MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
I’m responding to ULK 29,
“Less
Complaints, More Agitation and Perspective.” While most of the
position is on point, I believe that important considerations were left
out by both this comrade and MIM(Prisons)’s response.
I agree with the broad definition of political prisoners as announced in
MIM Theory 11: Amerikan Prisons on Trial (article “Political
Prisoners Revisited”) precisely because courts are maintained as a tool
of political oppression and inseparable from political oppression. Thus
the political component is inseparable from those who become further
oppressed by imprisonment. The hierarchy of society, cops, courts and
state is one of a functioning cadre in this country.
I also understand the distinctions this comrade makes between inmates,
convicts and the rest – an inmate is the prison version of the “sleeping
masses,” but whether or not these people recognize their oppression does
not determine whether they are oppressed. And we can’t forget that
distinctions such as inmate, convict, POW, PPOW, PP, PS, GP are
meaningless outside of the prison context, rendering these issues
inapplicable to society.
In terms of the bigger fight for prison revolutionaries, these labels
are also somewhat moot outside of a strategic context as well; everyone
will get the benefits brought about by revolutionary action or they will
simply be “washed away when the dam breaks.”
What was missed is part of a larger problem (largely analytical).
Whether one is or is not a political prisoner speaks directly to the
conditions which led to one becoming a member of their class (under the
broad definition), but not the class perception and what it means, nor
what to do as a member of that class. The political conditions of our
confinement being a given, our focus, especially insofar as making
revolution is concerned, should not be on whether or not one is a
political prisoner, but rather if one, as a prisoner, is political
(i.e. moved to political action). If we must distinguish between members
of the same class (i.e. prisoners), and to a certain extent we must in
order to accurately assess conditions on the ground, then let it be a
functional distinction which advances the revolution as a whole.
Subcategories of class must be used in such a way that it produces
knowledge, not conjecture. Even an “inmate” can be turned to use.
Further, people change and there’s no way to know the moment of
awakening of political consciousness in others without objective
observation. By assigning static labels and categories, we limit our
objectivity.
I wholeheartedly agree with this comrade: there are many tactics which
can be tailored to circumstance but the labor of these tactics is
necessarily dispersed to many people of differing skill sets and levels
of political awareness; some are dupes, others are not, some are
soldiers, others are tacticians and printers.
Finally, I believe a common mistake we all make as revolutionaries is to
become solipsistic. We forget that not everyone wants change or
revolution; some are satisfied with their condition. In prison or out,
this distinguishes one as counter-revolutionary. This distinction is
functional and applies to society without getting bogged down in
specific labels. It is part of the equation we must, as revolutionaries,
deal with, but in the end, revolution depends on maximizing our
resources, exploiting the weaknesses of our enemy and most important,
unification of the people.
I write this missive from the bowels of California’s Death Row (DR), at
San Quentin. Just wanted to give an update at what is going on and the
progress we are making in regards to a wide area of issues which the
condemned population has been experiencing.
Being an Indigenous person, we have been in a long struggle with the San
Quentin administration and California Department of Corrections and
“rehabilitation” (CDCr) in regards to DR captives being afforded access
to Sweat Lodge ceremonies. Our rights are grossly violated by denying
the access of Indigenous persons to the right to practice their
religion/culture. In the administration’s eyes, to have sweat ceremonies
available to the DR population creates a serious “security risk.” Each
time the CDCr screams “security risk,” the United Snakes courts fall
into stride with the department’s assumptions, allowing refusal of Sweat
ceremonies, Pipe ceremonies, and access to smudging with sacred Native
American medicines. “Safety & security” is an honored mantra here at
San Quentin. Stripping us of our culture, religion, and traditions has
been the norm for centuries for ALL oppressed nation peoples. It is
obvious that no matter what we fight for, the CDCr views it as “Gang
Activity/Disruptive.” There are comrades that have been stuck in the
infamous Adjustment Center (the
Control Units) for
over a life time simply because they decided to speak up and push back
for what they feel they deserve and what they have a right to actually
have.
In this situation, the administration dangles privileges in front of the
captive, in order to make them do as they say, not as they do. Comrades
are being forced to remain in cages away from other DR captives, being
denied any sunlight or room to stretch their legs, because the
administration feels that they are “too violent” to be placed on a
programmed group yard where they can have fellowship with others, get
some sunlight, and take a hot shower. This treatment is barbaric and
uncalled for.
The institutional appeals office is no help. They are refusing to
process any of these prisoners’ 602s (grievances) by simply throwing
their appeals away, or “losing” them until the time constraints to file
on a certain issue have run out, preventing them from going any further
with their grievances. Captives with a full program label are being
subjected to disciplinary conditions, because the administration can do
whatever they want. These comrades are pushing for the same fair
treatment as any other DR captive who has privileges.
Due to the budget cuts, programs here have been cut in half. Education
is almost non-existent, and yard days have been cut. Visits are being
supervised by sergeants who violate Title 15 guidelines, and the
captives as well as our families suffer. Medical is suppose to be
monitored, but even that has failed to meet its mark. The treatment of
DR captives is going from bad to worse.
After the Hunger Strikes here in California, the CDCr implemented a new
rule, that anybody that participates in any type of strike will be
placed in the SHU (Security Housing Units) for good. Those who
participate will be “validated” as a member of a disruptive group, even
if one is not gang related. The DR administration went crazy with that
new rule. They ignore the fact that the last actual murder that took
place here was almost 12 years ago. They have made comments to media
that they have succeeded in finally having full control of the condemned
population, and call this place “The Safest Prison in the State.”
They use tactics of mental torture. They take and give back, then take
and give again. It is a mental game and it has driven many good brothers
to snap and completely lose their minds. I do not find that to be a
weakness in them, nor is it their fault. It is the fault of the pigs
here for the games they play. I fault the captives for allowing their
minds to be stretched so far without assisting one another instead of
sleeping with the enemy and snitching on each other. There are more
snitches than crickets at midnight here, and sadly they are blind to the
fact that when it is time for the needle to hit the vein, it will be
done by the very pigs they blindly befriended while they were here.
So, with that said, a few other solid comrades and myself have decided
to up the ante and are holding study groups. We struggle on a daily
basis like the rest of our comrades around the U.$., and decided that
the only way to begin to break this chain of ignorance is to teach and
guide the ones who have the desire to overcome this oppression “by any
means necessary.” Along with the education we are receiving from
MIM(Prisons)/ULK, we have formed a small movement that we hope will
reach beyond the walls of this shit hole. We are the IPLF.
The IPLF (Indigenous Peoples Liberation Front) is composed of comrades
from all walks of life, willing to stand firm on the front lines and
fight as warriors against the (in)justice system. We are a selected few,
pushing to break the chains of systematic oppression of any and all
kinds. We are human beings, not animals, and not terrorists. We are a
movement choosing to follow MIM theory, and assist our comrades in any
way possible.
The IPLF will take part in the
Day
of Solidarity & Peace on September 9, 2013, and will take that
day to focus on what needs to be done here on the row that will have a
positive outcome. And if we end up in the hole, then fuck it! We ride or
die for the cause! To all my comrades out there, to all our sisters out
there - A-HO!
Recently we faced two situations that showed short and immediate
results, which to a certain extent were good. The first was the united
resistance to guards in regards to trying to “handle” the prisoners and
deny us our restriction showers. Restriction showers are separate
showers for those on restriction from dayroom time, recreation,
commissary, etc. We won those participants their showers once the
captain was called to settle the dispute.
The second situation was today, 14 December 2012, when 8 cells holding
16 prisoners became flooded with sewer water that was being pushed back
out of the drains and into our cells. This triggered a united front from
most of those in these cells who represent a mixture of different
organizations. This was fruitful because we got maintenance to come and
unclog the problem in the drainage system after several on one roll
started to flood our cells and push this water out of our cells, causing
the dayroom to overflow.
That was one segment to this situation, the next part came when we were
allowed to exit to chow minutes after the drains were unclogged. Upon
our return from chow we refused to go back into our cells due to the
unsanitary milieu that remained. The second shift officer refused to
distribute chemicals to clean our cells. This triggered another united
resistance until the lieutenant was dispatched to quiet the situation by
compensating us with the required chemicals. Every prisoner who
participated had a chance to shower afterwards, which was a minor
success.
These two situations I speak about not to romanticize but to bring
attention to a winnable battle that must be clearly and carefully
examined by those who think about doing the same. Not all outcomes
garner the same results, so be careful. Remember, they can kill the
revolutionary but not the revolution.
MIM(Prisons) adds: This is a good demonstration of the principle
of Unity that the United Front for Peace in Prisons (UFPP) promotes as
its
second
principle: “WE strive to unite with those facing the same struggles
as us for our common interests. To maintain unity we have to keep an
open line of networking and communication, and ensure we address any
situation with true facts. This is needed because of how the pigs
utilize tactics such as rumors, snitches and fake communications to
divide and keep division among the oppressed. The pigs see the end of
their control within our unity.”
“Unity” in itself can be a weak and meaningless term, or even a bad
thing depending on who it is that is uniting and why. However,
MIM(Prisons) sees unity among prisoners as progressive, because of the
oppression prisoners face as a subclass and as (overwhelmingly)
representatives of oppressed nations. Without unity of the oppressed we
cannot end oppression and create a better world. So we echo this comrade
in celebrating these small acts as examples of growing UFPP and setting
the stage for greater change.
Let’s face it, most people coming to prison don’t arrive with people’s
safety at the top of their priority list. Most come to prison with their
homies’ or comrades’ safety in mind, but that is about it. Most come
from an existence where, if you are not sharp-witted, treacherous or a
cold hustler, you don’t eat or you don’t survive.
Being raised in this mind frame is not easily forgotten, so the economic
hurdle is key in a prisoner’s mindset. Many grew up in an environment
where other nationalities are frowned upon or there are open hostilities
between different nations. Then there are the mentally ill prisoners who
may kick off some shit over nonsense and others follow suit. There are
so many factors that make prisons unsafe that one can write a book on
them rather easily. Each factor has many ways in which to approach it
and combat it as well. But at the end of the day safe prisons anywhere
in Amerika will only come from the hands of prisoners ourselves.
In a capitalist society prisons are not created to rehabilitate
prisoners or teach us, they are designed to warehouse and neutralize us.
So the first step in attempting to create safer prisons is understanding
this. There is one key that unlocks the door to getting safer prisons
and that key is education! I am not talking about Amerikan education, I
am talking about revolutionary education. Rev Ed transforms people and
betters people in all areas, including interacting with one’s fellow
prisoners. Take away Rev Ed and one is left with backwards thinking,
reactionary behavior, abuse, set tripping, predatory behavior, religious
nonsense, drug and alcohol addiction – all the tore up tradition that
has self-destructed entire generations.
Ignorance of who you are will always bring out the worst in you. Knowing
where one comes from, the deep tradition of resistance and legacy of
struggle will always propel one in a positive path, a peaceful path,
because when we learn who the real oppressor is we no longer look at
another prisoner as the bad guy. Rev Ed teaches us that prisoners in
general are an oppressed class and when we really grasp this there’s no
way can we walk around trying to pick fights with our fellow prisoners.
Even the thought of this becomes absurd. Instead we are walking around
trying to share revolutionary ideas and exchange revolutionary
literature in our quest to revolutionize these hell holes. This must be
our focus if we want to have the greatest impact that we can to make
prisons safer.
I won’t sugar coat it: this is hard work. When I read about shit popping
off in what amounts to lumpen-on-lumpen crime I feel your pain because I
been there and I still experience bullshit that clings to many of those
who continue to hold on to nonsense or reactionary views. So I know how
it is when violence ensues around you, especially if you have been
working to educate people for a period of time.
These challenges don’t change the fact that if you want a safe
environment in prison you need to educate your fellow prisoners. The
best way to do this is to start with yourself and your cellmate if you
have one. I have always had long exchanges of ideas with a cellie.
Whatever revolutionary publication I had I would read it, or my cellie
would, and we would discuss what we agreed with or disagreed with. Once
me and my cellmate were on the same page we would begin to educate our
neighbors on either side regardless of who it was, passing publications
and eventually books, and eventually involving the whole tier or pod.
Many times this process would begin by just passing a publication to
someone or telling one persyn to read it and pass it down the line.
After a while the questions will begin. This is one way I have
experienced creating more educated prisoners and thus safer conditions.
I have also found prisoners who could not read or write, and the state
usually does not have material or classes for these people, so I would
tell these prisoners I’ll spend the time and effort to teach them to
read on the condition that they must in turn teach someone else once
they are able. One time I taught a prisoner to read out on the mainline
and when I saw he had not found someone to tutor I went around and found
someone for him. I would go to the law library when I was on the
mainline and see someone trying to maneuver in the law and I’d reach out
to help this persyn. These people were all different nationalities but
in order to create “peaceful prisons” I have learned that you can’t
limit yourself to your own nation; someone has to build that bridge of
relations. If I get to a yard where there is no bridge, I will fill the
vacuum because someone has to.
What I have experienced in doing time (and I have spent more time of my
life incarcerated than out in society) is that the majority of violence
that occurs is over a business deal gone bad, either drugs or gambling
debts. So if we have enough discipline to cut this out of the picture
would reduce a lot of the violence. The next issue is predatory behavior
which is just one persyn or group oppressing or attempting to oppress
another, either because of ones nationality or what geographic location
one grew up in. If you refrain from this behavior safer prisons become
even more of a reality.
In California, prisoners in Pelican Bay recently issued a
statement
to end hostilities between all nationalities in California prisons,
county jails and streets. This is unprecedented in California where
lumpen-on-lumpen crime has gone on with deadly consequences for many
years. This is only a step, but it is a necessary step in building any
type of serious change or any transformation in each nation. The days
when the state would pit prisoners on prisoners in California and use us
as gladiators for their amusement are over. Prisoners have finally
identified the real problem we face, i.e. the real oppressor. And if
California can do this and if those in Pelican Bay SHU, who the state
claims control all California “gangs,” can do this then there is no
reason why every prison in Amerika can’t do the same and call for an end
to all hostilities in all prisons, jails and streets! This is a
necessary step if prisoners ever hope to create real safe zones in
prisons.
We are seeing history play out in California where our future is in our
own hands. If we want to have prisons where we can really rehabilitate
ourselves then we must make it happen and the only way for this to
happen is if we do so collectively and by ending the hostilities between
all nationalities. This knocks down barricades that would otherwise slow
down this process. This is not saying we don’t have differences, there
are many differences, but once you identify your oppressor you realize
that lumpen-on-lumpen crime is not helping to reduce our oppression.
It’s very simple and all groups of all nationalities here in Pelican Bay
SHU have agreed to this agreement. If we can do it so can you!
The real safe prisons will come when prisoners can exercise forms of
people’s power in these concentration camps. People’s power exists when
contradictions are resolved without having to rely on the state. Like
the example I gave of helping my fellow prisoners to read and write or
do legal work. Most prisons do not have programs for this, so rather
than sit around and complain about it I started my own program on the
mainline.
People’s power can also be solving problems and preventing violence
through mediation which does not involve the state. In Pelican Bay SHU
there is the “Short Corridor Collective” which is a representative from
each group Chicano, Black, white and sub groups, which seeks peaceful
mutual resolutions to problems affecting prisoners. They even have come
out with certain demands to the state. If Pelican Bay SHU can do it why
can’t other prisons across the United $tates form collectives that seek
peaceful resolutions to issues affecting prisoners? The answer is they
can, and they must, if real peace and progress are to be achieved within
prisons.
Political education is the key. Once someone learns real history and
understands the class contradictions in the United $tates, and how our
oppression can actually be traced directly to capitalism, there is no
way they will want to waste time on nonsense. Instead of sitting around
gossiping about other poor people who are locked up and plotting on how
to hurt other poor people, these educated people will instead study,
educate others, form study groups, share progressive literature and
books, and create independent institutions behind prison walls in order
to advance the prison movement as well as the movement, for humyn rights
more broadly.
The only thing I see in the way of us not having safer prisons is us not
making these prisons safer!
On October 10 a peace accord went into place across the California
prison system to end hostilities between different racial groups. The
Pelican Bay State Prison - Security Housing Unit (PBSP-SHU) Short
Corridor Hunger Strike Representatives issued a statement in August, and
hundreds responded on October 10 with hunger strikes to continue the
struggle against so-called gang validation and the SHU. The original
statement calls on lumpen organizations to turn to “causes beneficial to
all” instead of infighting among the oppressed. Recently leaders in
Pelican Bay State Prison reasserted that this applies to all lumpen
organizations in CDCR, down to the youth authority.
We share the PBSP-SHU Collective’s view that peace is key to building
unity against the criminal injustice system. Prison organizations and
individual prisoners across the country have pledged themselves to the
United Front for Peace in Prisons (UFPP) principles and are building
this United Front in their prisons, communities and organizations.
We know this won’t be easy, but there is a basis for this unity and
peace. As was written in the original announcement of the UFPP:
“We fully recognize that whether we are conscious of it or not, we are
already ‘united’ – in our suffering and our daily repression. We face
the same common enemy. We are trapped in the same oppressive conditions.
We wear the same prison clothes, we go to the same hellhole box
(isolation), we get brutalized by the same racist pigs. We are one
people, no matter your hood, set or nationality. We know ‘we need unity’
– but unity of a different type from the unity we have at present. We
want to move from a unity in oppression to unity in serving the people
and striving toward national independence.”
The ending of hostilities between large lumpen organizations has
sweeping implications for the possibilities for prisoner organizing. USW
comrades in California should work to seize this opportunity however
possible, to translate the peace agreement into meaningful organizing in
the interests of all prisoners.
“The Anti-Exploits of Men Against Sexism” Ed Mead Revolutionary
Rumors PRESS RevolutionaryRumors@gmail.com
This pamphlet is an historical account of the organization Men Against
Sexism (MAS). It is written in an informal, story-telling style, from
the perspective of Ed Mead, one of MAS’s primary organizers.
“Anti-Exploits” spans the development of MAS, from Mead’s first
encounter with the near-rape of a fellow prisoner on his tier in the
mid-1970s, to the successful height of the organization and the
eradication of prisoner rape in Washington State Prison. This success
impacted facilities all across the state.
Men Against Sexism was created to bring prisoners together to fight
against their common oppression. Mead recognized that homophobia,
sexism, rape, and pimping were causing unnecessary divisions within the
prisoner population. “Only by rooting out internalized sexism would men
treat one another with respect.”(p. 5) He brought together
politically-minded prisoners, queers, and even some former sexual
predators, to change the culture of what was acceptable and not on the
tier.
We should take the example of MAS as inspiration to identify our own
collective divisive behaviors on our unit, and attempt to build bridges
to overcome these barriers. Mead’s reputation of being a revolutionary,
stand-up guy in defense of prisoners’ rights preceded him across the
facility, and helped him win allies in unlikely places.
In the mid-1970s, prison conditions were much different than they are
today, and organizing MAS seems to have been relatively easy according
to the account given. Of course there were challenges amongst the
prisoner population itself (for example, MAS defending a convicted
pedophile from being gang raped and sold as a sex slave put many people
off) but the administration didn’t play a significant role in thwarting
the mission of MAS. The primary organizers were allowed to cell
together, and several different prisoner organizations were mentioned
which had their own meeting spaces.
Today it seems we are lucky if more than two prisoners can get together
to do anything besides watch TV. This is a testament to the dialectical
relationship between the prisoner movement and the forces of the state.
During the time of MAS, the prisoner movement was relatively strong
compared to where it’s at today. After the booming prisoner rights
movement of the 1970s, the state figured out that to undermine those
movements they needed to develop methods to keep prisoners isolated from
each other. Not the least significant of which is the proliferation of
the control unit, where prisoners are housed for 23 or more hours per
day with very little contact with the world outside their cell, let
alone their facility.
MAS recognized that there is power in numbers. They collected donations
from allies outside prison to purchase access to cells from other
prisoners and designated them as “safe cells.” MAS would identify
newcomers to the facility who looked vulnerable and offer them
protection in these group safe cells. This is in stark contrast to how
the state offers so-called protection to victims of prisoner rape, which
is generally to isolate them in control units.(1) Bonnie Kerness of the
American Friends Service Committee writes of this practice being used
with transgender prisoners, and the concept applies to all prisoners who
are gender oppressed in prison no matter their gender identity,
“In some cases this can be a safe place to avoid the violence of other
prisoners. More often this isolation of transgender prisoners places
them at greater risk of violence at the hands of correctional officers…
“Regardless of whether or not it provides some level of protection or
safety, isolation is a poor alternative to general population. The
physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological impacts of solitary
confinement are tantamount to torture for many.”(2)
As late as 2009, data was compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) stating “Approximately 2.1% of prison inmates and 1.5% of jail
inmates reported inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization, whereas
approximately 2.8% of prison inmates and 2.0% of jail inmates reported
staff sexual misconduct.”(3) Certainly much of this staff-on-prisoner
sexual assault occurs in general population, but isolating victims makes
them that much more accessible.
Isolation as the best option for protection is the most obvious example
of individualizing struggles of prisoners. What is more individualized
than one persyn in a room alone all day? Individualizing prisoners’
struggles is also carried out by the rejection of group grievances in
many states. All across the country our comrades meet difficulty when
attempting to file grievances on behalf of a group of prisoners. In
California, a comrade attempted to simply cite a Director’s Level Appeal
Decision stating MIM is not a banned distributor in the state on h
censorship appeal, but it was rejected because that Director’s Level
Decision “belongs to another inmate.”(4) We must identify the state’s
attempts to divide us from our potential comrades in all forms, and
actively work against it.
MAS worked to abolish prisoner-on-prisoner sexual slavery and rape,
where the pigs were consenting to this gender oppression by
noninterference. But the state paid for this hands-off approach when the
autonomy of the movement actually united prisoners against oppression.
What about gender oppression in prisons today?
In 2003, under strong pressure from a broad range of activists and
lobbyists, Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), and
in May 2012 the final rules were completed. With the initiation of the
PREA, statistics on prison rape are becoming more available. But
comprehensive, sweeping data on the frequency of prison rape does not
exist and so we can not detect trends from 1975 to the present, or even
from 2003 to present. Despite high hopes for the PREA from anti-rape
activists, we can’t yet determine if there has been any benefit, and in
some cases the rates of prison rape seem to be increasing.
When MAS was picking out newcomers to recruit into their safe cells,
they were identifying people who they saw as obviously queer, or in some
way likely to be a target. MAS was using their intuition and persynal
experience to identify people who are more likely to be victimized.
According to the BJS, in their 2009 study, prisoners who are “white or
multi-racial, have a college education, have a sexual orientation other
than heterosexual, and experienced sexual victimization prior to coming
to the facility” … had “significantly higher” rates of inmate-on-inmate
victimization.(1) Human Rights Watch similarly reported in 2001,
“Specifically, prisoners fitting any part of the following description
are more likely to be targeted: young, small in size, physically weak,
white, gay, first offender, possessing ‘feminine’ characteristics such
as long hair or a high voice; being unassertive, unaggressive, shy,
intellectual, not street-smart, or ‘passive’; or having been convicted
of a sexual offense against a minor. Prisoners with any one of these
characteristics typically face an increased risk of sexual abuse, while
prisoners with several overlapping characteristics are much more likely
than other prisoners to be targeted for abuse.”(5)
The descriptions above of who’s more subject to prison rape are
bourgeois definitions of what MIM called gender. Bullying, rape, sexual
identity, and sexual orientation are phenomena that exist in the realm
of leisure-time activity. Oppression that exists in leisure-time can
generally be categorized as gender oppression. Gender oppression also
rests clearly on health status and physical ability, which, in work-time
also affects class status.(6) Since prisoners on the whole spend very
little time engaged in productive labor, their time behind bars can be
categorized as a twisted form of leisure-time. Prisons are primarily a
form of national oppression, and gender is used as a means to this end.
Consider this statistic from BJS, “Significantly, most perpetrators of
staff sexual misconduct were female and most victims were male: among
male victims of staff sexual misconduct, 69% of prisoners and 64% of
jail inmates reported sexual activity with female staff.”(3) An
oversimplified analysis of this one statistic says the
biologically-female staff are gendered men, and the prisoners are
gendered wimmin, no matter their biology. But in the United $tates,
where all citizens enjoy gender privilege over the Third World, this
oversimplification ignores the international scope of imperialism and
the benefits reaped by Amerikans and the internal semi-colonies alike.
While there is an argument to be made that the United $tates tortures
more people in its prisons than any other country, this is balanced out
with a nice juicy carrot (video games, tv, drugs, porn) for many
prisoners. This carrot limits the need to use the more obvious forms of
repression that are more widespread in the Third World. Some of our most
prominent USW leaders determine that conditions where they’re at are too
comfortable and prevent people from devoting their lives to revolution,
even though these people are actually on the receiving end of much
oppression.
On a similar level, MIM(Prisons) advocates for the end of oppression
based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But we are not jumping
on the bandwagon to legalize gay marriage.(7) We also don’t campaign for
sex reassignment surgery and hormones for prisoners.(8) This is because
we see these as examples of gender privilege, and any privileges
obtained by people in the United $tates inherently come on the backs of
the Third World. Whereas in the time Men Against Sexism was formed the
gay rights movement was militant and engaging in street wars against
police, they are now overall placated by the class privilege they
receive as members of the petty-bourgeoisie.
We encourage everyone facing oppression to recognize its true roots –
capitalism and imperialism – and use their privileges to undermine the
United $tates’ world domination. Without an internationalist
perspective, we will inevitably end up on the wrong side of history.
by a North Carolina prisoner November 2012 permalink
In late September of this year, in a fight between a few prisoners, a
prisoner was killed and another prisoner was seriously wounded and is
still in critical condition. The incident happened at Lanesboro
Correctional Institution and we have been on lockdown since it occurred.
The administration discontinued visitation for regular population and
segregated inmates, cut telephone privileges for everyone, and regular
population was limited to ordering only five items, three times a week,
and three showers a week. Recreation was taken from regular population
indefinitely, which caused them to remain in their rooms for 24 hours a
day for days at a time.
The strange thing about this entire event is when Superintendent Parsons
was questioned on the Channel 9 news based in Charlotte, North Carolina,
about what exactly happened, he responded by saying 148 prisoners had a
“brawl” in which a prisoner was killed. The media then debased the
prisoner who was killed and devoted the entire segment to discussing how
he was shot by police in 1999 in an attempted escape. Nothing was said
about why this prisoner-on-prisoner stabbing occurred, or about the
dozens of other stabbings that happened throughout this year. Nor did
they mention the illegal and inhumane “dry cells” that were mandated by
the administration, leaving almost 100 prisoners in rooms with feces
covering the entire dorm.
As of now, all of the questionable events are being investigated by the
State Bureau Investigation Unit and Laneseboro Correctional Institution
may be looking at grave consequences. But why did these events end so
brutally? Why did it take a prisoner losing his life for the
administration, the Governor, and law enforcement to get involved? First
let’s take a look at what led up to these times we are in.
At the start of the year, the prison administration promoted the idea
that gang violence was the cause of dozens of stabbings occurring
statewide which put several close custody camps on lockdown for weeks
and even months. Here at Lanesboro, that soon subsided and things were
back to “normal.” Then early June, the Prison Emergency Response Team
(PERT) raided the prison, where nearly 100 prisoners were placed in “dry
cells” where we were in our cells 24 hours a day for a week. PERT
officers weren’t allowing us to flush our toilets, which caused them to
become clogged. aIn protest we threw our feces out into the dayroom,
leaving the entire dorm in a heap of feces. Prisoners were forced to
eat, clean our bodies, and sleep in this stench. Also prisoners were
forced to have x-rays to find drugs, cell phones or weapons. This led to
many lawsuits being filed.
What happened next indicates how much the Lanesboro administration cares
about prison life. A stabbing had occurred in which one prisoner’s neck
was cut. A prisoner involved was placed in segregation along with the
prisoner who had his throat cut. The administration then released the
assaulted prisoner into regular population after one week and placed him
in the same pod as his enemies. This set off four consecutive stabbings
in less than two hours around the prison.
They momentarily locked us down. When we came off, two days later a
prisoner was killed. Another strange thing is the prisoners who did the
killing didn’t live in the dorm where the killing occurred, and neither
did the prisoner who was killed. This means the officers had to let
these prisoners into a dorm where they didn’t live.
So we see the perpetuation of violence by the Lanesboro administration
who place known enemies in the same dorm. Obviously they’re not trying
to stop the violence. This perpetuation of violence results in lockdowns
where they take all of the prisoners “privileges” in an attempt to
further control us. It’s obvious these lockdowns did not halt the
violence. In fact, evidence shows that violence in prisons across the
country increases after a lock down (see the documentary
Unlock the Box).
But the puzzling part is when they take away our “privileges,” we gladly
accept it instead of resisting. There were only a few people filing
grievances, filing lawsuits, taking progressive actions against the
beast, but there were many complaining.
Why do these violent acts continue to occur? To understand the simple
answer you just have to look at conditions here. We have to wait 90 days
to receive a job, even unit jobs. They’re denying some of us from even
enrolling in school or extra-curricular activities. They barely even
offer any extra-curricular activities. All we have to occupy our time is
TV, yard and gym. Prisoners have no activities to engage in, and so just
hang around the dorms. With the state building medium custody facilities
right beside the close custody facilities, the administration says all
“good” jobs (kitchen workers and other important jobs) will be taken by
medium custody prisoners. This will ultimately have more of us in our
dorms unable to work, and so prevented from getting gain time and being
shipped to a “better” facility. It will destroy morale and cause some to
lash out and perpetuate the prisoner-on-prisoner violence.
So why do these events continue to happen? Because the administration
wants it to! They perpetuate violence. They don’t care about prisoners’
lives, and they are never going to solve the true problems. Therefore,
it is up to us to remedy our own situations by uniting and never
splitting. We need to take the rebellious actions against these
oppressors and force them to recognize their policies aren’t working. We
must come together and get an understanding and peace with one another
so they won’t have to enforce any policies anyway.
We don’t want them to do their jobs because their jobs are to repress,
suppress and oppress us, to hinder us from uniting and fighting the true
injustice. As superintendent Parsons lied to the public media, they lie
to us as well. And we have to show them we won’t tolerate it any longer.
Unite and resist and our conditions will get better because “We” will
make them better!
I am writing to follow up on the problems we’ve been experiencing with
our appeals system as it relates to the mass complaint form that at
least 85 of us sent to Sacramento. I went a step further and had my
sister draft a “citizen’s complaint letter” to the Warden of RJ Donvan.
He’s required by law to investigate and respond to this letter within 30
days. This puts more pressure on the Warden’s office due to the time and
resources involved to send out responses. So, if your readers have
friends and family who can draft and submit the citizen’s complaint
en masse, I believe it can have a greater impact.
MIM(Prisons) adds: As
previously
reported, this comrade is making good use of the grievance petition
and taking on this battle creatively through the legal and
administrative system. Write to us to get involved in this campaign. We
can send you a copy of the grievance petition for your state, or a
generic version you can customize to create one for states that do not
yet have one.
For the past 6 months I have been attempting to shed light on injustices
perpetrated by Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional
officers and administrators against prisoners housed at the high
security unit on Estelle Unit located in Huntsville, TX. I have written
numerous Step 1 grievances, however, the same Unit Grievance
Investigator (UGI) continues to impede, obstruct, and sabotage my quest
for justice.
Estelle Unit UGI Mr. Allen Hartley has operated from the stance of
nepotism, cronyism, and misplaced comradery. Instead of establishing an
objective stance in his handling of my grievances, he has actually
entered into a collusive and conspiratorial relationship with prison
staff and administration in order to minimize, marginalize, and downplay
my claims of injustice.
This is nothing new, comrades in Texas and California have been
reporting on this type of behavior for years. MIM(prisons), USW, and
some extremely dedicated comrades have come up with a weapon and
strategy to combat these corrupt individuals. The
grievance
petition crafted by a USW comrade in California has been also
adopted and utilized by Texas prisoners. I personally have sent a copy
of the petition to the Texas state legislature.
The legislative session starts the 2nd week of January 2013. I encourage
all comrades in Texas to write the legislature and request that all UGIs
in the Texas prison system are fired and that a new streamlined,
efficient, and fair grievance department be created. This new system
should be managed by the Office of the Inspector General and oversight
should be provided by the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights
Project (TCRP).
The point of the matter is this: the grievance procedure in Texas
prisons is a farce and a sham. Unit Grievance Investigators are stealing
tax payer dollars and violating the public’s trust. Comrades are being
degraded, humiliated, and abused in Texas every day and no-one is being
held accountable for their actions except prisoners! Time and time again
I have watched as TDCJ employees commit every crime against humanity you
can think of, including murder, and nothing is done. This is bullshit!
Please join USW and help get rid of these authors of obstruction.
MIM(Prisons) adds: This comrade is proposing an interesting
change to the grievance system in Texas, with oversight from independent
organizations (ACLU and TCRP). Leaving the grievance process in the
hands of the government means it will never truly serve the needs of
prisoners, while establishing independent oversight would certainly lead
to more accountability and less ease at outright fraud and lies serving
the prison employees.
Although fighting for grievances to be addressed is only a reform to
gain more livable conditions and organizing space for comrades in
prison, it is a campaign that can demonstrate to others our ability to
come together to fight for the rights of prisoners. No reform of the
grievance system will end the injustice of the prison system in Amerika.
These are just the early steps in building a movement for humyn rights
in U.$. prisons.
Under Lock & Key seems to not place enough emphasis on
perspective for the prison “illegitimate capitalist” and the role they
will need to play both in prison, and more essentially in society. MIM
did this by relating prisoner writings in context to societal issues;
ULK publishes “complaints” that center around prisons, minus
application to overall society.
First, one must understand the difference between inmates, convicts,
prisoners and political prisoners. Inmates do not see themselves as
oppressed and follow the rules and regulations without deviation. And
when necessary, they will cooperate with the pigs, note the Webster
racist dictionary defines inmate as one voluntarily confined to a
hospital or prison – I say it is one who does not fight.
Political prisoners are those who either committed political acts which
led to their incarceration, or became politicized in prison (became
conscious) and became representatives of revolution! This title is
honorary and must not be emasculated for group appeasement! Huey P.
Newton was a political prisoner, as was comrade George Jackson. Yet Carl
Ferguson is not, and Larry Davis is not. Yes there is politics behind
their imprisonment, as is true of all 2.4 million prisoners in the
United $tates.
This is germane when pushing ULK, because comrades are not all
the same and ULK must print useful articles that can relate to
the application of revolution in prison and society. Otherwise prisoners
and political prisoners will get caught up in prison struggles as if
they represent the main revolutionary work to be done. Let MIM(Prisons)
be advised the goal of revolution is the complete overthrow of the
existing government and the rebuilding of a new one! Thus that is the
objective of all true revolutions! The job of a revolutionary is to make
revolution.
Hunger strikes are “effective tactics,” pig assaults and/or killings are
tactics as well. Lawsuits are a strategy to be employed to achieve legal
expropriation, essential lifting of draconian conditions of confinement
(e.g. censorship, segregation etc.), and also should be employed to
bombard the courts and bog them down so some of our complaints are
addressed. Collectively nationwide this constitutes tactics and strategy
to raise society’s awareness, again in furtherance of revolution. The
filing of criminal appeals and post-conviction motions are done for the
liberation of revolutionaries for revolution. Some of the tactics
employed in prison will be useful in society, and others will be
ineffective. The same is true of strategies in prisons; some are
workable while others are not. Thus new tactics must be studied and
created that will be utilized to address pigs killing men, women and
children in our colonies. Al Sharpton rallies won’t work, Jesse Jackson
speeches won’t work, and the Million Man March addressed itself to no
single demand from the establishment and was merely a great day of
useless solidarity.
From the inception of prisoners becoming politicized it has been
recognized and accepted that prisoners will be the vanguard of the
revolutionary movement. Does anyone know the function of a vanguard: how
one is built, and how it can be effectively employed? This is the unique
purpose for which prisoners must be trained.
Prison resistance must be linked continuously to revolutionary work, not
merely complaints that pale in comparison to the conditions of the 60s
and 70s. Less complaints, more agitation and perspective.
MIM(Prisons) replies: Distinguishing between revolutionary
organizing and prison reform organizing is a problem that MIM(Prisons)
has confronted a number of times in its short history. It is important
that we always look for errors in our approach and ways to improve our
work.
On the question of the content of ULK articles: we strive to
always put articles in the context of the struggle against the criminal
injustice system. We do get many articles from prisoners just describing
bad conditions and repression behind bars. We also get a lot of articles
complaining about a lack of unity among prisoners. We agree with this
writer that these sorts of articles need to be related to the
application of revolution to be useful in ULK. We use the
MIM(Prisons) commentary after articles to provide this context when the
article itself does not include it. And we urge ULK
contributors to take this feedback seriously and work to include
anti-imperialist context within your own articles.
On the question of labels: we agree with this comrade that terminology
is important. We pay a lot of attention to the language we use because
language makes political points. We agree with the distinction made here
between inmate and prisoner. But we assert that
all
prisoners are political prisoners precisely because of the political
nature of the criminal injustice system that makes political
distinctions between arrests, trials, juries, laws and sentences to
disproportionately lock up oppressed nations. This is a political point
we are making with language.
We are more interested in defining classes than individuals. Recognizing
the relationship between the imprisoned lumpen and the United $tates is
about defining a class. A class is defined by its material conditions,
specifically in relation to production and distribution, and each class
has an ideology that arises from those conditions. This does not mean
that all people in that class have the same ideology or think the same.
It also doesn’t mean that there aren’t material contradictions within a
class. The proletariat is the most revolutionary because they have
nothing to lose but their chains. Other classes will have more internal
contradictions. That said we want to challenge the dominant role that
the illegitimate capitalist ideology plays in today’s prison environment
with a strong communist voice. This requires developing what we call the
subjective factors, through ideological development. All of us working
on ULK need to strive to make this “voice of the
anti-imperialist movement from under lock & key” a tool for
ideological development and anti-imperialist agitation, not just an
airing of complaints and reformist demands.