Freedom:
is contraband in prison because free
thinking, independence of spirit and open mindedness are like acids that
eat away at a prison bars and locked doors. Liberating the heart and
mind, even when the body is not free.
Equality:
is contraband in prison because
brotherhood always speaks out against oppression and poses threats to
the power structures. Color-blind prisoners overcoming racism, prejudice
and hate, to see each other as equals, is the system’s biggest
fear.
Justice:
is contraband in prison. How many of my
brothers are here who shouldn’t be? Some innocent of guilt, others
guilty of innocence. While many here have harmed others, still there are
those whose “crimes” have no victim. Moreover, we must never forget that
cops, judges, jurors, and prison guards often see to it that justice is
not done for the poor, oppressed, and helpless inside these
walls.
Peace:
is contraband in prison. From fists and
shanks to shields and batons, violence is the way of all tyranny.
Remember: The system wants us at each other’s throats because it makes
us much easier to control. And the worst violators of the peace are
often those pledged to defend it (e.g. killer cops, military leaders,
jingoistic politicians, etc.).
Love:
is contraband in prison. The warm embrace
of family and friends. The touching and holding of lovers dear. The
fires of passion, stoked and quenched by hands, lips, tongues, and
bodies. All this is denied and forbidden here. There is no room for love
in Hell! When you can’t be with your loved ones in times of joy or
crisis…That is when the contraband nature of love in a carceral state
becomes most clear…But really…In a society where hatefully punitive
laws, institutions and practices are all too often the established
norms…Should anyone be surprised that love is nowhere to be found in
prison??
Truth:
is contraband in prison because, if we
knew even half of what the system didn’t want us to know, surely the
walls would come tumbling down. For their bricks are laid with the
mortar of doublethink and their foundations are always built upon
falsehood. This is the house Orwell’s Big Brother built. But, by
developing a new and revolutionary consciousness…Together perhaps, we
can find a way out of this deception, this misnomer, this evil hoax,
this lie the system dares to call “corrections”, when, in fact, it is
absolutely nothing of the kind. For the ultimate truth is this: The
ruling elites need to keep the most marginalized elements of our society
stuck in the revolving door of recidivism, because they fear
them!
Reason:
is contraband in prison. How else can it
be in a place like this? Where inane rules, illogical policies, twisted
thinking and warped minds reign supreme…Among both prisoners and staff.
Here, the authorities often make up the rules as they go along. What
regulations do actually exist are always interpreted in ways that serve
the interests of the powers that be…So…If you’re a victim of wrong-doing
in prison, don’t expect there to be a common sense resolution to your
problems. Especially not if it inconveniences those who run the hell
holes in any way, shape or form they please. Critical thinking means
nothing where arbitrariness is the order of the day. Power always trumps
fairness and logical deduction and rationality are never approved of in
slaves.
Happiness:
is contraband in prison. As powerless
beings we are jammed into tiny cubes, forced to live in unnatural close
quarters or unnatural solitude. Manacled, thwarted, squelched, isolated
and restrained at every turn. Required or compelled to do this;
prohibited or punished if we do that. Deprived of simple pleasures and
quite often necessities as well…When you are locked up, contentment can
be as fleeting as a lightening flash and seeking joy can be as futile as
a dog chasing its tail. Those who say: “Prisoners have no right to be
happy,” just don’t understand. Such people should be made to suffer and
endure the demeaning life behind bars and locked doors which is our
constant reality, but not part of our sentences, because then, such
hateful fools wouldn’t be so quick to open their mouths against
us!
Dignity:
is contraband in prison. When you’re
treated like a cross between a wayward child and a potentially dangerous
or predatory animal, it’s often as if you’re a nonentity, devoid of
rights, privacy and humanity. So how can respect for the inherent worth
of the life, person and meager possessions of inmates ever be achieved?
Such a thing stands an ice-cube’s chance in Hell as long as the modern
day slavery of imprisonment in penal institutions, mental hospitals and
all other such places continues to exist.
Unity:
is contraband in prison. Because through
unity, we can join the fight against cruelty, malfeasance and corruption
as a bulwark of mighty solidarity. For unity always stands tall against
unfairness of all kinds. But, if I take your hand…You, me and tomorrow
link up as one. Regardless of race, creed, color, class or cultural
background, no matter who or what we are, or what some of us have done,
we must never forget that we’re all in this together. “Gung Ho” is the
Chinese word for “All together now!” This must become our motto! For
united there is little we cannot do! Making vows against injustice.
Raising voices in loud protest against harm masquerading as
“Rehabilitation”. Speaking truth to power, we are a resounding war cry,
shouting down all that is unfair! Together, our siren duet can reach a
great thundering crescendo. Shaking rafters of established order, from
chambers of crypto-Fascist inhumanity, our voices will be heard, like
clarion trumpet calls wailing! Until the rotting floors of authoritarian
control collapse and fall away. As one for all and all for one, we must
fight and work and scream and bleed. We are a pair! We are a team! We
are a movement for a better way! We are the caged wretches, whose words
are a conspiracy against the silence of indifference. And our voices
will never stop yelling “Foul!” until we are heard. The bottom line is
that all prisoners lives matter!
Therefore…
We refused to be branded, “The irredeemable dregs of
humanity”.
We, the first world’s lumpen proletariat who vacillate between the
jail cells, street shelters, crash pads and alleyways of your
plutocratic, quasi-police state, nightmare society.
We, the poor souls caught between the stigma of our criminal past and
our society’s refusal to truly help us integrate.
We, the oppressed ex-offender, caught between the violence of poverty
stricken urban jungles on the one hand and the violence of the constant
threat of re-incarceration or death on the other…
We, the disenfranchised masses for whom the promises of “Free
Enterprise”, “Democracy” and Bourgeois bliss ring hollow.
We, say:
No More!
No More to locking people up like animals!
No More to police shootings and brutality!
No More to all the evils that the prison industrial complex
perpetuates.
Our Demands for recognition.
Our Demands for fair treatment.
Our Demands for radical change should never be deemed…
Contraband!
