MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
www.prisoncensorship.info is a media institution run by the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons. Here we collect and publicize reports of conditions behind the bars in U.$. prisons. Information about these incidents rarely makes it out of the prison, and when it does it is extremely rare that the reports are taken seriously and published. This historical record is important for documenting patterns of abuse, and also for informing people on the streets about what goes on behind the bars.
I would like to encourage any prisoner who is abused in any way that is
clearly counter to the regulations and department operational manual
(DOM) to consider that upon exhausting the administrative process or
even when it’s obstructed there is another lawful way to force the CDCR
prisoncrats to act on your complaint.
It’s not as simple as the administrative 602 process and if you lack
serious determination to force the issue don’t waste your time. But it’s
called “administrative mandate” petitions you can file in the court. Now
you can obtain basic instructions by writing the Prison Law Office and
asking for “information on filing an administrative mandate” and/or buy
the California state prisoners handbook which will explain to you how to
force prisoncrats to follow their own rules and regulations.(1)
There is always the law library, which is the most powerful resource in
the system for a prisoner who does not allow themselves to be mentally
worn down. The adversarial system is just that, and prisoncrats and the
CCPOA don’t care about you but as a means to a pay check. This is not to
belittle but encourage you to pursue lawful action if you have exhausted
administrative remedies. You can sue easily in small claims where you do
not have to have much legal knowledge (think of Judge Judy/Joe
Brown/Matis, etc.). That’s the simplest way to sue. But make sure you
line your ducks up!
More complex methods of suing are available also if you are willing to
do the work required seriously, as in “limited jurisdiction” and
“unlimited jurisdiction” in the state courts; in addition to your
ability to file in the federal jurisdiction. This is not easy, it is
time consuming and it can be costly to you.
I would also consider writing complaints to the U.S. Department of
Justice Civil Rights Division special litigation section if you are
serious. The opposition makes use of all of its resources, I suggest you
too use all of the resources you have. I am not anybody’s attorney and
this is not legal advice, I am simply stating the obvious so people do
not lose heart. In most cases the picklesuits and prisoncrats allow the
abuse of those they don’t expect to offer a real challenge.
On a daily basis, we here at the McConnell Unit experience backlash for
any and every thing we do to stand up for ourselves. I have been at a
receiving end for some time. I have now been confined as a “security
threat group (STG) member or leader” and am constantly being watched by
the pigs. I am a considered a confirmed gang member despite ten years
without any major disciplinary cases, gang involvement/activity, or
fights.
Now, because of that my mail has gone missing, and has been denied
without my knowledge. The mailroom staff has to notify and give you a
pink paper to let you know your mail was denied and for what reason. My
family has received two of their letters returned to them as “denied”
yet I have never been called to the mailroom as per policy to be advised
that I am being denied a letter. Plus the last thing I received from
MIM(prisons) was the three past issues of ULK. As you can see I am
targeted. I am used to it.
I spoke with the Gang Investigator two weeks ago. I told him that I am
not gang related, have never been, and his response was plainly “we can
start the process to get you off file, but it will take a year.” This is
after I have already gone through the process twice in ten years.
I have been pushing hard on our section for unity and peace amongst
Latinos and Afrikan Amerikans. There is a lot of racial hatred on this
unit, and no one seems to want to get along. Since 2007 I have tried and
tried to make peace between two races who are always at each others’
throats. I put up articles from ULK on a common area bulletin
board so all these brothers can open their eyes to what they are too
blind to see. I speak individually to different people and tell them
they have the power to change the minds of these new “inmates” coming in
and teach them that they are not inmates, they are human beings!
Furthermore color is not a factor. All the pigs see is white uniform.
All we see is skin color. And that is wrong, brothers.
We need to realize that together as one solid voice we can move
mountains. We can be heard! We can achieve. Stop looking at each other
with malice and hate. The pigs will take all your property, destroy your
pictures, confiscate your commissary, and lock you up under false
pretenses, yet some will overlook that only to fight the next brother
because he owes a soup (25 cents) or changed the TV channel. Open your
eyes! All of us!
We recently came off of a 30-day semi-annual lockdown. B-side on the
unit is all lifers and medium custody prisoners. We had not been to
store a week before lockdown, and after lockdown (on the 16th of July)
we still have not been to commissary. Today is the 26th. So that’s 47
days more or less. On the 21st we staged a sit in. We agreed that we in
solidarity would go to lunch and all of us would sit down in the hallway
until the majors and wardens came to speak to us. Fifty of us inside and
out of the chowhalls, all in unity, sat down requesting the wardens to
come speak. Sure enough all the lieutenants, captains, majors and
wardens came to speak to us.
I told them (at all times) that it was a peaceful demonstration about
our mistreatment on many issues but also concerning commissary being
denied to B-Side while A side had gone twice to commissary and were
fixing to go for a third time. Despite cameras to record us “initiating
riots,” and threats about being locked up and given disciplinary cases,
we stood our ground. (Although some ran away at the first sign of the
wardens coming and some did not actually attend the sit-in.)
The main warden speaking told us he would work on getting us commissary.
He gave us his word and we in unity and unison got up and went back to
our building. Our commissary schedule was dated as us not going to store
until the 29th. But thanks to our actions we started going sooner, on
the 24th.
We have 3 pods on our building and when we told the other 2 pods to help
us they refused. We did it alone. Yet thanks to us they are going to
store. Ironic that they believed our actions would be in vain yet enjoy
the victory we achieved.
Basically we need to stand together. Not in violence. That only gives
them the excuse that we belong in prison. Instead we all need to unite
in solidarity. I would rather fight 5 years to live my next 15
peacefully and not mistreated rather than live all 20 under mistreatment
and torture! And to all the brothers in here that sit back and take it:
Why talk about war stories of you being this big bad “gangsta” out there
who takes nothing from no one and give a story of “don’t disrespect me”
only to sit back and be compliant with the pigs?
Recently a Federal lawsuit against Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(TDCJ) was filed regarding the inhumane heat in the prisons. TDCJ
responded that it’s not an issue because they employ huge fans, air
blowers and cold water as preventive measures to ensure safety. What
they didn’t state was that only one of those fans works in every section
(one sits idle) and the air blowers do not work either. And cold water
is hard to get because the pigs don’t let us fill the coolers up until
they feel like it. So that excuse isn’t even true! Open your eyes
brothers in Texas. Enough is enough! The fight continues. Don’t give up
or give in. Never let race be a factor! Power to all people!
MIM(Prisons) responds: We echo this comrade’s call for unity
across all groups of prisoners so that we can join together in the fight
against the criminal injustice system.
Rather than define people by “race” however, we talk about nations.
Racism is the idea that there are different biological differences
between people. The anti-racists still claim people are separated into
different “races” even though they acknowledge that there is no
biological or material basis to this claim. The concept of racial
differences between people
is
a product of national oppression that was invented as an ideological
justification for colonialism and slavery of the “lesser” races.
We recognize that there are distinct nations within U.$. borders with
common language, culture, economics and geography, which face
subjugation as a group. So there are different groups within U.$.
borders, but we advance beyond the anti-racists by defining those groups
materially. The oppressed nations within U.$. borders include at least
the Chican@, New Afrikan and First Nations. Rather than trying to
integrate these peoples into the oppressor Amerikan nation, like the
anti-racists are doing, we work to liberate them from imperialism to
take control of their own national territories and form their own
independent states, free from imperialism and oppression.
Mail the petition to your loved ones and comrades inside who are
experiencing issues with their grievance procedure. Send them extra
copies to share! For more info on this campaign, click
here.
Prisoners should send a copy of the signed petition to each of the
addresses listed on the petition, and below. Supporters should send
letters on behalf of prisoners.
In May 2014 I arrived at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility -
Corcoran State Prison. When I arrived they were about to serve dinner so
I told them I eat Kosher. I’m Jewish. I didn’t get any food. I was
housed in G-yard where I got no Kosher meals. I have proof that I was
approved for Kosher meals at a previous prison, but have been denied
here because I won’t let the Rabbi in Sacramento call my mother.
Keep in mind that there are Muslims and Skinheads that get the Kosher
meal. I have names and numbers of those prisoners. I have been assaulted
twice so far by officers and a lieutenant. Lt. Akin slapped me in the
back of my head, officer Ruiz and another officer grabbed me and knocked
me down. I was refused medical attention and told by medical, “oh you’re
a hunger strike patient, go back to unit.” I’ve lost 17 or more pounds
in a little over a month, but still have been given no Kosher meal. They
keep searching my locker and taking all my food. I have a hell of a
paper trail proving this.
The Pastor Alvarez here put me on the Jewish service list on 4 June
2014, but I have still been denied access to go to Jewish services as of
18 June. The Jewish prisoners (only 7 of us) send me food and the police
take it.
One doctor sent me to a crisis bed. Others sent me back an hour later
saying it’s not a mental health issue, it’s a religious issue. The
doctor has tried to trick me into signing a paper to volunteer to go to
a hospital. I said no, I’m being abused and starved.
Lt. Akin and Sgt. Ibarro threatened to have inmates rape me if I don’t
eat their food. Yet, other prisoners actually took a CDCR 602 group
grievance and over 50 prisoners signed it verifying the abuse. I never
asked anyone to do this, making this a great show of prisoner solidarity
against the abusive officers.
MIM(Prisons) adds: This is a clear example of prisoner abuse and
the power of solidarity fighting this abuse. If prisoners can step up to
demonstrate unity without solicitation and organizing, imagine the power
of a unified prisoner movement led by conscious brothers and sisters
spreading education and drawing connections between these individual
cases of abuse and the broader anti-imperialist struggle. We call on
United Struggle from Within leaders to take these opportunities to build
the movement.
A couple weeks ago National Public Radio (NPR) aired a series called
“guilty and charged” that talked about the way states are charging
defendants and even criminalizing them for not paying court fees.
The series followed and interviewed different people who were caught in
this cycle of repetitive imprisonment. A couple of facts are worth
mentioning, particularly that in New Jersey 4,000 people surrendered
themselves to pay for fines. That is, they got arrested for a
misdemeanor and can’t pay court fees so they get issued a warrant for
their arrest. These charges can be settled with a reduced payment or a
couple months in jail.
In essence the poor are being not only criminalized and imprisoned for
being poor but punished by an injustice system that is not blind!
Forty-one states now charge room and board for people in county jails,
forty-three states charge a defendant for a public defender. In a
supposed democracy where everyone is equal before the law, this is not
only a complete farce but a system put in place to check oppressed
nations, and more so poor people of oppressed nations. Although mention
was given how in 40 years the prison population has boomed 400% and the
rise can be attributed to Richard Nixon in the 70s for his “war on
drugs,” there was not much content on how there is a political context
to this high incarceration of oppressed nations.
It’s no secret that the poor and marginalized will have a harder time
paying court fees, and as mentioned earlier, oppressed Blacks and
Latinos are most likely to end up incarcerated, furthering a system of
criminalization.
Most oppressed nations know first hand the injustice system in the
United $tates. As there is no profit from imprisonment to U.$.
imperialism, the rise of imprisonment is not for profits but for
political reasons. The high cost of imprisonment is taking its toll on
the department of justice, county jails and tax payers. It’s likely that
defendants will be charged more and penalized even more for not being
able to pay these charges.
While agitation, protest and attention should be given to combat this
issue along with a long list of other “wrongs,” a reformist attitude wil
only go so far. People should get into a movement to overthrow this
imperialist system and install a more just society in a socialist
manner.
You ever heard that saying “crime doesn’t pay”? I’m gonna keep it real
with you: that’s a bold face lie, or at the very least a
misrepresentation of the truth. I guess it can be argued that crime
doesn’t pay for the person who does the crime, gets caught, and has to
serve a lengthy sentence.
I don’t necessarily accept that premise because for one, a person can go
undetected for a long time, all the while blowing through millions of
dollars in ill-gotten gains; ask Bernie Madoff. Is it reasonable to
conclude that crime didn’t pay ol’ Bernie-Bern? And the U.$. government
is running a Madoff-like ponzi scheme with some of its entitlement
programs; Uncle Sam knows that crime pays.
Another dimension to this is the guy who does the crime, gets caught,
gets the court punishment, but has friends in high places who sees that
he gets a pardon. Such as the case with “Scooter” Libby or that
California state politician’s son who Arnold Schwarzenegger granted
partial clemency to. Arnold basically admitted that he did it as a favor
for his politician friend. Ask “Scooter” if crime pays.
Then there’s the people who commit crimes, yet due to their status and
position in U.S. society, never get prosecuted. Anybody remember the
Iran-Contra affair? Plenty of evidence has surfaced that implicates the
CIA with drug smuggling and trafficking during this era. There were
reports from agents with un-compromised integrity filed within the CIA
during this time and bringing this criminal activity to light within the
Agency. Ironically George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and the upper level
intelligence/justice officials, claiming ignorance of the crimes,
avoided legal accountability for this criminal activity. Ask the Bush
politicians if their crimes pay.
The government of Columbia sued the Phillip Morris tobacco company for
smuggling Marlboro cigarettes in to that country, readily accepting
large amounts of cash from traffickers, then smuggling the cash back
into the U.S.(1)
Ironically this criminality didn’t receive much focus in the United
States, nor did the Phillip Morris decision-makers have to defend their
criminal conduct in the U.S. criminal court system. Also RJ Reynolds
(Nabisco) has been sued by the entire European Union for large scale
smuggling and money laundering.(1) Ask the elite Wall Street collective
if crime pays.
We see politicians and government bureaucrats on TV all the time
speaking of their commitment to eliminating crime and their sincere
desire “to see a crime-free America.” I say that they’re the grossest
liars and flatterers, devoid of integrity and a healthy sense of shame
for intentional deception. At best they tell half truths on the issue.
Consider this brief excerpt from Crossing the Rubicon:
“Allegations that the CIA and Department of Justice were complicit in
the flow of cocaine into South Central LA; that the Clintons were
partnered with George H.W. Bush and Oliver North through the offices of
the National Security Council in a little Iran-Contra arms and cocaine
trafficking operation in Mena, Arkansas; and that Hillary Clinton’s law
firm was helping launder the local share of the profits through state
housing agency securities and investments were never addressed,
objectively by the corporate media.”
Notice that this flow of cocaine wasn’t into Beverly Hills or Orange
County. Nevertheless people can speak any number of untrue things with
conviction but the proof is always in the pudding, the pudding being the
person’s actions. The Clintons surely know that their pudding in crime
makes for part of a financially filling pie.
Think of crime and how it relates to your local, state, and national
economies. And of course in a capitalistic nation, one of the main
obligations of a politician is to facilitate the maintenance of a strong
and growing economy. I mean there’s city, county, state, and federal
police; jail and prison staff (guards, probation and parole agents,
medical workers, education workers, maintenance workers, food service
workers, etc.); court staff (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys,
professional witnesses, investigators, clerks, transcribers, bailiffs,
legal analysts, etc.); and surely some peripheral elements that I
haven’t mentioned, such as the various telephone companies who grossly
overcharge prisoners for collect calls.
To eliminate crime and create this “crime-free America” would be to
eliminate all of these (and more) jobs/money that crime creates. That
would be catastrophic to the U.S. economy. In this crime-free
environment a very slim minority of the displaced workers could be
absorbed into other professions but the vast majority would remain
jobless.
That many jobless citizens is unsustainable in this nation, which has a
consumption based economy. Also the absence of their tax dollars would
certainly diminish, very drastically, government consumption. Which in
turn would cause job and service cuts in other areas, and that trend
would continue on throughout the entire economy. Now, do you think these
politicians really want to eliminate crime, synonymous with destroying
the economy? Of course not! And I can assure you that even if everyone
stopped committing acts that are currently established as criminal, then
acts which are not currently crimes would suddenly be deemed as
criminal. The politicians know, probably better than anyone else, that
crime pays.
As for the bureaucrats, the lie is much closer to the surface with them.
Many of them are employed directly in the criminal justice sector, so
basically their livelihoods is directly dependent on the existence of
crime. So for us to believe their professing that they want to see crime
cease; we are to believe that they want to lose their
hundred-thousand-dollar-plus (in many instances) annual salaries, their
Cadillac benefit packages, and other job-related perks. This absurdity
is almost laughable to any rational being. Even the ones who aren’t
employed in the criminal justice sector are well aware of the negative
effects that an absence of crime would place on the economy. Like
politicians, the bureaucrats know the deal: crime pays.
Here’s another relevant excerpt from Crossing the Rubicon
“A certain percentage of the prisons in this country are run by private
corporations which trade their stock based on how many human beings they
‘house.’ In pure economic terms, inmates have become inventory. The two
largest of these corporations are Wackenhut and Corrections Corporation
of America. Both of these corporations, through their boards of
directors and executive management have direct ties to U.S. intelligence
agencies, including the CIA.
“All of this means that the corrupt economy makes money by first selling
drugs to people and then putting them in prison for using drugs.”
The parallels between private, for profit prisons and slave plantations
are numerous. Big business are in on the secret, crime pays. So whether
we like to admit it or not, this nation generally realizes a benefit
from crime. It’s always about the dollar here in the United States and
crime-related professions combined makes up a substantial portion of the
Gross Domestic Economy, largely aiding the efforts to maintain a strong
dollar. You can believe those who chant “crime doesn’t pay” if you want
to. As for me, I know crime may not pay for those who are ground to dust
in its machinations (prisoners, parolees, probationers, and drug
addicts) but for many others, crime does in fact pay.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This author makes a good point about the
economic value of the criminal injustice system to capitalists as a way
to employ many labor aristocrats. As we expanded on in our review of the
book
The
New Jim Crow, the system serves primarily as a tool of social
control. While there would be economic consequences to dismantling or
significantly reducing the reach of the criminal injustice system in
Amerika, we can look around the world and see examples of capitalist
countries with much smaller injustice systems which manage to keep their
population employed and living happily off the super-exploitation of
Third World peoples. While in the United $tates a change of this
magnitude is unlikely given how entrenched the injustice system is in
the economic and social fabric of society, it is the social control
aspect that we see as the dominant driving force behind the growth and
maintenance of this system.
Over the past few weeks many of us locked up within Amerikkka’s prisons
have watched, read and heard about the genocidal war crimes currently
being committed against the oppressed nation of Palestine by the white
settler state of I$rael. What these events show us is not only the
carnage and slaughter of a one-sided war, but that the oppressed will
never be free to forge their own destinies so long as the monster of
imperialism remains intact.
With forked tongues like the pit of vipers that they are, the United
Nations (UN) sits idly by and does virtually nothing to help the people
of Palestine as the Zionist regime attempts to bomb them out of
existence. The so-called “international community” does nothing for
Palestine other than speak hypocritically about the need for a cease
fire on both ends and the continued need for a two-state solution, as if
the mounting deaths (1,432 deaths as of today)(1) and the balance of war
was even! Even as the world watches complacent and content through their
pacifist, non-interventionist actions, and some begin to complain about
the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths, the United $tates
continues to arm I$rael. The worthless UN has thus shown its true color:
yellow! The international community is guilty of complicity thru
complacency, thus Palestinian blood is also on the hands of the United
Nations.
As prisoners of good conscience we reject the genocide and slaughter
which has hystorically been imposed on the people of Palestine and which
is currently being played out by the Jewish state ever since the
creation of I$rael in 1948. And while the Amerikan imperialists and
their general citizenry and population have found us guilty of crimes
against civil society, we prisoners likewise find them guilty of crimes
against humynity for their collusion with the state of Israel to
exterminate the Palestinian nation.
Within these walls we are as yet powerless to tap into the potential of
the imprisoned lumpen, but we are not yet powerless to sign a piece of
paper to denounce the state of Israel and their support in the United
$tates. Therefore with this declaration we angrily express our
indignation with the state of Israel for committing genocide, and the
Israeli people for allowing it to happen in the 21st century after
vowing “never again.”
Furthermore, with this declaration we express our concern, condolences,
solidarity and humynity with the people of Palestine. We grieve your
loss. I$rael must pay! Just as Palestinian prisoners of war showed their
support and solidarity with the California hunger strikers by issuing a
statement of solidarity to end solitary confinement in the United
$tates, we must now do the same. We must recognize and acknowledge that
their struggle is our struggle and we must say no to I$rael and no to
the genocide of Palestine.
Long live the people of Palestine! Down with I$rael! Charge and
convict the war criminals! Free Palestine!
Since my last correspondence I’ve experienced the greatest oppression in
my entire 8-year sentence. This past week or so also presented me with
revelation into the power of positive energy and the adverse effects of
negative energy, which can affect your mental and physical health.
At Sussex II State Prison, a pig ran in and dribbled my head 3 times
between his knee and the ground, when I was cuffed and already grounded.
Then, that same pig tossed me in the box and stuck his knee in my neck
with intensive force. At this same time, my arm was being bent so far
back that breaking it was highly anticipated. Furthermore, my ankles and
thumb were in the hands of the pigs. My thumb had nerve damage for 2 or
3 months.
At Red Onion State Prison I was sprayed for a false claim of assault by
a super redneck. The pig first grabbed the shackles as if he was going
to strike me with them, he looked around, and then had his partner use
the can. They rinsed me fully clothed, returned me to storage and then I
tried to refuse to give up the leg irons. They then took me out on the
block and tackled me to the ground. During this they twisted me, bent my
fingers and yelled “stop resisting.” Afterwards I was stripped naked and
8-10 pigs placed a turtle suit on me - chained me - and left me for
about 15 hours. This happened because the officer refused to correct my
negative meal, and I stuck my arm out of the slot because of it.
Those are just two of the oppressive events I experienced in kaptivity.
This week though, it was oppression from kaptive residents. The
oppression came by high energy/high volume gossip, to spread wildfire
word of myself being homosexual. The fire starter(s) knows nothing about
me, knows no one within or outside the block who knows me, and has no
evidence of such activity. Fifteen to twenty people whispered this
around. The way this happened in a rapid and collective manner, you
would’ve thought I was of great status and/or a part of a group that
calls for questioning and violation. I got into a 30-second-or-so
bullshit fight and received rejection from workout crews. The fight was
with a comrade who was supposed to be a good friend and solid
individual, but he needed to protect himself and reputation, so he got
defensive and helped the spread.
My point in presenting this is: I’m not gay and this event is coming my
way at a time when my sentence is over. I’ve never seen or heard of this
shit before. It was so collective and everyone possible was engaged.
Yet, never is this type of bullshit/energy applied to the fight against
the true enemy of imperialist oppression. We have to acknowledge that in
order to get others to move within/for the struggle, the key influencing
factor(s) have to be identified.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This report of abuse by the guards is
nothing new to the pages of ULK, though it is important to
remind our readers on the streets of the brutality of prison guards and
document it for our records. But this report of prisoner-on-prisoner
attacks in the form of gossip and attempts at character assassination is
particularly important for us to discuss.
This is an example of the lack of unity in prisons across the United
$tates, where, as this comrade points out, more energy is put into
attacking other prisoners than into fighting the true enemy of
imperialism. But just as important, we want to address the use of gender
in this particular attack. Claiming someone is gay as an insult or
character attack is a more fundamental problem than just disunity. This
is no different than accusing someone of being Chicano as if that would
be an insult. We can not allow the oppressors to divide us along lines
of gender or nation. Sexual orientation and identity are not a measure
of a persyn’s character. We should look to people’s work fighting
oppression, the way they treat others, and their political outlook.
Lowering ourselves to considering labels and gender/sexual
orientation/identity as decisive is putting ourselves on the level of
the pigs who lock up and beat up people for the very same reasons.
We must build a United Front of all prisoners, coming together against
the common enemy of imperialism. Reject the guards’ attempts to pit
prisoners against each other.
“Everyone should know by now that prison is politics, it is part of the
imperialistic policy of exploitation, oppression and domination over the
internal colonies.” From “Who are the Political Prisoners?,” MIM Theory
11: Amerikkan Prisons On Trial
The pigs at Ironwood State Prison are at it again. Bored with the
apparent lack of excitement and disturbances at this relatively peaceful
and quiet yard, they have decided to manufacture their own entertainment
to the detriment of the imprisoned. Within the span of two short days
the pigs here have decided to raid people’s houses without any kind of
factual proof but only unfounded allegations from “anonymous” sources
and supposed “snitches.” To understand the actions of the past week
however I must first recount the actions of a couple months ago.
It all began when pigs from Ironwood’s Special Investigative Unit raided
the cell of a born-again Christian in the early hours before breakfast
because they’d supposedly received an anonymous kite stating that the
Christian was going to stab a Corrections Officer. The Christian was
taken to the hole pending investigation and everyone here was left
somewhat surprised at this news, as everyone who knew this guy knew that
he’d long since left the lumpen lifestyle behind and was only concerned
with helping people out. Anyways, after finally getting out of the hole
because the investigation turned up nothing, he confided in a couple
people that on the day he went to the hole the pigs showed him a picture
of another prisoner and asked him if he knew who this persyn was. He
lied and told them he didn’t, to which they responded, “that’s the
person who told on you.”
Fast-forward to last week when two pigs unexpectedly ran to a cell and
ordered the two cellmates to step out. When they asked the pigs what
for, they were told not to worry about it and just step out. When the
prisoners refused, the pigs immediately pulled out their batons and
ordered them a third time to step out. Feeling threatened the prisoners
complied. Once in restraints and out of their cell the prisoners were
taken to the pigs’ local command post on the yard, A-Facility program
office. Once there the prisoners were stripped naked and put into
holding cages where they were accused of making wine and subsequently
treated to verbal assaults. Both prisoners denied the allegations, which
proved to be false as the pigs searched and tossed up their cell and
found nothing.
As a result the pigs had no choice but to let them go, but not before
showing them the pictures of a couple other prisoners. The pigs then
asked them if they knew who those two people were, and they said they
didn’t and were then cut loose. However, after returning to their
building they started telling everyone what had happened and that the
two prisoners who were in their building had snitched. Tension began to
rise and it looked as if people were beginning to take sides preparing
for the worst. In the end however, cooler heads prevailed and crisis was
averted between the New Afrikan and Chican@ population, as these were
the two nations being pitted against each other by the pigs’ actions.
And even though I started out this story by saying that this is
something of a peaceful yard, at the end of the day it’s still a prison
and things happen.
The very next day almost the same scenario played out when ten or
fifteen pigs rushed another person’s cell and forced him out the same
way they done to those other prisoners the night before. Again, just as
the previous night the pigs said they were looking for wine, and just
like the night before they found nothing. As the pigs were exiting this
person’s cell however they told him to thank the prisoners who’d gotten
their cell searched the night before for their visit, thereby implying
that those prisoners were somehow responsible.
These events from last week caused me to think deeper about the pigs’
actions, as well as the prisoners’ response to them and I’d like to
discuss it here. Now, before jumping to conclusions because you took a
pig at his/her word like most who are confronted with this scenario
often do, why don’t we first stop and actually think about what’s really
going on? The real issue in the examples given above aren’t about who
supposedly snitched on who, but about the motivation that the pigs have
in exposing their supposed informants to us. Let us hypothesize that in
all the examples given above the pigs were actually telling the truth
and the people identified by them in their pictures were really
snitching, what then? Should we handle our business in keeping with
prison etiquette or do we conduct our own investigation in an effort to
get to the truth?
Instead of just smashing on the alleged rat because a pig told us to,
why not at least confront this person with the information given to us
by the pigs and ask him if it’s true before smutting him up? As a matter
of fact, since when is a pig’s word even worth anything?
You can even go further than this and tell this person exactly what the
pigs told you and if he denies it then we can offer to file some kind of
paperwork together against that very same pig. Whether it be thru your
local grievance procedure or thru the courts, put it on paper and put
the pigs on blast. This way there will be documentation which shows how
these pigs are putting the lives of prisoners at risk; either because
you mistakenly assaulted another prisoner due to a pig manipulating you
or because the person in question was really a snitch - it doesn’t
matter!
Stop blindly taking the pigs at their word and doing their bidding,
otherwise you’re just a sucker who’ll believe anything, as well as a
tool of the establishment. We should strive to create unity out of the
pigs’ attempts to divide us. Turn their divide-and-conquer tactics
against them and UNITE! These actions on our part could potentially have
a two-fold outcome beneficial to us. First, if the pigs see that we’re
no longer biting into their little games they might stop baiting us, and
secondly, if the rats know the pigs are giving them up and you’re gonna
confront them then they might think twice about telling, thereby
reducing any additional oppression of all prisoners concerned. This way
bad things can be turned into good.
I know that many reading this are probably laughing and thinking it’s a
joke, and yes to a certain degree what I’m proposing is somewhat ideal,
but the harm we keep inflicting on each other is not. The possibility of
creating a United Front becomes less viable without finding ways to
settle contradictions amongst ourselves without resorting to violence,
and we must begin somewhere.
As such, within the prison realm there are generally two different types
of social contradictions: those between ourselves and the pigs and those
among the prisoners themselves. The two are totally different in nature,
and since they are different in nature the contradictions between
ourselves and the pigs and those among the prisoners themselves should
be resolved thru different methods. In order to resolve the very many
contradictions that inevitably arise among ourselves we should look to
the methods of discussion, of criticism, of persuasion and education,
and not the methods of coercion or repression, i.e. violence. This way
we can arrive at a new unity with these unstable prison elements on a
new basis and against the real enemy.
Now, for those of you still reading this and still wondering if the
people pointed out by the pigs were really snitches, that I don’t know.
What I do know however is that one of the supposed “rats” is constantly
pushing paperwork against the pigs on a variety of issues which concern
the prisoner population. While one of the other prisoners involved
recently go this life sentence commuted to a lesser term after serving
almost twenty years; the pigs knew this and didn’t like it.
These pigs don’t care about us and it doesn’t matter to them what
inmates are “snitches” and what inmates are “solid”. To them we’re all
just prisoners and the same. Perhaps we should take that as a lesson and
start looking at each other as one.
To all those people who are really snitching, start showing some
self-respect and stop harming the people you should be working with to
unite against the pigs. If you can’t stop telling them, at least tell on
a pig and not another prisoner. For everyone else, stop being a pawn to
these pigs and at least conduct your own investigation before
erroneously labeling someone a snitch, smutting him up and getting him
or yourself hurt. You never know, next time the pigs might flash your
picture to someone and call YOU the snitch.
I recently came across something that may be of interest to you. I was
doing some research into this reactionary pro-prison propagandist
organization known as the National Gang Crime Research Center (NGCRC).
It’s run by an adamant apologist for this pernicious system named
Dr. George W. Knox. Dr. Knox and the swine that work for NGCRC routinely
conduct surveys for the gulag system to help them identify and
neutralize any potential “threats.” I was able to get my hands on one of
these surveys and preliminary finding reports that was conducted within
148 gulags in the U$A, representing 48 states, and nearly 150,000
prisoners. Now, the part of the survey that I thought may be of some
interest to MIM(Prisons) is the following:
Low Level of Contamination from the MIM
Some types of political extremist groups try to recruit inmates and
prisoners in America, they can do this through the U.S. Postal Service.
These groups often have sophisticated websites as well. The Maoist
International Movement (MIM) exists to spread communist ideology among
inmates incarcerated in American jails and prisons. It seeks to
radicalize prison inmates and give them a platform for organizing
resistance against the American government. If your inmates are
corresponding with MIM, you might have a problem brewing.
The survey included the question “have any of the inmates in your
facility corresponded with the Maoist International Movement (MIM)”?
Only 4.6 percent of the respondents indicated that their inmates have
been in contact with MIM. Thus, it would appear that MIM is not
effectively reaching out to the vast majority of American inmates. Not
yet at least. Alternatively, maybe such contact with MIM is going under
the radar of prison and jail officials.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This report on “Gangs and Security Threat
Groups” does not include mention of any other communist groups, so we
could see our inclusion as an indication of MIM(Prisons)’s success in
reaching oppressed nation activists and the correctness of our political
line in threatening imperialism and Amerikkkan rule. Communism is our
goal: a society where no group has power over another group. This
threatens the imperialist criminal injustice system for sure. In
reality, as the study admits, they cannot really judge our reach based
on survey of prison administrators alone. We would love to reach the
vast majority of prisoners, but in practice we are focused on those who
are interested in anti-imperialist politics and/or open-minded and
looking to learn. Nonetheless, we take this as a call to action for
Under Lock & Key readers: we need to increase the
percentage of people in contact with MIM(Prisons)!
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