Federal Prisons

Forgive me for not staying on top of letter writing to you all, because I really miss the newsletters you send. I’m not sure if you have already heard about this incident that occurred here in Texas at the Ramsey Unit in Roshanon, but I will reiterate it for you and the results it brought. In March, 2018, an email was written and sent out to unit sergeants on the Ramsey Unit requiring them to have their officers write at least two disciplinary cases each day for “unauthorized storage of property” without exceptions. This email was written by Captain Reginald Gilbert on March 10, 2018, and was responded to a couple of hours later by now former Major Juan Jackson, who stated that the instructions on the email “will help greatly in fighting a gig,” which is slang for a unit audit. The quota system was abandoned a few weeks later, but an investigation has begun into this.

Now, even though a write-up for not being able to properly store our property into lockers or storage containers that were designed and built for the amount of property that was allowed during the time they were built, (over 40 years ago when the spending amount for commissary was $60.00 a month compared to the $210.00 that is allowed now) is considered minor, if you have already had two minor write-ups in 90-179 days, the third one would be considered a MAJOR case, which can result in the loss of good time, time earning class, commissary, recreation, telephone, and visitation restrictions being leveled against you. This has been and still is going on throughout TDCJ with NO ONE to monitor these atrocities occurring to us.

Now, as the so-called investigation of the bogus disciplinaries resulted in 180 disciplinary cases being thrown out, an inmate’s mother wrote us saying that her son had been set up by prison guards who had planted two screwdrivers in his cell in connection with the quota. Another investigation was opened, and this time, four men were FIRED and another one resigned. (It was my understanding the Major Jackson walked before they walked him.) That’s not all. Some of those same officers were ARRESTED on misdemeanor charges relating to the planting of the screwdrivers.

Once the information hit the fan about the bogus disciplinaries, 500 were found to be written because of the quota scheme. Along with the five officials that the Ramsey Unit lost, a state jail in Atascocita had one official removed; instead of demoting a Captain at this same state jail, he was FIRED. At McConnell, 293 cases were dismissed along with another 83 cases waiting to be processed, and a Major was demoted. At a state jail in Austin, 91 cases were thrown out and an assistant Warden, a Captain, and a Sargent were demoted and reassigned to other units.

Even though we were glad to hear all of this, it means NOTHING to those of us who have already been scarred by the hundreds and thousands of false & bogus cases that caused many of us to be denied parole, and many other things just so certain officials may look as though they are doing a job. When Disciplinary Hearing Officer (DHO) Captain Lonnie Douglas first arrived here on the Wayne Scott Unit back in August, 2017, she immediately initiated a quota system, threatening to write officers up who didn’t turn in a certain number of cases. The result; officers went to resigning by the dozens because many of them did not want to be part of an injustice against those of us who didn’t deserve it.

The cases against me during her tenure here were so minute that it cost the state more to address the appeals, then it did to write them. Captain Douglas has now been promoted and reassigned, yet there are still inmates whom she left her mark on. These so-called disciplinary quotas are still a part of this system, and will forever be. There are some acts of good news in the air concerning good time being given to help us come up for parole sooner, yet it doesn’t seem as though it will help the thousands of us in need of parole. I will let you know what happens with it at a later date.

It is absolutely imperative to defend yourself or your fellow convicts from harm or threats of harm while in the Department of Corruptions. This also applies to the brainwashed and controlled masses throughout the world struggling against oppression and sadism of the highest degree. We are in an authoritarian environment where oppressive tyrants constantly threaten our safety everyday. This includes the Department of Corruptions, the police force, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Family Services, and sadly some members of the Parliament, etc. These most vilest of parasites wish to drain any type of resistance the masses can muster up to destroy these evil forces of hatred. I feel it is beneficial that we examine some of these blood-sucking leeches who wish to gain economic influence and any material objects/money they may obtain from the prisoner/slave/proletariat.

Most prisoners are forced to work with no pay what so ever or suffer segregation for their justified disobedience. Not only are we forced to work, but we are given oppressive instructions of what to do and what not to do or suffer the consequences. This means that if a prisoner is indigent or owes big money to the state, he is given a small amount of food to live on. It is the square cooks responsibility to make sure “just enough” food is given to the inmates.

This is where the convict mentality comes in and realizes his fellow prisoners could use some extra food. Put extra chicken or Salisbury patties under everybody’s break or stock up extra pancakes on the trays. Put extra food items in the CRD and suicide bags. You are working for absolutely nothing, so at least gorge yourself and other prisoners. Some may say, “well they’ll throw me in the hole if I do that.” Only so much can happen once the convict blood pumps through the convict’s veins and realized the pigs can only do so much. They always need workers, period. It is only through the unity and solidarity between all prisoners to come to a conclusion that the pigs are outnumbered. We are constantly harassed, taunted and even assaulted by these prison officials. Who’s official don’t amount to shit but a badge. This prison is our home for the time being and it is our responsibility to run the show. More on this later.

Let us now examine the police force. It is these tyrants, whose job pays to exploit the lowly masses. Millions of kids and adults suffer brutal assaults and murders on a daily basis and call it justice. I have come to find a sickness in a pig who will damn near kill you with excessive force and have the audacity to say “watch your head entering the police vehicle.” We are forced to pay excessive fines and do jail time for the pettiest of crimes, while the pigs smuggle any drugs or launder any money they find on us. It is this pig who needs jail. But most importantly destroyed.

As space permits, we will now examine the FBI, who will do anything to destroy the peoples livelihood. I find Ruby Ridge of 1992 a sad example. Vicki Weaver was a nationalist who carried very much love for her children. The FBI dubbed her a racist and attempted to have family services take her baby away from her. Miss Weaver refused to give up her child and was shot in the head while holding her baby. Not only does the FBI carry out secret assassinations, but they sweep their assassinations under the rug and target any radical or extremist they deem a threat. We are monitored through our smart phones, Facebook, chatrooms, tablets, etc. Anybody the federal government deems a threat will not only be placed on a terrorist list, but their every movement shall be watched as well.

America is quickly transforming into a police state and this is where self-defense applies. The Second Amendment clearly states, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This does not mean that a bunch of rednecks may keep guns just to go hunting. This right was given to us to overthrow a despotic government. May I add it never mentions parolees be banned arms. It is our duty as a nation to put terror into the government that oppresses us. This is where I find this right beneficial to prisoners. We may not have guns, but we have power and might to instill fear into the administration’s brain and really show them what a “safety and security risk” is. Any violation of our Eight Amendment right amounts as a threat to our living conditions when our living conditions are threatened we must instill terror into the administration in any way possible. This does not always automatically mean to resort to violence, though violence is a very nourishing idea when well executed.

Our defense must start with a small group of people, but rapidly rise to the whole prison population. Do not be brainwashed with the duality of consequences or be materialized with worldly possessions. This is only utilized to pacify the convict who has not yet come to terms with his slavery. In war defense is always going to be attacked with absolute monstrosity from the defending respondent. For any people who search for righteousness and justice must be prepared to fight for it. Living conditions can be changed, stubbornness can be overcome. True justice and freedom from bondage must be intravenously hammered into the convicts brain. Love, respect, and hospitality must be shown to the masses, as well as revolutionary education should be distributed among everybody.

To gain trust a sense of anarchy must be issued with an orderly form of resistance. Hierarchies must be initiated from all groups of political opinion. Then the hierarchy must illustrate the plan of success to his group of followers. Only then can we gain a source of order. Unfortunately the people who refuse to cooperate at any level of excellence must be deemed as a threat and handled accordingly. Through this endeavor should then all individuals cooperate. With our unity and dignity shall we then initiate a plan. No matter how brutal the consequences or how horrible the suffering, we must encourage one another to pull through and never give in. We must instill an amount of courage, discipline, and perseverance within our souls that refuse to be eradicated. We must pledge that nothing the diabolical snake of inhumane hatred and poison, injects into us, that we shall never give in. Only the peace and strength of mind, within each individual’s hardness of heart, can we gain solace with one another and solidarity. And this my friends, is how we gain back our power, dignity, and respect. Solidarity is the only way we earn our freedom, behind these crumbling walls. Power to the People!

Arguably the hardest aspect of organizing (especially revolutionary organizing) is building consciousness. Not specifically of the subject matter (i.e., anti-capitalist/imperialist, socialism, equality, prisoner struggle) but of their role in the larger picture and its influence on their lives. Such consciousness leads to meaningful action. Due to this, it is the most rewarding of political objectives. It is also the most difficult to cultivate.

In pursuit of building consciousness, revolutionaries face many obstacles. A predominant, recurring obstacle is expanding peoples’ perspective beyond their individual material concerns. A person’s material interests constitute primary motivation for activism against and contributing to capitalism. In the Third World we see stringent struggles against capitalism. The opposite is equally true within capitalist societies. Material interests/motivations are inextricably welded to an individual’s perspective of, and instinct for, self-preservation. This leads to a spectacular (depending on your ideological bent) narrowing down of alternatives, options and ultimately choices. A non-conducive situation for First World revolutionary organizing.

Our natural inclination is to allow self-preservation to impulse our actions once fear or a threat exceeds acceptable levels. People react as basic as scared animals in danger. Due to social evolution, our responses are more complex and advanced, more involved, what one can call a “social” self-preservation instinct. Similar to the brain shutting down because of excessive stress or trauma, emerging consciousness among First Worlders regresses when one’s standard of living is threatened. Breaking First World attachment to physical/material comforts (possessions, commodities, thing-centrism) is first imperative to any revolutionary organizing, in particular; and wider political consciousness, in general.

A great amount of time, energy and attention must be given to shattering these real constraints. Class suicide among First World activists is the end result of such efforts. Through a patient, methodical process of expansive efforts (educational of real costs of capitalism/imperialism), diligence in those efforts and demonstrating the feasibility of alternative means (non-capitalistic), an organizer can make a meaningful contribution to supplanting capitalism.

People are selfish and revolutionary anti-imperialists should remind themselves that their target is the personal element, first and foremost. Even the perfect rally/demonstration, regardless of how correct its politics, will have a difficult time penetrating the calloused minds of those long accustomed to, and blinded by, capitalism. Especially when it concerns prisoners and penal systems/institutions. Most First Worlders simply deem it a necessary evil to preserve society.

MIM(Prisons) responds: Those First Worlders this author refers to are right that the prison system and institutions are a necessary evil to preserve the society as it is. That’s the main difference between our prison work and that of many prison abolitionists – we know that we can’t get rid of prisons in their current form unless we also get rid of capitalism.

This article brings up real challenges in our work. In ULK, we hope to host an ongoing conversation about ways we can be most effective in accomplishing the tasks this author calls out as most imperative: building consciousness, changing value systems, showing alternatives, etc. Send in your experiences and successes so we can continue learning from each other!

I have been fighting for better conditions in my current prison since I got here in June 2017. Tell the prison masses they have to write en masse to their unit managers, warden and director of prisons in their state. It’s free!! There is no excuse.

The easiest thing to do, which I did, is to write up your declarations and remonstrations using carbon copy paper. Make 2-3 copies for each block/pod in every unit. Pass them out to comrades in those blocks, so they can encourage/force/persuade the masses to take 15 minutes to recopy and post it out. Done.

The first time I initiated these shots the warden called me to his office for a meeting with him, the unit manager, and assistant warden. He stopped the early counts, the 9 p.m. count, and turning off of phones. This sh!t works. On the second salvo he initiated recreation seven days a week. We are still pounding.

MIM(Prisons) responds: More reasonable hours for count, more contact with the outside world, and more recreation are all related to our anti-imperialist struggle, even though they may seem like petty reforms. Better sleep makes us mentally sharper, for writing, self-control, and creativity. Interaction with the outside world can give us motivation and positive social contact. And exercise (especially outdoors) helps with our physical as well as mental health.

We’d love to analyze a little deeper the benefits of running a campaign like the one described, because it’s not just good for changing conditions. The people who are copying the letters and seeing results are at a special place in their recruiting. They might not be ready to initiate a campaign like this, and they might not even identify as part of “the struggle.” But they have some interest in this work and are putting in some (albeit relatively small) effort.

At this stage, the best thing we can do for them is help set up “easy wins.” They probably aren’t dedicated enough to remain committed after a big setback. So asking them to put in a ton of effort for no reward is just not realistically going to inspire them to stay engaged. Whenever we can devise campaigns or activities that give this positive feedback to the people participating, with minimal effort, we should jump on those projects. These folks might not have learned the relationship between working hard and reward, so we can help teach that association. “Without directly experiencing the connection between effort and reward, animals, whether they’re rats or people, default to laziness.”(1)

Also keep in mind that all is not lost on the folks who are not participating, and are watching the campaign from the sidelines. Like we wrote in our response to “Sack the Sack Lunches,” this type of campaign can help spark people’s interest, just by witnessing and experiencing the results. Let’s not condemn these folks for not participating, and instead let’s try harder to inspire them with our successes, and then help them with easy wins when they are ready to participate.

In some states like Texas, where even indigent mail is restricted to 5 letters per month, it’s not free to write to these administrators to change conditions. There are plenty of excuses (or reasons) why people can’t engage in this type of campaign. Still, whenever possible, we agree that we should be pushing campaigns like these. It just means we have to get more creative in developing them.

I feel inspired by the fact that you decided to use my Liberation Theology article in ULK 65. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to our movement. I will continue to submit articles to you in the future.

The feedback you gave on the article was great. Under the MIM(Prisons) responds section, you agreed with me that Liberation Theology can be a useful revolutionary tool, and that it’s good to “try to approach people where they are at.” However, you also said that “we should be careful not to mislead them into thinking that we endorse their mysticism. The very belief in a higher power discourages people from believing that they can control the development of their own and all of humanity’s future.” You also warned against neglecting materialism.

I 100% agree. While I did mention that I was an atheist in the article, I failed to mention that materialism truly is the best world view if you’re going for revolution. After all, materialism deals with reality in so far as we humyns are capable of comprehending it. And proper theory leads to proper action which leads to better theory.

But I just like how you do feedback in general. You encourage the people to submit their views and if you ever disagree with or wish to qualify a comrade’s ideas, you publicize eir views and then explain why you disagree underneath it. Mao would have it no other way. This is why ey encouraged the people and the intellectuals to think for themselves, because ey knew that because eir method is sound, ey would be able to refute errors on logical grounds without having to lie or undermine the people’s freedom, which is what the U.$. power-elite does.

Also, I read the book Grit that you sent me. I learned some valuable lessons from it. The main thing I’ve been able to utilize was the simple chart Duckworth advocates for organizing goals. I’ve made it a habit to review my own goal chart. My highest goal says “undermine and liberate,” which means undermine the imperialists and liberate the oppressed. My low level goals are different throughout the week. Writing this letter to you, comrades, was one of these goals. Every little goal adds up to the top one.

MIM(Prisons) responds: Comrade, you were not the only one glad we printed your piece. Multiple USW comrades wrote us mentioning your article as being useful. We appreciate this comrade’s feedback on our feedback, and we’re always looking for more info from our subscribers on how we can do our job better. It’s a topic we are always reviewing and trying to improve, like any good organizer should! We especially appreciate hearing feedback from people who have contributed to our programs and campaigns.

We all need to be able to learn from constructive criticism, and this ongoing discussion is an example of the criticism/self-criticism process in action. Only by learning from our mistakes (and those of others) will the revolutionaries and the movement continue to grow and move forward. People, and organizations, that dogmatically insist they are always right will quickly stagnate and offer no real hope for the oppressed. And as you can see in the pages of ULK this is a two-way street. It’s not just about MIM(Prisons) telling writers where we think they are wrong. It’s also about us learning from readers of and writers for ULK. The self-criticism printed in this issue regarding our George Jackson article in ULK 65 is a small example of this.

In the interest of transparency, we want to underline that MIM(Prisons) is the editor of this newspaper. So we choose what letters we respond to, and we often cut parts out of those. We aim to give a platform to the articles that contribute to the ongoing conversations in ULK, and that contribute to anti-imperialist organizing in general. So ULK is not a reflection of what everyone is writing to us about, but it is a reflection of the anti-imperialist organizing going on behind bars.

Editorial power is one reason why we advocate for single-nation organizations to lead their own nations, including having their own ideological platforms such as newspapers. Newspaper editors inherently filter what they think is most important to include and discuss, and our judgement on what is important to all nations could be wrong.

[The following was written about the same time as we were writing Intersecting Strands of Oppression for ULK 65. This author echoes our own discussion of the Brett Kavanaugh hearing while heavily citing MIM Theory 2/3, as we did in our piece. This question of how gender and nation interact, and how revolutionaries should approach these topics in order to push things in the right direction continue to be of utmost importance. - MIM(Prisons)]

On 27 September 2018, in the United States Senate’s Judiciary Committee, the nation heard riveting testimony of an attempted sexual assault, and the denial of that assault. A Crime that had occurred 37-years ago with no corroborating witnesses.

In a he-say, she-say trial, who gets the benefit of the doubt? The accused, or the accuser? In this era of #MeToo, is it guilty until you can prove yourself innocent, or innocent until proven guilty? Could due process be sacrificed at the altar of gender politics and why does it matter?

In reviewing my in-cell library on feminist theory, these matters and debates are not new, and the answers to these questions have long been addressed. The first question that has to be asked, “Who speaks for the feminist?” “Who has her girlfriend’s back?” The demarcation in the feminist lines can best be exemplified by the research compiled by one feminist researcher, Ealasaid Munro:

“The emergence of ‘privilege-checking,’ however, reflects the reality that mainstream feminism remains dominated by straight white middle-classes. Parvan Amara interviewed self-identified working class feminists for a piece published on the internet magazine The F Word and noted that many of the women she spoke to found themselves excluded from mainstream feminism both on the internet and ‘in real life.’ Amara notes that many women tend to encounter feminism at university. Women who do not go on to further education face a barrier when attempting to engage with those academic debates that drive feminism.”(1)

So if academia is where the debates that are driving feminist theory are occurring, what does that academic debate look like if she is not white?

“Ignoring the difference of race between women and the implications of those differences presents the most serious threat to the mobilization of women’s joint power. Refusing to recognize difference makes it impossible to see the different problems and pitfalls facing us as women. Some problems we share as women, some we do not. You fear your children will grow up to join the patriarchy and testify against you, we fear our children will be dragged from a car and shot down on the street, and you will turn your backs upon the reasons they are dying.”(2)

Another theorist surmised, “Black women’s own views on rape can’t help being shaped by the actions of their white sisters. That is to say, that Black people cannot use a white supremacist justice system without perpetuating white supremacy.”(3)

These other theorists have long been critical of weaponizing process. This was recently on display in California. There, a recall movement was taking place to remove a judge for imposing a light sentence on a Stanford University student for sexual assault. The most vocal opponents to the recall were Black women. The most visible, former California Supreme Court justice, Janice M. Brown.(4) She argued, that punishing a judge for exercising discretion will only harm defendants of color. Statistics bear this out. Per 100,000 of the Black and Brown population in 2010, 6,000 were imprisoned; while per 100,000 of the white population in 2010, 640 were imprisoned.(5) Black and Brown persons of color are in front of Criminal Court judges far more than whites.

Another theorist called this type of feminism Carceral Feminism, and rails against the federal passage of the 1999 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). “Many of the feminists who had lobbied for the passage of VAWA remained silent about countless other women whose 911 calls resulted in more violence. Often white, well-heeled feminists, their legislative accomplishment did little to stem violence against less affluent, more marginalized women.”(6) And a further theorist noted, “If women do not share ‘common oppression,’ what then can serve as a basis for our coming together?”(7)

These other feminist theorist, the marginalized, had observed that the debate was about rational-feminism versus emotional-feminism. This feminist theorist argues that rational-feminism must prevail over emotional feminism.

“The sisterhood line as currently practiced (but not in the 1960s and early 1970s) is white, bourgeois, sexist propaganda. Women just turn around from seeking approval from men that they never got; to demanding unconditional approval from women. They put each other on a pedestal and imagine each other to be flawless goddesses.”(8)

This same theorist argues, the root of emotional feminism is nothing more than a chauvinist plot to keep women marginalized and caught up in their emotions, rather than applying her faculties of reasoning.

“The root of this is the patriarchal socialization of women to restrict themselves to the sphere of feelings, while letting men develop the rational faculties necessary to wield power. Women are taught to read romantic novels, major in English, or maybe psychology, if the women seem like they are getting too many scientific ideas.”(9)

Is the rallying cry, “I BELIEVE HER”, the death nails to due process? Is process going to be sacrificed at the alter of gender politics? Is the new standard for America’s fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons “GUILTY, UNTIL YOU CAN PROVE YOURSELF INNOCENT”?

One theorist’s 1992 writings used the 1986 rape convictions of white women by the race of their rapist. 68% of their rapists were white; 22% of their rapists were Black; 5% were Other; and 2% of their rapists were Mixed. The theorist begs feminists to take a serious look at the 22% of white women raped in 1986 who were raped by Black men.

The theorist goes on to state a general proposition that all feminists can generally agree upon, “Three-quarters of all rapes are by acquaintances, and the figures on rape should reflect that women are raped by the type of people they date.”

In 1986, 12% of the men available to white women were Black. However, no where near 12% of the sex white women were having were with Black men. Thus the 22% of white women’s rapist being Black is disproportionately high. Furthermore, the population of white women was more than six-times the population of Black men. For every [1% of] white women who had a sexual acquaintance with a Black man, it takes [6% of] Black men to be those acquaintances. Out of those acquaintances charged with rape, the 22% figure means a very high proportion of Black men generally are convicted of rape of white women compared to white men.

The theorist takes note, up to this point, the figures have been examined from the perspective of the rape victim. But taken from the Black man’s perspective, white women are a large group of the American population, while Black men are a relatively small one. For Black men, 63.3% of their rape accusers were white women. If Black men had 63.3% of their sexual interactions with white women, then the accusations might be fair, but this was far from the case.

The theorist surmised we could get an idea of how skewed the accusations were looking at “interracial dating.” The theorist could not give a figure for what percentage of the dates people went on were interracial. Instead, the theorist surmised we could guess that it was similar to the figures for the percentage of people in interracial marriages. Black men married to white women accounted for 0.3% of total marriages in the United States as of 1989. In 1989, less than 4% of Black married men were married to white women, so we estimate that less than 4% of Black men’s dating were with white women. Hence, less than 4% of accusations faced by Black men should come from white women. Instead, the figure was 63.3%.(10)

The history of that story is the other side of sexual politics here in America. An America where the LAPD and Oakland-PD have had 100s of convictions overturned, due to incredibly, credible, false testimony of police officers. A land where 15% of the Black population in Tulia, Texas, were incarcerated by the incredibly, credible, testimony of a single racist officer.(11) According to the San Quentin News, 139 prisoners nationwide were exonerated in 2017.(12)

Credible demeanor in testimony has never been foolproof. The National Academy of Sciences, along with the FBI, have noted eyewitness testimony is the most unreliable testimony.(13) While this would obviously be in reference to witnesses testifying against strangers, but the juries which wrongly convinced these defendants were doing so from witnesses who were credible and convincing in their testimony. In 2013, 153 of the 268 exonerations by the Innocence Project were for rape.(14) 72% of all DNA exonerations are people of color. Of the 72%, 61% are African Americans.(15)

Theorists can clearly see, “I BELIEVE HER,” with its lock-in-step demands of sisterhood, is classic emotional-feminist theory. What is the emotional-feminist rationale to do away with “INNOCENT, UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY”? Nor could emotional-theorists surmise they are not doing away with this unitedly, American, idea. […] “I BELIEVE HER” is a presumption-of-guilt, rather than the presumption-of-innocence that the rational feminist are standing for, and for years have been arguing against the emotional-feminist assault on process. While emotional-feminism, with its well-heeled, racial, social, and economic status is having the loudest voice, their marginalized sisters, whose rational-feminist approach, is the only voice of hope for fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons; a hope the other side doesn’t win the debate.

Last year statements appeared in another newsletter from a USW leader who spoke in the voice of a subcommittee of the United Struggle from Within Countrywide Council (USW CC). These statements were not first run by, nor approved by the Countrywide Council.

The previous year, the USW CC, established policies for official correspondence with other organizations. We published an article in ULK 58 describing these efforts and giving guidance to all USW members. USW is a mass organization, meaning that people with differing beliefs can be members and might write or state things as USW members that contradict. In the cited article we instructed USW members to pass on communications with other organizations to the USW CC once you are unable to handle the discussion on your own. Meanwhile the USW CC established official policy that any statements from the CC would come through official MIM(Prisons) communication channels:

• our P.O. Box in San Francisco
  
• our website www.prisoncensorship.info
  
• our official email with GPG signature (mimprisons@posteo.net)

The statements in question, printed in Turning the Tide, did not go through this process. We cannot expect other publications to know and enforce this. Rather it is the USW leader who broke protocol, and wrote a self-criticism to that effect. But this does go to show that comrades should not take as gospel anything in print that claims to be from USW or even the USW CC. If it appears in Under Lock & Key, then you can be assured that it went through the proper channels of approval.

This incident triggered us to address the question of how to verify communications from MIM(Prisons) and the USW CC in general. Unfortunately the only sure fire way to verify an isolated communication is cryptographically. This makes it hard to verify things in print, coming through the mail, etc.

Every regular reader of our website who has a computer should copy and save our public gpg key from our contact page. Even if you don’t know what to do with this key, you could figure it out in the future when needed. The sooner you save the key, perhaps the more sure you can be that the key is legitimately from the original MIM(Prisons). If someone seized control of our website, and slowly started changing the political line on that site, and you waited to copy the key then it might have already have been changed.

While GPG is our primary public way of verifying statements, another tool our comrades have been promoting is a chat tool called Tox, which is available for all common operating systems, including smart phones like android. If you are someone who works with us already and have a device that you can install Tox on, we can exchange Tox IDs to establish encrypted and verifiable communications moving forward. Tox is a chat tool (like texting), and can be easier to set up than email with GPG.

Email without GPG signing, or letters through the mail are easy to fake as one-off communications. So repeated communications back-and-forth should be used to confirm any questionable messages. Our website and Under Lock & Key should be considered more reliable, and harder to fake by our enemies.

Most of our communications with most of our readers are at the level of line and strategy. Therefore, our allies and supporters can and must use a political lens to verify communications. You should study our work and our line so that you can tell when something unusual pops up. And then you should communicate with us about it in the most verifiable and secure line of communication that you have at your disposal. Overall, as a movement, politics in command is the best way for us to defend against falsified, or unofficial communications leading us astray.

Following a fifteen-day lockdown of all Pennsylvania state prisons, new policies were erected for receiving mail. Publications were halted, and hundreds of book packages from free prison book programs were returned to sender. This occurred because several staff members at various Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC) prisons claimed to become deathly ill after handling prisoner mail.

DOC officials assumed it was synthetic marijuana, or K-2, being sent in through the mail. However Dr. Lewis Nelson, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and other prominent medical staff called the DOC on their lies and excuses about the lockdown and new policies and procedures dealing with prisoner mail. Dr. Nelson blew the whistle, so to speak, when he pointed out that one must ingest or inhale synthetic marijuana to have any type of effect on individuals.(1) One cannot be affected by merely touching it, or paper soaked in K-2. Furthermore, he stated that synthetic marijuana simply does not have the type of effects that the individuals were having.

So, one might ask, what the real agenda the DOC had in the change in procedure. The DOC has wanted to control what prisoners read and what type of mail they received for quite some time. It goes to show just how much prisons seek to control others. Needless to say, the DOC is currently under investigation due to its frivolous claims. Mail must be sent to a company in Florida, where it is scanned. It is then forwarded to each respective prisoner at whatever prison he/she is confined. Pennsylvania prisoners receive copies of photos, letters and greeting cards, and the originals are eventually destroyed. Even our legal mail is opened in the presence of each prisoner, handled in a biohazard container, then photocopied. The copies are given to the prisoner, and the originals placed in an “evidence” bag, and eventually destroyed, or so the DOC claims.

We are permitted to receive books, magazines and other publications now, as of very recently. They still must be sent to a secure processing center, where they are searched and then forwarded to each respective prisoner.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We wrote about this Pennsylvania mail policy in ULK 65 and since that time, a new policy to send books and magazines to yet another separate address was implemented.(2) In response to outcry by prisoners and family, the PA DOC did back down on their policy that books could only be ordered through the PA DOC, from their approved vendors. That is no small victory.

We have instances of letters sent to the Florida processing center being returned to us just stamped “return to sender” after being opened and then taped shut. No reason is given. We think it’s safe to assume it’s the contents of the letter that inspires this censorship, because not all our mail is being returned, and it is being opened at the processing center. In at least one case, our Guide to Fighting Censorship was the item returned to us.

This is an important censorship battle and we join this comrade’s call for everyone in Pennsylvania to take up the fight. This is an easy excuse to selectively censor revolutionary material, or selectively censor prisoners who are politically active. We anticipate an increase in denials of our mail. When you are notified of censorship, appeal it, and also let us know what was censored. If you haven’t received mail from us in a while, check in and let us know. We always keep up subscriptions for 6 months after your last letter to us. Also follow this comrade’s example and keep us informed about changes to the rules and updates on the fight against them. For our part, we will also be appealing when we have evidence of censorship and working with you to fight from the outside.

I wanna thank you and everyone that have supported offenders in their struggle from within. The Texas Pack has helped me more than anything I could find in the law library. It’s still a struggle in here when you file grievance on the staff of this Unit. I have been harassed and retaliated against because I chose to stand up for my rights and fight by filing grievances and helping others to do the same.

I don’t like how staff punish offenders or harass us because we choose to write grievances on their misconduct, but it’s okay for them to do this to us. Here are some of the things they do to me here at Dalhart Unit. I recently was placed in medium custody because I was defending myself from being assaulted. I put in for law library and every day I asked if they are doing extra time and every time it’s a “no.” One day I decided to look at the log sheet where we sign in and out. I noticed in the log sheet that the officer had written “no offender requested extra time.” I have asked for extra time every day and this officer is stating no offender has requested extra time.

The most recent one is the Warden. Warden Jeter was harassing me for having my legs crossed while sitting. When I said that I feel like I’m being harassed, he got mad and locked me up in AdSeg, in the shower, then told his officer I was engaging in a sexual act. No disciplinary was written, but I did write a grievance on his harassment and retaliation.

This is a struggle for me and I pray God to give me the strength to continue to fight for what’s right. I have two 1983 on the Warden and his ranking officers.

Before I forget, would you so please send me TDCJ Offender Grievance Operation Manual and the Federal Petition (or anything that will help me with my fight.) Thank You! I know I can’t stop I just need help.

Myself and two other prisoners currently being held at Pender Correctional in North Carolina have founded a band of like-minded brothers that are fed up with the way the state and prison systems have found a way to excuse slavery. They are preying on people’s downfalls, and use them for their own gain. In North Carolina there is a lot of overcrowding and the only way to get on good time is to work, which saves them money, not having to pay prisoners minimum wage. This work also makes income for the prison at their enterprise plants, where prisoners work for 40-55 hours a week for $10.50-$21.30 in pay (for the week). They have the workers making officers’ uniforms, chemicals, working farms, making eye wear, and a laundry service that not only cleans prison clothes but also hospital and rest home clothes.

If you are one of the lucky ones that gets to go to a minimum camp and go out on work release to work an outside job, they charge you $150 a week for room and board. Hold on, that’s double dipping. They get paid by the federal government to house us. Then they write us up for every petty thing they can, such as too many clothes, disrespect, profanity, etc. and take $10 from us each time. They also invented a way to charge us every time we receive money from our family.

We decided that we won’t go for it anymore, but we are limited to what we can do while we’re in here, for fear of retaliation. We’re already suffering because we refuse to work. We are building steam every day by spreading the word. We need help from someone that knows the best ways to organize and lead. So can you please help us with advice and resource list and materials to pass out? Also we could really use law books to help further some various lawsuits we have filed and need to file. Please help in any way you can. We are a band of your fellow brothers seeking guidance. Thank you for your time!

MIM(Prisons) responds: These comrades organizing against the extortion of their labor are setting an example for others. Getting like-minded people together and coming up with a unified plan of action is an accomplishment in and of itself. We will send some materials, grievance petitions and other resources that may be useful. But we also call on other prisoners to respond with any advice you have for these organizers. What can we do to have the best chances of success? Are there problems these comrades should look out for? This is the dialectical process that revolutionaries use, summing up our practice to learn from successes and failures. And sharing that learning with others makes an even bigger impact. Turn your own organizing failures into successes by learning from them and helping others to avoid the same mistakes.