MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
It was a good fast day for me on the most recent day of Peace and
Solidarity, a powerful underground movement. I am in the midst of a lot
of things right now and I may be getting transferred soon, I don’t want
to put the re-mailing cost on you, because I know that there are a lot
of people who look forward to your paper. I am also enclosing a few
stamps to help out with the financial element of the movement. I’ll get
in touch as soon as I move.
Our struggle here in the belly of the beast continues! I’m writing to
update you on the recent communication I received from the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the
petition I
sent them in regards to the grievance system. In the DOJ’s response
to my petition, they wrote, “The Special Litigation Section only handles
cases that arise from widespread problems that affect groups of people.”
I have not received a response from the many other mailing resources you
indicated on the petition. Therefore I suggest that those engaged in
fighting against this unjust Texas grievance system gather all petitions
and send them to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division,
Special Litigation Section, PHB 950, Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC
20530. Comrades, let’s flood their office with these petitions!
MIM(Prisons) responds: The imperialists will use every excuse in
the book to justify their oppression. So one piece of our struggle
involves making it harder for them to make excuses, which further
exposes them as the willful oppressor. In that light we are promoting
this comrade’s suggestion as a next step for the campaign in Texas.
UPDATE: Texas prisoners also need to send formal
complaints letters/I-60’s to the Central Grievance Office, PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099. Also, MIM(Prisons) has a new guide available
for the Texas grievance system combining the information from a couple
supporters of this campaign.
According to the Collective’s statement, they have suspended their
strike in response to a pledge by state legislators Tom Ammiano, Loni
Hancock and Tom Hayden to hold a legislative hearing into conditions in
the Security Housing Units (SHU) and the debriefing process.
MIM(Prisons) is not optimistic of the outcome of such hearings. Ammiano
held a hearing in August 2011 in response to the first of three mass
hunger strikes around this struggle, and nothing changed, leading to the
second hunger strike that October. Back in 2003, our comrades as part of
the United Front to Abolish the SHU attended a legislative hearing on
the conditions in the California SHU and the validation process. They
published an article entitled,
“CA
senate hearings on the SHU: we can’t reform torture.” Ten years
later, little has changed. These hearings keep happening, but they are
little more than pacifying talks by those in power. The facts have been
out there, the state has known what is going on in these torture cells.
So what is the difference now? And how can we actually change things?
CDCR Done Addressing Problems
Before we look at how we can change things, let’s further dispel any
illusions that the CDCR or the state of California is going to be the
source of this change. In the latest iteration of the strike, an
additional 40 demands were drafted around smaller issues and widely
circulated to supplement the
5
core demands. On 26 August 2013, the CDCR released a
point-by-point
response to the demands of those who have been on hunger strike since
July 8. The announcement by the CDCR cites a 5 June 2013 memo that
allegedly addresses many of these supplemental demands. Others are
listed as being non-issues or non-negotiable.
This CDCR announcement implies that we should not have hopes for
negotiations or actions towards real change from CDCR. The Criminal
Injustice System will not reform itself; we must force this change.
The Struggle Against Torture Continues
At first glance, the fact that this struggle has been waging for decades
with little headway (especially in California) can be discouraging.
However, our assessment of conditions in the imperialist countries
teaches us that right now struggle against oppression must take the form
of long legal battles, despite claims by the censors that we promote
lawlessness. Sporadic rebellions with lots of energy, but little
planning or longevity, do not usually create change and the conditions
for armed struggle do not exist in the United $tates. We are therefore
in strategic unity with the leaders who have emerged to sue the state,
while unleashing wave after wave of peaceful demonstrations of ever
increasing intensity. All of us involved have focused on agitation to
shape public opinion and promote peace and unity among prisoners, and
then using those successes to apply pressure to the representatives of
the state. These are all examples of legal forms of struggle that can be
applied within a revolutionary framework. Lawyers and reformists who can
apply constant pressure in state-run forums play a helpful role. But
make no mistake, prisoners play the decisive role, as the strikes are
demonstrating.
Control units came to be and rose to prominence in the same period that
incarceration boomed in this country. As a result, in the last few
decades the imprisoned lumpen have been a rising force in the United
$tates. Within the class we call the First World lumpen, it is in
prisons where we see the most stark evidence of this emerging and
growing class, as well as the most brutal responses from Amerikans and
the state to oppose that class.
In California prisons in the last three years we’ve seen that with each
successive hunger strike, participation has more than doubled. Just
think what the next phase will look like when the CDCR fails to end
torture once again! And as a product of this rising force in prisons,
support on the outside has rallied bigger each time as well. As we said,
this outside support is important, but secondary to the rising
imprisoned lumpen.
Over 30,000 prisoners, one-fifth of the population in California,
participated in this latest demonstration against torture. Many who
didn’t strike the whole time wrote to us that they, and those with them,
were on stand-by to start up again. These grouplets standing by should
be the basis for developing cadre. The 30,000 plus prisoners should be
the mass base, and should expand with further struggle and education.
If you’re reading this and still wondering, “what is it that
MIM(Prisons) thinks we should do exactly?” – it’s the same things we’ve
been promoting for years. Focus on educating and organizing, while
taking on winnable battles against the injustice system. Fighting to
shut down the control units is important, but it is only one battle in a
much larger struggle that requires a strong and organized
anti-imperialist movement. We run our own study programs and support
prisoner-run study groups on the inside. We provide Under Lock &
Key as a forum for agitating and organizing among the imprisoned
lumpen country-wide. We have study materials on building cadre
organizations, concepts of line, strategy and tactics and the basics of
historical and dialectical materialism. Each of these topics are key for
leaders to understand.
Organizing means working and studying every day. In addition to the
topics above, you can study more practical skills that can be used to
serve the people such as legal skills, healthy living skills and how to
better communicate through writing and the spoken word. Prisoners are
surrounded by potential comrades who can’t even read! We need Serve the
People literacy programs. Combining these practical trainings with the
political study and trainings promoted above will allow leaders to both
attract new people with things they can relate to, while providing
guidance that illuminates the reality of our greater society.
Principled organizing builds trust and dedication, which are two thing
that comrades often report being in short supply in U.$. prisons.
Principled organizing is how we can overcome these shortcomings. It is
not an easy, nor a quick solution. The opponent we face is strong, so
only by studying it closely and battling strategically will we be able
to overcome it.
Whatever other tactics comrades on the inside decide to take to continue
this struggle against torture, the need for building, organizing, and
educating is constant and at the strategic level. Without that the
movement does not strengthen or advance. If you’re taking up this work,
we want to hear from you and we want to support you in your efforts.
by a Pennsylvania prisoner September 2013 permalink
I am having a terrible time with the grievance system at SCI-Frackville
along with the misconduct appeal system both in population and in the
hole where I’m presently confined.
In general population I have the option of putting my grievance in the
grievance box on the housing block or in the grievance box in the chow
hall. I always use the chow hall. Only the grievance coordinator has a
key to the grievance boxes so all grievances get processed. The problem
begins when the grievance is responded to. All responses are sent to the
housing units and “stolen” by the guards on the units. Then when we
complain about not getting a response, we are told we have to write to
the record office and “pay” for another copy. By the time that is done,
the time for appealing the response has expired, precluding you from
appealing the response. Our final appeals must be sent to the “Chief
Grievance Coordinator.” On four occasions, she claimed she never
received my final appeal that I placed in the mailbox with a postage
paid envelop. Misconduct appeals are placed in the inmate-request-slip
box. A guard has a key to that box, and on six occasions I was told I
never appealed my misconduct sanction.
I definitely need a copy of the grievance petition to have prisoners
copy and send out.
MIM(Prisons) adds: This is a good example of the grievance system
in prisons across the country, where prison workers conspire to “lose”
grievances so that prisoners have no recourse to challenge misconduct.
The
grievance
petition is one tool to help with this fight. We now have petitions
for 10 states, and we are looking for prisoners who can customize the
petition to their own states as needed. This petition can also be a tool
to educate other prisoners. You can share it with those who see the
effects of the unjust grievance system, and talk to them about how this
relates to the overall criminal injustice system and the need for
prisoners to step up and do something. This petition is a small action
they can take right now, but they can also get more involved in studying
and struggling over issues of bigger change to fundamental injustice.
This is one way we can share the anti-imperialist movement with people
through practical struggle that impacts their lives right now.
Regarding the
dietary
petition you sent to my friend, we had those 10 filled out
immediately, well 9. I sent one to the law library to get 10 copies
made. From these 10, I had 9 more signed within a day. I tried to send
it to the law library to have copies made again. I was informed that I
would not receive copies because the law library would not copy blank
forms. The form was returned ripped, with my cell # written on it in
permanent marker. Of course this was a lie. Ely State Prison does copy
blank forms, they just don’t want me copying the petition and/or
distributing it.
However I erased my name etc. from the form, sent it out to a comrade of
mine in San Diego, and I asked for 30 copies so I could distribute them.
This comrade sent me 100 copies. I did receive these copies, and have
been passing them around, and have received many more signed copies. I
and another are also attempting to send copies to individuals in other
institutions. However, my mail is now being read and I have been
informed that if I continue to distribute and push the petition I will
be written up and my transfer request denied.
I have been housed at Ely State Prison (ESP) since 2002. ESP is a
supermax where we are locked down 24 hours a day. I have spent 8 years
trying to get a transfer. I was finally approved last month, and this
threat to keep me here is their way of trying to force me to stop
passing around the petition. I am not going to stop with my effort to
have these petitions signed. If it costs me my transfer so be it, I’ve
been here almost 11 years, I can handle more!
MIM(Prisons) adds: This is just one more example of how Amerika
uses long-term isolation as a form of social control against those
trying to organize for better conditions, even small reforms around
basic needs. This comrade’s determination to continue the fight against
food deprivation, even with the threat of ongoing long-term solitary
confinement, is an example for prisoners everywhere. This campaign has
gained support among prisoners in Nevada because it is a clear problem
for all prisoners, and one that we can reasonably expect to win. We do
need to be clear when spreading campaigns such as this one that this is
just a small battle that must be part of a broader effort to educate and
organize prisoners against the criminal injustice system. Only an
anti-imperialist movement with the long-term goal of a system where no
group of people oppresses another group has a chance of putting an end
to the criminal injustice of imperialism. The oppressed, united under
this goal, must build a new state that applies proletarian justice,
making depriving people of basic food and medical care a crime that is
punished and eliminated.
I am sending my revolutionary greetings to you in Black & Gold. I am
an enforcer of the Latin Kings and I am extending an invitation to all
Latino inmates to join forces with us to protect one another against all
forms of aggression and discrimination. We should build solidarity and
unity in a united struggle against this system of oppression. We must
fight for our civil and human rights. I am encouraging you to unite with
the ALKQN in our United Front against the capitali$t Imperiali$t United
Slaves of Amerika. We should join MIM(Prisons)’s United Struggle from
Within and start study groups.
MIM(Prisons) adds: We welcome this comrade’s support for United
Front work against imperialism. This statement echoes the call to
Build a
United Front for Peace in Prisons, which was first initiated in
2011. A number of organizations and individuals have signed on to the
United Front, and we encourage the ALKQN organization as a whole to take
the leadership to a bigger stage and formally become a signatory to the
UFPP. We believe that the politically conscious leaders of the ALKQN,
including this writer, agree with the five principles of the UFPP:
Peace, Unity, Growth, Internationalism, and Independence. And for the
leadership of large organizations such as the ALKQN to come together and
declare to the membership that these are core principles of their LO
will send a powerful message to individuals and other LOs across the
country.
For those interested in joining the United Front for Peace in Prisons,
send your organization’s name and a statement of unity to MIM(Prisons).
Your statement can explain what the united front principles mean to your
organization, how they relate to your work, why they are important, etc.
Original art by Billy Sell of the torture cell he died in at Corcoran
State Prison.
On Monday, 22 July 2013, 32-year-old Billy “Guero” Sell died in his cell
in the Security Housing Unit at Corcoran State Prison. Prisoners near
him reported that he had been requesting medical attention while on
hunger strike, but his requests were ignored.(1)
MIM(Prisons) has joined the many organizations and individuals who are
demanding that the California Department of Correction and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) address the medical needs of prisoners throughout
the hunger strike. These people are hired as public servants, and yet
they allow people to suffer and die by denying basic medical care. We
don’t know what the cause of Billy Sell’s death was, but we know a
number of comrades who have known conditions that are not being
addressed during the hunger strike. While
those
on strike are not getting the state-mandated medical checks.
In our years of experience advocating for U.$. prisoners, it has not
been uncommon for Amerikans to say “let them rot” or even become
belligerent towards us for something as benign as handing out a flier.
It is no surprise then, that our
comrades
are reporting similar attitudes from the staff who are overseeing
their well-being in California prisons.
This kind of oppression is exactly what the current prison movement
needs to combat. There is a social force opposing the lumpen of the
oppressed nations. And the only way to stop this abuse is for the lumpen
of the oppressed nations to organize as a counter force, which means
organizing in a different way than they have been in recent decades.
Ensuring prisoner health requires survival programs organized by the
oppressed populations themselves. These are rights that prisoners
supposedly have in this country. But as we know, no rights are
guaranteed unless you fight for them.
As the strike in California passes the 20-day mark, the tens of
thousands of people who have completed their solidarity strikes need to
be building more long-term institutions - study groups, health
campaigns, legal assistance clinics, etc. These are the first steps
towards building independent institutions of the oppressed, which are
necessary because the existing institutions of the state will kill us.
On 07-19-2013 all MDF hunger strikers suspended their hunger strike.
Below are the demands that were met by MDF command staff:
DEMAND #1 was granted in full. Classification shall tell you in writing
what you are being held in Ad-Seg for as well as program expectations to
be released from Ad-Seg.
DEMAND #2 Command staff is working to come up with a free time schedule
that follows title 15 standards. One part of this that is granted in
full is that all detainees will be given an opportunity to empty their
trash can EVERYDAY.
DEMAND #3 had 3 parts. Two parts were granted in full. MDF
medical/mental health staff shall no longer conduct ANY type of
appointment on the intercom system nor at detainees’ cell door where
private medical issues are heard by others in violation of medical
privacy laws (HIPPA). The third part of allowing Ad-Seg detainees’ to
reach medical triage on the phone systems, as all other modules do, is
still being worked on with command staff.
DEMAND #4 Command staff informed classification to ONLY house mentally
ill inmates on D-module as a last resort.
DEMAND #5 was granted in full. ALL MDF detainees’ will be allowed to
purchase ink pen fillers from canteen. Also necessary photo copies will
be made for detainees’ filing court documents. These will be implemented
in a reasonable time frame.
It is in good faith that we suspend our hunger strike and that MDF
command staff will continue to implement our 5 Core Demands. MDF command
staff has been very open to our ideas. With the exception of DR. DENNIS
MCBRIDE who tried to guide detainees’ into refusing water as well as
food. We hope all other hunger strikers can get some much needed
relief on their demands. If this does not occur we will resume our
hunger strike. Special thank you to our loved ones on the streets,
all organizations and media outlets who covered our struggle, as well as
Sarah Shroud, Shane Bauer- Welcome home & Dan Horowitz, Nicole,
Lesli and Mikes sister.
MIM(Prisons) responds: See the original
article
announcing the Martinez demands where we address the shortcomings of
their demands, which included segregating mentally ill prisoners. The
victories here are small reforms riding on the coat tails of the central
struggle here, which is to shut down long-term isolation. Control units
were originally created to separate leaders from the general population.
But this division has been two-fold in that now the interests of those
in control units are not felt as dearly by those in general population.
Even so, the last few weeks have shown a great level of consciousness
among the whole prison population about the inhumane conditions those
comrades in SHU and Ad-Seg face. We hope those who stood up in Martinez
continue to support that struggle, which is really central to the prison
movement itself. Without a prison movement, prisoners have no real means
of addressing abuse, which can be so common in prison.
Today marks day 10 of the hunger/work strike - only a few of us in the
entire cell block of 50+ men [in one of the Pelican Bay Security Housing
Units] are still on hunger strike. Most went 7 days and a few went a
couple of days more and now we are down to a few.
The prison has been telling people who go out to medical etc. that
“everybody is eating.” One person was told “All of the short corridor is
eating” and this was on the 4th day. Everyone knew it was bullshit. Then
today on Democracy Now! we heard that many here are still
striking.
Today is the 10th day and the prison has still not weighed us, they said
all protocol is out the window and they are now going by what Sacramento
says. Even while we listened to Democracy Now! in the middle of
the program on the hunger strike the signal was mysteriously interrupted
and switched over to classical music for the best part of the show when
the people were speaking on our behalf but the part where the CDCR
spokesman slandered us was played just fine.
Our current treatment shows that we receive our treatment ultimately
from the state, the prison is just the arm or tentacle but the state
makes the decisions even in regards to prisoners who are in torture
kamps from California to Guantanamo and beyond.
I have gone ten days so far on hunger strike and refused a total of 30
meals and I have not been weighed, nor have I had my vitals checked, no
blood pressure check nothing! These maggots run around giggling and
acting like this means nothing, pigs, nurses all these employees act the
same. I have seen more concern over commercials for a dog pound.
All this tells me that in any future hunger strikes, here in Pelican Bay
or anywhere in prisons, people must not set a 3 day or 1 week date as
many will only do the bare minimum. One needs to always set it as go as
long as you possibly can! Because the state does not understand anything
else, we must deepen our commitment for justice! Nothing else will get
us to the victory lane.
To: Sheriff David O. Livingston, Under Sheriff Michael
V. Casten and All Martinez Detention Facility Command Staff, Deputies
and Officials
From: Pretrial Detainees, Inmates, Prisoners and Civil
Commitments housed in Administrative Segregation (Ad-Seg) in D-Module at
Martinez Detention Facility
PLEASE TAKE
NOTICE: On Monday 8 July 2013, detainees housed in Ad-Seg
will actively be taking part in the hunger strike being implemented
statewide by prisoners, inmates, detainees (etc.) confined under
unconstitutional conditions in California state prisons and jails.
Martinez Detention Facility (MDF) Ad-Seg detainees support the core and
supplemental demands of our partners in Pelican Bay Prison Ad-Seg/SHU
programs and we join them in opposition of their, and ALL,
unconstitutional conditions of confinement in all California state
prisons and jails.
MDF Ad-Seg detainees hereby also provide notice of our own 5 Core
Demands to stop unconstitutional conditions of confinement blatantly
enforced here at MDF.
CORE DEMAND 1
MDF Ad-Seg detainees demand Sheriff/Jail officials immediately cease and
desist the unconstitutional custom, practice, and unofficial policy of
placing detainees in Ad-Seg without any due process. Some detainees have
been held in Ad-Seg indefinitely (over 5 years) without any notice,
hearing or due process required by Constitutional Law. If a detainee
submits a request or grievance on the issue, they receive a response
from classification only stating “you are housed appropriately.”
CORE DEMAND 2
MDF Ad-Seg detainees demand Sheriff/Jail officials immediately cease and
desist the unconstitutional custom, practice and unofficial policy of
locking detainees in filthy cells with no windows or light controls for
48 hours (or more) before being allowed out of our cell for 1 hour to
shower, groom, use phone, exercise and inadequately attempt to clean our
cells.
Detainees request that they be allowed out of their cells for at least 1
hour daily in the morning, afternoon or evening and also be allowed to
shave daily as state regulations require.
Incorporated within this demand, detainees also seek a provision for a
daily opportunity to clean their cells. Currently detainees are only
allowed (every 48 hours or longer) a broom, dust pan, and a mop. They
are not provided with disinfectant, toilet bowl cleaner, rags, or any
other cleaning supplies to adequately clean cells. Detainees must also
keep trash (from 6 meals) in their cells for 48 hours or more.
CORE DEMAND 3
MDF Ad-Seg detainees demand Sheriff/Jail officials immediately cease and
desist the unconstitutional custom, practice and unofficial policy of
daily holding medical and mental health appointments at the detainees’
cell doors which allows all other detainees to hear the confidential
medical/mental health issues. This is in violation of the “Medical Act
and Privacy Rights.” Detainees also seek the equal protection of a
“TRIAGE” phone line as other MDF detainees on other modules are
provided.
CORE DEMAND 4
MDF Ad-Seg detainees demand Sheriff/Jail officials immediately cease and
desist the unconstitutional custom, practice and unofficial policy of
improperly housing inmates with mental health issues among the
non-mental-health-status Ad-Seg detainees. Currently all Ad-Seg
detainees are subject to the behaviors, problems, actions and disorders
of the mental health status Ad-Seg inmates which include:
Loud yelling/banging all night, keeping detainees awake.
Getting feces and urine thrown under detainees doors.
Delusional actions/comments against or towards detainees.
Spitting through detainee doors or on glass.
Feces, urine, debris etc. in shower, hot water pot, on floor
Breaking and/or destroying hair clippers/shavers, preventing other
detainees from using for court, visits, etc.
CORE DEMAND 5
MDF Ad-Seg detainees demand Sheriff/Jail officials immediately cease and
desist the unconstitutional custom, practice and unofficial policy of
denying all MDF detainees access to pens to submit legal work to the
courts, nor copying provisions for our writs and other valid legal
documents to the court. Also, there is no readily continuous access to a
pencil sharpener which is often broken, preventing detainees from
writing legal documents and/or sending letters to family and friends for
weeks.
There are many more unconstitutional conditions of confinement here at
MDF. Those are 5 of the most egregious which we present as issues.
Detainees will be hunger striking to correct, beginning Monday 8 July
2013.
Detainees peacefully and respectfully request that Contra Costa County
Sheriff Office engage in swift and prompt actions to correct these
unconstitutional conditions of confinement.
MDF Hunger Strike Representative
MIM(Prisons) responds: While we support the hunger strike going
on in Martinez Detention Facility, we would like to warn against
creating unnecessary divisions between prisoners. We have reported in
the past that mental health status is greatly exacerbated by the
conditions of imprisonment generally, and especially of long-term
isolation. Often times these prisoners are put in isolation (or even
imprisoned in the first place) because of their disruptive behavior
stemming from their mental illness, which does nothing to improve their
condition.
Not only does imprisonment worsen the condition of those who already
suffer from mental illness, but it can, and does, induce mental illness
in people who would otherwise not suffer from delusions, post traumatic
stress disorder, anxiety, sensitivity to light, noise, and touch,
suicidal thoughts, etc. It is well documented,(1) and MIM(Prisons) has
witnessed first hand, that the state uses long-term isolation as a
tactic to specifically wreck the mental health of prisoners who are
engaged in political work and organizing.
While we understand the impact that this disruptive behavior has on this
contributor’s ability to sleep and focus, we worry that a demand to send
mentally ill prisoners “away” would lead to further isolation and
deterioration.
Mental illness isn’t caused by inadequacies within individuals, but is
instead a symptom of all the irreconcilable contradictions in our
society. Mental illness has systemic roots. Therefore, all short-term
solutions to help people with mental illness in this country are just
bandaids on gaping wounds. Reported in Serve the People:
Observations on Medicine in the People’s Republic of China, a book
by Victor and Ruth Sidel, all mental health conditions in communist
China under Mao were cured except for some extreme cases of
schizophrenia, and those who had previously been suffering became
productive members of society. Reasons for this turnaround include not
only relief from stressors which had previously led people to mental
illness – severe gender oppression, inability to survive or thrive, etc.
– but also a flood of resources dedicated to mental health research and
application which hadn’t been possible before when society was organized
based on the profit motive.
Around 1971, the Sidels wrote,
The methods currently being used to treat mental illness are collective
help, self-reliance, drug therapy, acupuncture, “heart-to-heart talks,”
follow-up care, community ethos, productive labor, the teachings of Mao
Tse-tung, and “revolutionary optimism.”
They go on to explain in detail what each of these methods consists of.
Similar to how feudalism in pre-liberation China led many wimmin to
suicide, it is clear that most mental illness is a direct result of our
capitalist and imperialist society. The most stark example of this being
the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by at least 20% of U.$.
veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars.(2) Hearing any account from a
member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, you can see that a large
contributing factor to the PTSD is the unjust nature of these wars;
killing for no reason. In People’s War, the cause is just (self-defense)
and the aim isn’t to murder and intimidate, but to liberate the most
oppressed and create a better world for everyone. That is quite a
contrast.
We know it is difficult to organize in Ad-Seg, and we know it is
especially difficult to organize with people who are in the middle of
full-blown mental illness. But we still encourage our comrades to look
for ways for prisoners to come together against their common enemy and
to fight on behalf of the common good of all prisoners and oppressed
people generally. A more progressive demand than number 4 above would be
an end to solitary confinement for all prisoners. For more on our
perspective on mental health, see
Under Lock &
Key 15 or
MIM
Theory 9: Psychology & Imperialism.