I did and can
see the big errors of my ways.
I ran into a dude down in the state hospital that was just about dead of
AIDS that he got due to the actions of me and some other dudes breaking
him. I was going for breaking my hand in a fight and saw the death wagon
pull up and unload two AIDS patients, and one dude seen me and called
out my name and asked me if I was still breaking in sex offenders and if
so to look at him and see what it causes.
I was like “Dude I do not know you or want to know you either.” He told
me where I beat him up and sold him, and it blew my mind. I had a lot of
hate towards sex offenders when I came into this place and it has
mellowed out over the last 34 years that I have been in prison. My baby
sister was assaulted by her friend’s father, so the issue of sex
offenders is personal to me.
When I started in the County Jail beating up sex offenders for something
to do, the Sheriff would tell the jailers to put anyone that came into
the jail on my tan and tell me in front of the dude what he was in the
jail for. I look back on it now and I am coming to the realization that
they were using me to punish the dudes that were charged with sexual
assault.
One dude, I broke his jaw in two places due to his granddaughter saying
he touched her in a private spot. Come to find out it was a lie because
she was mad at him for grounding her for the weekend.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not attempting to brag about it, just am showing
the length of time and intensity that I have been blinded by the system
to do their work, and now I’m starting to understand the system. What
made me wake up is one of my brothers got charged with sexual
assault/harassment for grabbing his croch and telling a chick to suck is
dic- as he left school. Since he made a crude gesture towards her she
said she felt violated. He was on a ten-year probation so he got
violated for the gesture and came to prison for it. And yes he has to
register as a level 1 tier offender due to him being mad about getting
kicked out of school for a 3-day period.
Each case is different so you got to look at all of the facts. If you go
blindly as I did for years upon years you are no better than the ones
you are jumping on, due to the fact that you are siding with the
oppressors and are holding down your own people. Yes I am fully aware
that there are some sexual offenses that are true crimes and they need
all that they get and ten fold more heaped on top of it if they are
truly guilty of the crime of sexual assault on a woman or child.
But before you lace up the steeltoe boots and put your pistols on gloves
to beat up a sex offender, make sure it’s a true crime and one that
deserve the punishment that you are fixin to hand out. If not you’re
just working for the system that you are claiming to work against. You
cannot pull both ways at once or you go no place at all.
I used to beat up the dudes, now I try to help them with their cases due
to the fact that a lot of them are not able to get help in the law
library because they have ask a law clerk to help get a case cite and
his first question is “what you charged with?” And he will go to the law
books and look up your case, and if you do not pass his smell test he
will not help you, or he will tell you the case cite you’re asking about
is not in the law library, or throw your request slip away and say he
never got it at all.
Look at it like this, what if you’re with a girl and you’re going at it
and she says “stop”? If you move forward one more time you have just
committed sexual assault.
So before you say it will not happen to you, you got to look at it with
your eyes open and see the whole picture and not just what the state
wants to show you. So think about all the forms that you may have been
labeled a sex offender in the past and then you can get over the stink
of the name and start to see the person and not the label that the state
has put on a person. Most I can work around because I was a dirty dog in
the world and could have been charged a few times too. But the main
issue is we need to stop letting the state do our thinking for us and
take back our minds from the system. You can handcuff my body but I
refuse to let you handcuff my mind any longer.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer has learned through practice
pretty much everything we’ve been saying about sex crimes. This is an
impressive transformation, and we hope ey has also transformed eir
thinking about oppressed nations over many years behind bars.
It’s true that a lot of people have committed sex crimes but not been
caught. Men are taught to be “dirty dogs” as this writer says. That’s
why the revolutionary movement will need to do a lot of work reforming
thinking and rehabilitating. Not just those with sex charges, but
everyone raised in this messed up system. As we discuss in the
“Punishment vs. Rehabilitation” article, we can do some of this
rehabilitating now, but we will focus our energy and time on those who
recognize their mistakes and crimes and want to make a change and
committ to serving the people.
May 2018 – I read ULK 61 and it is a pretty interesting
newsletter on a topic that I have never put much thought into. I have to
say I do not agree with the portion about “un-muddling the relationships
between comrades (i.e. no dating within the org)” in the
Sex-Offenders
vs. Anti-People Sex Crimes article. I believe this practice would
serve no real interest in the organization. I believe it is a form of
dis-unity. To make a method of such effective the org would have to
segregate the two (men and women). The reason being men and women form
relationships naturally. I believe we need to congregate with our women
for relationships, build unity, and if unity is a strong point of this
organization a rule like that shall be established in this organization.
I do understand why MIM would decide to take that approach, but I see it
as going against the inevitable. I believe it would also create secrecy
in the org if people were dating and that would cause dishonesty. I
believe a better approach would be to recognize the relationship, as to
say if the comrades are to date they should be married. Not only would
this relationship be recognized by the org, it would be recognized by
the state/U.$., further decreasing such allegations of sex crimes. And
at the same time the organization would be helping to build and create
unity between men and women.
Another reason I believe this approach/practice would be more effective
in the organization is because people seem to be more serious about
marriage, meaning there just won’t be any fraternizing within the
organization. If there has to be an appointed licensed priest/preacher
or someone to wed the two it should be done so. It, the ceremony, should
be done in front of the org. Now it becomes if someone interferes with
the relationship man or woman they should be punished/dealt with. Now
that the marriage is consensual the sex is consensual. We should not
deharmonize the harmony between man and woman. We are trying to build a
United Front!
MIM(Prisons) responds: We need to be clear that marriage does not
ensure consensual sex. We can’t create a utopia outside of the
patriarchal culture right now, and so we know that our relationships
(including marriages) will still be strongly influenced by that culture.
And under the patriarchy sexual relations are inherently unequal
regardless of marital status or level of political activism of the
people involved.
This writer is correct that people do have a tendency to become
romantically involved with people with whom they spend a lot of time.
And having a lot of political unity can encourage this romance. We don’t
share the view that this is naturally just between men and wimmin. It
also happens between men and men and between wimmin and wimmin. So
separating the people would only stop some romance. There may be other
arguments for separating men and wimmin while we battle the patriarchy,
but we shouldn’t expect this to end romance or sexual assault. The
situation in men’s prisons across the United $tates is a clear
demonstration of this point.
Our main disagreement with this writer is with the idea that we should
use romance to build unity. On the factual front, even with the
formality of marriage, most relationships don’t stay together. This is
just a fact of life under the imperialist patriarchy right now. This is
the reality we live in. And we know that when relationships end there is
a lot of irrational anger (and often rational anger too) that comes with
it. So if we’re trying to build unity, encouraging romantic
relationships is likely to backfire in the majority of cases where the
relationship doesn’t last. Perhaps we can do better than the average
couple with the support of the political organization, but we’re still
going to have a lot of relationships end. We just don’t have the power
or reach right now to reverse this fact of patriarchal culture.
In the ULK 61 article this writer responds to we wrote:
“How we handle this process now in our cell structure will be different
if a cell has 2 members versus 2,000 members. The process will need to
be adapted for different stages of the struggle as well, such as when we
have dual power, and then again when the Joint Dictatorship of the
Proletariat of the Oppressed Nations has power. And on and on, adapting
our methods into a stateless communism.
”Even with policies in
place, we have limited means of combating chauvinism, assault
allegations and other unforeseen organizational problems endemic to the
left. Rather than wave off these contradictions, or put them out of
sight (or cover them up, like so many First World-based parties and
organizations have done), we need to build institutions that protect
those who are oppressed by gender violence.”
This is something we need to continue discussing, trying various
approaches, and working on the best approaches to ensure the longevity
of the anti-imperialist movement.
“We stand for active ideological struggle because it is the weapon for
ensuring unity within the Party and the revolutionary organizations in
the interest of our fight. Every communist and revolutionary should take
up this weapon.” – Comrade Mao, “Combat Liberalism”
Within every class, gender, and nation, trans women are being oppressed
and persecuted because of their trans disposition. This has been so
within both capitalist and socialist societies, among revolutionaries as
among reactionaries.
Many hallmark social/revolutionary movements in America’s history had
non-supportive regard for trans people. The consciousness was not there
yet; revolutionary consciousness evolves by degrees, through years,
decades, the same for such movements (and governments) in other
countries.
In century 21, both political and revolutionary consciousness are at a
much higher frequency. Trans political resistance is occurring across
the country (and the world); trans people have become cognizant of the
political aspects of their quality of life existence, and are getting
politically involved in a revolutionary manner.
The political and revolutionary consciousness evolution of trans people
is taking place in America’s prisons. In California, the 36 Movement of
trans women is politically active against the anti-trans oppression,
persecution, and genocide of the prison system for their lives,
livelihood and for political power. There is also the right-wing
reaction they must contend with on the yards, and, as well, reactionary
behavior towards them by left revolutionaries, and by presumed
progressive media outlets on the left. People do not become progressive
or revolutionary overnight. Anti-trans sentiment is deep among those so
afflicted, because putrid bourgeois opinion predominates in American
society, and is infectious.
How are the cadre to address such reactionary or quasi-reactionary
tendencies within the revolutionary camp? For one, internal
indoctrination can put light on the subject, so that new cadre are
aware. But so must elder cadre become aware. For another, ideological
discussion on trans issues are worthwhile – trans within society/prison,
within the revolutionary ranks – discerning among each other and within
oneself traces of reactionary inclination and weeding them out, aligning
personal in line with revolutionary principles that guide attitudes
towards the people, and propagating the new awareness.
By such ideological debate, properly practiced, broader unity will
result. This is revolutionary. This is the revolutionary guidance of Mao
Thought.
Across the wider spectrum, included is regard for lesbians, gays,
bisexuals, and gender nonconforming people.
MIM(Prisons) responds: The transgender question has come out of
the closet in recent years. This is a necessary step towards ending
gender-based oppression. The question is what bringing the issue to
light under capitalist patriarchy will achieve.
We can look back at the gay/lesbian/queer struggles in this country and
see how they led to integration of those once separate communities into
mainstream Amerika. While white wimmin have always been allies to white
men in national oppression, this relationship has only solidified with
increasing power of wimmin in Amerikan society. Both of these examples
inform our understanding of nation as principal to our struggle against
all oppression.
If we look at nation, we also see integrationism though. Today the
integration road is presented as a viable option in the United $tates,
rather than something you have to fight for. However, with nation, that
integration was not complete. The ghettos became more isolated, even
though they have since become more dispersed, and the koncentration
kamps of course expanded with oppressed nations filling the cages. With
the integration of both the relatively gender and nationally oppressed
in this country, we did not see improvements for wimmin or oppressed
nations overall in the world. So there is a problem with looking just at
U.$. society for measuring progress.
The fact that transgender issues have not been a public discussion for
as long as other forms of oppression does create the sense that
transgender people are the most oppressed, and need the most attention.
And this is the conclusion by many advocates of identity politics. As
this comrade says, they have faced oppression in all parts of society.
However, with our understanding of society within the framework of
dialectical materialism we can talk about why nation is principal under
imperialism, look at the historical examples of gender struggles in this
country, and predict that the transgender struggle is not going to move
us toward ending oppression the fastest.
None of that discounts what the comrade says about struggling for the
inclusion and acceptance of transgender prisoners, and people in
general, in the revolutionary movement. In some ways the prison
population was ahead of the curve on this one as the prominence of
transgender wimmin in male prisons has made this issue part of daily
life for prisoners before many Amerikans began grappling with it. Still,
this has not led to an overall overall progressive attitude among male
prisoners, in part due to the hyper masculinity that the prison
environment engenders.
This is an example of how communists must try to address all issues
holding back the revolution, while focusing on the principal
contradiction. We join this comrade in calling for ideological
discussions around trans issues in mass work. This will foster greater
unity within the oppressed nations and among the revolutionary movement
of prisoners overall.
July 2018 – In ULK 61 the contentious topic of sex offenders was
discussed with great objectivity (even in certain subjective analyses)
and openness. The following will attempt to clarify, expound and expand
on some of these positions from my perspective.
I wrote, “Excluding all non-sexual depredations (public urination and
such), SOs constitute a dangerous element; more so than murderers
because SOs often have more victims, and many of those victims become
sexual predators, creating one long line of victimization.” As a
rejoinder to this comparison, MIM(Prisons) stated: “When someone is
murdered in lumpen-criminal violence, often there is retaliatory murder,
and subsequent prison time.”
While this may prove accurate among lumpen organizations (LOs) and
loosely associated persons, this is very far from the truth in society,
generally speaking. A majority of people, even a majority of lumpen
class, do not resort to such literal “eye-for-an-eye” justice. While
there are many (mostly males between 14-22 years old) who do seek
retaliatory murders, on the whole they produce a minority to be certain.
Just as murderers constitute a noticeable minority of the
2.3-million-plus currently incarcerated through the United States.
Contrarily, sexual predators affect the entire societal composition.
They perpetrate crimes against males and females, provoking
deep-burrowing psychological problems, and turn many victims into
victimizers (not all turn to outright sexual depredation). There is no
question murder is irrespective of class, gender, nation, and provokes
intense psychological trauma. The difference is not in the severity of
the anti-proletariat crime – taking a life or ruining a life – but in
the after-effects. To make the argument that murder creates murder in
the same, or even similar, manner as sexual victimization creates future
victimizers is beyond stretching. It is a patently false premise. Were
it even close to the reality of present society, there would be anywhere
from 10-50 times more murders and murderers in this country and its
prisons.
Not to be crass, but murder is more of a one-two punch knock out. Where
sexual depredation is twelve rounds of abuse by Robert Duran with your
hands behind your back. Most murderers are not serial killers, which
means their victims are family and known associates. Sexual predators
habitually prey on strangers who fit their desired victim profile, in
addition to relatives, friends, or associates. Murderers are normally
incarcerated once arrested. Sexual predators are often times released.
Also it is much more stigmatizing to be a victim of sexual violence –
shame, feelings of inferiority, desire to vengeance, self-deprecation –
than a murderer’s victim. Desire for justice, feelings of powerlessness,
and greater stigmatization arises from the criminal injustice system’s
treatment of sex crime victims. Many are left feeling as if they are the
perpetrator instead of the victim. This is why so many sex crimes go
unreported. Such is not the case with murders, unless persons decide to
seek vigilante justice. Considering the above, it is clear why a more
negative perspective is attached to SOs than to murderers. Logically, a
murder is traumatic but almost all overcome the event without becoming
killers. In the case of sexual victimization, a slim minority overcome
the stigma, and more than half become victimizers; whether emotionally,
physically, or continue to harm themselves, reliving the victimizations
perpetrated upon them.
“Lumpen criminal violence (created and encouraged by selective
intervention and neglect by the state) is one of the reasons why 1 in 3
New African men will go to prison at some point in their lifetime.” This
is undoubtedly true. Although to state such a statistic to disprove the
“logic” behind SOs being viewed as pariahs more than murderers is
slightly disingenuous. Capitalism is formed in a manner destined to
exclude great numbers of people. Mass incarceration is capitalism’s
answer to this exclusion. This is the manner in which capitalism
addresses the lumpen class it creates in order to maintain a steady
course on the capitalists’ globalization/exploitation road. Crime and
violence are incidental to the system that created a mass lumpen class.
So, while this does “represent a long line of victimization,” it is
inherent to capitalism, but sexual depredation is not.
As it relates to imminent or immediate efforts at rehabilitating sexual
predators, my meaning was that efforts can be made on an individual
basis by revolutionaries who are able to see past label prejudice.
Through their efforts, if conducted scientifically, a systematic method
can emerge for once the revolution is successful. Practice directs
theory and theory is validated in practice, of course. But my overall
meaning was and remains that sex crimes will be a problem for
capitalism, socialism, or communism. Sexual depredation is a social
contagion which transcends borders of politics, gender, economy, class,
nationhood and age. Revolutionaries will need to address the problem
sooner or later. For those who can be ahead of the curve, they should
be. Revolutions need innovative trail blazers as does every department
of humynity.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We appreciate this clarification on this
writer’s article in ULK 61, and find some compelling points here
for distinctions between the impact of murders and sexual assaults.
Though we still maintain that we will need to reform all who can be
reformed, regardless of crimes (conviction or not).
We need to address a few factual questions. The author claims that “SOs
habitually prey on strangers who fit their desired victim profile; in
addition to relatives, friends, or associates”. The reality is that
studies of sexual assault have found that around 70%-75% of survivors
know their rapist. It is a myth that sexual assault is mostly
perpetrated on strangers. This myth serves the racist idea that New
Afrikan men are raping white wimmin. And this falsehood has been used to
target and persecute New Afrikan men going back to the time of slavery,
specifically targeting ones seen as a threat by those in power. So
although this is a minor point in the author’s essay, we want to clarify
the facts.
We want to also address this writer’s comment that “sexual depredation
is a social contagion which transcends…gender.” Sexual assault is one of
the most blatant symptoms of a system of gender oppression. It is the
exercise of gender power. Sexual assault is a product of the patriarchal
system that sets up gender power differences in our society.
And so, we disagree with the author that crime and violence are inherent
to capitalism but sexual depredation is not. In the abstract this makes
sense: sexual depredation is a result of the patriarchy, a system of
gender oppression. Capitalism is a system of class oppression. The two
are distinct systems of oppression.
But society has evolved to intertwine class, gender and national
oppression so intimately that it is not practical to think we can
eliminate one without eliminating the others. Seeing gender oppression
as something outside of capitalism suggests we can eliminate gender
oppression entirely under capitalism. While we can certainly target
aspects of gender inequality and oppression for reform under capitalism,
this is similar to enacting reforms to the systems of national
oppression. We might improve conditions for individuals within the
capitalist system, but the underlying system of oppression will remain.
This doesn’t mean we ignore gender oppression right now. We must expose
it, and we should demand that it be stopped wherever possible. For
instance, fighting against rape in prison is a battle that could reduce
the suffering of many prisoners. But we can also see the outcome of
state responses to prison rape in the ineffectual and sometimes
counter-productive
PREA
regulations.
With that said, we do agree with this writer that we can work now
towards a systematic method to deal with sex offenders and sexual
predators. But we will have fewer resources and less power to help these
individuals reform now, before we have state power.
We won’t reach the stage of communism until we eliminate sex crimes. We
disagree with the author’s assessment that sex crimes will exist in all
systems. Communism is a society without oppression, where all people are
equal. We will have to eliminate class, nation and gender oppression
before we can achieve a communist society. And so this writer is correct
that revolutionaries must address the problem of sex crimes, both sooner
and later. As we discuss in the article “On Punishment
vs. Rehabilitation,” the stage of our struggle will help determine how
we deal with those who commit crimes against the people.
Enclosed is a clipping from the Austin American-Statesman (2018
May 3) I thought pertinent and might be of interest.
Not having first-hand knowledge of the University of Texas (UT) course
“MasculinUT,” I found it interesting that the reactionary philistines
again attacked academia for addressing patriarchal oppression. As far as
I’m concerned, conventional notions of masculinity are a societal
conditioning of the psyche, ergo, much like a Black persyn ensnared in a
eurocentric society, a mind fuck. So, yeah, maybe the yahoos are correct
that traditional concepts of what masculinity entails (e.g., violence
against wimmin) is a mental health issue, and as such, men need to be
subjected to re-conditioning via communist transition. Maybe, like the
bourgeoisie under socialism, men will be repressed. Maybe, hell!
MIM(Prisons) responds: The article enclosed, from the
Statesman, talks about the UT masculinity education program,
which is an awareness campaign formerly run by the University’s
Counseling and Mental Health Center. Conservatives attacked the program,
claiming it treats masculinity as a mental health problem.
In response, the MasculinUT program was moved to Dean of Students, and,
in a statement from its website, “the program’s original steering
committee was reconvened and expanded to provide recommendations and
feedback to ensure that the program’s mission is clearly defined and
fully aligned with its original intent of reducing sexual assault and
interpersonal violence.”
We’re with this comrade in thinking it might not be so bad to think
about masculinity as a mental health issue. As long as we’re clear that
this and many other mental health issues are a product of the capitalist
patriarchy. People aren’t born being sexist idiots. They are trained to
believe that wimmin don’t know what they want, to see wimmin as objects,
and to view maleness as a sign of superiority. People will need a lot of
retraining to overcome a lifetime of patriarchal education.
We don’t know what’s involved in the UT program so we can’t comment on
it. But we can say that after the imperialist patriarchy is overthrown
we’ll have a long period of cultural revolution where we need to
re-invent humyn culture and re-educate everyone to see all people as
equal. This is about the patriarchy, but also about the oppression of
all groups of people over other groups, across the strands of oppression
of nation, class and gender. This involve forcibly repressing
patriarchal culture and institutions. We hope that forcible repression
of half the population (men) will not be necessary, but there will need
to be active promotion of feminists into positions of power, and a
careful re-consideration of the appropriate interactions between all
humyns.
We received a lot of thoughtful responses to Under Lock & Key
61 debating sex offenders. This is a tough topic. It’s easy to
recognize that our culture encourages abuse of wimmin. And there are
many problems with how the criminal injustice system defines sex crimes
and selectively prosecutes this crime. But people don’t want to condone
rape, and many of us have a persynal reaction of horror to sexual
predators that makes it hard to think about this objectively.
Regardless of the societal influences, and the unfair definitions and
prosecutions, there are a lot of people who have committed sex crimes,
and these should not just be ignored or forgiven. This topic got a lot
of people thinking about whether or not sex offenders (SOs) can be part
of the movement, and if they committed sex crimes, if they can be
reformed.
Defining sex crimes
We have all been raised in a culture that promotes sexism and condones
gender oppression. We call this system the patriarchy. It’s a system
where sexy young teen models sell clothes, and TV and movies glorify
powerful men and violence against wimmin. This culture colors every
relationship we have. We’re taught that being a good man means acting
manly and strong and never letting a womyn tell you what to do. And
we’re taught that being a good womyn means submitting to the needs and
desires of your man. With this training, we can’t expect equality in
relationships. And without equality, we can’t expect free consent. Not
everyone has a gun to their heads when they are asked to consent to sex,
but there are a lot of different forms of power and persuasion.
So we’re starting out with a messed up system of gender oppression, and
then we’re trying to define which acts of sexual violation count as
coerced (rape) and which are just “normal.” One California prisoner
wrote:
“I want to comment on the sex offender topic. Yeah it’s rough because
like the Nevada 17 1/2 yr old dude it’s just that easy to get caught up.
As adults we’re able to date 18-19 year olds as a 40-50 year old.
“I mean if people are going to argue 15 year old and an 18 is different,
the question is why/how? If their answer isn’t ‘I just want my baby girl
to be my baby girl a few more years’ then their answer is B.S., because
that’s what it really boils down to.
“Moving on, the sex offender umbrella is too big. Like it was mentioned,
a person taking a leak in public is considered a sex offender? We
haven’t always had toilets, let’s get real and go after the real sex
offenders – fully adult male/female taking advantage of a child. That’s
a sex offender! 20, 30, 40 year old trying to sleep with a 13 year old –
sex offender! Possession of child pornography – sex offender!”
This writer raises the question of age to define sex crimes. We ask, why
is a 20 year old sleeping with a 13 year old rape, but a 20 year old
with a 15 year old isn’t? Probably because this writer believes a 15
year old is capable of consent but a 13 year old isn’t. That’s the key
question: who has the ability to give consent?
Truly free consent isn’t possible from within a system that promotes
gender oppression from birth. But that’s not a useful answer when trying
to define crimes from the revolutionary perspective. And if we’re going
to attempting to rehab/punish people who have committed sex crimes, we
have to decide what is a reasonable level of consent.
For now, we maintain that we should judge people for their actions, not
the label they’re given by the criminal injustice system. As this
comrade from Maryland explains, society creates sexual predators who act
in many different ways, but their actions all show us they are
counter-revolutionary.
“I was reading one article on sex offenders in ULK 61, and it was
talking about how to determine whether they did the crime or not. The
thought came to me of judge of character, their interactions with males
& females, whether prisoners or C.O.s, and the traces of
conversations when they feel comfortable. Even those who don’t have
sexual offense charges sometimes make you wonder by the way they
jerk-off to female C.O.s & female nurses or what they say to them
that have you think if they are undercover sex offenders.
“One prisoner went as far as getting the female nurse information off
the internet and called them on the jail phone and got (admin)
(Administration Segregation). This is the same person that comes back
and forth for jerking off to multiple disciplinary segregation terms,
but is locked up for a totally different charge. He’s a future sex
offender, that can’t be trusted for help in the revolution not due to a
label, but due to his character and interactions when he sees females.
“Then you have the ones that have been locked-up in their teenage years
and they’re currently in their 30s, and like to chase boys who are easy
to manipulate or who want sexual activity. One is big on being a
victimizer, but knows and talks a lot of Revolutionary preferences. He
has a lot of knowledge but can’t be trusted to prevail due to lack of
discipline and wanting to continue in his prison rapes & prison sex
crimes that he rejoiced in. But he is another one that is not locked up
for any sex offenses. Both were juveniles when incarcerated and have
been psychologically damaged and lack change & further
rehabilitation. Everyone still embraces them in general population and
looks past their sexual activities.
“How can people that exploit sexual habits right in clear view of the
prisoners be embraced and not looked upon as potential threats to
society, families, and fellow prisoners, when you have someone labeled
as a sex offender through childhood friendships and has to be sectioned
off & outcasted by other prisoners due to the label of sex offender
and not background information, the character of the man, their
interactions with same sex and opposite sex, and the signs & symbols
through their conversation?”
This writer’s view is echoed by a comrade in Texas who has come to
realize we need to judge people for their actions:
“UFPP is a must! Regardless of what you did to get in prison (rape, rob,
murder), I (also a prisoner) only judge you or anyone on how they go
forward from this day in prison. I used to work in food service and I
would break a serving into fifths for women in prison for killing or
abusing children. Then I grew up and got over myself. How do I know they
were rightfully convicted and how do I know how they got in this prison
life? I don’t. We’re all in the same spot starting out. What you do from
this time forward is your description for me. And people can change. I
have.”
When we look objectively at how many people, both in prison and in
society in general, commit sex crimes, it’s pretty depressing. The
recent #MeToo movement helped expose just how many sexual predators are
in the entertainment industry in particular. And writers like the one
above expose individual cases of predators behind bars. This is so
common because of a culture that promotes gender inequality. As long as
we see wimmin/girls as objects for sexual pleasure we will have a
problem with sex crimes. Another prisoner described this pervasive
problem in California:
“This letter is in regards to the sex offenders articles in ULK
61. We cannot”always” trust a state to tell us what crimes someone
has committed - but most of the time we can. It might not always be so
clear, but the majority of the time the person convicted of a sex crime
did indeed do it.
“Of the thousands of people I’ve come across in the SNY prisons I’ve
been in, absolutely nobody has claimed his pc 290 case is for urinating
in public. The most common is sex with a minor as there is absolutely no
thing in the state of California as consensual sex with anyone under age
18. I know this all too well because sex with a teen put me where I’m
at.
“There are probably as many different variables that create sex
offenders as there are types of sex offenders themselves. The
overwhelming factor with the sex offenders I’ve met in prison (and
there’s a lot of sex offenders in prison) is drug abuse, especially
methamphetamine. It’s safe to say that most sex offenders (at least
60-70%) were driven by the effects of meth. There are many in prison who
will admit to sex with underage females. Growing up in the housing
project of San Francisco’s Mission District I knew a lot of adults
(mostly men) that had sexual relationships (and even marriages) with
teens. It was very common also that the girls my age as a teen carried
on with grown men.
“Go to a Latina’s traditional 15th birthday celebration and count the
amount of males over 20 yrs old. Yes, that is what many are there for:
the girls. Do younger girls’ parents know about this? Yes, most do.
Cinco de Mayo has become another reason for America to party. Latin
foods, beers, music, piñatas, etc. We’ve welcomed with open arms. Are we
going to pretend that these ‘other’ traditions from Latin America don’t
exist and just continue to tag and store sex offenders or will something
be done to address this issue?
This writer makes a good point: lots of sex crime charges are real. Many
men have committed these crimes. But there’s no need to rely on what the
state tells us. In fact this writer demonstrates that people are being
honest with em about eir past crimes. We don’t gain anything by trusting
the criminal injustice system, and we don’t need to.
This comrade helps demonstrate our point that sex with teens is condoned
by capitalist culture. These cultural influences encourage men to see
their behavior taking advantage of wimmin, and pursuing teens, as normal
and acceptable. We won’t stop this completely until we get rid of the
patriarchy and have the power to create a proletarian culture.
Can criminals be reformed?
An important organizing question of today regarding sex offenders is
whether or not they can be part of the revolutionary movement. This
inspires a lot of debate behind bars. A comrade from Maryland provides
some good examples of people becoming revolutionaries in spite of
history of anti-people crimes. We agree with eir analysis that everyone
who has committed crimes against the people (sex offenders, drug
dealers, murderers, etc.) has the potential to reform and be a part of
the revolutionary movement. Whether or not we have the resources to help
make this happen is discussed in
“On
Punishment vs Rehabilitation.”
“Eldridge Cleaver was incarcerated for rape upon little white girls and
was not on Protective Custody, nor was he a victim, but the victimizer.
[Cleaver was actually incarcerated for assault, but was open that he had
raped wimmin and even attempted to justify it politically. - ULK Editor]
Though upon his parole release he worked for a newspaper company until
his run-in with Huey Newton at this newspaper company and joined the
Black Panther Party to become later down the line a leader within the
BPP political organization. James Carr was another that participated in
prison rapes even though he grew to become a instrument for the BPP, a
body-guard for Huey Newton upon his release, and a prison vanguard
alongside George L. Jackson. Basically, saying that in their era they
were not faulted by the political group for their past, but were looked
upon what they could do in the present and future.
“With what the United States set as standards are only accountable for
those who are out of their class and who they don’t care about, while
their class gets away with such crimes or slapped on the wrist with the
least time as possible. They have messed us up psychologically mass
media. So even if the people don’t know if the crime is true, what the
state places upon us as fraud charges, our mindset is automatically it’s
true cause America says it’s true. Just like when we see people on the
news wanted for questioning about a crime, we automatically say he did
it without knowing.
“Did the Revolutionaries of the 60s, 70s, and 80s not participate in the
Anti-People Crimes as modern day even though they were Vanguards for the
people and just as conscious as we are. Did they not sell illegal drugs
to raise money for court fees & bail fees? Did they not drink
alcohol and smoke weed & cigarettes? Did they not graduate to hard
drugs? Did they not shoot or stab people in their lifetime? Did they not
commit sexual assaults? That’s why we are able to learn from their
mistake, while also cherishing their great stands of Revolution. So
within criticism, criticize all through all eras and let those who want
to prove their self do it. If sex offenders, whether guilty or not,
started their own organization that was aligned with the same goals,
principles, and practices as MIM(Prisons), would you support them or
acknowledge their efforts? Do you feel that if a sex offender, guilty or
not, got conscious and changed for the better is capable of being a
positive tribute to a Revolution?”
On this same topic a Wisconsin prisoner disagrees and sees the
example of Eldridge Cleaver as a detriment to the movement overall.
“I personally do not believe there is a place in the movement for sex
offenders, and when I say sex offenders I’m referring to those who are
in prison for committing sex crimes, not statutory rape, where he’s 17
and she’s 16 or even if he’s 20 and she’s 16. I’m, talking about
un-consentual, outright rape of women, men and children. I don’t have
any affinity for those who rape prisoners or prison female officers and
staff.
“A lot of people bring up Eldridge Cleaver to support the argument of
reform for rapists, where to me Eldridge was not a true revolutionary,
he helped bring down the BPP and his mistreatment of Kathleen Cleaver,
Elaine Brown and others was egregious at best and outright barbaric at
worst. I don’t knock those who have compassion and believe in reform for
sex offenders, I’m just not one of them.”
While we disagree with this writer’s statement that SOs can’t be
reformed, we agree that embracing those who promote gender oppression
because of their correct line on national oppression can be very
dangerous for a revolutionary movement. The Black Panther Party
struggled with gender oppression, but in many ways was ahead of other
movements and organizations of their day. This doesn’t mean they got it
all right, but we have to judge people and movements in the context of
their struggle.
Finally, Legion writes compellingly about the potential for
rehabilitation of SOs and also offers a framework for undertaking this
work.
“So I’m sitting here eating a bowl of cereal and digesting ULK 61
and comrade
El
Independista made some valid points and MIM(Prisons) dissented. See
when we sparked this debate we were struggling with starting a NLO
consisting of comrades who have fucked up jackets who are willing to put
pride, ego, individualistic patriarchal thoughts and practices to the
wayside forming a column of revolutionaries who are given a chance to
show and prove that the state was wrong and that U-C-U works for all
instead of some. Answering El Independista’s questions of possible
solutions isolation, ostracization, extermination may I build?
“First and foremost as a revolutionary raised in the game I’d rather
deal with a SO than a snitch or a jailhouse thief. Why? Because in most
cases the SO can be re-educated if given the ability to perform. If a
potential comrade has been framed by the state who will hear him out.
He’s isolated like the sex offender island in Washington State off of
puget sound. Ostracization is another word for shun if the SO shuns
his/her anti-people conviction and uses unity-criticism-unity to combat
the patriarchy and upholds the merits of a drafted constitution along
with personal U-C-U known as self-criticism you can begin to mold
revolutionaries who ostracize themselves. Then there is extermination,
another word for ending re-education self-critique and revolutionary
bent will cause an ill (as in sick) blow to the injustice system. It’s
all or none. And no, I’m not harboring cho-mos and rapos, just willing
to do the work to see us free all of us. For example, if a column of
reformed SOs took up a revolutionary mindset and put said mindset into
practice one would exterminate a whole under represented class of
people.
“In California the Penal Code 226(a) is any sex crime. 266(h-j) have to
do with pimping and pandering, 288 is a molester, 290 is the required
registration code. Most kidnappers have to register for life. If you’re
a John you have to register and if you’re a prostitute you have to
register. If you opt into a shoot out and a child was involved you have
to register, and child endangerment is a sex crime. As well as rape,
peeing on the side walk, flashing. In prison all these cases get ‘P’
coded which prohibits the captive from ever being level 1 where there is
minimal politics, and forces one to live in enclosed structures with
secure doors AKA cell living. This leaves level”P” coded prisoners in 3
and 4 yards. These yards are political, whether GP or SNY there are
politics. And on these yards you have folks with a knack for praying on
the weak, creating a pattern of sexual abuse. Just look at any day room
wall you’ll see the # for the PREA hot-line and a slogan that says ‘no
means no and yes is not allowed.’
“People, we have to prepare for the white wolf invasion. You can’t bully
the SO problem away. You have to be a social scientist and commentator
and build institutions that collapse the structure. And to answer
MIM(prison), most SOs are on SNY yards and you have these snitch gangs
who look to isolate, ostracize and eliminate”threats.” Most SOs aren’t
rats, hell most aren’t even criminals, no rap sheet only accusations.
But these “gangsters” need a common enemy, and an easy target is the SO.
As a ‘do what’s best-ist’ I would, if given the platform to do so,
launch the wolf collective and invite all who read ULK to join,
not as a member but as a witness to the scientific display of
revolutionary conduct. I do this to sacrifice self for the masses.
“Start with self-critique and a solid understanding of your
errors. Make serious revolutionary action your priority Honor
and respect all human beings’ dignity Never go backwards in thought
walk and push Stand all the way up for what is righteous and do
what’s leftover You will be judged by your political work and
political line.
“You might think I’m crazy or nuts but I have 36 nuts and bolts that say
otherwise. The mathematics makes sense to turn nuts to plugs you plug in
nuts meaning you become the change you want to see, and if I have to
build the collective brick by brick stone by stone I will. I’m a convict
first for all the would-be haters, but I think the time has come to form
an infection on the skin of the beast.”