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.
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.”
I don’t agree with the idea of Jackson being a homophobe by stating that
unmarried white women are left to become prostitutes, nuns, and/or
lesbians; I don’t find it derogatory either. I don’t agree or disagree
with his statement. I actually have no judgement on that idea. I don’t
understand why MIM says it’s homophobic and derogatory.
MIM(Prisons) responds: The
MIM
review of Soledad Brother we sent this comrade with a copy of the
book includes this critique:
“The first part of the book, mostly letters to his mother and father, is
not very political. Jackson uses many sexist stereotypes in this
section, often to criticize his mother for failing in his brother’s and
his own education. He says, for example, that unmarried white women are
left to become prostitutes, nuns and lesbians (p. 45). While it is true
that economic forces put more pressure on unmarried women (the fastest
growing population in poverty are women and children), Jackson’s
stereotype is homophobic and derogatory.
“Much of what could be criticized as sexist in Jackson’s writing is left
as ambiguous. He says that ‘The white theory of ’the emancipated woman’
is a false idea’ (p. 46), which is an economic reality of Amerikan
capitalism, but no context is given. To his credit he does explain that
Black women are the backbone of the family (p. 74).”
The George Jackson reference is as follows:
“In the society of our fathers and in the civilized world today, women
feel it their obligation to be ever yielding and obedient to their men.
Life is purposely made simple for them because of their nature, and they
are happy. When the women outnumber the men in the black societies, the
men take as many wives as they can afford, and care for them all
equally. In the white for some nebulous reason the men can take only
one… the rest are left to become prostitutes, nuns, or lesbians.”
The beginning of the quote is perhaps the more damning part, positing
that wimmin have a simpler nature than men and therefore are happy
serving them. We hope you don’t agree with that part. The homophobia is
perhaps more subtle, but Jackson is clearly pointing to these three
options as being not good, and praising Black men for saving Black
wimmin from such fates – having sex in exchange for money/things, not
being able to have sex, or having to have sex with wimmin instead.
The grain of righteous truth in the Jackson quote is that white society
had more fully succumbed to capitalist individualism, so that wimmin are
more often left to fend for themselves in situations that are not
conducive to meeting their needs. But Jackson contrasts this with the
paternalist assumption that wimmin need to be taken care of by husbands
in order to survive, suggesting that polagamy is a selfless sacrifice by
men. The unique struggle of wimmin under capitalism is a result of the
intersection of the patriarchy and capitalism, not about wimmin needing
husbands to survive.
Echándole un vistazo al código penal para ver lo que se ha descrito como
asalto sexual por el sistema criminal de injusticias, revela una
variedad de ofensas, desde varias faltas menores hasta violaciones
graves. En los E$tados Unido$, aquellos que cometen dichos actos atroces
son considerados como lo más bajo de lo bajo y las prisiones no son
diferentes. Este ensayo intenta abordar el tema de los delincuentes
sexuales dentro de las sociedades en prisión y su importancia para el
movimiento en prisiones.
En el intento de escribir algo con respecto de este asunto, me vi
obligado a regresar a dos puntos principales de debate: (1) la
contradicción de la unidad vs las separaciones dentro del mismo
movimiento en prisión, como la hizo popular el Movimiento
Internacionalista Maoísta. La fuerza de mi argumento proviene de ambos
puntos. ¿Qué es el Movimiento en Prisión?
Antes de continuar, es necesario para mí explicar lo que alrededor de
qué intentamos construir unidad. El movimiento en prisión se define por
varios movimientos, organizaciones e individuos que en este momento
luchan contra las muchas caras del sistema de injusticia Amerikkkano.
Sea que estos movimientos se den en Georgia, California, Texas,
Pennsylvania o cualquier otro rincón del imperio de los EE.UU., no es de
mucha importancia. Lo que es importante, sin embargo, es el hecho de que
aquellas organizaciones e individuos se encuentran actualmente
desempeñando un papel progresivo y potencialmente revolucionario al
atacar al sistema opresivo en las prisiones amerikkkanas.
En las prisiones o cárceles de un estado la lucha puede tomar la forma
de una campaña de reclamo, o de acciones de otro grupo dirigidas a
abolir el trabajo forzado de los prisioneros. Estos movimientos tiene
que ser dirigidos por una variedad de organizaciones lumpen. Algunas son
revolucionarias, otras no. algunas son estrechamente reformistas por
naturaleza y no irán más allá del ganar concesiones. Otras permanecen
estancadas en la mentalidad burguesa del individualismo, mientras siguen
engañosamente usando una retórica revolucionaria para conseguir sus
metas.
Sin embargo, a pesar de sus objetivos separados, cada una en su propia
forma, están tomando acciones colectivas cuando es posible para desafiar
sus condiciones opresoras. Además, estos movimientos, organizaciones e
individuos, cuando se toman como un todo, representan el despertar de la
consciencia política y revolucionaria de los prisioneros, que no se ha
visto desde la ronda más reciente de luchas nacionales de liberación de
las semi- colonias internas. Esas son las cualidades progresivas del
nuevo movimiento en prisiones.
Los aspectos negativos y reaccionarios del movimiento en prisiones se
caracterizan por el hecho de que muchas de estas organizaciones lumpen
todavía funcionan dentro de líneas tradicionales. La mayoría sigue
participando en una economía parasitaria y llevan a cabo actividades en
contra de personas, que afectan a las personas mismas a quienes dicen
representar. Con respecto al ensayo, la mayoría de estos movimientos y
organizaciones también tienen políticas que excluyen a aquellos a
quienes el estado imperialista ha etiquetado como “delincuentes
sexuales”. No obstante, ¿pueden estos movimientos y organizaciones
realmente adherirse a dichas separaciones iniciadas por el estado?
¿Cuáles son las ramificaciones de todo esto?
De acuerdo con el Centro Nacional para Niños Explotados y Extraviados,
el número de delincuentes sexuales registrados en los E$tados Unido$
para el 2012 fue de 747,408, con los números más grandes en California,
Texas y Florida.(1) Por consiguiente, también son tres de los estados
con prisiones más grandes. ¡Todo sexo es violación!
En 1990s, el Movimiento Internacionalista Maoísta (MIM) se volvió poco
popular entre los amerikanos de izquierda por dos razones. La primera
fue su análisis de clase, que decía que los trabajadores amerikkkanos no
eran explotados, pero que en vez, formaban una aristocracia laboral
debido al hecho de que les pagaban más del valor de su trabajo. Los
amerikkkanos fueron por lo tanto, considerados como parásitos en el
proletariado y campesino del Tercer Mundo, así como enemigos de los
movimientos tercermundistas.
La segunda razón fue el sostener la línea política de la
pseudo-feminista del Primer Mundo, Catherine MacKinnon, que dijo que no
había una verdadera diferencia entre lo que hace el violador acusado y
lo que la mayoría de hombres llama sexo, pero que nunca van a la cárcel
por ello. MacKinnon expuso la teoría de que bajo un sistema de
patriarcado (bajo el cual vivimos), todas las relaciones sexuales giran
en torno a relaciones desiguales de poder entre aquellos hombres
sexistas y aquellas mujeres sexistas. Así, las personas nunca pueden
realmente consentir a tener sexo. De esto, MIM trazó la conclusión
lógica: todo sexo es violación.(2)
Esta línea no sólo es radical, sino, revolucionaria por su acusación al
patriarcado y a su implicación en el sistema de injusticia. MIM
desarrolló aún más la frase de todo sexo es violación, cuando explicó la
importancia de las acusaciones de violación provenientes de mujeres
amerikkanas contra hombres afroamerikanos y la relación histórica con el
linchamiento de afroamerikanos por parte de chusmas amerikkkanas durante
Jim Crow. Incluso en la década de los 90, cuando MIM observó las
estadísticas para las acusaciones de violación y condenas, pudo deducir
que los afroamerikanos aún seguían estando oprimidos a nivel nacional
por las mujeres blancas, en alianza con sus hermanos blancos.(3)
Dicho eso, esto no significa que los actos violentos y penetrantes no se
comenten contra gente que son oprimidas por su género en nuestra
sociedad. En vez de eso, dirijo la atención al hecho de que la sociedad
amerikana erotiza las diferenciales de poder, y los medios sexualizan a
los niños, no obstante, ambos pretenden abominar ambos. Sin importar
quien haya hecho qué, lo que no debemos perder de vista es nuestro
enfoque principal: la unión contra el estado imperialista, el enemigo
número uno de las naciones oprimidas.
No es secreto que el llamar a alguien “delincuente sexual” en prisión es
someter a dicha persona a la violencia y posiblemente muerte. Así mismo,
es un hecho histórico que los cerdos han usado las acusaciones de ser
delincuente sexual como una forma de desacreditar las voces líderes
entre los oprimidos o, simplemente, hacer que los prisioneros tengan en
su mira a alguien contra quien ellos tienen un asunto personal. Tenemos
que resistir estas tácticas COINTELPRO y seguir uniendo y consolidando
nuestras fuerzas, puesto que el participar en estos linchamientos
autoinfligidos es sólo otra forma en que los cerdos logran que hagamos
su trabajo sucio por ellos.
Comparaciones históricas
Mao Zedong dijo, al hacer una auto-crítica, que habían habido demasiadas
ejecuciones durante la Revolución Cultural China. En particular, declaró
que, aunque podía justificarse el ejecutar a un asesino o a alguien que
hace explotar una fábrica, también podía justificarse el no ejecutar a
algunas de las mismas personas. Mao sugirió que aquellos que estén
dispuestos, deberían ir a hacer algún trabajo productivo, de forma que
la sociedad pueda ganar algo positivo y la persona en cuestión, puede
ser reformada (4).
Los Maoists creen que los problemas entre la gente se deberían manejar
de forma pacífica entre la gente, y por medio de métodos de discusión y
debate. La mayoría de prisioneros están encerrados precisamente porque
estuvieron involucrados en algún tipo de actividad contra personas, en
algún punto u otros de sus vidas. ¿Estas acciones deberían definir a los
prisioneros? De acuerdo con el pensamiento de MIM, todos los ciudadanos
de los U$ serán vistos como criminales reformistas por parte del
movimiento socialista del Tercer Mundo, bajo la Dictadura Conjunta del
Proletariado de las Naciones Oprimidas (JDPON). El lumpen del Primer
Mundo no será la excepción independientemente del tipo de crimen.
Looking at the penal code for what has been codified as sexual assault
by the criminal injustice system reveals a variety of different
offenses, from various misdemeanors to serious felony violations. In the
United $tates those accused of committing such heinous acts are
considered to be the lowest of the low and prisons are no different.
This essay attempts to address the topics of sex offenders within prison
society and their relevance to the prison movement.
In attempting to write something on these topics I was forced to keep
coming back to two main points of discussion: (1) the contradiction of
unity vs. divisions within the prison movement itself, and (2) the all
sex is rape line as popularized by the Maoist Internationalist Movement.
The strength of my argument stems from both of these points.
What is the Prison Movement?
Before moving forward it is necessary for me to explain what we are
trying to build unity around. The prison movement is defined by the
various movements, organizations and individuals who are at this time
struggling against the very many different faces of the Amerikkkan
injustice system. Whether these struggles take place in Georgia,
California, Texas, Pennsylvania or any other corner of the U.$. empire
is not of much importance. What is important, however, is the fact that
those organizations and individuals are currently playing a progressive
and potentially revolutionary role in attacking Amerikkka’s oppressive
prison system.
In one state’s prisons or jails the struggle might take the shape of a
grievance campaign, or other group actions aimed to abolish the forced
labor of prisoners. These movements tend to be led by an array of lumpen
organizations. Some are revolutionary, some are not. Some are narrowly
reformist in nature and will go no further than the winning of
concessions. Others remain stuck in the bourgeois mindset of
individualism while deceptively using a revolutionary rhetoric to attain
their goals.
However, despite their separate objectives they are each in their own
way taking collective action when possible to challenge their oppressive
conditions. Furthermore, these movements, organizations and individuals,
when taken as a whole, represent an awakening in the political and
revolutionary consciousness of prisoners not seen since the last round
of national liberation struggles of the internal semi-colonies. Those
are the progressive qualities of the new prison movement.
The negative and reactionary aspects of the prison movement are
characterized by the fact that many of these lumpen organizations still
operate along traditional lines. Most continue to participate in a
parasitic economy and carry out anti-people activity that is detrimental
to the very people they claim to represent. In relation to the essay,
most of these movements and organizations also have policies that
exclude those the imperialist state has labelled “sex offenders,” But
can these movements and organizations really afford to adhere to these
state-initiated divisions? What are the ramifications to all this?
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children,
the number of registered sex offenders in the United $tates for 2012 was
747,408, with the largest numbers in California, Texas and Florida.(1)
Consequently, these are also three of the biggest prison states.
All Sex is Rape!
In the 1990s, the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) became infamous
amongst the Amerikan left for two reasons. The first was its class
analysis, which said that Amerikkkan workers were not exploited, but
instead formed a labor aristocracy due to the fact that they were being
paid more than the value of their labor. Amerikkkans were therefore to
be considered parasites on the Third World proletariat & peasantry,
as well as enemies of Third World socialist movements.
The second reason was upholding the political line of First World
pseudo-feminist Catherine MacKinnon, who said that there was no real
difference between what the accused rapist does and what most men call
sex, but never go to jail for. MacKinnon put forth the theory that under
a system of patriarchy (which we live under) all sexual relations
revolve around unequal power relations between those gendered men and
those gendered wimmin. As such, people can never truly consent to sex.
From this MIM drew the logical conclusion: all sex is rape.(2)
This line is not just radical, but revolutionary for its indictment of
patriarchy and implication of the injustice system. MIM developed the
all sex is rape line even further when it explained the relevance of
rape accusations from Amerikkan wimmin against New Afrikan men and the
hystorical relation between the lynching of New Afrikans by Amerikkkan
lynch mobs during Jim Crow. Even in the 1990s when MIM looked at the
statistics for rape accusations and convictions, it was able to deduce
that New Afrikans were still being nationally oppressed by white wimmin
in alliance with their white brethren.(3)
That said, this doesn’t mean that violent and pervasive acts aren’t
committed against people who are gender oppressed in our society.
Rather, I am drawing attention to the fact that Amerikan society
eroticizes power differentials, and the media sexualizes children, yet
they both pretend to abhor both. Regardless of who has done what we must
not lose sight of what should be our main focus: uniting against the
imperialist state, the number one enemy of the oppressed nations.
It is no secret that to call someone a “sex offender” in prison is to
subject that persyn to violence and possibly death. Furthermore, it is a
hystorical fact that pigs have used sex offender accusations as a way to
discredit leading voices amongst the oppressed or simply to have
prisoners target someone they have a persynal vendetta against. We must
resist these COINTELPRO tactics and continue to unite and consolidate
our forces, as to participate in these self-inflicted lynchings is just
another way the pigs get us to do their dirty work for them.
Hystorical Comparisons
In carrying out self-criticism, Mao Zedong said that there had been too
many executions during China’s Cultural Revolution. In particular, ey
stated that while it may be justified to execute a murderer or someone
who blows up a factory, it may also be justified not to execute some of
these same people. Mao suggested that those who were willing should go
and perform some productive labor so that both society could gain
something positive and the persyn in question could be reformed.(4)
Maoists believe that problems amongst the people should be handled
peacefully among the people and thru the methods of discussion and
debate. Most prisoners are locked up exactly because they engaged in
some type of anti-people activity at one point or another of their
lives. Should these actions define prisoners? According to MIM Thought,
all U.$. citizens will be viewed as reforming criminals by the Third
World socialist movement under the Joint Dictatorship of the Proletariat
of the Oppressed Nations (JDPON). The First World lumpen will be no
exception regardless of crime of choice.
Summertime mid-July 2017 – Oklahoma’s worst prison in the country
Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, Oklahoma. I got the chance to
be moved off a security threat group unit (STG) where four gang members
was killed in one single day all stabbed to death on one unit in one
single incident in 2015. I got to move to the honor dorm where you are
required to have a job either on the unit or on the yard, somewhere like
the kitchen, laundry, or the library. All of the jobs was said to be
full, but this facility had just lost its contract for its maximum
security units. Most of the max inmates was moved to other max
facilities and some put back in population on this facility, and after
the max was empty it needed painting. I was chosen to help, I had
experience in painting.
To move unit to unit you are subject to be pat-searched or
strip-searched. These searches are routine by any officer, and are
documented supposedly. On arriving to the entrance of the units that was
to be painted my group of about 8 prisoners was stopped and told to line
up for a strip-search. We formed a line and went one by one in a tiny
bathroom where one officer had I thought one of the worst jobs that day
seeing other men’s nuts and butts, but I guess I was wrong.
When it was my turn I was already reluctant because a few of the guys
came out the bathroom complaining about how weird it was. I get in the
bathroom everybody knows the routine, take off all your clothes hand
them to the officer he hand searches them and puts them to the side or
holds them in his hands. You are to lift your nuts, turn around bend
over squat and cough at the same time. I did all of those things but the
officer had this lustful look on his face. He told me to let him see my
dick again he then bends at the waist where he is very close to my piece
and told me to pull back on it. I was beyond horrified.
You know how your back goes straight when you’re either scared or mad? I
asked him what type of shit he was on and told him I don’t get down with
that shit give me my fuckin clothes back. He smiled and handed me back
my clothes. I dressed so fast I forgot to put on a sock.
The following day I thought surely the same officer would not be doing
searches. WRONG. He was waiting on us by the bathroom with one hand on
the wall the other hand on his hip tappin his foot. Once again when it
was my turn I was somewhat scared and regretful for going back. Scared
because I can act out of control sometimes, but I was somewhat confused
and caught off guard. When I entered the bathroom I told the officer I’m
not strippin out he could send me back if I have to. He said OK put your
hands on the wall and starts a pat-down search he gets to my dick and
grabs it and holds it and ask what it was. I yank away and tell him my
dick weirdo let me out of here and push past him.
I was embarrassed and afraid to tell anyone at the time but when I did,
what I thought was going to happen did. He denied it, the facility heads
believed him and not me the prisoner and to this day I’m being
retaliated against, threatened and punished by this facility’s staff.
MIM(Prisons) responds: As this writer knows, it can be
embarrassing, upsetting, and terrifying to come forward and talk about
sexual harassment and assault. And it’s an added challenge when it’s not
the gender norm that we’re comfortable with, like when male guards
molest male prisoners. This comrade is exposing something that goes on
regularly behind bars. And the idea that reporting to the prison this,
or any other type of abuse, will help the individual’s situation is
largely a myth. Congress even passed the
Prison
Rape Elimination Act to supposedly address this problem. But even
that is just resulting in retaliation for many. Gender oppression and
sexual assault of male prisoners is a big problem that is all too often
ignored. It doesn’t matter if the harasser is male or female, it’s an
abuse of power.
I wanna talk about an upcoming topic of “sex offenders” and their role
in the struggle. A primary question is, I think, do they have a role in
the struggle? It boils down to our moral outlook on sex offenders who
were convicted by the imperialist justice system. How many
wrongfully-convicted comrades are there in prison? I mean those who are
not sex offenders. Are we wrong when we say that the U.$. imperialist
justice system is broken and biased and oppressive and due to its
historical implementation is invalid? No. I think most agree that this
is the case.
And if that is the case, we cannot make exceptions to certain crimes and
convictions. Or can we?
That leaves us to draw on what we ourselves as communists consider
unlawful under socialism. Sex crimes, like all other physical assault,
are unlawful. But how do we filter the sex offenders convicted by
imperialists into the category with the rest of the convicted so-called
“criminals” who fight within our ranks?
We know on the prison yards that we rely on what we call “paperwork”
which is any police report or transcripts from the preliminary hearing
or trial transcripts or even just mention or allegation that indicates
someone’s involvement of the crime or “snitching” for a dude to be
blacklisted as “no good” on the yard. But that goes back to relying on
an imperialist’s rule of thumb when determining guilt.
Under our own law we would need to measure someone’s guilt by our own
standards and come up with ways of determining how to do so.
But what about the sex offenders who actually are guilty of sex crimes?
Are they banned for life? Is there no “get-back” for them ever? Becuz of
their crime can they provide no contribution to revolution or to society
under a socialist state?
I think they can make a contribution to revolution. And under a
socialist state, after being appropriately punished (not oppressed) and
taught the lesson to be learned against crimes of humanity
rehabilitation can be achieved.
Note that I’m not an advocate for sex offenders, so if I must set aside
emotion and personal disgust for correct political analysis and
conclusion to further the movement on this question, then we all must.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We want to use this contributor’s
perspective as an opportunity to go deeper into looking at the current
balance of forces and our weakness relative to the imperialists. Our
difficulties in measuring guilt, and helping rehabilitate people who
want to recover from their patriarchal conditioning, are extremely
cumbersome.(1)
The imperialists are currently the principal aspect in the contradiction
between capitalism and communism. The imperialists have plenty of
resources to set social standards (i.e. laws), conduct and fabricate
“investigations,” hold trial to “determine guilt,” mete out punishment
to those convicted, and even often find those who attempt to evade the
process.
We hope by now our readers have accepted this contributor’s perspective
that we can’t let the state tell us who has committed sex-crimes by our
standards. The next step would be for us to figure out how to deal with
people who are accused of anti-people sex-crimes in the interim, while
we are working to gain state power. We can set our own social standards,
attempt to conduct investigations to a degree, establish tribunals to
determine guilt, and in our socialist morality, either mete punishment,
or, even more importantly assist rehabilitation when we have power and
resources to do so.
How much of this we can do in our present conditions is open for debate.
How much someone can actually be rehabilitated by our limited resources
while living under patriarchal capitalism is debatable. How relevant it
is to put resources into this type of activity depends on how important
it is to the people involved in the organization or movement.(1) How
much resources we put into any one of these “investigations” depends on
conducting a serious cost-benefit analysis.
For example, if someone contributes a lot to our work, and is accused of
a behavior that is very offensive and irreconcilable to others who work
with em, then that makes developing this process sooner than later a
higher priority. At this stage in our struggle, low-level offenses
should only be addressed by our movement to the degree that they build
an internal culture that combats chauvinism and prevents other
higher-level offenses from arising. Of course there is a ton of middle
ground between these two examples. But what we might be able to address
when we have state power (or even dual power) at this time may just need
to be dealt with using expulsions and distance.
There are very few labels more stigmatizing than “sex offender” in
prison. While sex crime encompasses a wide variety of “criminal”
behavior ranging from urinating in public to actual sexual depredation,
once labeled a sex offender (SO) any individual is automatically
persona non grata; black-listed.
Many, myself included, view SOs as the scourge of society, far below
cowards, and even below informants (snitches). As such prisoners
generally do not debate SOs other than in a negative light. For the
prisoner-activist/revolutionary, who is politically aware and class
conscious, the SO debate takes on an interesting color. In particular,
when we contemplate how a movement can best confront the problem of real
sexual depredations. What possible solutions can be put into practice?
Isolation? Ostracization? Extermination? Or is there some way in which
the democratic method – unity/criticism/unity – can make a difference?
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 later become sexual
predators, creating one long line of victimization. What is a
revolutionary movement to do to stop this terrible cycle? In prisons, at
present, the only resolutions being practiced are ostracization and
further exploitation. SOs are deliberately excluded from most, if not
all, social interactions outside of being extorted, coerced, threatened
and or beaten. While prisoners may find approval for these actions of
victimization, these actions do nothing at all to solve the problem.
In a discussion with participants in an extension study group (debating
topics from MIM(Prisons) study group) it was advanced that all SOs
should be put on an island away from society or summarily executed.
First, such drastic measures ignore the problem just as current
solutions do. In the former (an SO’s island) case it creates a
subsociety, a subculture, dominated by sexual depredation and its
approval. As a member of our group quickly concluded “this would
definitely be a bad thing.” In the latter case all you do is commit
senseless murders.
Any possible solution with the real probability of success must be found
in the democratic method. In order to eradicate the senseless cycle of
sexual victimization revolutionaries must engage in a re-education
campaign. Beginning in unity of purpose: a society based on equality
without exploitation, class struggle and antagonism. To achieve this all
elements in society must work in concert and be healthy. Following this
is the critique phase, where the process of re-education becomes
important. Interacting with SOs, demonstrating why, how and where they
went wrong. From there one would begin inculcating an SO with proper
respect for their fellow humyn and all the rights of individuals, along
with a new comprehension of acceptable behavior. For the imprisoned
revolutionary the most important aspect is their role in engaging the SO
and initiating the re-education. This in itself is a revolutionary step
requiring fortitude and stoicism considering current prison norms and
expectations.
At any rate, assuming an SO can be brought to understand the
incorrectness of their thought and action, they will cease to be a
detriment to society. As revolutionaries, of course, this opportunity
would extend to a political education as well. In the end one can
reasonably hope to not only have reformed an SO, but to have built a
new, dedicated revolutionary. The hardest step toward any goal is always
the first one, but it must always be made.
MIM(Prisons) responds: Certainly it is correct to oppose sexually
violent behavior. But we’re still not entirely sure why “sex offenders”
are more pariahs than murderers in the prison environment. We lay out a
theory for why prisoners are so obsessed with vilifying “sex offenders”
in our article
Sex
Offenders vs. Anti-People Sex Crimes, and we welcome others
introspection on the topic.
This author presents an interesting argument, although we’re not sure
the logic is sound. When someone is murdered in lumpen-criminal
violence, often there is retaliatory murder, and subsequent prison time.
Lumpen-criminal violence (created and encouraged by selective
intervention and neglect by the state) is one of the reasons why 1 in 3
New Afrikan men will go to prison at some point in their lifetime. That
represents a long line of victimization.
Rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence are also
staggering. We are not trying to weigh sexual violence against murder
and try to determine which is worse. Instead we highlight these
arguments made by our contributors to question why they hold the
perspectives that they hold, to encourage more scientific thinking.
We disagree this contributor where ey says that revolutionaries in
prison should make it a priority to try to rehabilitate people who have
committed sex-crimes. As we’ve explained elsewhere in this issue, we
have a limited ability to do that, and this challenge is exacerbated by
the fact that we still live in a capitalist patriarchal society. It
would make more sense to focus this rehabilitation effort on people who
are otherwise contributing to building toward socialist revolution and
an end to capitalism. But reforming people who have committed sex-crimes
for its own sake is putting the carriage before the horse. At this time,
our first priority is to kill capitalism and the patriarchy.
[This writer enclosed a People Magazine article: Sexually Harassed
by Prison Inmates, January 1, 2018. About two female COs who work at
Florida’s Coleman prison. They won a class action lawsuit regarding
sexual harassment on the job, against the Department of Justice last
February, with a $20 million settlement.]
I have an article that I got from somebody that I would like to share
about a six-year battle against sexually-harassed women staff at FCC
Coleman outside Orlando, Florida. For me, women that work in
correctional centers should know what they’re getting themselves into
working in all-male facilities.
I know that some guys can’t control themselves when they see women COs.
Some do perverted shit that I can’t even approve of because that’s not
who I am as a brother who is trying to end my criminal way of thinking.
But I can say that women who sign up for the job know that they did not
apply at Disney World or Six Flags, so they should be prepared for the
torment that they know this job is capable of doing.
Even though I don’t agree with some prisoners who pull out on the women
COs, I just feel bad for what this system of injustice has done to my
fellow brother’s mental state. Because there are some brothers who are
never going home at all and some who got a significant sentence, and
they feel like they’re a long way from home. So this situation is a
double-edge sword because you have to look at some of these guys’ mental
state and situation, because some are not going home at all, which can
influence other brothers’ behaviors.
And I cannot put all the blame on my fellow prisoners, because I have
seen for myself women COs let prisoners whip out on them and they wait
or show some skin till that brother has finished. And there has been
COs, men and women, turning tricks with prisoners. So I’ve seen both
parties at fault in these circumstances.
That is why I said this is a double-edge sword situation, but the sword
is sharper on our side because of lawsuits like this, which open the
doors for more corporal punishment and stricter rules in a place where
we barely have any say so. This case has showed me the oppressor is
coming up with new ways to keep my fellow prisoners in solitary
confinement, and to take advantage of some brothers’ fragile mind state.
Because to me these women knew when they applied for this kind of job,
being so-called law enforcers of the worst humans in confinement, that
we are labeled as what should they expect. So that is how I feel about
this article.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We share this writer’s view that prisoners
are put in shitty situations that can lead them to mental health
problems and behavior that they would not have considered on the
streets. It’s also unacceptable that people working in prisons toy with
prisoners, using their position for their own sexual pleasure.
We have little sympathy for people who choose to take jobs in prisons,
as these institutions are just tools of oppression. We do recognize that
many prisons are deliberately located in destitute rural white areas,
and so many times job options are slim. But we do still have free will,
and a lack of available does not excuse people from taking jobs that pay
them to carry out oppression and abuse daily.
That said, we don’t think there is any situation in which anyone should
just expect to be sexually harassed. Even in prisons or the military,
institutions that are fundamentally corrupt and serving imperialism,
there is no need for wimmin to suffer sexual harassment. This is the
same argument made of actresses in Harvey Weinstein movies, beauty
pageant contestants, and people wearing short skirts: “you know the
consequences and you’re choosing to get sexually harassed.” No, these
people are choosing what clothes to wear and what careers to pursue, and
those choices shouldn’t include sexual harassment.
The degradation of wimmin is a part of the system of patriarchal
oppression that is intimately tied up with capitalism. As is the
degradation of prisoners who are acting out against these COs due to
their damaged mental state. These are things we won’t be able to
eliminate while capitalism exists, but that doesn’t mean we should
pretend people just need to accept it. We are building towards a society
where all people are equal and no group of people has power over another
group. This includes eliminating all forms of harassment and oppression.
The U$A uses the sex offender label to put folks in certain stages,
legally. So the KKK uses that against you to not give you a job. So your
life will be messed up. Being a captive we get hit with it every day. If
you look at the United $tates of Amerika, some of everybody is a sex
offender. Our own president is 1 of the biggest sex offenders of all.
Once that label be upon you everything is hard. You can’t be around your
kids or some jobs. They use this control to keep the oppressed in line.
You can get locked up, catch a charge. Then the next thing you know you
are a sex offender. I hate to see somebody else’s life messed up.
MIM(Prisons) responds: The ability to buy and sell people and
sex, inherent in a capitalist economic system, leads many to behave in
ways that are extremely anti-social. Those who have been subjected to
the worst of the gender conditioning our society has to offer are much
more likely to commit sex-crimes which perpetuate the harm caused by
male chauvinism and capitalism.
It really says something that the best response the state has for
dealing with the people who have submitted to its patriarchal
conditioning is to slap a label on them and just ruin their lives. It’s
the same with the “felon” label, and even more extreme.
We need to address the root causes of anti-social behavior (which
stem from society itself), as well as rehabilitate those who have
committed anti-people crimes. Without state power, both of these tasks
are extremely difficult if not impossible. For our perspective on how to
address this problem in the immediate term, see our article [LEAD
ARTICLE FOR 61].