This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
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THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT
MIM Notes 87 April, 1994
MIM Notes speaks to and from the viewpoint of the world's
oppressed majority, and against the imperialist-patriarchy. Pick
it up and wield it in the service of the people. support it,
struggle with it and write for it.
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. FASCIST WAVE CRESTS WITH CRIME BILL
2. QUEBEC EXPANSIONISM THREATENS ECONOMY
MOHAWK NATION UNDER ATTACK
3. LETTERS
4. BORDER: INS INAUGURATES OPERATION HOLD THE LINE
5. AFRICA: POOR & READY FOR REVOLUTION
6. REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS PENETRATE GROWING
COMPUTER NETWORKS
7. BOSTON BLACK MINISTERS CRITICIZE FARRAKHAN
8. FARRAKHAN'S CRITICS ARE HYPOCRITES
9. WHO OWNS THE CAPITAL?
10. BLACK ENTERPRISE TELLS THE TRUTH
11. FLORIDA TO CASTRATE PRISONERS
12. TRIGGER-HAPPY PIG GETS BIG PRIZE
13. MASSACRE IN HEBRON: STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM
14. TELL THE TRUTH: INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR CAROL
ANDREAS
15. FILM CHALLENGES PUERTO RICAN STERILIZATIONS
16. NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY HEALS THE PEOPLE
17. REVIEW: SEVEN LAYERS CALL OUT AMERIKAN DECADENCE
18. UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONS AND FROM
PRISONERS
WHAT IS MIM?
The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is a
revolutionary communist party that upholds
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, comprising the collection
of existing or emerging Maoist internationalist
parties in the English-speaking imperialist
countries and their English-speaking internal
semi-colonies, as well as the existing or emerging
Spanish-speaking Maoist internationalist parties
of Aztlan, Puerto Rico and other territories of
the U.S. Empire. MIM Notes is the newspaper of
MIM. Notas Rojas is the newspaper of the Spanish-
speaking parties or emerging parties of MIM.
MIM is an internationalist organization that works from the
vantage point of the Third World proletariat; thus, its members
are not Amerikans, but world citizens.
MIM struggles to end the oppression of all groups over other
groups: classes, genders, nations. MIM knows this is only
possible by building public opinion to seize power through armed
struggle.
Revolution is a reality for North America as the military becomes
over-extended in the government's attempts to maintain world
hegemony.
MIM differs from other communist parties on three main questions:
(1) MIM holds that after the proletariat seizes power in socialist
revolution, the potential exists for capitalist restoration under
the leadership of a new bourgeoisie within the communist party
itself. In the case of the USSR, the bourgeoisie seized power
after the death of Stalin in 1953; in China, it was after Mao's
death and the overthrow of the "Gang of Four" in 1976. (2)
MIM upholds the Chinese Cultural Revolution as the farthest
advance of communism in human history. (3) MIM believes the North
American white-working-class is primarily a non-revolutionary
worker-elite at this time; thus, it is not the principal vehicle
to advance Maoism in this country.
MIM accepts people as members who agree on these basic principles
and accept democratic centralism, the system of majority rule, on
other questions of party line.
"The theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin is universally
applicable. We should regard it not as dogma, but as a guide to
action. Studying it is not merely a matter of learning terms and
phrases, but of learning Marxism-Leninism as the science of
revolution."
-- Mao Zedong, Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 208
* * *
FASCIST WAVE CRESTS WITH CRIME BILL
by MC432
Exploitation and expropriation of the Black, Latino and Indigenous
nations in the United States have always been the material basis
for white supre-macist nationalism, which has often grown to
fascist proportions. So, while the Violent Crime Control and Law
Enforcement Act of 1993 before Congress right now doesn't look
like anything new, revolutionaries and progressives must see it
for what it is: a reinforcing and militarizing of the white
nation's cross-class solidarity against the oppressed nations'
aspirations for libertation.
Based on the white Amerikan nation's historical record of killing
more than 10 million of the Indigenous Nations,(1) 25 million of
the Black nation during the Middle Passage from Africa,(2) and
inflicting untold suffering during centuries of Afrikan slavery
and colonization of Latino national territory in Puerto Rico and
Aztlan (the Amerikan Southwest), the white Amerikan nation is
fundamentally genocidal and white supremacist. These are two
primary features of fascism historically.
A third feature is the centralization of political and military
power: the Crime Bill is a horrifying step toward fulfilling this
last feature of a fascist development, for the Bill proposes
severe increases in the police functions of the State and in the
prison population, which is composed disproportionately of
oppressed nations.
The most sinister provisions of the Crime Bill are as follows:
¥ $8.9 billion to put 100,000 new police officers on the
streets over the next five years;
¥ $3 billion for the construction of 10 "giant" regional high-
security prisons,(8) of at least 2500 beds apiece;
¥ $3 billion for "boot camp" programs, military-style
"rehabilitation" for young detainees;
¥ $3 billion for expanding state and local prison budgets;
¥ mandates that violent offenders serve at least 85% of their
sentences;
¥ great increases in federally-mandated minimum sentences,
including the now notorious "three-strike" laws which require
life-sentences for those convicted of three broadly-defined
violent offenses;(9)
¥ adds 47 crimes to the list of those to which the death
penalty is applicable, including gang-related activities;(10)
¥ makes even joining a "criminal street gang" a federal
offense;(8)
¥ in addition to the 100,000 additional police officers, the
Bill establishes the Police Corps, a "ROTC-like college program"
that allows college students to pay off student loans by serving
as junior pigs.(10)
To provide incentive for states to enact all of the provisions of
the new crime regime, the Crime Bill requires that states first
comply with all of the minimum-sentencing provisions before they
can receive the funds for new prisons, police, etc.(9) This
requirement pressures states, already tight on prison funding and
space, to enact these minimum-sentencing provisions, which will in
turn increase the prison population and guarantee that all of
those new prison beds will be filled.
Prison rates rise
More arrests from more cops, plus longer sentences, will ensure
that already unendurable prison conditions, especially from
overcrowding, will remain unimproved while the prison population
grows at a faster rate than ever.
An increase in the prison rate is a chilling prospect, because the
U.S. prison rate (the number of inmates per 100,000 people) has
already more than doubled in state and federal prisons since 1980:
from 139 per 100,000 in 1980, to 310.(3) Including local jails,
the total U.S. prison rate is today 455 per 100,000, the highest
prison rate of any country in the world!(7)
While partially a result of Republican Reagan's onslaught of
stiffer sentencing laws, this is a bipartisan tradition that
Democrat Clinton is continuing and strengthening with the Crime
Bill. The U.S. prison system locks up 3,109 Black males per
100,000 Black males, more than four times the rate of Black male
imprisonment in South Africa.(5)
Blacks comprise 48% of the state prison population but 12% of the
country's population, while whites are 49% of the prison
population. Yet whites comprise 69% of arrests while Blacks
comprise 29%.(3) This proves that the so-called "justice" system
convicts Blacks at nearly double the rate at which it convicts
whites!
While this comes as no surprise, it is shocking factual evidence
of continuing structural discrimination in the courts against
oppressed nations. Two simple facts explain the disproportion in
the number of arrests of Black people: one is that police
surveillance and repression is constantly focused on the oppressed
nations; the other is that white-collar (white people's) crimes
like embezzlement and tax evasion are less pursued by police than
street crimes. So white nation control of the judicial system
makes any reform of the penal system pointless, while the class
prejudice toward punishing street-crime more than white- collar
crime also disproportionately imprisons oppressed nations.
Amerika fears colonies
One other very important historical feature of fascism, quite
obvious in the German case, is that it arises within a dominant
nation which constructs itself as threatened, while in reality, it
oppresses others. Thus fascism in Germany was in part a response
to what was portrayed as the growing social power of Jews, who
were accused by the Nazis of destabilizing traditional German
society.
This last feature of fascism is everywhere present in the current
media-generated crime hysteria in Amerika, with oppressed nations
being constructed as the source of "inner-city" crime, a terrible
threat to Amerika's "family values," government, and the "social
fabric" in general. In a chilling display of proto-fascist
rhetoric, White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, explained
that crime "certainly affects health care. It affects welfare
reform. It affects the state of the economy. It is both a
legislative issue and an issue of the country's spirit."(6) When
the "national spirit" of an oppressor nation is felt to be
jeopardized, the fascist squadrons cannot be far behind.
White nation wealth; oppressed nation prison
The white nation is 80% of the population of the United States, it
monopolizes 89% of household income, and owns median family net
worth (basically equal to average property wealth) that is 14.6
times the median worth owned by non-white peoples. Furthermore,
the division of wealth among whites is in the shape of an upside-
down pyramid (17.7% of whites are in the lowest income quintile,
ascending evenly to 21.4% of whites in the highest). But the
division of wealth among both Blacks and "Hispanics" is in the
shape of a right side-up pyramid (e.g., 37.2% of Blacks are in the
lowest quintile, descending evenly to 11.1% in the highest).
Lastly, the number of white households earning under $10,000 per
year has decreased since 1970, while the number of Black
households earning that little has increased.(3)
Therefore, as J. Sakai in Settlers: The Mythology of the White
Proletariat argues quite forcefully, Amerika was and is founded on
the structural oppression of national minorities. So it is obscene
to portray oppressed nations as constituting a threat: one
reactionary crime-commentator argues that "Yes, a lot of Americans
are in jail. A lot more should be." He attempts to justify such a
line by saying, "The criminals have deprived other citizens of the
greatest civil liberty--the right to live in peace."(4)
This is genuine proto-fascist sentiment, and the Crime Bill
channels this sentiment into a significantly more centralized,
federalized penal system.
Only national liberation for the oppressed nations will overthrow
the Amerikan "injustice system," which has persisted too long for
us to wait patiently for it to reform itself. With this new proto-
fascist development, revolutionaries and progressives must roll up
their sleeves and get ready to slug it out with the brown-
shirts--whether they are collegiate jugheads in the Police Corps or
a uniformed occupying army in the streets of the inner-cities.
Because the bipartisan drafters of the Crime Bill know that
oppressed nation youth are armed and pissed off--a volatile force
who are becoming organized for class struggle and national
liberation.
Notes: 1. J. Sakai, Settlers: The Mythology of the White
Proletariat, p. 7. Send $10 cash or check payable to "ABS" for a
copy.
2. Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, New
York: HarperPerennial, 1980, p. 29
3. Statistical Abstract of the United States, p. 198, 210, 211,
457, 459, 460, 477.
4. NYT 1/28/94, p. A27.
5. Penal Reform International using data from the Council of
Europe and the Australian Institute of Criminology," in William
Dan Perdue, Systemic Crisis (NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College
Publishers, 1993), p. 515, 516.
6. NYT 1/29/94, p. A8.
7. NYT 2/18/94, p. A27.
8. NYT 11/20/93, p. A8.
9. Nation 1/31/94, p. 119.
10. NYT 11/12/93, p. A1.
* * *
QUEBEC EXPANSIONISM THREATENS ECONOMY
MOHAWK NATION UNDER ATTACK
On Feb. 9, Canada launched an economic attack against the Mohawk
Nation to crush its growing independent power. The government cut
federal taxes on tobacco products to reduce the price difference
between legal and contraband cigarettes.(1) A large portion of
Mohawk economic strength came from supplying 70% of the $5
billion-a-year contraband cigarette market.(2)
This anti-Mohawk campaign will be enforced by Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) raids and increased border control.
The federal and provincial cut in cigarette tax lowers the price
of smokes from $47-$23 per carton. This cuts the government's
revenue significantly, but the benefits come in the form of
increased state power. The plan increases police power to stop the
sale of contraband cigarettes and other products exempt from
taxes, and targets drug trafficking.
The plan includes a large military build-up to enforce stricter
laws and penalties. Conveniently, the military build-up also
prepares the state to put down liberation movements--and the
strongest voice of national liberation in Canada is the Mohawk
Nation.
The Mohawks claim a sovereign right to govern and police
themselves. The strength and independence of the Mohawk Nation
threatens the goals of the Bloc Quebecois separatist party which
expects to win the fall elections.
The Bloc Quebecois pressured the prime minister to decrease taxes
and increase police forces in order to weaken the Mohawks before
the change in government. The attack on the Mohawk Nation is to
prevent the Mohawks from challenging the reactionary aspirations
of Quebecois nationalist sovereignty.
The elimination of tobacco trade severely weakens the autonomy of
the Mohawks. A Mohawk Warrior told MIM that the reduced taxes have
destroyed a major market for the Mohawks, which affects 200
workers employed directly through tobacco sales.
Currently 60% of the Mohawks are unemployed. "[Tobacco] has become
a source of relief from the oppression of the Colonial powers on
the Mohawk communities."(3) One Mohawk member told MIM that there
is no activity selling cigarettes on the reserves after the tax
cut.
Another economic attack launched to weaken the Mohawk Nation is a
lawsuit against gas station owners on Mohawk territory. Anything
sold on native reserves is supposed to be exempt from federal
taxes but the Quebec government is suing to obtain several
millions in back taxes. A Mohawk Warrior said that if successful
this will put the Mohawk gas stations out of business entirely.
Separatist agenda
Kahnawake Grand Chief Joe Norton said that "the Mohawks are
standing up for their rights, are establishing themselves and are
ready to defend their jurisdiction. There is a race (to establish
sovereignty) that's going on between ourselves and the
separatists."
A Mohawk member told MIM that the French-speaking settlers' legal
rights to 15% of Quebec can be challenged by a strong Mohawk
Nation. The struggle to weaken the Mohawks serves the purpose of
ensuring an economically and politically stable Quebec.
Lucien Bouchard, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, presses the
government and the RCMP to raid the reservations.(5) The Bloc's
constant demands for police action have prompted rumors of an
imminent military invasion of the reserves.
Ottawa Solicitor General Herb Gray promised there would be no Oka-
style raids on reserves. He maintains that increased security
training is required because they "foresee a call for the Canadian
forces to support a police organization--like the RCMP--with regard
to the smuggling."(6)
Instead of surrounding the reserves as in the 1990 Oka
standoff,(7) "the police will stop and question those leaving the
reserve for proof that taxes have been paid on any tobacco
products."(2) The government has set up the justification for a
raid if their other colonialist tactics of economic repression,
legal harassment, and police brutality do not succeed in weakening
the nation.
Increase the police
The anti-smuggling campaign includes $150 million for enforcement.
This adds 350 customs inspectors, and doubles the RCMP anti-
smuggling brigade to 700 agents. The military build-up includes
fast-response teams, heavy concentration on "problem" areas and
support from the Canadian Forces and Coast Guard.(2)
Municipal and provincial police have more power to seize smuggled
cigarettes and arrest the sellers and consumers.(2) The police are
ordered to take any necessary steps to stop smuggling--despite
warnings by Mohawk leaders that raids on reserves could lead to
violent confrontations.(1)
On Feb. 15, Grand Chief Jerry Peltier said that troops were
planning to invade Kanestake, and would follow with invasions of
Kahnawake and Akwesasne by 4,000 troops.(6)
There has been no raid of the Mohawk territory as of March 18, but
a Mohawk Warrior told MIM that there has been an increase in
harassment in the last few weeks coinciding with the anti-
smuggling plan. The constant danger of a raid still exists.
Now the government has a better prepared intervention unit. The
immediate impact of the campaign enforcement is police brutality
and random searches.
In February a Mohawk woman, was stopped and questioned by the
Surete du Quebec (SQ). She was then taken to the SQ garage and
beaten further by two constables. They yelled racist slurs and
threw her in jail with no chance to call her lawyer or family.
After trying to keep her in jail for eight days because of an
unpaid parking ticket, her family came. She was released and was
then charged with assault against police.(9)
Capitalists target Mohawks
The Quebec capitalists refused to collect taxes on cigarettes for
two weeks to push for the lower taxes. Their pressure was
augmented by a threat to stop collection of the federal goods and
services tax which is a major source of state revenue.(1) While
this was proclaimed a protest for Quebecois sovereignty, the
reactionary nationalists wish to use the state to eliminate the
Mohawks to increase profits.
The Quebecois lie to depict the Mohawk Warriors as a small
militant faction that forces the rest of the Nation to submit to
their demands.(4) The Mohawk Warriors, or Rotiskenekete, are the
"carriers of the burden of peace." A Mohawk member told MIM that
it is the duty of all Mohawks to defend the nation.
The Warriors are the specific organization of Mohawks that serve
as the link to the outside world, and as the intelligence and
primary security of the Nation. The Warriors defend the nation and
their right to autonomy, but are depicted by the Quebecois as
violent terrorists to discredit their purpose.
Le Devoir printed a cartoon of the Mohawk Warrior flag with the
Mohawk snorting cocaine. The press perpetuates allegations of a
Mafia-Mohawk Warrior relation as propaganda to justify raids on
the reserves.(5)
One Mohawk Warrior told MIM that this racist depiction has had a
huge impact on the push for raids. "Economic incentives aimed at
increasing and strengthening industrial capitalists in Quebec,
along with the nationalist movement have increased national
chauvinism against the Mohawks."
The resistance of the Mohawk Nation is an obstacle for the new
capitalist class and is the reason for the increased racism. The
Warrior said, "racism is so strong in Quebec because the Mohawks
have become part of a broader class, working in industries to
strengthen their economy, strengthened their sovereignty."
The growing Quebecois bourgeoisie used their power to strangle the
economy of the Mohawk Nation in order to weaken the most outspoken
opposition to the aspirations of a separate and stable Quebec.
They have strengthened their ability to squash the Mohawks with a
military build-up.
The bourgeois media is an imperialist tool to discredit the
Mohawks and their fight for liberation and to further set the
anti-smuggling myth to increase brutality against the Mohawk
Nation. But as one Mohawk member said, "they know that we own the
land, they know that we are strong, and they know that we are
willing to do whatever it takes to fight to be identified as the
Mohawk Nation!"
Notes: 1. The Globe and Mail 2/5/94, p. A1. ; 2. The Globe and
Mail 2/9/94.; 3. Mohawk Communique Kahnawake 2/3/94.; 4. Montreal
Gazette 2/17/94.; 5. The Globe and Mail 2/16/94, p. A3.; 6.
Montreal Gazette 2/17/94, p. A4.; 7. For more information on the
Oka standoff see MIM Notes 43, 44, 45 and 62.; 8. Report of Surete
du Quebec Police Brutality on Mohawk Women; 9. Eastern Door
2/25/94, Vol. 3, p. 1.
* * *
LETTERS:
MIM criminal on white working class
In your article on the flight attendant strike [MIM Notes 84, Jan.
1994], you write that the strike was merely an argument over the
division of some aggregate economic pie; that the strike was not
very radical; that the attendants are relatively elite vis-a-vis
international workers; and that white "Amerikan" workers are
essentially reactionary and that they are "too well paid. They
have bought too deeply into capitalist culture."
These are all basically true, and can be verified merely by
observing reality. As your program states, "the North-Amerikan
white working class is primarily a worker elite." Yet, this does
not change the facts regarding capitalist development and the
workings of the capitalist system. In your haste to abandon the
often racist, sexist, etc. "worker-elite," you have failed to
offer any solid analysis of why "Amerikan" workers have become as
they are.
--An East Coast Trotskyist
MC206 replies: MIM does have an analysis of why Amerikan workers
are the way they are, and we distribute lots of literature
explaining our position. Write to us and check it out.
We don't have the room in every article in MIM Notes to explain
our analysis or its basis in the Marxist classics, but our use of
the term "labor aristocracy" to describe the white working class
should have given you a clue. Lenin used this term to describe
imperialist country workers who have been bribed with profits
obtained from colonial workers. These bribes, according to Lenin,
"create something of an alliance between the workers of a given
nation and their capitalists...."(1)
East Coast Trotskyist continued: The reason the Amerikan working
class is more affluent and thus less revolutionary is because it
has been in effect bought out by capital. The policies of American
capitalism have, since the New Deal of FDR, both aimed at
preventing another great depression, and at preventing the working
class from rebelling. The several decades of economic growth made
possible from the war-economy and the cold war helped finance this
co-opting of the working class.
MC206 replies: So you agree with us, right? MIM would add that
this "buying off" process did not begin with the New Deal. The
genocide of Native Americans and the theft of their land, and 200
years of slave labor gave the Amerikan working class its "pioneer"
petit-bourgeois expectations and created the basis for the
rapacious imperialism which has given the Amerikan working its
most recent benefits.
East Coast Trotskyist again: [MIM's position] is un-Marxist
because it relies on incomplete analyses that are not based on
class and the ownership of the means of production, but on
nationalist identities; opportunist, because it allows you to
skirt serious analysis by chanting a populist "Amerikans are
inherently racist" line; [and] revisionist because it ignores the
body of socialist theoreticians' work on the issue...
MC206: Look, the labor aristocracy is defined by its relation to
the means of production. It does not directly own means of
production, but it helps Amerikan capitalists realize surplus
value taken from oppressed-nation workers while receiving enough
of these fruits that as a whole it is not exploited. (Keep in mind
that the labor aristocracy own billions of dollars worth of stock
in their pension funds.)
MIM avoids using the term "racist" (we did not use it in the
article in question) because it masks the fact that our analysis
is a class analysis. We don't say that the white workers have
these nasty opinions of people from other "races" and that's why
the international working class is split; we say that imperialist
super-exploitation of oppressed-nation workers has given Amerikan
workers material privileges which they would lose if super-
exploitation were to be abolished. Their short-term interests lie
with the preservation of imperialism. That's what divides the
international working class.
As far as ignoring the body of socialist theoreticians' work on
this issue: we owe most of this analysis to Lenin! Socialist
theoreticians used the theory of labor aristocracy to explain the
mass base for social democratic revisionism and treachery after
World War I. Even Engels talked about English workers in the 1870s
enjoying the fruits of England's absolute monopoly.
East Coast Trotskyist keeps at it: MIM's position on this issue...
is criminal as well, because it allows reaction to feast on the
working class without opposition. [MIM], in effect, is in
agreement with the racist lie that the white workers' interests
are opposed to the interests of the international working class.
MC206: MIM does not believe that white workers are incapable of
giving up their short-term interests for the interests of
humanity. We encourage them to. But MIM will not laud their
struggles around their wages and benefits if these depend on
continued exploitation for the majority of the world's workers.
MIM does not anoint Amerikan workers' ears with honey; MIM tells
them that the destruction of Amerikan imperialism should be the
first thing on their agenda. Telling them anything less "allows
reaction to feast on [them] without opposition."
Notes:
1. John Riddell ed., Lenin's Struggle for a Revolutionary
International New York: Monad Press, 1984, p. 499-500.
Who are the murderers?
What kind of bullshit is this? ["Pigs Plea for Popularity" MIM
Notes 86] Would you prefer a state of anarchy where drug dealers,
muggers, murderers, rapists, and the rest of the lowest of
society--white or black or otherwise--are allowed to run free?
I agree that the cops aren't perfect, but I don't think
cultivating a hatred of cops in our city's youth will serve
anyone's needs. Except those of the drug kingpins.
--Internet critic
MIM responds: MIM does not want drug dealers (the CIA), muggers
(multinational corporations), murderers (the U.S. military and
local pig police forces), rapists (billionaire pornographers and
their cronies), and the rest of the lowest of society (those who
support the above--white or black or otherwise) to run free.
Unfortunately for humanity, right now they do have the run of the
place, and they have used their power to put a lot of oppressed
people in jail. It is the job of revolutionaries to put a stop to
that. The state and its allies are the biggest drug kingpins. So
getting more kids to hate the cops works against drugs, not for
drugs. Sounds good to us.
MacKinnon rapes?
Personally I think it is MacKinnon who is "raping" her readers and
the general public by trying to impose her morality on the body
politic. Isn't that why we oppose fundamentalism in all its forms?
Why should she be praised when we hate and fear others of her ilk?
Shouldn't adults be allowed to decide adult matters for themselves
without the MacKinnons and the Ayatollahs and the Pat Robertsons
of this world allowing them this or that. Sincerely,
--East Coast Internet student
MIM responds: MIM disagrees with MacKinnon's calls for
strengthening the patriarchal state. But MacKinnon is right about
the nature of pornography. There is no such universal thing as
"fundamentalism" that includes the Ayatollahs and MacKinnon or Pat
Robertson. Each of these are different. Adults should be allowed
to decide matters for themselves (and so should children). But at
present they aren't, and pornography is part of the reason why.
Adults cannot decide "themselves" to live in a world that does not
rape and degrade women. We can decide that collectively, by
overthrowing patriarchy and abolishing pornography. In fact,
pornography would not have to be banned in a society where
profiting from it was impossible, and where would-be pornographers
did not control resources greater than their numbers. In such a
society, pornography would be smaller and less able to cause the
damage that it does now--and it could more easily be crushed by the
masses themselves without the need for state intervention.
Why oppose homophobia?
In your review of Philadelphia (MIM Notes 86) you wrote that: "In
many ways this is a good movie for Amerikans to see. It forces
people to at least think about discrimination and sexual
orientation and AIDS. Unfortunately the movie stops short of
reality." Later on, you add that: "If only because it forces
people to think about questions of discrimination and inequality
in corporate Amerika, this movie gets a half thumb up."
This confuses me. I agree with your (and almost everybody else's)
opinion that Philadelphia does not go nearly far enough in its
portrayals of homophobia. In addition the movie skirts issues of
both race and class oppression, in the fact that Hanks, an Ivy-
League yuppie Irish-Amerikan, is represented by Washington, a less
affluent Black attorney. From my experience, this part of the
movie ignores some large division in Philadelphian society.
Still, I feel that merely because it addresses homophobia,
Philadelphia deserves some credit. But, I am neither a Maoist nor
a believer in the Amerikkkan settler caste idea that MIM upholds.
If (as your polemics with us Trots, etc., continually state)
Amerikans are inherently oppressors, both workers and bosses, why
does it matter if they see Philadelphia? They are oppressors,
settlers, usurpers of Third World labour and genocidal Trotsky
lovers. If, as you stated in your piece on the American Airline
strike last year, the conception of false consciousness (as put
forward by most non-MIMers) is false, what can be achieved by
making the Amerikans guilty about their homophobia? Mass suicide?
Please address this, as I am genuinely curious.
--East Coast Internet reader
MIM responds: Good question. MIM knows that in general the
oppressor-nation masses oppose the revolutionary liberation of
humanity, that they have a material interest in perpetuating
imperialism. At the same time, MIM would praise (only one-half of
one thumb up, remember) a movie that encourages progressive
thinking among them for two reasons. First, because individual
members of oppressor groups are potential allies of revolution, so
spreading good ideas among them can help encourage the few who are
considering rejoining humanity. Second, decreasing homophobia and
other forms of oppressive consciousness among the oppressor nation
can generate reforms that improve the lives of oppressed people;
it's not work MIM would spend its little time and resources doing,
but we are glad to see Hollywood divert some money this way from
the usual crap.
MIM opposes discrimination against First World homosexuals, just
like MIM or any communist opposes the rape of oppressor-nation
women. We are glad to see things done to reduce these forms of
victimization, on the rare occasion that such reforms do not rely
on increasing the oppression of the international proletariat.
Good things are good (but we want to do what's best).
One good Anglo?
Please be aware that there is at least one, and probably lots
more, Anglos who would be delighted to see Puerto Rico become an
independent nation.
--State bureaucrat on Internet
* * *
BORDER: INS INAUGURATES OPERATION HOLD THE LINE
Inspired by the "success" of Immigration and Naturalization
Service chief Sylvestre Reyes' anti-immigrant blockade along the
U.S.-Mexico border between El Paso and Jaurez, the Clinton
administration has "elevated it from experimental to permanent
status and cited it as the inspiration for a new $386 million
border control program that would string more than a thousand
agents, miles of fencing and an array of infrared, electronic and
radio devices from Texas to California to keep illegal immigrants
out."(1)
Last September, the INS locked down the high-traffic El Paso
section of the border with a deployment of officers five times the
normal number. The INS claimed a 90% reduction in the flow of
illegal immigrants, most of whom are day-workers whose livelihoods
are threatened by the blockade.(2)
They have changed the name of the blockade program to "Operation
Hold the Line," which is an attempt to demilitarize the rhetoric
around the increasingly militarized border.
The massive increase in funding and man-power for the Border
Patrol, and the use of National Guard troops to aid them, is not
enough to satisfy some Texans. It is an election year there, and
one politician, Jim Mattox (a Democratic senate candidate), called
for the stationing of U.S. Army troops on the border as part of
the post-Cold War "peace dividend."
The increasing intensity of the rhetoric spells out the future of
the border: a Berlin Wall of the West, shielding the Amerikan
empire from the "economic impact of immigrants and their effect on
American culture," as the propaganda states.(3) This border must
be smashed by a truly internationalist revolutionary movement
which will equalize the standard of living on both sides of the
border.
Notes: 1. The Nation 2/28/94, p. 268; 2. See MIM Notes 84.; 3. NYT
3/8/94, p. A19.
* * *
AFRICA: POOR & READY FOR REVOLUTION
African incomes declined almost 20% between 1977 and 1992, says
the World Bank in a report issued in March. According to Christine
W. Jones, for every $100 Africans earned in 1977, they earned $82
in 1992.
While U.S. citizens averaged $23,120 in income per year, people
averaged $60 in Mozambique and $570 in Zimbabwe, one of the
better-off African countries.
Meanwhile, epidemiologists are pointing to a health disaster in
Africa as life expectancy declines from AIDS and other epidemics.
Already criminally shortened by capitalism, African life
expectancies are about 53 years. Life expectancies are the average
length of time a group of people lives once born. By the year 2005
(if imperialism gets its way), the Bank projects Africans can
expect to live to 40.
The World Bank is a leading imperialist institution set up to
oversee international aspects of development. Nonetheless, it
frequently admits important facts in its analyses, to help its
investors turn a profit.
Only the richest 20% benefit from imperialism. The rich get richer
and the poor get poorer under imperialism.
Notes: Boston Globe 3/13/94, p. 21.
* * *
SHINING ELECTRONIC SUPERHIGHWAY:
Revolutionary politics penetrate growing computer networks
The boom in electronic telecommunications and computer networks
has brought with it new opportunities--as well as risks--for
revolutionary organizing in the United States and worldwide.
MIM is struggling to get more people involved in this area of
growing importance. "Logging on" must not be a substitute for
political action, as it is for those who have swapped computer
terminals for the armchairs of the past. But it can be a vital
part of that action.
Revolutionary net
The New York Transfer News Collective (NYT), of which MIM is a
member, is a hub for this activity. "We see ourselves as an
activist tool, for getting information in and out," says NYT's Bob
Richards, "using technology as a weapon for waging psychological
warfare against the corporate system and against the government."
Richards and Kathleen Kelly run the system, which combines news
writing, gathering and distribution, with a system for linking
activists of many stripes directly together.
NYT, "a small-scale counter-propaganda center for activists,"
distributes literature from MIM as well as solidarity groups like
the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of New York, the anarchist Love
and Rage Federation, Workers World and its affiliated groups, and
more.
Kelly sees NYT as a tool for activists--a way for us to get our
literature and information out--and a way to draw us together: "We
also do what we can to encourage all these groups to communicate
with one another, and to use the power at their disposal in their
computers to do so," she wrote recently.
"Although they might dislike one another's viewpoints, the members
of our collective all understand and accept our practice of
distributing a wide variety of radical and progressive news," she
added. NYT extends this principled position to include the
distribution of members' criticisms of each other.
NYT's coalition politics are not new in themselves, Richards says.
"The biggest difference is the technology involved. There is
really is not much difference politically." Such coalitions "would
have happened anyway" with letters, FAXes, and so on. But now "two
people can do what it would have taken hundreds of people to do."
In some ways electronic politics reflect that "people are no
longer social animals," Richards argues. Access to a network
"creates a meeting place for people to gather remotely."
On the flip side, Kelly notes that politics in the medium could
also encourage isolation. There is a danger that "it can become a
very solitary, isolated addiction," she says. Still, "it gets
people to do things they wouldn't otherwise do--such as signing and
sending petitions--with electronic mail, activism is much easier."
And the immediate quality is good: "it's very instantaneous ...
it's almost handed to you. I think that's what the medium has
done."
Imperialist tool, partially subverted
Electronic mail communication has been the tool of elites. The
present-day Internet was developed by the U.S. military industrial
complex as ARPANet in 1969, and has been used by academic and
intellectual elites since.
There are about 15 million Internet users worldwide now, with a
growing proportion of them private or corporate.(1) The Internet
is not directly owned by anyone; it's a "federation" of about
12,000 networks. Current projections say it could have 100 million
users in five years.(2)
Its first extensive political use was pioneered, predictably, by
Amerika's fascist vanguards. Kelly recounts, "the right wing is
much more technologically sophisticated. The right has used
bulletin boards for years and years."
In 1984 the FBI used a tap on one organizer's modem to track down
a whole network of white supremacists.(3)
But the biggest boon is to revolutionaries, who need ways of
getting to large audiences cheaply and efficiently, and who are
often censored from corporate media.(3) The medium reaches
millions of reactionary people, but also exposes a large number of
potential allies to revolutionary politics.
But even as networks are growing and reaching new people, open
access to them is increasingly threatened. Rather than developing
coherently as a single, government-directed system, like the phone
or Interstate highway systems originally did, electronic
communication is developing anarchically, driven by big competing
capitalists acting on their own, like the "railway free-for-all"
of the 19th century. Of course, in both cases virtual
monopolization was the end result. (2)
In 1991 the federal government committed itself to spend $3
billion to change the Internet into a "quasi-commercial entity"
called the National Research and Education Network. Some
combination of phone companies and cable companies (who are
currently in a massive merger-mania phase) will rule the big
networks in the near future. At present, IBM pays $80,000 per
month to use the Internet, at great benefit in terms of
communications cost and efficiency.(2)
Political networks are not restricted to the Internet, however.
There are more than 50,000 independent bulletin board systems in
operation, most not making any or much money. The most successful
one sells, predictably, digital pornography, raking in $3.5
million per year.(2) These cannot be stopped as long as we still
have phones.
Kelly and Richards predict a five-year "window of opportunity" in
which access is relatively unrestricted, which time we have to
develop alternatives. Although Internet is already "in transition
from public to corporate," says Richards, it still could be
partially salvaged "if Internet were considered public domain," if
people thought, "This is ours, this doesn't belong to corporate
Amerika." Eventually, however, getting politics out on the
Internet may be no easier than accessing prime-time TV.
Hank Roth, who facilitates a group of progressive discussion
conferences, is among those who want to save Internet access. "The
best way to insure our presence on Internet is to introduce the
masses to Internet," he writes. "Internet is truly a network where
anarchy works. Let's keep it that way. Bring others onboard. There
is empowerment in numbers. That's the only way."
Anarchy doesn't work under capitalism, and that is why the
Internet is being gobbled up by corporate powers, but in the short
run MIM agrees with those who fight to maintain pubic access.
Risks
The flow of electronic communications traffic is highly vulnerable
to state surveillance and repression. NYT reports having had mail
tampered with, phones tapped, and being investigated by the FBI,
NYPD and New York State Police. As a hub, they are something of an
obvious target. Still, despite "the usual assortment of cyber-
vandals who try to crash our system periodically," they say "we've
never been successfully hacked."
New York Transfer was censored for its distribution of MIM
literature by the operators of some newsgroups and a PeaceNet
conference. In the process, however, supporters of open access
were able to struggle publicly against any restrictions. As in
other media, MIM opposes any censorship of computer networks--even
as fascists and pornographers flourish--in the name of fighting
stronger state repressive mechanisms of any kind.
In the meantime, MIM urges all readers to learn to use these
tools. The computers and modems required are relatively cheap now,
especially for groups and organizations. From scratch to Internet
may cost as little as a few hundred dollars. Internet yields not
only direct contact with thousands of potential supporters, but
also millions of files accessible to those who are eager to learn.
Revolutionaries must master the technology needed to wage all
kinds of wars. Often that means co-opting existing technology, as
well as developing our own.
To get in on computer network political work, do any of these
things:
¥ If you don't have or can't afford a cheap Mac or IBM home
computer and modem, try to find a local site that sells public
access: check local colleges and universities. Or get a group
together to buy some equipment.
¥ If you are equipped, get Internet access from a local college,
BBS or commercial service. Don't pay more than $25/month for full
Internet access. Ads for commercial services with toll-free
numbers appear in any computer magazine.
¥ Within calling distance of New York City, call New York
Transfer. Dial 212-675-9690 or 212-675-9663, setting the modem to
dial at No Parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit. Or write 39 West 14th
St., #206, NY, NY 10011.
¥ Contact your local MIM distributor to help figure this out.
While you're at it, volunteer time with MIM or NYT; we will both
exchange training for labor.
¥ If you are on Internet already, write MIM at
mim%transfr@blythe.org or NYT at nyt@blythe.org.
Notes:
1. New York Times 2/11/94, p. D1.
2. Economist 12/25/94, pp. 35-8.
3. Bay Guardian 7/21/93, pp. 18-20.
* * *
BOSTON BLACK MINISTERS CRITICIZE FARRAKHAN
Five Black ministers called Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis
Farrakhan a "hypocrite" in a press conference, scheduled to
coincide with his visit to Boston.
The mainstream press has made Farrakhan a household name by
lambasting him for anti-Semitism. Boston area papers featured
front page features and stories about him in the days leading up
to and surrounding his speech.
Recently, Farrakhan demoted spokesperson Khallid Abdul Muhammad
for "mean-spirited" remarks in a speech denouncing Jews, Catholics
and other groups. Muhammad is now appearing in a more gentle light
in the press: "'We must establish that kind of face-to-face
dialogue'" he said of Blacks and Jews while he visited two museums
in Philadelphia.
While MIM does not tolerate anti-Semitism, MIM does not expect the
mainstream media to pursue these matters in an even-handed way.
The only attention Black nationalism ever receives is when it is
bashed for anti-Semitism. There is nothing inherently anti-Semitic
about Black nationalism.
What is more important to MIM is that the Nation of Islam claims
an important political movement--Black nationalism.
Though MIM supports the nationalism of oppressed nations against
imperialism, MIM takes a stand independent of the Black
nationalist groups that are not led by proletarian politics. MIM
is in agreement with the group of five Black ministers who
criticized Farrakhan as a "hypocrite."
The ministers pointed out that Farrakhan claims to oppose Black-
on-Black violence, but he supported the assassination of Malcolm
X. Pushed on this question recently, Farrakhan has dodged the
issue to say it is used to stir up hatred against the Nation of
Islam.
However, he also admitted a number of points: "'I never had
anything to do with Malcolm's death. But I can't lie to you that I
was his friend when he died. I was his enemy because I felt him to
be the enemy of black people.'" Farrakhan agreed that "he was
among those who 'created an atmosphere that allowed Malcolm to be
assassinated.'" Rebutting his critics, Farrakhan said, "'Was
Malcolm your traitor or was he ours? And if we dealt with him like
a nation deals with a traitor, what the hell business is it of
yours?'"
Notes: Boston Globe 3/11/94, p. 1, 14.
* * *
FARRAKHAN'S CRITICS ARE HYPOCRITES
Amherst, MA--Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's visit to the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst on March 9 ignited a storm
of controversy. A coalition of Black student organizations formed
to bring Farrakhan, and spent $25,000 in student money on the
visit. The students organized to bring Farrakhan because he is an
important Black leader, and they wanted to hear what he had to
say, first hand.
A coalition of campus religious organizations also formed to
"Condemn Bigotry/Protest Farrakhan." These organizations were
upset that student money was going to "fund hate." Their name was
"Coalition against bigotry" and their slogan was "Build a campus
community free of all forms of racism and bigotry." Those are nice
slogans, but this organization has never existed before, and will
likely dissolve now that Farrakhan is gone. It's hypocritical to
condemn Farrakhan when you don't have a better practice at ending
national oppression yourself.
Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the
Jewish Defense League (JDL) were also present to protest
Farrakhan. The Anti-Defamation League is ostensibly a civil rights
organization that opposes anti-Semitism, racism and homophobia.
This is ironic because its San Francisco office has been exposed
in the international media as spying on the daily activities of
thousands of leftist organizations and individuals (and a couple
of right-wing organizations).
The JDL is a terrorist organization formed by Meir Kahane. When he
was assassinated, his followers formed Kahane Chai (Kahane Lives),
of which mass-murderer Baruk Goldstein was a member. Kahane
founded the JDL to expell Palestinians from Palestine and
persecute anti-Zionists abroad.
The Larouchites (followers of Lyndon Larouche) also came to UMass
to oppose the ADL and JDL. This is an organization that
progressives should be aware of, since it tries to portray itself
as "left" when it is actually a far-right fascist organization.
They distribute a newspaper called The New Federalist and publish
books under the name Executive Intelligence Review (EIR).
The Larouchites distributed a book called "The ugly truth about
the ADL." While there definitely is an ugly reality behind the
ADL's civil rights facade, we won't find it from people who think
there is a global Jewish conspiracy to destroy wonderful Amerika.
MIM was shocked to see a radical Third World graduate student
praise the book. Just because the Larouchites oppose the ADL
doesn't make them your friends! Read the back of the book: "You
are holding in your hands a weapon to free the United States of
the scourge of drugs, dirty money, and New Age perversion [i.e.
homosexuality]. ... [T]he ADL has been, and is today, a leading
agent to spread all of these evils."
Likewise, MIM was disturbed to see copies of The New Federalist in
the offices of Third World student organizations. The Larouchites
oppose the Zapatista rebels in Mexico and call them narco-
terrorists!
MIM distributed newspapers outside the hall where Farrakhan was to
speak, and discussed revolutionary politics with the people
waiting to get into the event. As a MIM distributor was leaving,
the pigs finally caught up with MIM. Police Chief John Liuppold
told MIM that "there will be no distribution of literature that
might upset people."
MIM was leaving anyway, since the only masses left outside were
the cops and the ADL/JDL, so the MIM distributor didn't make a big
deal out of it at the time. We call this what it is, though:
hypocrisy.
* * *
WHO OWNS THE CAPITAL?
In the United States, 45.8% of stocks are held directly by
individuals.(1) That was down from about 70% in 1982.(2)
That's a steep drop, but a greater part of corporate shares are
held still by individuals in Amerika than in Britain (about 20%),
Japan (about 20%) or West Germany (almost 25%).(2) All these
countries saw a drop in individual holdings over the last 10
years.
But that kind of figure conceals the large proportion of shares
held by pension funds, which while not directly controlled by
individuals, eventually return their profits to individual
pensioners when they retire or are laid off. Britain has more
stocks owned by pensions than by individuals.
In Amerika, 31.3% of stocks are held by private or government
pension funds. In total, then, 77.1% of all stocks are held by or
yielding profits to individuals. The rest are held by mutual
funds, insurance companies, non-U.S. interests or banks.
Of course, these stocks are not held equally by all Amerikans. But
this system still gives millions of Amerikans--not just
capitalists, but petty bureaucrats, government workers and labor
aristocrats--a stake in the imperialist system that makes those
stocks profitable: they coughed up $150 billion in dividends in
1992.(1) --MC12
Notes: 1. Federal Reserve in 1994 World Almanac and Book of Facts,
p. 116, 120.
2. Economist 1/29/94.
* * *
BLACK ENTERPRISE TELLS THE TRUTH
Johnson Products Co., Inc. got eaten up by white power recently.
JPC, founded by Black capitalist George E. Johnson, fell prey to a
$67 million merger in which it became a wholly owned subsidiary of
IVAX Corporation. According to Black Enterprise magazine, a voice
of Black bureaucrat capitalism, "Many blacks have not gotten over
the fact that one of the nation's most prominent black-owned
businesses is now owned by a white-owned conglomerate."
As white Amerikan capital continues to concentrate itself and
export means of production to cheap labor-sites in the crisis-
wracked Third World, corporate "downsizing" in 1993 hit 10.4% of
the North Amerikan workforce. Guess who got hit?
"A Wall Street Journal study of 1990-91 Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission figures found African-Americans to be the
only group that suffered a net job loss during that period, while
whites, Hispanics and Asians gained jobs--thousands of them.
"The study, which canvassed 35,242 companies, held that black
employment fell dramatically in 36 states and six of the nine
major industries. Hardest hit were blue-collar job holders,
service workers and those in sales. ... Blacks lost 42.1 percent
of the jobs cut at Coca-Cola Bottling Enterprises, the bottling
arm of Coca-Cola Company....
"Why are blacks bearing the brunt of corporate America's ax? ...
One reason, says Peter Cattan, an economist with the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, is the predominance of African-Americans in
blue-collar jobs, which are being wiped out en masse. Another is
that 'many companies are still operating under a last hired, first
fired pattern, which is firmly enforced by powerful labor unions,
... on top of that, of course, there's discrimination.'"
While "downsized" Black proletarians go back to circulating
"welfare" funds for white-owned banks--and to prison--bureaucrat
capital will continue to trickle down to Blacks holding jobs in
the government, multinational corporations and the police forces
to keep IVAX's hair products division in the black.
"If you're a displaced [Black] manager planning your employment
future, take heart: white-collar unemployment rose 70 percent
during the recession, but in the last year managers grabbed 37
percent of the net new jobs. ... With a receptive administration
finally in place and the North American Free Trade Agreement
taking hold, now is the time to leverage our clout as
professionals and as voters to ensure that the bloodletting does
not continue and that [our] gains are not lost for good."
From the above MIM learns:
1. "Downsized" whites are simply changing job descriptions.
2. Black laborers are the only national group in North Amerika
to have lost net jobs during the recent restructuring. Every other
group benefited from a net gain in jobs; although other oppressed
nationalities held so few corporate-sponsored jobs that a small
numerical gain registered as a large gain percentage-wise.
3. Black workers in America hold the lowest paying jobs and are
expendable.
4. White workers are gaining jobs even as the ranks of Black
unemployment swells, i.e., whites switch professions at the
expense of Black workers.
5. Downsizable Black bureaucrat capitalists in the corporate
sectors are praying for increased exploitation of the Mexican
proletariat to create professional jobs distributing an
anticipated increase of stolen surplus value from the Third
World--to them: the Black compradors.
6. Whites now profit directly off the sale of hair-
straighteners even as the national oppression of the Black Nation
increases. Black bureaucrat capitalists, salaried by corporations
and the government, are generally the direct instruments of
Amerikan imperialism's genocide. They will always be allowed a
"piece of the pie" for as long as there are exploited and
oppressed Black masses for them to repress, exploit and vomit
forth the old Uncle Tom lie about "registering to vote."
7. It is in the interests of monopoly-restricted, non-
bureaucrat Black capitalists engaged in actual production to
participate in overthrowing imperialism in a revolutionary united
front led by the international proletariat.--MC86
Notes: Black Enterprise 2/94, pp. 69-74.
* * *
FLORIDA TO CASTRATE PRISONERS
As part of its recent campaign to "crack down on crime," i.e.
enlarge its prison population and keep prisoners in jail for
longer periods of time, the state of Florida announced plans for a
program to "chemically castrate" inmates convicted of rape.
Designated prisoners would be given a drug which would drastically
reduce testosterone production. "This may sound barbaric," said an
anti-rape activist interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition, "but it's
not as barbaric as rape."(1)
MIM would find this program and the hype around it pretty
laughable if it didn't help spread the hysteria police use to
justify increases in police presence and control.
Increased police presence on the streets and tough sentences for
those few men who are convicted of rape does not reduce the rape
rate. "Stranger rapists," the majority of those caught by the
police--are a marked minority of rapists. And since Black men are
disproportionately accused and convicted of rape, programs like
these end up adding the barbarism of national oppression to the
barbarism of rape.(2)
Rape is not a matter of male hormones or even testicles and
penises. It is not a sickness which afflicts a few exceptional
individuals. Rape is an expression and support of the power men
have over women, the power to control women's sexuality.
Token punishment of rapists using existing power structures only
leads to the reinforcement of those imperialist and patriarchal
structures. Women do not need to depend on the folks with the
biggest guns right now--the pigs--they need to build new power
structures themselves which can stop rape and end the imperialist
exploitation and military intervention which affect the majority
of the world's women.--MC206
Notes:
1. NPR's Morning Edition 3/7/94.
2. MIM Theory 2, "Gender and Revolutionary Feminism," pp. 91-93
* * *
TRIGGER-HAPPY PIG GETS BIG PRIZE
A particularly violent white Ohio cop--who shot nine members of
Amerika's internal colonies in 12 years on the force--has been
awarded $200,000 as compensation for suffering "reverse
discrimination."
Officer Joseph Paskvan claimed that he was not promoted to
sergeant in 1988 "because he was white" and because all of "his
line-of-duty shootings involved non-whites." Community groups
succeeded in pressuring city officials stop his promotion.
Paskvan, who is still on the force, sued the city. On March 9, a
federal court awarded Paskvan $200,000 for lost wages and "mental
anguish."
MIM calls the Amerikan justice system what it is: a farce. Two of
Paskvan's victims are dead, and this pig gets a reward?
The police are an occupying army that play a large role in the
mental anguish (and material oppression) of Amerika's oppressed
nations. Paskvan may be getting a bonus now, but the oppressed
nations will eventually be demanding more than that in reparations
for 400 years of exploitation and oppression.--MC234
Notes: Reuter 3/10/94.
* * *
MASSACRE IN HEBRON: STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM
Israel and the United States have again revealed the true nature
of imperialist policy toward Palestine following Barukh
Goldstein's massacre of nearly 40 Palestinian Muslims as they
prayed in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a village in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank region of Palestine. Goldstein, an
Amerikan Jewish settler and well-known radical Zionist, is a
beacon illuminating Amerika's determination to support Israel's
continued occupation of Palestine and brutalization of its people,
regardless of the vulgar "peace talks" which are clearly a farce.
Immediately following the massacre, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
prohibited medical relief from reaching the wounded. A Palestinian
taxi-driver reported: "I took four injured people in my taxi. One
was seriously injured in the head. The army forbade anyone to come
or leave. My car was shot at as I was leaving the area. Also an
Israeli guard at the Dabboyya building in the center of Hebron
shot at us. There was no one on the streets on the way. When I
left there were helicopters spraying gas over the whole city."(1)
Subsequent demonstrations led to many more Palestinian deaths at
the hands of the army. The Israeli right wing could not have timed
it better. Yassir Arafat looks stupid for still negotiating with
Israel, and the Israeli government looks worse to Jewish settlers
for not protecting them.
To the Palestinians who reject the peace talks and are moving
closer to Hamas since the talks began, this incident makes no
lasting political difference. They are still brutalized daily
without a foreseeable end to the occupation.
Palestinians immediately protested the massacre, and the IDF
responded by killing at least 22 Palestinians in two days.(2) The
IDF then imposed a curfew "to let people cool down." Palestinians
protested the killings, sparking more IDF murders to "control the
protests."(3) An Arafat supporter said "Arafat has nothing in his
hands. He said, 'we want peace.' But he can't get peace because
the Israelis don't want it."(4)
U.S. support for occupation
The U.S. Secretary of State's office encouraged Israel to reduce
settler violence against Palestinians, but said in the same
breath: "what we have seen the Israelis say has been very
impressive. Some of the measures and language used are
unprecedented towards the militant settlers."(5) Most settlers are
still armed with Israeli military weapons for "self-defense," so
it's a lie that "militant settlers" represent only a small
minority of the settler population.(6)
The United States Mission to the United Nations opposed the
Secretary General's suggestion of U.N. protection for Palestinians
as "not particularly helpful."(7) The United States referred to
the idea as "a matter for discussion between the Israelis and the
Palestinians,"(7) another way of saying that other countries
should stay out of Israel's way.
Israel is still very important to the United States in the Middle
East, and the Amerikan government has no interest in weakening
Israel by such minor considerations as an occupied territory to
the east or west of Jerusalem. Israel serves an important function
keeping the Arab states at bay. Israel's military is superior to
any other in the region thanks to decades of U.S. military aid.(8)
'Jews are not the enemy'
The Israeli military commander for the West Bank summarized the
investigation, saying that had security been normal on the day of
the massacre, it would not have happened. Mysteriously, five of
six guards failed to report for duty at the Cave of the
Patriarchs, and security cameras were off.(9) One West Bank IDF
officer said that had he been present at the mosque he would not
have opened fire on Barukh Goldstein because regulations in the
occupied territories prohibit firing on Jewish settlers.(10) An
army official explained to the panel: "Jews are not the enemy."
The enemy of Israel is the Palestinian people, and Barukh
Goldstein has become a martyr to the anti-Palestinian cause. "The
funeral of Barukh Goldstein was well-attended and his grave has
become an oft-visited site for many settlers who see him as a
hero."(11)
Zionist lies, bogus peace talks
If national liberation for Palestine is your goal, do not look to
the phony Peace Accords recently being pushed by Clinton, Rabin,
and Arafat. Without national liberation, meaning economic and
political self-determination on independent territory, there can
be no talk of peace and reconciliation between imperialist-backed
Zionism and those it seeks to dispossess. The fact that Israel is
continuing to build and militarily reinforce settlements in the
occupied territories even since last September's Accord(12),
proves that Israel has no intention of offering anything except a
bogus "autonomy" that offers no path to independence and self-
determination--to the people it has systematically displaced and
oppressed.
The Hebron massacre is simply one more act of Israeli state-
sponsored settler terrorism against the Palestinian national
liberation struggle. It is to this struggle that progressives and
revolutionaries everywhere must give their full support. In the
United States, we can build the anti-imperialist struggle in order
to decisively stop the $5 billion a year that the Amerikan
government feeds to the Israeli occupation force.(12) This, of
course, will only come about when we stop Amerika itself.
Notes:
1. From report by the Palestine Human Rights Information Center.
Contact support baraka.gn.apc.org.
2. Miami Herald 2/2/94.
3. NYT 3/3/94,p. 1.
4. NYT 3/9/94, p. 4.
5. NYT 3/2/94, p. 7.
6. NYT 3/1/94, p. 6.
7. NYT 2/28/94 p. 6.
8. Middle East 3/94, p. 7.
9. NYT 3/9/94, p. 1.
10. New York Times 3/11/94.
11. Moneyclips 3/6/94.
12. Nation 2/14/94 p. 190
This story was written on March 11.
* * *
TELL THE TRUTH: INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR CAROL ANDREAS
Women lead revolution in Peru
In March, MIM interviewed Carol Andreas, a scholar and activist
supportive of the revolution in Peru. Andreas has written
extensively on the participation and leadership of women in the
Peruvian revolution, in direct refutation of the vicious,
bourgeois lies that the Communist Party of Peru (PCP) is a
"sexist" organization which targets and suppresses feminists.
Andreas is the editor of Peru Scholar News and Notes, a monthly
newsletter about the situation in Peru.
MIM: Many First World feminists, such as the editors of Ms.
Magazine, insist that violence is a male trait and that the PCP
specifically is a patriarchal movement. Based on your work with
women in Peru, how do you respond to this charge?
Andreas: Certainly men have been acculturated to be predators, and
imperialists have used the macho appeal to get the public's
cooperation in adventures such as the Gulf War. On the other hand,
struggles against colonialism and neo-colonialism have always been
most successful when women have taken the lead and overcome
whatever fears and inhibitions they have in order to overthrow
oppressors by whatever means necessary.
Women in the Communist Party of Peru have provided outstanding
leadership since the party's early years in the 1970s. The PCP has
distinguished itself from other political parties in Peru, where
women's roles have characteristically been marginal or
subordinate. The important figure of Abimael Guzman or Presidente
Gonzalo in the PCP may seem anachronistic in this regard, but it
has always been part of his genius that he respected women,
learned from them, and did not hold them back.
MIM: Why should the masses of women in Peru support the PCP? What
kind of support from women does the party in fact enjoy?
Andreas: Because the war in Peru is a People's War, based in the
countryside, where women predominate as poor peasants engaged in
subsistence agriculture, the party has found a natural base of
support among women. The main issue at stake in the war is
opposition to the government's policy of promoting "export-fueled
growth," which brings benefit only to a few, especially those
linked with foreign-owned companies. Women have been the first to
suffer the effects of Peru's linkage with big banks and
multinationals. As a group, poor women have an enormous stake in
developing a self-sustaining economy and in restructuring
political control from the ground up.
MIM: How does that stake translate into the form of women's
participation?
Andreas: In order to accomplish the transformation of Peruvian
society so as to benefit the majority of the people, the Armed
Forces must be defeated and the National Police, which operate in
conjunction with municipal governments controlled by central
authorities, must be overthrown. The PCP establishes people's
committees and people's militias at the local level to replace
central government authority, and people's schools are established
to educate youth about the national reality. In all of these new
organizations, women predominate, and they apparently predominate
as political and military leaders at the regional and national
levels as well.
MIM: What is the particular relationship of indigenous women to
the revolution?
Andreas: Ever since the European conquest, indigenous women have
been raped and degraded by conquerors, and men have been bought
off to a certain extent by giving them authority over women. In
indigenous communities, women's subordination has been incomplete,
although most have been kept illiterate. In times of crisis, women
have been empowered to lead in struggles to reclaim community
land, water rights, and cultural prerogatives of native peoples.
The PCP has recognized this tradition in a way that reformist
unions and political parties have not, incorporating women's
empowerment as a central part of its structure. It has publicized
and developed the feminist theories of Jose Carlos Mariategui, who
died in 1930 at the age of 35, and who actively promoted both
indigenous and feminist revolution.
MIM: Do you think that the fact, and nature, of the participation
of women in the revolution will affect their status when the
Fujimori regime is finally defeated?
Andreas: If women do not lay down their guns, I think they will be
able to maintain and build on gains won during the course of
revolutionary struggle. In order for this to happen, they will
have to be highly conscious of the danger of an anti-feminist
backlash after the defeat of imperialist forces. I would hope that
feminist movements--which, for all their weaknesses, are more
developed than ever before on a global level--could play a
supportive role in this regard.
MIM: The Amerikan media presents the PCP as having an anti-
abortion position. Can you elaborate on (or refute) this claim?
Andreas: I know that the party has criticized bourgeois feminists
for putting primary emphasis on legal reform and, specifically, on
the struggle for abortion rights. Birth control programs have also
been criticized as manipulative and exploitative of poor women,
who need to win state power before a generalized improvement in
the health and welfare of the population can occur. Within the
party, both birth control and abortion are practiced. The PCP was
the first political party in Peru to develop a comprehensive
women's rights program at an all-female national conference held
in 1975, before the movement initiated armed struggle.
MIM: What can you tell us about the treatment (and resistance) of
women prisoners?
Andreas: Women political prisoners in Peru are systematically
raped and tortured when they are first arrested. They are also
subjected to beatings and deprivations of all sorts on a regular
basis. Some of them are being held in solitary confinement.
Surviving women prisoners were removed from Canto Grande after a
massacre which occurred there in May 1992. The massacre was
perpetrated by the government in part because the women had turned
a maximum security prison into a center for production and
cultural and educational activity that had gained the attention of
the entire world.
Over the years, authorities have admitted that PCP women rarely
break under torture. The morale of prisoners remains generally
high in spite of constant threats, degradation, and assaults to
their physical well-being.
* * *
MIM NEWS: FILM CHALLENGES PUERTO RICAN STERILIZATIONS
Ann Arbor, MI, March 10 -- MIM and the Puerto Rico Solidarity
Organization (PRSO) showed the film "La Operacion," describing
U.S. involvement in a mass sterilization campaign following WWII.
By 1964, approximately one third of the women living in Puerto
Rico had been sterilized. The U.S. government sponsored a "family
planning program" which funded thousands of sterilization
operations. The program propaganda stressed the importance of
smaller families for economic success.
Whose economic success?
U.S. imperialists bought up plantations in Puerto Rico, forcing
many peasants off of their land and into an industrial work force
which could not profitably employ the peasants. The unemployed
workers were an economic burden and considered dangerous to U.S.
interests. This first wave of sterilizations that resulted was in
the late 40s and early 50s.
In the early 70s, with a shift in focus from textiles and
manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, petro-chemicals, and
electronics, even fewer laborers were needed. A second wave of
U.S. sponsored sterilizations began and an estimated 20,000 Puerto
Rican women were sterilized over a two-year period in the city of
Barceloneta alone.
Population control = genocide
In the discussion after the film, people expressed interest in
learning how Puerto Ricans were convinced to submit to these
unnecessary operations. The discussion focused on the lack of
access to information which was strengthened by the "family
planning" propaganda campaign.
One PRSO member related an account of a woman who was given a
cesarean section unnecessarily and was told that she needed to be
sterilized because she would die if she tried to give birth again.
Many women were given only the option of having the operation, and
some were sterilized without their consent. Many factories also
mandated sterilization of women employees in return for continued
employment.
The discussion briefly touched on Amerika's continued interest in
population control in Puerto Rico, and other Third World nations.
President Clinton has budgeted $585 million for population
control, a significantly higher figure than in previous years. In
the guise of population control, and supported by pseudo-
scientific Malthusian fiction, the imperialists destroy Third
World families to create worker drones who exist only to funnel
profits from the sweatshops back to the First World. The corollary
of this genocide is also the destruction of revolutionary
movements through the sterilization of not just individuals, but
entire communities and nations.
* * *
NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY HEALS THE PEOPLE
Medics of the People, a video documentary put out by the New
People's Army (NPA)--led by the Communist Party of the
Philippines--chronicles the activities of NPA Medical Units as they
serve the people in the rural areas of the Philippines. These
medics go through different barrios to help the community fight
common diseases, as well as provide dental care, emergency surgery
and health and sanitation education. Their work is an important
part of the survival of the Filipino people as they struggle
against an oppressive regime which keeps them in poverty.
The film focuses on the serious work that these People's Medical
Units are able to do, in spite of the conditions in which they
work, and the lack of treatment. There is little or no regular
medical treatment from the government. Many people go without
immunizations and die of preventable diseases such as
tuberculosis, cholera, pneumonia, and polio. Hospitals are usually
forty mile walks from the barrios, and the people are often far
too poor to pay for services anyway.
The Medical Units travel from barrio to barrio, providing
treatments, immunizations and other services. However, the most
important thing that these medical units do is provide education
to make it possible for people to run their own health clinics in
their communities. In addition to providing medical training to
peasants in their community, the People's Medical Units also teach
people about nutrition, and sanitation. The health clinics that
are set up provide many treatments, including acupuncture, surgery
and herbal medicine. The medics inventory health problems, record
medical histories and design strategies to treat the people
efficiently and maximize grassroots participation. People only pay
to replace used medicine stocks. In this way the NPA is serving
the people as well as building independent power of the oppressed.
One of the primary jobs of the Medical Units is to provide
treatment for the NPA, sticking with them in battle, and providing
immediate emergency surgery and whatever else is required to save
the lives of comrades. The medical unit has constructed a
seemingly makeshift, but actually sophisticated, hospital in which
they treat wounded cadres. Medics are trained in an alternative
medical school which combines theory with practice. Students learn
through first hand experience, as well as studying medical
science. Many of the students, peasants from nearby communities,
start out with a third or fourth grade education, but are able to
learn the science they need to serve the needs of their
communities.
The NPA Medical Units treat the people as well as the wounded
cadres and enemy soldiers that need care. The people always come
out when they hear of a new NPA Health Clinic. They identify the
practice of the NPA as superior to that of the military. While the
military steals the peasant's food and livestock, the NPA provides
care, and takes an interest in the well being of the entire
community, thus paving the way for building socialism in the
Philippines.
--MC99 & MA59
Medics of the People is available for $25 from Philippine
Information Network Services, PO Box 55666, Hayward CA 94545.
* * *
Seven Layers of Plastic
Buried Beneath
1993
Buried Beneath is a politically strong first release from D.C.-
area band Seven Layers of Plastic. Their biting sarcasm attacks
the decadence of Amerika's plastic society and the plight of those
oppressed by it.
The only significant flaw in Buried Beneath is that it doesn't
identify that the oppression they talk about disproportionately
affects the Black and other internal nations. Because of this it
is unclear whether they acknowledge the privileged and parasitic
role that the white nation plays in the United States.
Each of the six songs on Buried Beneath is strongly political.
Suicide, prostitution, homelessness, the decadence of Amerikan
society, Amerika's violence and apartheid are all discussed.
"Seven Layers of Plastic" is probably the funniest song on the
album with its description of Amerika's decadence. "Now we've got
fake sugar/and fake fat too/you can eat all you want/and get no
nutrients/All our food is packaged in microwave containers/nothing
is natural/wonder where it comes from?"
"Mother Hooker" is excellent at exposing the integration of
patriarchy into Amerikan society. "Mother Hooker" is about a
mother forced into prostitution--since it pays better than the no-
skill jobs she could get in local stores. "She'll provide a
personal service/for a reasonable fee/you can even tie her
up/she's got three mouths to feed."
The last stanza is both the strongest and also the weakest in the
song: "Her best client's a doctor/the next answered the call/she's
even got a policeman/who protects her from the law/isn't it
ironic/isn't it a lie/it's the oldest profession/ but it's not
legitimized."
Amerika views women forced to sell sex as "sleazes" or "whores"
yet it is acceptable for its most respected members to purchase
sex. Seven Layers of Plastic stops short of calling for--or
organizing--a defeat of patriarchy. True, women shouldn't be jailed
for prositution, but that doesn't mean prosititution should be
legal. Instead of calling for legitimation of the sale of sex, we
should abolish the material basis for gender oppression.
The biting sarcasm of Seven Layers of Plastic is harshest on
"Friendly Fire." Friendly fire is the term the military uses to
describe the situation where troops are being fired upon by their
fellow soldiers. Here the term is used to refer to living under
Police State Amerika: "And you can't trust the cops because of
where you live/try to dodge the bullets/on your way to the
store/you don't think you can take it anymore."
Seven Layers of Plastic condemns Amerikan society, but they don't
come straight out and endorse revolution in Amerika. They do
endorse the Azanian (South African) revolution, however. In "Beth
on Holiday" they sing about a white South African woman who on her
first trip abroad is confronted with the international
condemnation her country receives.
Seven Layers of Plastic warns Beth that her "lily white fantasy/is
about to end." They appeal to her to "open up your heart/put an
end to this blood shed." Seven Layers of Plastic doesn't expect
the revolution to wait for people like Beth, though: "You notice
people don't like you/look at you with shame/since you accept the
system/then you are to blame."--MC234
You can order Buried Beneath from Seven Layers of Plastic, PO Box
15441, Arlington VA 22215 for $3.
* * *
UNDER LOCK AND KEY:
NEWS FROM PRISONS AND FROM PRISONERS
INTERVIEW: DEATH ROW PRISON WORKERS SPEAK
I'm sorry for the delay in getting this out to you. Enclosed are
interviews of three prison-labor camp inmates who work on death
row at the adjacent high-security federal prison. They preferred
that we not use their real names since they could expect
ramifications by staff here if they found out. If there are other
questions you want asked of these inmates, send them, and I'll use
them in subsequent interviews.
Before proceeding, I should explain "Unicor." This is the name for
prison industry. Unicor produces furniture, bunks, gloves,
blankets and goods for the military such as bomb pallets and
electronic cable. Throughout the federal prison system, Unicor
industries are busy manufacturing and assembling goods. Reputed to
be a "Fortune 500." company, it utilizes slave labor at slave
wages, without benefits to the labor pool involved (the inmates).
It is rumored that former President Bush owns a lot of stock in
this company. Tax dollars go into it; now, where do the profits
from it go?
I apologize for the photocopy quality. It's the best I can do with
the resources at hand.
Regards,
--an Indiana prisoner (IP)
2/23/94
These three people preferred we use different names, so we'll call
them "Mark, Mike and Mick."
Mark
IP: When did you start your job assignment on death row?
Mark: October 1993.
IP: Did you apply, or were you assigned?
Mark: I applied for it.
IP: Why?
Mark: For better wages.
IP: How well does it pay?
Mark: It pays $90 a month.
IP: Are there any other benefits?
Mark: No.
IP: What do you do there?
Mark: We paint, plaster, sand walls and strip the walls. We'll be
laying blocks working on both death row and the execution
facility.
IP: How many inmates from the labor camp are working on death row
construction with you?
Mark: About 15, not including electrical workers, plumbers, etc.
IP: How many bosses or supervisors do you work under?
Mark: Two.
IP: What's death row like? Can you describe it? Mark: It's sort of
making me feel bad, because I wonder how many people are on death
row, knowing that there are probably some people on death row that
shouldn't be.
IP: What's the layout like?
Mark: They've got like, I imagine it's close to 40 cells that we
work on. For now, that's the total.
IP: Is anyone there waiting to be executed now?
Mark: Yes. We get comments from inmates yelling through the
windows in the prison, "Man, don't do it--that's wrong!" I really
feel bad because I'm knowing that some of them are wrongly behind
the wall. I didn't realize it until I came to federal prison that
you could be so easily framed and sent to prison. It seems to me
that it's all about money and power for the government.
IP: Will they have game rooms or other recreation?
Mark: They have a recreation room. I can see it from a distance.
It's 20 foot by 40 foot, screened in with security screening.
IP: I've heard they will have Unicor (prison industries). Is that
true?
Mark: Yes. I don't know much about that yet.
IP: Are the death row inmates expected to work in Unicor?
Mark: Yes.
IP: What do you think about that?
Mark: I'm not quite sure. I'm sure none of the inmates, as well as
myself, agree with the death sentence, because I don't.
IP: Will death row inmates be permitted visits?
Mark: That, I'm not sure. I heard they were, but I'm really not
sure.
IP: What do you think about the death row sentence?
Mark: I don't even oppose the death row sentence; it's OK for
serial killers. I'm against it otherwise.
IP: How do you feel about it? Mark: I feel kind of bitter against
our government about this whole thing, especially drug offenses...
because I think they have blown it out of proportion about drug
offenders.
IP: With the new crime bill, if passed, there will be about 50-
plus offenses that could get the death penalty. What do you think
about that?
Mark: I think they were hard enough as far as their laws. It was
tough enough. They didn't need to add any new ones, because that
traps too many people unnecessarily in prison. IP: Where do you
think the death sentence is going to be at in the future?
Mark: I think that they're going to lock up so many people that
the government is not going to know what to do with themselves. It
seems like every politician that gets into office wants to prove
they are tougher than the others. IP: Tell us about the attitudes
of your fellow workers.
Mark: They pretty well have the same attitudes I have. Mostly they
are poor, don't have any money. They heard that the job pays more
than the job they had.
IP: Tell us about your supervisors' attitudes.
Mark: The only problem I have here is that I get no cooperation
out of the staff. None.
IP: Describe more about what inmates would yell out to you from
the prison.
Mark: They talked a little bit about how I shouldn't do that: How
would I feel if I were on death row? And that made me feel bad.
They call us soft--pussies. They really act like they want to get
to us. If they only knew that I'm not in death row, but I'm really
in the same boat. They feel they shouldn't be in there. I feel the
same way.
IP: After you get out, would you ever be involved in any sort of
activism to protest death row or other prison problems?
Mark: Yes. Anything to stop that, because I think it's wrong. I
don't think they have a right to take another man's life.
IP: Any more comments about the death penalty?
Mark: Death penalty is wrong. I think instead of punishing the
people they are, they should try to rehabilitate. People come to
prison, they are worse off after than when they came.
IP: Any comments about this interview?
Mark: I think it's real important for people to know what's going
on with the federal system. People running the government are
sometimes wrong-doing people. The public has no idea how they're
running things.
Mike
IP: When did you start?
Mike: September 1993.
IP: Did you apply, or were you assigned?
Mike: Assigned. I didn't know until I got there. They picked a
bunch of us up and took us over there, walked us in. Didn't tell
us nothing until we got there. Me and two other guys.
IP: When you got there, what happened?
Mike: We stood around dumbfounded. The place was filled with
water. Roof still leaks. That place is worse than here! Didn't
even know we were working death row until other inmates told us.
IP: What did you think when you found out?
Mike: How they could take us over there inside the prison and not
tell us what it was pertaining to. We found we couldn't leave the
job unless we got an incident report and were fired and went to
the hole!
IP: How much does it pay?
Mike: $60-$90 a month.
IP: What is death row like?
Mike: A shithole. Building was built between 1938 and 1940. We are
refurbishing. So full of dripping and lead paint. They'll have
black and white TV (cable) in there. One handicapped cell, six
segregation cells. 50 cells total, I believe. Ceilings are cracked
in there. We're painting and the roof is still leaking. It's so
old in there. Two recreation rooms. There's a food service in
there, and a law library. It's all self-contained from the main
prison. Death row inmates are expected to work Unicor in there.
IP: What about visiting?
Mike: It will have visiting, but no human contact--through glass.
Two 6' x 9' cells, partitioned off with windows.
IP: What do you think about working on death row?
Mike: It bothers me if they are going to put someone to death if
they are actually innocent. I didn't have any choice. It bothers
me that way. I wouldn't have worked over there if I were given a
choice.
IP: What do you think about the death sentence?
Mike: Depends on what the situation is. It shouldn't be done to
anyone just for dealing drugs--for anything victimless. I just
think there would be innocent people put to death.
IP: What crimes justify the death sentence?
Mike: I don't think the government should have any control over
that in the first place. The victim should, the criminal should
decide. If they've been caught red-handed or if convicted on
hearsay.
IP: Where do you think the death sentence is going in the future?
Mike: So-called drug kingpins... Who knows where it's going to
go--that's what scares me. I don't know. It ain't in my hands. I
just think America's become too much of a police state.
IP: What do you hear inmates yelling from the prison?
Mike: Not lately. Every now and then, they're yelling, "Damn
snitches! How'd you get into the camp?" and "You're building that
for your kids!" Some in Spanish.
IP: Would you get involved in any sort of activism on this issue
after you get out?
Mike: I don't really know. If things get worse, I'm leaving the
country. I plan on talking about it when I get out. I hope people
realize what's going on out there. The government just wants to
take control of everybody, from what I can see.
Mick
IP: When did you start your job assignment on death row?
Mick: September 1993.
IP: Did you apply or were you assigned?
Mick: Assigned. We were no longer C-3 (Construction three crew),
we were C-4 (death row construction crew). They just picked us up
in the truck. We were told that we couldn't quit the job
assignment.
IP: How much does it pay?
Mick: At first I was on refusal FRP (financial responsibility
program--for paying fines and restitution. These are often
garnished from wages.)
IP: Any benefits for working there?
Mick: No.
IP: What do you do there?
Mick: Masonry crew. But actually, I'm a jack of all trades. We're
working on the cells, putting walls up. Scraping and painting is
the biggest part of that. The original building is from about
1943. They'll have their own medical. Right now, pretty much all
of the labor is coming from the camp.
IP: How's the safety?
Mick: It wouldn't pass OSHA.
IP: How many inmates do you work with?
Mick: 13-14. One real boss. Different bosses depending on crew
working, plumbing, electricians, different foremen.
IP: What is death row like?
Mick: It's real boring. You're inside a dorm all day. Six cells
will be lined in quarter-inch steel plate, for those who get
closest to execution.
IP: What do you think about working on death row?
Mick: First of all, I don't know why they have it. If they really
wanted to punish somebody, that's the easy way out.
IP: What do you think about the death sentence?
Mick: In a way, it's almost the humane thing to do, as opposed to
spending your life rotting in a cell until you have the big one or
something. The executioner's job pays $600 a shot. That's from a
memo in the staff room. No one's taken the job yet.
IP: Attitudes of co-workers?
Mick: They'd rather not be there. This is making my bid go by real
slow.
IP: Do guys from the main prison yell things at you?
Mick: Used to. Like we shouldn't be working over there. Only
happened a few times.
IP: Will you ever get involved in any type of activism or protest
against all this, after you get out? Mick: Probably not.
IP: What do you think about this interview?
Mick: It's part of my punishment! (laughs)
Kansas prisoners railroaded after outbreak
Comrades,
Let me apologize for not writing sooner. Your paper is truly
inspirational. I was beginning to think that the struggle was
becoming obsolete, for so many are unconscious and ignorant to
what's really going on in Amerikkka and the world abroad.
On May 22, 1993, there was a riot here in Lansing's "Crossbar"
University Correctional Facility. One guard was killed and another
injured. There were approximately 500 "inmates" on the yard, but
only 50-80 blacks were locked down and placed under investigation.
I am one. We who are labeled militant Muslims, gang members or
associates, are locked down.
The end result of the riot was 12 charged and everyone else placed
in permanent party. We are constantly threatened, harassed and
jumped on. We have no voice or power to cry out for help. Many of
the brothers were at visits, but anyone trying to clear himself
just had to mention your name and you have a case. Many snitches
or informants were released on parole.
The administration's "Nazi squad" says I am the leader because I
had a copy of Blood in My Eye, by George Jackson. Yet I have no
write-ups in two and-a-half years and have not served any
disciplinary time, either. Yet I am race conscious and don't fit
the norm like the snitches. Thus, I am a target. We are set to go
to court, but the courts won't give a preliminary hearing.
A warrant was issued by a judge, not a grand jury. If anyone knows
case law and can help us, we would appreciate it! We are on the
railroad, and our appointed counsel is working with the county
attorney. Some attorneys have never visited their clients yet. So
we already know the outcome of our trials.
I understand how my fellow comrades feel all over Amerikkka. Just
because we are incarcerated doesn't mean we are animals and can be
treated any way the system dictates. I pass along each paper from
MIM to the young simbas so they can learn and read that I'm not
the only one whose eyes are open to the game the u.s. operates.
And there is a struggle going on by the conscious masses in
Lansing's facility. Every Black male who comes in behind these
walls is labeled a gang member or affiliate. You are given a gang
point to stop you from getting parole and from receiving fair
custody. They've stopped college programs so they can keep the
masses ignorant and under their thumb. We are told that we will be
sent to other concentration camps once the railroad is completed.
We thank MIM for allowing us to reach out and let the comrades
within the belly of the beast know that we share their oppression
and that what goes around comes around. I may be persecuted for
this letter, but it doesn't matter when it comes to the struggle.
Power to the people by any means necessary.
--a Kansas prisoner, 1/24/94
Prisoners Need Outside Support
Revolutionary Greetings, MIM staff, Sorry that this letter is so
late reaching you. I just received the latest edition of MIM
Notes. I believe the Notes had arrived earlier than expected, but
was being held up front by the Administration Heads for censoring.
As usual, the articles in MIM Notes are great. But yet it is so
depressing to read about how fellow comrades of our struggle and
prisoners in general are forced to endure the torment of physical
and mental/psychological manipulation. This form of inhuman,
degrading and barbaric torture is unjustifiable and arbitrary.
These arbitrary acts must stop!
The community at large must be made aware of the injustice that
exists within the walls and fences of these kkkoncentration kamps.
The public must form an organization to combat for prisoners'
rights and other issues that need to be brought to the light.
Because we prisoners can only do so much from inside, the most
important thing is that we have the public's support. Power to the
people.
--an Indiana prisoner, 2/1/94
Trigger-happy pig gets big prize
A particularly violent white Ohio cop--who shot nine members of
Amerika's internal colonies in 12 years on the force--has been
awarded $200,000 as compensation for suffering "reverse
discrimination."
Officer Joseph Paskvan claimed that he was not promoted to
sergeant in 1988 "because he was white" and because all of "his
line-of-duty shootings involved non-whites." Community groups got
city officials stop his promotion.
Paskvan, who is still on the force, sued the city. On March 9, a
federal court awarded Paskvan $200,000 for lost wages and "mental
anguish."
MIM calls the Amerikan justice system what it is: a farce. Two of
Paskvan's victims are dead, and this pig gets a reward? --MC234
Notes: Reuter 3/10/94.
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