Under Lock & Key

Indians were here first in this illegitimate country occupied by all of us that aren't Indians. I am an Afrikkan man in this land of thieves. The article that was given to me by a comrade was ULK number 11. The article Thangs Taken got my attention the most because these caucasians have taken everything since the Afrikkans were taken from the mother land, Africa.

First off, let me set the record straight for all who are the "otherwise, and not the wise." Nah, Old KKKolombus isn't the founder of anything except how to deceive, divide, and conquer. The long white con used tricknology to trick and treat the Black man, the red man, and the brown man. This is the true meaning behind halloween and thanksgiving. To those of you who are pre-conditioned with the "otherwise-syndrome," I pose the question to you: "how is it possible to say you're the first to discover anything, if someone else is already there, or have ownership of whatever it may be?" Now, let me answer the question for those of you who don't quite get my drift. The only way possible is by using deception, division, and conquering the minds of those who were trick and treated with gifts and trade of commerce.

I take some time to address the issue of Leonard Peltier, whose been in prison since 1977. For those of you who aren't familiar with who Mr. Leonard Peltier is, and what his family needs us to do, let me do my best to enlighten you. Leonard Peltier, denied parole again, must wait until 2024 for his next hearing. "Despite the years of protest against Leonard Peltier's wrongful imprisonment, despite government officials admissions over the years that they have no idea who killed FBI agents [Ronald A.] Williams and [Jack R.] Coler; despite the overwhelming evidence of egregious FBI malfeasance including civil and human rights violations; and despite the literally millions of signatures calling for the release of Peltier, he remains in prison to this day."

On August 21, 2009 the U.S. Parole Commission for the second time denied parole to Leonard Peltier, who had appeared on July 28, 2009 before the parole board at Lewisburg Penitentiary, in Pennsylvania. This was his second full parole hearing since his incarceration in 1977, the first was in 1993. U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley made the announcement that Mr. Peltier's release on parole "would depreciate the seriousness of his offenses" and "would promote disrespect for the law." And that the next scheduled hearing would be in 2024, when Mr. Peltier would be 79 years old. The popular First Nation advocate for human rights was sentenced in a Fargo, North Dakota court to two life sentences for the killing of two FBI agents during a standoff on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Mr. Peltier has always declared his innocence, saying the FBI framed him. Mr. Peltier's Honolulu-based attorney, Eric Seitz placed his reaction to the parole decision on his Facebook page: "This is an extreme action by the same law enforcement community that brought us the deliberate imprisonment of suspected teenage terrorists, tortures, and killings in CIA prisons around the world; and promoted widespread disrespect for the democratic concepts of justice upon which this nation supposedly was founded on."

Attorney Seitz is known for calling for trying former president George W. Bush, his Vice President, Dick Cheney and the First Secretary of Defense in his administration, Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes for launching the war in Iraq: "We will continue to seek parole and clemency for Mr. Peltier, and to eventually bring this prolonged injustice to a prompt and fair resolution," he said.

The organizations fighting for Mr. Peltier's release say they will now push for executive clemency, which means the commuting of his sentence - not a pardon, according to the Leonard Peltier Defense/Offense Committee(LPDOC) and the Friends of Leonard Peltier. "The President can decrease the amount of time served or grant an immediate release for time served," states the LPDOC on its website. The friends of LP said they would urge congress to hold full and open hearings on the long term effect of COINTELPRO on the American Indian Movement and other activist organizations. The organization also wants congress to investigate who they call "the Reign of Terror" against the Pine Ridge Reservation from 1973 to 1976.

The FBI has been exerting massive pressure to continue Mr. Peltier's incarceration, claim his supporters. The No Parole Peltier Association, which is run by a former FBI agents has posted on their web site that they "are strongly opposed to parole," and on March 19 the organization, in a letter to President Barack Obama, urged him not to "give consideration to his [Peltier's] Petition for executive clemency."

Organizations that support Mr. Peltier's release such as Amnesty International(AI) said they "regret" the parole commission's decision." "The interest of justice would be best served by granting Leonard Peltier Parole" Angela Wright, a U.S. researcher for AI said in a press release. "We urge the U.S. parole commission to reconsider its decision." For those of you that want to help support Mr. Peltier his family and friends ask you to write to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20530 and ask him to conduct an executive review in the case of Leonard Peltier.

MIM(Prisons) responds:
The case of Leonard Peltier starkly illustrates the history of the COINTELPRO war against oppressed nation activists in the 1960s and 1970s and the consequential dramatic rise in the prison population in Amerika. Peltier is just one of many such people, locked up for fabricated crimes because they were part of a movement opposing Amerikan imperialism. This imprisonment expanded to oppressed nation youth who might join such anti-imperialist and revolutionary movements, and led Amerika to have the highest per capita imprisonment rate in the world.

The release of Leonard Peltier would be objective progress because as a vocal activist this would put Peltier in a better position to educate the youth of today about the history and current news in the criminal injustice system. However, he is just one of many men and women who should not be in Amerikkkan prisons. And rather than focus on individual cases, even very public and sensational cases like Peltier's, MIM(Prisons) puts our efforts towards building a movement against the criminal injustice system as a whole, as a part of the fight against imperialism. Along the way we certainly ally with those focusing on individual cases like Peltier's.

By aligning Amerikans' immediate interests with their long-term interests, the militarization of the U.$./Mexico border has become a machine that will not likely slow down on its own. This machine is propelled by the imperialist politicians, imperialist businessmen (often the same people), and the Amerikan labor aristocracy. This collusion of interests at a time when Amerikan hegemony is fragile spells danger for the oppressed nations, in particular for Aztlán.

National Public Radio (NPR) released a report this week exposing financial and political connections between the Correctional Corporation of America (CCA) and those behind Arizona's oppressive SB1070 law.(1) The law, which is still under judicial review after being put on hold, legalizes racial profiling and empowers state police to enforce federal immigration laws in the process. The scandal, now being denied by the bill's sponsor Senator Russell Pearce and others, is that they passed the law to increase their income and the profits of their corporate backers.

Without SB1070, CCA was getting an estimated $117 million a year from the federal government for imprisoning migrants. Meanwhile, Wackenhut/G4S, the next largest private prison company, has a $76 million a year contract to bus migrants around the border for the U.$. government. Of course, both of these sums are chump change compared to the $3.6 billion budget for Border Patrol in 2010.(2) All of this is federal money going to the oppressor nation to do its thing — oppress.

The essence of what is going on is Amerikans getting paid a lot of money to make sure Amerikans get paid a lot of money. That's why the border exists and why it must be militarized. If it is not, the masses whose labor value has been stolen and exported to the United $tates would come here to benefit from the fruits of their labor. Without closed borders, we can't keep the wealth inside.

The NPR report exposes the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization of state legislators and powerful corporations that get together to draft and propose laws (see figure above). The companies pay tens of thousands of dollars to attend such meetings with those who make the law. And according to NPR, the number of legislators who sponsored SB1070 was almost unprecedented and 30 out of the 36 received contributions from prison companies or prison lobbyists in the 6 months following SB1070's passage. Meanwhile, two of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's top advisers are former prison lobbyists.(1) All of this makes CCA's and Sen. Pearce's denials of corporate influence look silly.

None of this is new to CCA, which was founded in Nashville, Tennessee by former chairman of the state Republican Party, Tom Beasley and his former roomy from the U.$. Military Academy at West Point, Doc Crants. Initial investors included the governor's wife, Honey Alexander, and the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Ned McWherter.(3) Ever since then, their business model has relied on close political ties just as most military, defense and security business does. Apparently, CCA agrees with MIM(Prisons)'s assessment that migrants are and will continue to be the fastest growing prison population in the United $tates. But while we are fighting this trend, CCA is doing all they can to foster it.

When imperialism reaches the point where the arms of oppression are major sources of profiteering, and the people are dependent on these operations for their paychecks and standards of living (i.e. where oppression and the oppressors' financial interests become one in the same), we will see the national contradictions within imperialism heighten rapidly. This leads to increased repression both in laws and in actions but also the opportunity for raising consciousness and resistance among the oppressed nations. Even those Latinos who supported imperialist politics had to think twice about the Arizona law as it could impact their persynal safety if they visit that state. The imperialists expose their blatantly chauvinistic goals with these reactionary laws and the alliances that create the laws and it is our responsibility to point out the contradictions and organize against imperialist national oppression.

As of this writing I've been confined to a special management unit because, of all things, a drawing. The artwork however is not the problem, but what it supposedly represents. From a larger standpoint the censoring of such work is another form of passive cultural destruction. What they can't control they restrict. What they don't understand, they tend to fear. And of course the "they" I'm speaking of are those upholding Amerikan values of whitewashed virtues.

The drawing was one I chose to adopt because of its high symbolism and esoteric meanings. But because this symbol was first used by the Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percenters), a branch of the Nation of Islam, which is deemed a "security threat group" within penal institutions in six states, I was also branded a threat. I have no affiliation with that organization or any gang. I don't adhere to the NOGE's or NOI's religious dogmas. I do however share in their militant outlook and agree, for better, with what they've done to reeducate Black youth to the realities of this system. Because of this they, and anyone even duplicating a representative symbol of such organizations, are deemed a threat.

I must assume the motivation behind the government labeling a peaceful, cultural religious organization as a gang can be found in a real warranted fear of this group's objectives. To name just a few: its obvious work in enlightening individuals about this police state, its very successful strategy in reducing the recidivism rate, and most importantly empowering youth to be leaders and conduits of true culture in their families and communities. These priorities, and numerous others, are something to fear, especially when privatized institutions can prospectively lose millions annually.

The programming of the masses through corporate-owned media propaganda has not been done haphazardly. Sensationalism, violence, stereotypes and desensitization through repetition of crime and cop shows has not only controlled opinion but has thoroughly turned people into mindless robots, keeping the rich in control, middle class happy and poor discontented but helpless. Any organization that exposes this government for what it is and directs its energies to providing and teaching what true responsibility is to a community, is one I'd gladly be a part of.

MIM(Prisons) responds:
We agree with this prisoner that the criminal injustice system has a real reason to fear any organization that is educating people about the prison system, working to reduce recidivism, and organizing oppressed nations. These organizations threaten their use of the prison system as a tool of social control. And it is true that the media plays a major role in promoting imperialist policies to the Amerikan people. However, this is not the only reason the masses are passive. Amerikan citizens are acting in their economic self-interest when they play the role of happy robot and accept imperialist policies. See our article Amerikkkans: Oppressing for a Living in ULK 2.

Prison politics are one of the most corrupt manifestations brought into existence by Amerikkka. They are slavery and Jim Crow in one warehouse. These are warehouses for their legal (illegal) systems of "convicted" slaves. Every one of us who are conscious are political prisoners.

In the crooked fascist state of Tennessee's prison system, or concentration camp system, racism is thriving. The brotherhoods and KKK members are allotted opportunities to study their facades of a culture, miseducated backgrounds. While unequally Afrikans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, etc. of the so-called "minority" groups are classified as STG members when we seek to become more informed about our cultural backgrounds and their legacies. It's a constant battle in the heart of capitalism.

I, myself, have struggled with these oppressors for more than 5 calendar years about them attempting to classify me as an STG member. I've even gone so far as to clearly tell these savages that I'm a revolutionist not a senseless gang banger.

They verbally assault me and the comrades of like mind, hoping to provoke an attack from us because they can't stomach seeing us unite as one mind, one body, one soul. But these fake Nazis do it and it's cool because most prison officials are in one way or another believers in their theories. We must remember this so-called bible belt is the home of the Confederacy and it's confederate concepts of racial superiority along the ideals of Hitler and his Nazism.

Since I've been at this prison, in the north eastern corner of Tennessee it has been no less than 4 white on Black stabbings where the white males who had the blades where treated better in apprehension than the Black/diasporic Afrikan victims. Whites use violence to solve their problems and simply get shipped, minus the acceptable few who are urban oriented. I don't find this a coincidence. While if the Blacks or other "minorities" resort to violence to solve our issue/problems they resort to placing us on max for at least 18 months to 5 years, privileges taken, family communication taken, and then we'll be shipped to another compound after our stretch behind the walls that are behind the walls.

This whole theory alone sounds insane if you ask any conscious human being. If you snitch behind these walls you get privileges unlike the ones who keep silent. And the cowards that do the snitch thang need their tongues cut out and tied around their throats by all revolutionary means. Our cultural celebrations are treated with mockery yet they'll attempt placing you on meds and classifying you as insane/incompetent if you complain, but only because there is no unity amongst the oppressed.

They fear unity, for they know in it there is a power unstoppable. But we must, ourselves, believe it before we can achieve it. We are our only obstacle!

MIM(Prisons) responds: We hold that all prisoners are political prisoners, regardless of their consciousness, because they are in prison for political reasons. Barack Obama can bomb families in Central Asia and walk free, living a luxurious lifestyle while a Black man in an oppressed neighborhood with a little narcotics in his pocket can spend years in prison for possession. That's political.

With extreme I compose this essay in hopes to shed light on a prison-related issue of national oppression and prison organizations. The Black Panther Party (BPP), and similar organizations, are not entirely made up of Blacks. Far from it. This is because the BPP's whole creed and politics center around non-racism and equality. Whereas you must be 100% white to become an aryan soldier (AS). And an AS's whole creed revolves around that fact. Literally the 14/88 of the aryans stands for "we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."(14 words) and the 88 precepts are set at that exact number because the eighth letter in the alphabet is "H." and "HH" stands for Heil Hitler! And I'm sure readers are familiar with the Nazis.

Aryans believe in and support such myths as Valhalla (palace in which the souls of slain heroes feasted for eternity) and Valkyries (maidens who selected heroes destined to be slain in the battle and escorted them to Valhalla) geared from ancient Norse mythology. Whereas Panthers believe in and support science and a thing called "materialist dialectics" which basically states contradiction exists in everything [everything that's not a fairy tale or myth] and in order to embrace reality, or change it if you wish, one must understand these contradictions inherent in things.

If we were to look at the reason why an aryan has time for nursery rhymes and fictional deities we'd see it's because the white imperialist elite system these aryans live in already supports such idealist metaphysical ideals. And in truth, a person who doesn't oppose a system thereby supports that system, as silence is taken as acceptance of that system.

And why not? The 14 million children who starve to death annually and the over 500,000 Iraqi children who've died because of U.$. sanctions aren't white children. If one of our white baby Jessicas slips down a hole we aryan nation amerikans pull out all the stops. And I say aryan nation because history has shown the U.$. leaves these aryan gangs and organizations alone. At least compared to what the U.$. government did to the Black Panthers. Has anyone ever heard of a COINTELPRO (counter intelligence FBI program) roundup of aryans? Inside of Amerika? Just look at how long it took the U.$. to step in and oppose the nazis.

So why isn't an aryan soldier deemed a threat but a Panther is?

Is it because the Panthers actually voice dissent at a system that allows millions of children to starve to death? At a system that wars for profit and imprisons for the simple fact you are not white, or rich enough to dodge the bullet? Because the Panthers use statistics and percentages:

U.$. Black incarceration rate per 100,000: 1,947
U.$. white incarceration rate per 100,000: 306(1)
Iraqi children killed because of U.$. sanctions (1996): 500,000 (2)

A Panther seeks an end to all wars. What is the aryan soldier's take on the issue of war? They don't have one. Unless it's the willingness to join the U.$. military and fight for "their" country. A Panther will not join the military out of moral and ethical beliefs.

And then we come to "choice of words" or "manners" that these two groups have adopted over time because their environments have forced such polarities. A person in the aryan soldier brotherhood has time to write about and justify his tattoos. He could be seen as a man who isn't in no hurry at all. No danger for this man or his people is imminent. He thinks of tattoos. And justifying himself and his gang.

But a panther worried about the deaths of his friends, loved ones and comrades, at the hands of an aryan system, will speak with an entirely different tone of voice. Because he must hurry, it's life or death for him, his family and 15 million children annually. His people. The ones oppressed and dying because of this white elitist aryan system of government.

It's like this. You and a friend are walking toward the Grand Canyon. 1,000 yards away your buddy turns around and walks backwards smiling at you. You say, "funny, but we're far away from the cliff. nice tattoos." At about 500 yards you say "well dude, better face forward or you'll walk over the cliff." At 5 yards you're not going to smile and say "please"; you'll grab him; or if he's too far away, you'll scream "stop! now!" even if it hurts his feelings or upsets him.

Unless you'd rather talk about his hair style or tattoos. Unless you don't care if he (15 million children) die. Would it make a difference to an aryan soldier what color this man's, 5 yards from a cliff's edge walking towards it backwards, skin was? Most certainly it would. Read the 14 words.

Even though I'm a white "redneck," I am very put off by aryan soldiers. I personally am ashamed and embarrassed when anyone tries to support or stick up for "14/88" or "skinhead($)". And, i guess, this makes me a race traitor to these people, and a captive that sticks up for "undesirables." But I don't care. I'm already deemed a "threat to the community" and a "terrorist" in most people's eyes. What's a group of Nazis 'hating on me' going to add to the state of Utah's and government's already dislike for my anti-imperialist person? Nothing.

To justify a Black Panther and their beliefs is progressive and correct. To (attempt to) justify a white supremacist is backwards and frightening to the world's majority.

I'm writing you today regarding High Desert State Prison's (HDSP) violation of my constitutionally protected rights (as well as the rights of many other inmates). Those violations include 14th amendment (due process), 1st amendment (freedom of religion) and 8th amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) just to name a few! Now I would like to give you a little of the background and then a brief rundown on conditions here at HDSP in the Z Unit Administrative segregation Unit as well as how these violations are taking place.

On August 4, 2009 HDSP targeted "northern hispanic" prisoners on C-yard general population, due to supposed racial tension between white prisoners and "northern hispanic" prisoners (there was no tension until HDSP staff started spreading false rumors). Note: because of these rumors both white and "northern hispanic" prisoners were placed on lockdown the first week of June 2009. On August 4, 2009 staff turned all water off on C-yard prior to 8am. Then IGI/ISU started a building by building sweep of all (only) "northern hispanic" prisoners. All were systematically strip searched, cuffed and removed from their cells, wearing only boxers and shower thongs. Our boxers were then taped to our stomachs and around our legs (the taping was done on bare skin). All these prisoners were taken outside and wanded with hand held metal detectors and we were then sent to one of three destinations: 1) if your names was on the list for validation you went to the gym where you were medically cleared and then forced, by investigators, to be photographed, then sent to ad-seg. 2) if the list did not say validated by your name, and the metal detector did not beep you went to the dining hall. 3) if the wand beeped you went to potty watch. Note: some inmates went to potty watch even without the wand beeping. All "northern hispanic" prisoners' property was confiscated and thrown in the gym where it was searched and personal items were lost, destroyed and damaged by careless correctional officers.

This was simply a racially motivated attack by HDSP! Close to if not more than half of all "northern hispanics" on C-yard were removed from general population and sent to ad-seg and then validated.

Now the aforementioned is just the background and beginning to the violations of our constitutionally protected rights. Since my arrival in Z unit, staff has refused to follow the policies set forth in California Code of Regulations Title 15 section 3343 - conditions of segregation - with their willful and blatant disregard for following state created rules and regulations, they (HDSP) are in violation of the 14th amendment of the US constitution, specifically the Due Process Clause. Now let me briefly explain the conditions they are violating.

1) Clothing/laundry exchange - this has recently improved, however prisoners for the most part must still wash their clothing by hand, because the exchange offered is either old and worn out or there is only one or two different items available. Prisoners also do not receive proper winter attire. It is extremely cold and it snows much of the late fall, winter and early spring. The jackets given to us do not button up nor do they zip up, and prisoners are not allowed gloves or beanies. The only clothing we are allowed to wear outside at yard are a pair of socks, boxers, t-shirt, thin cloth jumpsuit, jacket and a lightweight pair of state issued slip-on shoes, and if a prisoner has already purchased their own, prior to ad-seg placement, a set of thermals. This is all in sub-zero temps.

2. Meals are served in unsanitary conditions. Food is served cold, mixed together some items are stale and fruit is rotten, and meat and other food is undercooked.

3. Mail is late, lost and destroyed, outgoing mail is lost, delayed or not mailed at all.

4. Personal cleanliness - prisoners are supposed to be allowed to shave 3 times a week, however in the year plus that I have been in Z unit I have never shaved more than once in any given week and then it's not with a razor, it's with haircutting clippers. Also indigent supplies such as the tooth floss and bodywash/soap is not always passed out. Supplies for cleaning our cells are not adequate to last the week nor are they always provided.

5. Exercise yard - yard is often canceled. For example in February of 2010 our section only had yard four times the entire month. Prisoners are supposed to get a minimum of 10 hours per week of yard. While at yard in the winter, prisoners are strip searched outside in snow, ice and 10 degree temps. While we are standing there naked correctional officers laugh and say "it's not that cold out here!" Not only do these actions listed above violate 14th amendment rights, they are also violating the 8th amendment and are (most if not all of them) a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

All of the previously mentioned issues I have tried to address via the institutional appeal system (CDCR 602) but I have been stopped at every turn. Staff either toss it in the trash, disregard it, or screen it out every time I attempt to bring these issues to the table. Therefore they are not allowing issues to be resolved administratively nor are they allowing us to be able to seek judicial review.

Other major issues include these validations from August 4, 2009 - most if not all of them are bogus as well as prejudicial. For example, not one point used to validate me meets CDCR criteria, state or federal laws. Now my initial paperwork said I was only under investigation. Less than 2 months later I received a second 114-D which said the first one was a lie, the investigation was concluded in July 2009 (which was prior to my ad-seg placement). These lies did not allow me to prepare a proper defense to combat these allegations. This is the standard operating procedure of staff and administrators here at HDSP which is to tell one story after another, lie after lie, and this is designed to keep prisoners confused and off balance.

Validated inmates are not being transferred to the SHU unit due to supposed over crowding at the SHUs, so here at HDSP it takes 2-3 years to be transferred. SHU inmates are supposed to be allowed an appliance, i.e. a TV or a radio, but not here in Z unit, here we don't even receive all of our allowable property. Also the lighting is poor, causing eye strain. There are no fire extinguishers in the cells. Toilets are on flush meters meaning if you flush more than 2 times in 5 minutes the toilets will shut down for an hour. Also power outages disable the toilets and those are frequent. Also there are ants, spiders, mice and birds on the tier. Which leads to animal (mouse) and bird feces on the walls, the doors, the floors as well as all over the yard cages. Each and every one of these issues are a violation of the 8th amendment and they create cruel and unusual conditions of punishment.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This testimonial highlights the difficulties with the grievance system that many prisoners face when fighting the atrocious conditions in the criminal injustice system. We point this prisoner and others to the grievance campaign that was initiated by a California prisoner working with United Struggle from Within and has now spread to states across the country. [Since receiving this report, a full blown campaign to end the abuses at the "Z-Unit Zoo" has developed.]

[img="https://www.prisoncensorship.info/art/quick/singlespark.jpg" alt=A Single Spark]I'm writing from the plantation state of Texas, although I'm currently confined in Texas I've never lived here. I was sent to Texas from the Maryland Division of Corrections, under Maryland's Interstate Corrections Compact Agreement. I was transferred to Texas in part due to my prison politics, and because I wouldn't become a passive and willing participant of my own oppression. I was not alone, there were many like minded comrades who have been exiled to other states because of our dedication and loyalty to the struggle, in our pursuit of freedom, justice and equality. The revolution has never started amongst the masses, it's always been the flame of a few, to spark the righteous indignation of the many! The revolution has always been bloody, in the pursuit of freedom, justice and equality there's always going to be bloodshed because these imperialist, capitalistic pigs will never voluntarily relinquish control of the commodity of the prison industrial complex.

I quickly came to realize that the Texas correctional philosophy is deeply rooted in an overt racist sentiment that's too casually expressed. The very colors of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's officer's uniforms are a symbol of oppression and hatred, confederate blue and gray. These are the very same color uniforms of the confederacy, that the confederate soldiers wore during the civil war, when they were fighting to uphold the institution of slavery. Unfortunately the Willy Lynch theory is prevalent here in Texas. The penitentiary politics that these pigs employ are reminiscent of the gestapo tactics of the Third Reich.

I quickly found myself entrenched in the struggle here in Texas as a righteous member of the Nations of Gods and Earths, I manifest a peace mentality that's deeply rooted in a position of strength. Here in Texas, the penitentiary politics involved with the different prison organizations goes contrary to the very foundation on which they were built, which was the struggle. The devils here in Texas use our cultural differences against us, to keep us divided, employing the age old tactic of divide and conquer. Our struggles have always been intertwined, from Che Guevara fighting in Angola and Mozambique to General Toussaint of Haiti leading the revolution to free the island of Hispanola. The Black and Brown struggle has always been one and the same. Why do so many of your forsake the struggle and identify with the oppressor? Stop allowing these devils to exploit our differences to keep us divided, the more divided we stand, the more they'll continue to conquer us. It's time for us to unite.

MIM(Prisons) adds: This comrade's article about Texas is appropriately timed for our Under Lock and Key theme of United Front. The importance of oppressed nation groups coming together to fight the oppressors rather than fighting each other is no more clearly seen in Amerika than in the prisons. As this comrade points out, the criminal injustice system plays oppressed groups against each other to keep them divided. We are working to bring together lumpen organizations for peace as a part of the anti-imperialist United Front. Representatives of groups, who are authorized to speak for them, or who want to help build support within their group, should contact MIM(Prisons) for a copy of the draft statement of unity.

Greetings to everyone standing up for prisoners and human rights. My red fist goes to all MIM social or prison reformers who continue to carry truth, facts and hard struggles in their hearts against a democracy that does not serve all equally but serves the few rich imperialist greedy elites. MIM(Prisons) is speaking hardcore about a reality destroying many all over Amerika, especially those in prison of Black or Brown crimes, also known as the "War on Drugs." I am not trying to justify that smuggling or selling drugs should be permitted. Yet thousands now sit in prison with long harsh prison sentences that usually don't even balance out to such drug crimes. For example, in Texas the court judge gives you a certain prison sentence for drug crimes so that when you're up for parole the parole will be denied for reasons like "excessive amount." These reasons will be used each time you go for parole, not only violating Texas parole board policies but state law and U$ Constitution Amendments like the double jeopardy clause.

The Fifth Amendment of the U$ Constitution states, "…nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb…" This clause assures three basic protections: it protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, it protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and finally it protects against multiple punishments for the same offense.

Violating the double jeopardy clause qualifies as a constitutional violation in satisfaction of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, Pub. L. No 104-134. 110 Stat. 1321. When evidence indicates the parole board has violated the U$ Constitution the matter may be reviewed by a Federal Court pursuant to §1983.

2011 will be a legislature year. Black, Brown and other brothers in prison in Texas should ask their family and friends to protest such failed parole policies, state laws or constitutional amendments, now broken by this war on drugs by homeland terrorists calling themselves our nation's leaders.

The War on Drugs is not only a failed war on drug dealers, but against our families and communities, especially the Brown barrios and Black ghettos which many have always called home. The war on drugs sole purpose was to be able to create a new home, called prison, now filled with prisoners for drug crimes under harsh laws of sentencing ruining thousands of lives. And even our nation seems to be under attack by a democracy that serves more the rich than the poor or needy ones. I encourage others to draft protest petitions or letters and have their loved ones send them to John Whitmore who is a Texas Senator in charge of The Sunset Commission looking into this kind of prison violation.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We condemn this practice of refusing prisoners parole based on their original sentence, but we can learn from history that elections are not the answer to the problems of the oppressed. The imperialists and their supporters will be elected, and candidates truly serving the people will never gain any real power in the United $tates through elections. However, we can exert pressure on the criminal injustice system through protest letters and actions. Sometimes we can win small gains for the people through these struggles. And there is nothing wrong with using election time to push a progressive cause, just keep in mind that many legislators get elected on a "get tough on crime" platform. All this rhetoric is bullshit that has nothing to do with the reality of crime and punishment in Amerikkka, but the publicity is important to politicians so they are probably less likely to take progressive action in an election year if it might make them look "soft on crime."

First off, let me just sympathize with the many innocent individuals behind these gates. Remain strong my people.

The North Carolina Department of Corrections (NCDC) is targeting the same exact groups that the California Department of Corrections is targeting: the Muslims, 5 Percenters, Disciples, Crips, Bloods, Moors, Mexicans, and all other non-Amerikans. What gets me though is that everyone knows this, yet do not take the initiative to give their Nations (organizations) a more decent look. I do not feel any sympathy for a group of people who's soulful intentions are to destroy humynity. Most of these gangs, groups, religions, etc. have more negative energy within them than they do positive. Why can't someone start up a food drive or something for Haiti using the CRIP Nation's name (Coloreds Rising In Power) or the BLOOD Nation?

We as gangstas are not making sure that first our house is cleaned, secondly, we are protected, and lastly, that what we represent is receiving a positive acknowledgment from this country. Every time you turn on the television a member has managed to put yet another negative look on the Nation. Stanley "Tookie" Williams was killed by the government, not because of the things he did, but rather, the things that other Crip members were doing. Basically, homies got the "G" killed.

Now, I understand that things can't be controlled after a certain action has taken place, however, we can determine what and when things happen. Gangstas are leaving graffiti, bandanas, and all other sorts of clues for the government to make their cases with. We are supposed to be secretive yet visible.

Inside the prison system, gang members are showing off tattoos, signs and scars. They are admitting to being affiliated and also are telling staff who else is a part of these Nations. There is not one secret kept within these Nations anymore. It's all just a fun game now. These so-called "Big Homies," OGs, 5-star Generals, and Lieutenants aren't pursuing a positive outcome of change. They just love controlling other individuals.

While the gangstas in Cali may be seeking relief from the oppression, the so-called gangstas in North Carolina have grown content with such oppression. Is there any group fighting for the validated members locked up around here? These dudes will hurt each other before they think about helping one another.

About a year ago an indigenous prisoner was murdered by a so-called Crip. Guess how many Crips got charged? Eight! These niggers started snitching on each other. I stay as far away as a I can from the bull jive.

It's just so sad to see so many brothas lost. They believe this gang thing is BLOOD vs. CRIP. I tell them that it is not. It is BLOOD and CRIP. We are 1 Nation together. Divided we aren't anything.

MIM(Prisons) responds: One of the contradictory aspects of the popular language is the use of the term "nation" to refer to a collection of sets. This comrade wants to unite Blacks as one "nation," but goes on to refer to various "nations" among the lumpen, many with Black members. The lumpen organizations took on this language following the righteous revolutionary nationalist movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this period, organizations represented Black, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Chinese and First Nations, and they all worked with each other as allies. Their power came from their correct understanding of national oppression. Today, these groups going around calling themselves "nations," fighting each other, are often part of the same nation, and almost all of them are from the oppressed. When they start recognizing the oppressor as their enemy, then we'll see the kind of power our predecessors had.

This comrade also mentions trying to receive positive recognition within this country. Within one's nation, among the oppressed nations, that is a righteous goal. But Amerika is never going to recognize the oppressed nation youth organizations as positive as long as they represent their interests as oppressed people. The ALKQN has struggled with this exact problem. Even the Black Panthers, who didn't have the same internal contradictions that the ALKQN has, faced general condemnation from Amerika, though they certainly found allies among a minority.

We wouldn't go so far as to say that the state killed Tookie because of what other Crips were doing. We do agree that they used the anti-people activities of groups like the Crips to justify killing Tookie, not to mention to justify locking up 1 million other Black men across the United $tates. But Tookie was killed because he represented true rehabilitation from a misled gangsta youth into a righteous Black nationalist.

When Tookie was killed in 2005, MIM Notes wrote, "The Crips developed within a certain social and historical context. Tookie took part in leading the formation of the Crips after living his life in a certain context, just like the conditions of his life later led him to repent and take on a new purpose in life. The unscientific idea that bad people are just bad cannot explain why Tookie engaged in anti-people activities as a youth, but then turned around to be a positive member of the community later on. In upholding this mantra avoiding scientific explanation, the state ultimately decided that Tookie was just faking his redemption. This was a ridiculous lie." (MIM Notes 329, p.1) Tookie should be upheld as an example for the criminalized youth of today.

When revolutionaries begin discussing and conducting a concrete analysis of the particularities of national oppression and how imprisonment is used as a tool of imperialist social control, we invariably must engage in discussing and analyzing how the so-called sciences of psychiatry and psychology are used to further legitimize and give moral reasoning to the national oppression and racist extermination of oppressed nations by imperialist nations.

The Maoist Internationalist Movement wrote about and critiqued in great detail psychiatry and psychology as pseudo-sciences. For those who wish to do an exhaustive study on the subject, I highly recommend that material.(1)

Forced Psychotropic Medications

The Missouri Department of Corrections has a policy entitled, "Forced and Involuntary Psychotropic Medications," that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. This policy gives administrators the authority to force psychotropic medications on a prisoner who is a danger to her/himself and/or others, or is gravely disabled, among other things. This same policy further states that a prisoner can refuse this medication and psychotropic medication should never be used strictly for behavioral control in the absence of a mental disorder. Yet, all of this is done without the prisoner having legal counsel or representation at a medical-psychiatric hearing with staff.

Ultimately, the question is, who is it that determines what a mental disorder is? How do they determine who, how or when someone is a danger to themselves or another? I answer, all of them are determined by the imperialists!

Racist Pseudo-Science

From our study of history, we can see that the oppressors have always used pseudo-science to justify the oppression and genocide of oppressed nations. Whether the "savage" First Nations, "heathen" Africans or "feeble-minded" Jews, psychiatry/psychology were the social sciences that the oppressor nations used to legitimize the oppression and exploitation of others who were considered a different "race."

While much of the language has changed, the essence remains the same — white supremacy uses psychiatry/psychology to further their aims of imposing their will upon others. Those who oppose them are often labeled "extremists," "terrorists," "radicals," "criminals," "crazy," etc.

Take, for example, the theory of eugenics. Eugenics was a term coined by Charles Darwin's cousin Francis Galton in 1883, which referred to the attempt to "improve the human species by affording the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable."(2)

This false scientific theory postulated that there were genes within oppressed nations that were leading to the deterioration of the humyn race and that oppressed nations were predisposed to committing crimes. The resolution to this contradiction was to isolate these people in institutions (i.e. mental hospitals, prisons, reservations, ghettos, barrios, slums, etc.) or sterilize them. The state of California was one of twenty-nine Amerikan states to pass laws allowing sterilization, and conducted more forced sterilizations than anywhere in the United $tates. These sterilizations were justified as efforts to prevent the passing on of mental illness and criminality. Today, criminality is still treated as an inborn psychological trait even though links to race are usually only implied, not explicitly stated.

Eugenics research was funded by the Carnegie Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation helped to finance German researchers at an extremely high level all the way up to 1939 before the onset of World War II, and was aware that German scientists were gassing people in mental institutions. The Rockefellers and Prescott Sheldon Bush, George W. Bush's grandfather, were partners with I.G. Farben, the German chemical giant that built the death camp at Auschwitz. (see resources at end of article)

Eugenics was approved by the National Academy of Sciences, Amerikan Medical Association and National Research Council, and of course many Amerikan political and business leaders of the time. But after Hitler killed millions of Jews, nobody wanted to be associated with that horror, so they changed the words. In the 1990s, eugenics became the Bell Curve Theory.(2)

Pseudo-Scientific Credence

Pseudo-scientific credence means providing credibility to an issue based on flawed science. White supremacy is based on a false contention derived from a pseudo-scientific application of biology. Race-based theories were also given credence by flawed science in the form of psychology. For example, Samuel A. Cartwright, a prominent Louisiana Physician claimed that he discovered two mental "diseases" (his word) in 1851 that were peculiar to the "negro" race: 1) drapetomania and 2) dysaethesia aethiopica. In brief, drapetomania was a disease that caused Blacks to have an uncontrolled urge to run away from their masters - the treatment for this "illness" was "whipping the devil out of them." We all know that a captured fugitive slave was often beaten with a whip by his/her slave master, a clear example of how this pseudo-science gave credence to the slave master's brutality. Dysaethesia aethiopica supposedly affected both mind and body, the diagnosable signs included disobedience, answering disrespectfully and refusing to work. The "cure" was to put the persyn to some kind of hard labor. In 1797, the "father" of Amerikkkan psychiatry, Dr. Benjamin Rush, whose face still adorns the seal of the Amerikkkan Psychiatric Association, declared that the color of Blacks was caused by a rare congenital disease caused "negritude," which derived from leprosy. The "cure" was when the skin turned white.(4,5)

Independence from Oppressive "Science"

The essence of this lesson is that until oppressed nations achieve self-determination, control of their own institutions that speak to their needs, and the requisite power to guide the destiny of their nation, the imperialists will continue to use pseudo-sciences such as psychiatry and psychology to further their aims to dominate, imprison and exploit poor and oppressed nations — and if push comes to shove, destroy them!

Notes:
(1) Psychology & Imperialism. MIM Theory 9, 1995. MIM Distributors.
(2) MC12. "Bell Curve Lessons: IQ Against the Oppressed," MIM Theory 9.
(3) Lothrop Stoddard. "The Rising Tide of Color Against White World Supremacy"
(4) Abdul D. Shakur, Abasi Ganda, Kamau M. Askari. "The Bell Curve Conspiracy: A Recipe for New Afrikan Genocide" Black Panther Press, 2003.
(5) "Creating Racism: Psychiatry's Betrayal in the Guise of Help." The Citizenship Commission on Human Rights, 1995.

Other Resources:

Edwin Black. War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race. Four Walls: New York, 2003.
Wendy Kline. Building a Better Race: Gender, Sexuality and Eugenics from the turn of the Century to the Baby Boom. University of California Press: Berkeley, 2001.
Stevan Kuhl. The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism and German National Socialism. Oxford University Press: New York, 1994.
James Scott. Seeing Like a State: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Houghton Mifflin: New York, 2006.
Cory Panshin. The Secret History of the 20th Century. 2006.
Tom Big Warrior. They Only Call it Fascism When it's Being Done to White People. Rising Sun Press: 2006.