text:
[Migrants] [Spanish]
Cientos de personas en huelga de hambre en el centro de detención ICE de Washington
traducido por Spanish Translator November 2019 permalink
original article in english por Soso de MIM(Prisons)
Más de 200 [email protected] iniciaron una huelga de hambre el 18 de octubre en el Centro de Detención Nordeste de ICE (ICE Northwest Detention Center, NWDC) en Tacoma, Washington. El NWDC es una prisión privada dirigida por el Grupo Geo. Esta instalación puede albergar a más de 1500 personas y en ella se encuentran [email protected] [email protected] de redadas de inmigración [email protected] desde la frontera de México con Estados Unidos y otros migrantes [email protected] en el sistema Amerikkano. Esta es una de las mayores cárceles de inmigración del país.
Desde 2014, los [email protected] han iniciado 19 huelgas de hambre para protestar por su detención y sus condiciones tras las rejas. Esta última protesta exige una comida comestible, un tratamiento humano y [email protected] también exigen el cierre total del NWDC. [email protected] [email protected] se encuentran gusanos, sangre, cabellos y otras cosas en la comida. [email protected] trabajadoræs de la cocina informan que las ratas corren alrededor del área de preparación de alimentos. [email protected] [email protected] abusan de los prisioneros. Y el Grupo Geo ignora estas quejas.(1)
El Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos (ICE) refleja las condiciones que hay en otras cárceles del país. De hecho, [email protected] [email protected] del Centro Correccional de Clallam Bay en Washington también iniciaron una huelga de hambre y de trabajo a principios de octubre para exigir mejores condiciones, sobre todo, respecto a la calidad de los alimentos.
[email protected] [email protected] de ICE emitieron una declaración negando la existencia de dicha huelga: "El hecho de que no se coma la comida que se ofrece en el centro no es un factor determinante por que se pueda declarar la presunta o proclamada huelga de [email protected] Los artículos alimenticios del economato permanecen disponibles para la compra para los [email protected]". Después de esta declaración, realizaron un recorrido para la prensa por el NWDC, en el que se presentaron condiciones impecables, una sala de atención de urgencias bien abastecida y una biblioteca agradable. Al parecer, ningún [email protected] fue [email protected], ni siquiera fue [email protected] de cerca durante la visita. (2)
La mayoría de [email protected] 54,000 [email protected] de ICE en EE UU se encuentran en prisiones privadas. Y la detención de migrantes constituye la mayor parte de la población carcelaria privada del país. Pero esto no se trata de la diferencia de condiciones entre las prisiones privadas y las estatales o las administradas por el gobierno federal. Las condiciones en todo el sistema de injusticia criminal son abusivas, peligrosas e inhumanas. No estamos luchando por una cara diferente del abuso. (3)
Es cierto que los arrestos federales en general han aumentado en los últimos 20 años, sin embargo, entre 1998 y 2018 los arrestos federales se incrementaron en un 10% entre [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] y en cambio, el aumento entre [email protected] no [email protected] fue de un 234%. El aumento más dramático fue entre 2017 y 2018, que creció un 71% el número de arrestos de los no [email protected] En 1998 el 63% del total de arrestos federales fueron [email protected] estadounidonses, mientras que en 2018 este número cambió y el 64% de todos los arrestos federales fueron de no [email protected] La porción de arrestos federales se ha ido centrando, cada vez más, en la frontera entre México y EE. UU., con un aumento del 33% en 1998 al 65% en 2018. El 95% de este aumento es a causa de detenciones de inmigración.(4)
Los centros de detención de ICE dejan claro el propósito de las cárceles en Estados Unidos. Esta es una opresión nacional. La mayoría de [email protected] [email protected] que no son [email protected] estadounidenses están siendo [email protected] por el "crimen" de estar en Estados Unidos sin el permiso de los imperialistas. Este "crimen" representa el 78% de los casos. (4) Unas fronteras cerradas es un requisito del imperialismo. La riqueza se mantiene dentro de estas fronteras para [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] que nacen bajo este privilegio. La riqueza es robada fuera de las fronteras; la explotación de la mano de obra y el robo de recursos naturales aportan grandes ganancias a los imperialistas. Y [email protected] imperialistas comparten esas ganancias con [email protected] [email protected] de sus países para [email protected] [email protected] y [email protected] Esta diferencia de riqueza es obvia; es latente incluso entre [email protected] más pobres dentro de las fronteras estadounidenses y la población media que viven en el tercer mundo. Quienes viven fuera de estas fronteras están [email protected] por acceder a esta riqueza robada de su tierra natal. El papel del ICE y del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional está claro: mantener esta riqueza dentro de las fronteras estadounidenses en exclusiva para [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Apoyamos las demandas justas de [email protected] [email protected] en NWDC y de todo el sistema de injusticia criminal. Este sistema ha decaído tanto que las personas se ven [email protected] a morirse de hambre para luchar contra las condiciones peligrosas e inhumanas. La solución no es mejorar las condiciones en una prisión, ni siquiera cerrar una instalación. Pero estas demandas encajan con la lucha antiimperialista mientras luchamos por unas fronteras abiertas y el fin de un sistema en el que una nación tiene el poder de encerrar a [email protected] solo por el crimen de haber cruzado una línea invisible.
1. Huelga de hambre en Tacoma NWDC pide tratamiento humano y el cierre de la instalación, La Resistencia, 18 de octubre de 2019.
2. Cientos de detenidos de ICE que se niegan a comer alimentos provistos en el centro de detención de Tacoma, The News Tribune, 18 de octubre de 2019.
3. Reconociendo el DOJ Report on Private Prisons, Bajo Llave y Candado 54, agosto de 2016.
4. Mark Motivans, Immigration, Citizenship, and the Federal Justice System, 1998-2018, Bureau of Justice Statistics, August 2019.
[National Oppression] [Migrants] [Washington]
Hundreds on Hunger Strike in Washington ICE Detention Center
by Soso of MIM(Prisons) October 2019 permalink
More than 200 detainees began a hunger strike on October 18 at the ICE Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington. The NWDC is a private prison run by the Geo Group. The facility can hold over 1500 people and houses those swept up in immigration raids, transfers from the U.$-Mexico border, and other migrants caught in the Amerikkan system. This is one of the largest immigration prisons in the country.
Since 2014 detainees have launched 19 hunger strikes to protest their detention and conditions behind bars. This latest protest is demanding edible food and humane treatment, with many also demanding a complete shut down of NWDC. Prisoners find maggots, blood, hair and other things in the food. Kitchen workers report rats running around the food prep area. Guards abuse the prisoners. And Geo group ignores these complaints.(1)
U.$. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers mirror conditions in other prisons in the United $tates. In fact, prisoners at Clallam Bay Correctional Facility in Washington also went on food and work strike earlier in October to demand better conditions, focusing on food quality.
ICE officials issued a statement denying the existence of a hunger strike: "Failure to eat the facility provided meal is not a stand-alone factor in the determination of a detainee's suspected or announced hunger strike action. Commissary food items remain available for purchase by detainees." They followed up this statement with a press tour of the NWDC, featuring spotless conditions, a well stocked urgent care room, and nice library. It appears that no prisoners were interviewed or even filmed up close in the tour.(2)
A majority of the 54,000 ICE detainees in the United $tates are held in privately run prisons. And migrant detention makes up the majority of the private prison population in this country. But this isn't about the difference in conditions between private and state or federally run prisons. Conditions across the criminal injustice system are abusive, dangerous, and inhumane. We're not fighting for a different face on the abuse.(3)
While federal arrests overall have gone up over the past 20 years, between 1998 and 2018 federal arrests rose 10% for U.$. citizens and 234% for non-citizens. The most dramatic increase was between 2017 and 2018, a 71% rise in arrests of non-citizens. In 1998 63% of all federal arrests were U.$. citizens while in 2018 that number flipped and 64% of all federal arrests were of non-U.$. citizens. The portion of federal arrests increasingly focused along the U.$-Mexico border increased from 33% in 1998 to 65% in 2018. 95% of this increase was due to immigration detainees.(4)
The ICE detention centers make clear the purpose of prisons in the United $tates. This is national oppression. These non-citizen detainees are mostly being prosecuted for the "crime" of being in the United $tates without permission of the imperialists. This "crime" represents 78% of the cases.(4) Closed borders are a requirement of imperialism. The wealth is kept within these borders for the lucky few who are born to this privilege. That wealth is stolen from outside the borders; exploitation of labor and theft of natural resources brings great profit to the imperialists. And the imperialists share that profit with the citizens of their countries to keep them passive and supportive. This wealth differential is obvious, even between the poorest within U.$. borders and average people living in the Third World. Those living outside those borders are desperate to get in to access this wealth stolen from their homeland. The role of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security is clear: keep this wealth within u.$. borders exclusively for Amerikan citizens.
We support the just demands of prisoners in NWDC and throughout the criminal injustice system. This system has sunk so low that people are forced to starve themselves to fight the dangerous and inhuman conditions. It will not be fixed by improving the condition in one prison, or even by shutting down one facility. But these demands fit in with the anti-imperialist struggle as we fight for open borders and an end to a system where one nation has the power to lock up others just for the crime of crossing an invisible line.
Notes: 1. Hunger Strike at Tacoma NWDC Calls for Humane Treatment and Shutdown of Facility, La Resistencia, October 18, 2019.
2. Hundreds of ICE detainees refusing to eat food provided at Tacoma detention center, The News Tribune, October 18, 2019.
3. Acknowledging DOJ Report on Private Prisons, Under Lock & Key 54, August 2016.
Acknowledging DOJ Report on Private Prisons
[Rhymes/Poetry]
Darkness & Fire
by an Oklahoma prisoner October 2019 permalink
Fire is this time in solitary.
Outside my window — darkness.
Gaining strength at a fiery pace,
this knowledge I must harness.
Fire is this time in solitary,
burning me like a thousand suns.
But the swords are forged in the hottest fires,
so I sharpen my faith so it's compared to none.
Outside my window — darkness;
freedom can seem afar.
But we must always remember,
it takes a certain darkness to see the stars.
[Economics]
It's Just Business
by a Mississippi prisoner October 2019 permalink
"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prison." - Fyodor Dostoevsky
A lot of people get confused when they think about prison. They get the false impression that it's a system of correction. If you do something that merits your incarceration, you do your time, go home and put your life back together. Oh, if it were only that easy.
Think about this: the United States as a country is only 5% of the world's population. Yet, we have the highest prison population. There are other countries larger than us by far, just as Texas and New York are larger than Rhode Island or Connecticut.
One of two things are usually the most common assumptions. Either the United States has the worst people in the world or something is drastically wrong. You can't have it both ways, can you?
But what if it isn't? What if we don't have the worst people in the world. Well then something has to be drastically wrong there. Nope, try again.
Nothing is wrong because it is designed the way it was supposed to be. It works just as it was designed. It's a business run off of cheap labor and institutionalized workers. It's not designed for corrections. That is a vastly mis-believed fabrication!
Inside, they get paid for every body that fills a bed. Every person who signs an attendance sheet for a class or a program. Being locked down is not an issue because they will bring the sheet around anyway and always get the mindless to sign regardless of actual attendance. Forget teaching you anything, and everyone gets paid.
The arms and the legs of the system are not designed for you to succeed. They want you to come back to this concrete hotel to work in their kitchens and so forth. They're set up for failure to keep these turnstiles moving and rotating the mindless drones back through this system of so-called corrections. All for the almighty dollar, the very root of evil.
Now that's not to say it's impossible to finally escape its treacherous tentacles but rare enough that it's dreamt about more than it's accomplished. Why is that? One may desire it but working for it is a whole different story. The only thing that is ever going to break you from this business that's not designed to let you escape it's grasp is you. Educate yourselves. Be fully aware of all the why's, the how's, the when's and the inevitable who's.
MIM(Prisons) responds: It is true that many people are profiting off of the existence of prisons. Most importantly all the people who get paid to work in and around the criminal injustice system. States are subsidizing a huge welfare program for prison workers who can torture and abuse people at work and earn a good salary for it. But we can't ignore the primary intent of the Amerikan criminal injustice system: social control. If not for this goal, it should be easy to convince politicians that the subsidy given to the vast prison system would be better spent on infrastructure work (which would also employ lots of people) or schools (again lots of employees). But prisons are essential to keep the oppressed nations in check.
The disproportionate rate of incarceration of [email protected] and New Afrikans demonstrates the social control function of prisons. We can also see it in the historic rise in imprisonment rate as the Amerikan government attacked the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s and tried to figure out how to stop this growing revolutionary movement. This is why we can't take down the criminal injustice system with economic arguments alone.
[Rhymes/Poetry] [Florida]
America, You Expose the Line
America, you exposed the line
Back in my younger days your judges had their axes to grind
You promised us that justice was really blind
But that is not what we would find
You just saw me as someone who was born to do time
Yeah, I'm from Florida, the sunshine state,
But you've sent me to prisons more times than I've made it across the sunshine gate
Unless i'm riding on the prison bus
Your green dollars all say "in God we trust"
But to you I'm worth about a hundred grand a year
And all the people that I know have all passed through here
It's just how you keep the spirit cause it's so strong-willed
So I turn on my TV and stare at the screen
and it's a habitual liar named Trump
And he has big plans to buy a wall
But unfortunately that's not all
He also wants to split the families apart
And stop the Black & Brown people from a better life and a fresh start
So I guess that the rumor is true
that the Black & Brown are not red, white or blue
But I guess that's just america's plan
The rise of the Ku Klux Klan
That's spread all the way from the back woods
And the secret meetings wearing white hoods
And elevating them to become the police
Then the local judge, and even the mayor of the big city
And then a department of corrections union member
Funneling a percentage of their pay
To keep the disadvantage people locked up all day
By paying politicians and telling them what to say
Like "we're tough on crime"
And then they pass a thousand laws at a time
And have no respect for our civil rights
So we are doing lifetimes of wasted days and wasted nights
But now I can clearly see through your soulless eyes
And your great american white lies
But I vow to stop you from suppressing my kind
Because yes america you exposed the line.
[Organizing] [Anchorage Correctional Complex ] [Alaska]
Front Line Soldier Struggling to Teach and Organize
by an Alaska prisoner October 2019 permalink
Being able to politicize this generation is one of the major problems I'm currently facing. To get one to become conscious of the real enemy is a struggle. Seemingly because battling within our own circles are somehow being rationalized and not frowned upon. Within this last year my political consciousness has been awoken, and I now feel obliged to share this knowledge with all oppressed peoples. But getting them to really receive the messages I attempt to convey is hard as hell. And the fact that I now recognize that my people have become so complacent with being oppressed that its become the "norm" is extremely troubling. Being a gang member myself, one would think that my solid reputation would make my advancements credible enough to persuade those who know and respect me to at least be open-minded enough to hear the message first and conclude later. But my attempts often times reveal the divisiveness in the oppressed and the true power of capitalist tactic.
Being able to continue to reach out and inform through all adversity and frustration is a necessity in the struggle to achieve communism. Understanding that being cast aside as "crazy," "tripping." etc. is a part of it all. The ignorant always criticize the unknown and misunderstood. It is up to us as revolutionaries to continue the fight against the PIC (prison industrial complex), and the current foundation of capitalism.
I am attempting to form several study groups and beginning to organize here in Alaska which seems to be uncharted territory. I need all of the help and guidance I can get. I am open to all forms of education for myself and others. For without knowledge we can never learn how to defeat oppression. I have and always will be a front line soldier. I've learned from first hand experience that unorganized violence/force used against the police only achieves negative consequences. The most solid form of action for a single soldier is litigation. Every other action consists of numbers. That's why organization is so important. United we stand, divided we fall. All power to the people!
MIM(Prisons) responds: Much credit to this comrade for standing strong in the face of criticism and hardship in educating and organizing others. Study groups are a great way to get people talking about new concepts and educating about revolutionary politics. We will be sending some lit and other materials to help with that work. Anyone interested in starting a study group where you're at can contact us to get our guide to forming a study group, and also literature for your group to study.
This writer says litigation is the most solid form of action for a single soldier. And litigation is certainly one avenue for folks in isolation or otherwise unable to work with others. But there are other options. For instance, solo comrades can write articles and poetry, produce art, review books, and create study guides. These are all things that, when done through an organization like MIM(Prisons) can help to educate others, even if you can't directly reach those folks yourself. This comrade is right that we need to be organizing others, and not just doing solo work. But for those stuck in isolation we do have options for activism besides just working through the injustice legal system. Get in touch for guides to help you get started in any of these areas.
[Elections] [National Oppression] [New Afrika] [First World Lumpen] [Environmentalism] [Economics] [ULK Issue 69]
Jackson-Kush Plan builds Independent Institutions in MS
by PTT of MIM(Prisons) October 2019 permalink
A modern-day example of New Afrikans building independent institutions and public opinion for socialism is the groups carrying out the Jackson-Kush Plan in Jackson, Mississippi and the surrounding area. There are a number of different organizations involved in, and evolved out of, this Plan, and its roots go back to the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PGRNA) in the 1960s. It is directly built on the long history of New Afrikan organizing for independence, going on since people were brought to the United $nakes from Africa as slaves. The Plan itself was formulated by the New Afrikan People's Organization and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement between 2004 – 2010. (1, p. 3)
The project has gone through many different phases, all focusing on attaining self-determination for people of African descent in Mississippi and the surrounding region. Sometimes the organizing has been more heavily focused on electoral politics,(2, 3) sometimes more on purchasing land, and currently the Cooperation Jackson project appears to be at the forefront of pushing the Plan forward.
Cooperation Jackson's mission is to develop an intimate network of worker-owned cooperatives, covering all basic humyn needs, and more: food production and distribution, recycling and waste management, energy production, commodity production, housing, etc. The main goals of Cooperation Jackson (C.J.) are to provide sustainable livelihoods for its organizing base, which includes control over land, resources, means of production, and means of distribution. Currently C.J. has a handful of cooperatives in operation, and is building the Community Land Trust to have greater control over its target geography in Jackson. This is just a snapshot of the work of Cooperation Jackson, which is explained in much more detail in the book Jackson Rising.(1)
The Jackson-Kush Plan is being carried out despite big setbacks, repression, harassment, and roadblocks from the government and racist citizens alike, for decades. This is the nature of struggle and the folks working with the Plan are facing it head-on. C.J. and the other organizations involved are doing amazing work to establish what could be dual power in the state of Mississippi.
While the MIM has congruent goals with the Jackson-Kush Plan (at least including the self-determination of New Afrikan people; control over land, economy, and resources; environmental sustainability; an end of capitalism and imperialism), there are some notable differences.(4) We're holding out hope that the Plan is being intentionally discrete in order to build dual power, but the ideological foundations of some of its structure point instead to revisionism of Marxism.
Cooperation Jackson's plan includes working with the government in some capacity. It needs to change laws in order to operate freely and legally. This itself isn't wrong – MIM(Prisons) also works on and supports some reforms that would make our work of building revolution much easier. But because of its relationship to the state, C.J.'s voice is muffled. MIM(Prisons) doesn't have this problem, so we can say what needs to be said and we hope the folks organizing for New Afrikan independence will hear it.
Cooperation Jackson's structural documents paint a picture of a peaceful transition to a socialist society, or a socialist microcosm, built on worker-owned cooperatives and the use of advanced technology. Where it aims to transform the New Afrikan "working class" (more on this below) to become actors in their own lives and struggle for self-determination of their nation, we are for it. So often we hear from ULK readers that people just don't think revolution is possible. Working in a collective and actually having an impact in the world can help people understand their own inherent power as humyn beings. Yet it seems C.J. sees this democratic transformation of the New Afrikan "working class" as an end in itself, which it believes will eventually lead to an end of capitalism.
"In the Jackson context, it is only through the mass self-organization of the working class, the construction of a new democratic culture, and the development of a movement from below to transform the social structures that shape and define our relations, particularly the state (i.e. government), that we can conceive of serving as a counter-hegemonic force with the capacity to democratically transform the economy."(1, p. 7)
This quote also alludes to C.J.'s apparent opposition to the universality of armed struggle in its struggle to transform the economy. In all the attempts that have been made to take power from the bourgeoisie, only people who have acknowledged the need to take that power by force (i.e. armed struggle) have been even remotely successful. We just need to look to the governments in the last century all across the world who have attempted to nationalize resources to see how hard the bourgeois class will fight when it really feels its interests are threatened.
Where C.J. is clearly against Black capitalism and a bourgeois-nationalist revolution that stays in the capitalist economy, we are in agreement. Yet C.J. apparently also rejects the need for a vanguard party, and the need for a party and military to protect the interests and gains of the very people it is organizing.
"As students of history, we have done our best to try and assimilate the hard lessons from the 19th and 20th century national liberation and socialist movements. We are clear that self-determination expressed as national sovereignty is a trap if the nation-state does not dislodge itself from the dictates of the capitalist system. Remaining within the capitalist world-system means that you have to submit to the domination and rule of capital, which will only empower the national bourgeoisie against the rest of the population contained within the nation-state edifice. We are just as clear that trying to impose economic democracy or socialism from above is not only very problematic as an anti-democratic endeavor, but it doesn't dislodge capitalist social relations, it only shifts the issues of labor control and capital accumulation away from the bourgeoisie and places it in the hands of the state or party bureaucrats."(1, p. 8)
As students of history, we assert that C.J. is putting the carriage before the horse here. National liberation struggles have shown the most success toward delinking populations from imperialism and capitalism. Yes, we agree with C.J. that these national liberation struggles also need to contain anti-capitalism, and revolutionary ecology, if they plan to get anywhere close to communism. But C.J. seems to be saying it can dislodge from capitalism before having national independence from imperialism.
The end of this quote also raises valid concerns about who holds the means of production, and the development of a new bourgeoisie among the party bureaucrats. This is one of the huge distinctions between the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin, and China under Mao. In China, the masses of the population participated in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which attacked bureaucrats and revisionists in the party and positions of power. These criticisms were led from the bottom up, and the Cultural Revolution was a huge positive lesson on how we can build a society that is continually moving toward communism, and not getting stuck in state-capitalism.
Another significant difference between the line of the MIM and of Cooperation Jackson is our class analysis. Cooperation Jackson is organizing the "working class" in Jackson, Mississippi, which it defines as "unionized and non-unionized workers, cooperators, and the under and unemployed."(1, p. 30) So far in our exposure to C.J., we haven't yet come across an internationalist class analysis. Some pan-Africanism, yes, but nothing that says a living wage of $11 is more than double what the average wage would be if we had an equal global distribution of wealth.(5, 6) And so far nothing that says New Afrika benefits from its relationship to the United $tates over those who Amerikkka oppresses in the Third World.
We can't say what the next steps for the Jackson-Kush Plan should be. There's still opportunity for people within the project to clarify its line on the labor aristocracy/working class, the necessity of armed struggle to take power from the bourgeoisie, and the significance of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. MIM(Prisons)'s Free Books for Prisoners Program distributes many materials on these topics. Some titles we definitely recommend studying are On Trotskyism by Kostas Mavrakis, The Chinese Road to Socialism by E.L. Wheelwright and Bruce McFarlane, and Imperialism and its Class Structure in 1997 by MIM.
1. Kali Akuno & Ajamu Nangwaya, Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi, Dajara Press, 2017.
2. Wiawimawo of MIM(Prisons), "Election Begs Question of the Road to Dual Power in New Afrika," ULK 33, June 2013.
3. MIM(Prisons), "Mayor Chokwe Lumumba Dead – Demand an Autopsy!", ULK 37, March 2014.
4. Compare MIM(Prisons) definition of "self-determination" to the definition contained in Jackson Rising. MIM(Prisons): "In reference to oppressed nations and people, the principle of or ability to choose the course of future development free of reactionary, outside interference." Jackson Rising: "Self-determination is defined by Fanny Lou Hamer is 'the process by which a person controls their own life.'"(p. xiii)
5. MIT, Living Wage Calculation for Mississippi, 2019.
6. Wiawimawo of MIM(Prisons), "Raise the Minimum Wage to $2.50", ULK 36, December 2013.
Mayor Chokwe Lumumba Dead - Demand An Autopsy!
Raise the Minimum Wage to $2.50
Election Begs Question of the Road to Dual Power in New Afrika
[Organizing] [Cummins Unit] [Arkansas] [ULK Issue 69]
Organizers, Be Versatile and Watch What you Say
by an Arkansas prisoner October 2019 permalink
Every time I write MIM(Prisons), talking about what I've got going on, or what I'm trying to do, my moves are intercepted, interfered with, or I'm retaliated against. It's not wise to write to y'all and give the enemy the upper hand, or an advantage over me. If a person is in prison, then guess what? You're in the devil's back yard, where the devil says what goes. Common sense and history should obviously tell you that it's the police's jobs to police you. If you're dumb enough to open your mouth about incriminating shit, while you know that the spotlight is beaming on you, then you deserve the consequences. A lot of these people in Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) just don't got it in 'em to zip it. There's a time to talk and there's a time for silence.
Organizing tactics will vary, depending on why you're getting organized and what you're getting organized for. There's no "one size fits all" organizing tactic. You got to be versatile and able to adapt under pressure and constant changes. To be able to roll with the punches, in other words. Keep your eyes open.
Everybody isn't down. Everybody's not a rider, or a soldier. Not everybody cares, or is able to listen and see. You have to be careful who you're talking to, or what you're openly/publicly speaking about, in ADC. Ironically and paradoxically, getting assigned to a one-man cell is one of the only ways to dodge the bogus individuals in ADC, if you know how to do time in a cell. The cell-blocks in ADC are analogous to SHUs [solitary confinement]. The prison culture in ADC is twisted. Got to be ever-mindful of this while organizing in the ADC.
One of the main problems that I personally experience in the ADC is that the prisoners are over-friendly with the police/guards. It's accepted to befriend the police here, to pull them aside and whisper/gossip, or to kick it in the police's offices. The majority of the ADC prisoners don't even understand how to distinguish between a police and a snitch, or how to identify what "snitching" is and isn't. What's really troubling is that these gang affiliates allow police into their "gangs," which contradicts everything that they claim to stand for. They call the high-ranking police their "OGs" here, and they see nothing wrong with this. In my eyes that's an organized snitch-operation, with benefits.
They suck up to the police for scooby snacks. The dope fiend culture here is largely to blame. They believe that it's acceptable to cooperate with police for drugs, highs, money, etc. (That's the same as collaborating with police for time-cuts in my eyes.) They call collaborating with the police here "gangster moves," "OG moves," "shot calls," etc. Technically, the government is a gang, but not in the sense of a street gang, or a lumpen organization (L.O.). They're letting the government into their street gangs and L.O.s, which causes immense problems and struggles for people who are trying to get organized against government corruption, or imperialism.
There's no fixing this type of issue overnight. One individual can't tackle this issue single-handedly. I refuse to associate, in those types of ways, with the police, or snitches who work hand-in-hand with the police. These types of snitches are not concerned about making changes, and one of these undercovers will only put on a front, to infiltrate your organization and stir up chaos and confusion.
Like I said though, it really all depends on the direction that you're trying to go, in terms of organizing and unity. Revolution, or reform? Long-term, or short-term? What types of changes are you aiming at? Do you honestly believe that you can pop off a full-scale "revolution" from inside of one, tiny prison? A prison riot isn't a revolution.
My personal opinion is that if you're trying to reform the prison system with long-term changes, that litigation is the most efficient, or effective method. History shows that the most significant changes in the prison systems in America have come from litigation. Litigation, generally, doesn't work too well when trying to deal with short-term problems, or isolated incidents, mainly because litigation isn't instantaneous, it takes time. And it's doubtful that you can jump-off a revolution by litigating in a government courthouse, or by filing grievances. You have to first troubleshoot the most pressing problems inside of your facility, if you plan on reforming the prison system. And you must be able to think everything through, before you initiate a campaign.
I know from experience that single-handedly bucking on these police with physical force rarely accomplishes very much, except for giving the police a bogus excuse to press their foot down on your neck, or to exercise more control over you.
It's probably a good idea to begin by getting to the least oppressive position before trying to do what needs to be done. Prison is not the place. The odds are stacked too high against prisoners, inside of prison, for prisoners to be able to leave too great of an impact. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there's nothing positive that can be done. It's just that many prisoners believe that the solution is to try to wage, or talk of waging a real-deal war with America from behind bars, and this is madness — counterproductive non-sense. Your greatest weapon from inside of an American prison is a pen and paper, which typically doesn't involve getting 100% unity of prisoners. Another thing is that you're never going to get all prisoners to agree on every little thing, at all times, which gets in the way of organizing, or unity.
I believe that one of the best things that a person can do is just to focus on themselves first, before trying to build up the next person, which constitutes as "leading by example." Other people will see you doing positive things, or will listen to you speaking positively and they will often emulate, or mirror your actions. In order to change the world, you must begin by changing yourself. You must become the changes that you want to see in the world.
I've gotten good educational convos and occasional study groups going, to help others learn. The problem with that is, every time I get us organized on a positive tip like that, I always experience opposition, hostility, retaliation, interference or resistance from guards and/or prisoners.
One thing that does help me and has taught me a lot is radio talk shows like Ground Zero and Coast-to-Coast, (got to give them credit). Plus, these shows help me to do time easier, while learning. It makes learning fun and interesting. In a way, those talk shows are kinda like study groups. Because people can call in and give feedback. I think that it'd be an excellent idea to model study groups after the structure of these talk shows. To have an individual, with a particular expertise in a specific subject, prepare a speech, in conversation format, and then allow feedback and questions after the selected individual concludes their initial discourse. Then you can rotate new individuals to speak each session. The group can vote, maybe, to decide topics, speakers, etc. You can assign homework and self-study assignments for the down-time in between groups. Not everyone is going to want to be a speaker, which is fine, too. I fear simply speaking about starting a study group, because I already know how it goes. If a hater catches wind of such things, trouble isn't far off.
Another suggestion is, if you're in prison, with access to educational/radio shows, you can organize a group of people to listen to each show, and afterwards you can have civilized group discussions and debates on the show's topics, with feedback and questions. One step further is to get out of prison and start your own radio show for prisoner education. A station for prisoners to tune into, for prison news, discussion, education programs, contests, etc. I haven't done my research into that, but it wouldn't be too hard to do. The good part is that prisoners can listen to radio broadcasts for free. Books and some newsletters/mags can be expensive, or impossible for prisoners to obtain. Also, it'd be kinda hard for people to shut down the study group if it's done over the radio, huh? The prison guards can't "censor" it, because it's the FCC's duty to censor radio broadcasts, not uneducated prison guards. The FCC decides what's appropriate for American citizens to hear over the radio. True enough, radio-show hosts can deal with hostility as well, but at least the radio show isn't trapped inside of a box, while battling sadistic foes.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer starts off with an analysis of conditions in Arkansas that lead to the conclusion that it is impossible to organize in Arkansas, but ends this letter with some excellent and creative ideas about how to run study groups. And so we really hope ey will implement these ideas and report back on how they work.
There are significant barriers to our organizing work here in the belly of the beast where the wealth of imperialism is thrown around to buy off even the lumpen in prison. We need to rise to this challenge and think creatively about how to break people off from the system and channel their energy into fighting the criminal injustice system that is the cause of their misery. Creative study groups are one such approach. We welcome thoughts from others about what this comrade might do based on the conditions ey describes in Arkansas.
Dark Place
by a North Carolina prisoner October 2019 permalink
I've been trapped inside this building, I've been in since I was little
It's a riddle, but the foundation to it is turning brittle
When you're walking up the stairs, down the hallway, look to the middle
On the left, you'll see my doorway is leaning and full of splinters
From taking it off the hinges, Memories back to prison
A victim to those that sentenced, their sinister ways of lynching
Distorted image, through torn prisms, praying the governments lifting
And shifting, its hand from the neck of the oppressed, to relieve some of this tension.
[Organizing] [MIM(Prisons)] [Theory] [ULK Issue 69]
Importance of Independent Institutions
Unabashedly, the goal of the Maoist Internationalist Movement is to eliminate capitalism and imperialism. We aim to replace these economic systems with socialism, and then communism, to end all oppression of people by other people. In our study of humyn history we see Maoist China as the most advanced social experience to date toward this goal, and we draw on our study of Maoism (shorthand for Marxism-Leninism-Maoism) to build our strategy. Maoism is a universally-applicable science of social change, which has its effectiveness proven in practice.
Our study of history shows the necessity of armed struggle to take power from the bourgeoisie, to build a world without oppression. Yet we're not presently in a period of social upheaval that we would call a revolutionary scenario, which is why we discourage people from initiating armed struggle at this time. While we prepare for that inevitable reality, the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) works on our dual strategy of 1) building independent institutions of the oppressed to seize state power, and 2) building public opinion against imperialism.
This is all in preparation for when the United $tates's military power becomes sufficiently overextended, and nations oppressed by Amerikkka start striking significant blows against Amerika's domination over their land and livelihoods. When the United $tates enters this period of social upheaval, we will be equipped to draw on the public opinion and independent institutions we're building now. The point is to get started now so we're ready to help a revolution in this country be successful, with results in favor of the most oppressed people in the world. Our institutions in themselves will not cause the transition to socialism, because the bourgeoisie will not allow us to carry out a quiet coup on their power.
Independent institutions of the oppressed are designed to simultaneously meet the peoples' present needs, while organizing against imperialism. When coupled with political education in building public opinion for socialism, these institutions help to advance our movement toward communism. People can see in practice what it would look like (and that it's possible) to meet the social needs that the government is failing on. And people learn how to work collectively.
Maybe this is obvious, but independent institutions don't have ties to the power structure that we are fighting to dismantle. Our goal is the full liberation of ALL people, not just some people, and not just our people. To do that we need to have true independence, so we can say what needs to be said, and do what needs to be done, without one arm tied behind our backs.
Defining who are "the oppressed," who our institutions are in service of, is extremely important. While many institutions are happy to just serve any oppressed group, in the MIM we want to make the transition to communism as swift and efficient as possible. We take instruction on this question from our class analysis, and particularly our class analysis on the labor aristocracy and lumpen.
We recognize that the vast majority of so-called "workers" in the First World are actually a bought-off class of net exploiters. They are relatively comfortable with the existence of imperialism, and our independent institutions don't aim to serve that class's interests. Most people don't want to hear that they are net exploiters, and that actually they are in the top 13% globally.(1) It stops them from crying about being in the "bottom 99%" and self-righteously working for a minimum wage that is three times higher than what it would be in an equal global distribution of wealth.(2) Representing the interests of the international proletariat makes MIM(Prisons) an unpopular organization among the vast majority of the population in the United $tates.
In contrast, in our class analysis we see the oppressed-nation lumpen as the most likely group to favor a proletarian internationalist revolution in this country. When the Maoist Internationalist Party – Amerika disbanded into a cell structure in 2005, MIM(Prisons) was established specifically to organize among the lumpen population. There are many, many areas of life that need Maoist leadership and independent institutions – many that can even be built around the coinciding interests of people in the First World and Third World, like revolutionary ecology — and MIM(Prisons) focuses on the needs and education of the imprisoned oppressed-nation lumpen.
BPP STP
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) had a prolific set of Serve the People programs and independent institutions. The BPP coincided with the tail-end of the New Afrikan proletariat's existence, and focused its organizing among proletarian and lumpen New Afrikans.
In its independent institutions, the BPP served tens of thousand of kids breakfast across the United $tates, accompanied by political education during the meals. The BPP ran other services such as "clothing distribution, classes on politics and economics, free medical clinics, lessons on self-defense and first aid, transportation for family members to upstate prisons, an emergency-response ambulance program, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and testing for sickle-cell disease."(3)
In addition to providing necessary services for New Afrikans, the BPP's Serve the People programs also built public opinion for socialism by showing what a world could be like with people working together to meet humyn needs. We often hear myths about humyn nature, that people are "too selfish" or "too greedy" or "don't care enough" to ever have a socialist economy, let alone participate in a single campaign. Yet BPP programs showed that selfishness, greed, and apathy are values of the capitalist-imperialist economic system we live under; not inherent to humyn nature. And the education programs built people's consciousness around how the economic structures of imperialism and capitalism are related to the seemingly-insurmountable problems in their lives. Coupling that with Maoist theory and practice, the BPP provided an ideology for how to overcome these economic systems, further building public opinion in favor of a transition to socialism.
The Black Panther Party did all this without government funding. Yet they did accept hefty donations from white leftists, especially during the Free Huey campaign to get Huey Newton released from jail in 1967-70. This lack of self-reliance had a big negative impact on the organization when the white leftists stopped donating.(4) The experience of the BPP shows extensive positive examples of how oppressed-nation organizations can build institutions to contribute to the liberation of one's people. It teaches another lesson on independence, which is to never rely on your oppressor-nation allies to fund your liberation.
Other Outside Orgs
Whenever we connect with an organization that does work that's related to ours, that gets government funding or is linked to a bigger organization like a university, they say the same thing. They are really excited about our work, because they know how important our line is, and they have seen first-hand the limitations in their own work. When we ask why they can't say or do something similar to what we say, it goes back to a funding source or an authority they're operating under.
These institutions of the oppressed aren't wrong for organizing this way. They are doing great work and reaching audiences we can't reach in our current capacity. Yet they aren't reaching them with the stuff that's going to bring an end of oppression in the grand scheme of things.
MIM(Prisons) chooses to do the most effective thing, which in our case requires total independence. If everyone who saw the importance of our line actually worked to promote it, it would inevitably increase our capacity to also reach the people these dependent organizations are currently reaching, and with a program to transform the deep-rooted causes of the problems they're working to change.
An example of limitations imposed by funding sources was explained in a 2012 interview MIM(Prisons) did with a comrade in United Playaz (UP). UP is a "San Francisco-based violence prevention and youth development organization," staffed and run by many former prisoners. It is work that is desperately needed, and UP has a huge positive impact on the lives of the people it works with.
"If it's up to us, we're gonna go hard, and really fight for peace. But because we're fund[ed] by DCYF [San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth, & Their Families], they limit our movement. We can't even participate, or like rally. If there's a Occupy rally right now, we can't go, cuz our organization are prevented from doing things like that. And I think that's important, that we're out there with the rest of the people that are trying to fight for change. Every year we do a Silence the Violence Peace March. That's okay, you know, Martin Luther King, marches like that, we're okay to do that. But when it's like budgets, and crime, and about prison, you know, rally to try to bring those those things down, we can't really participate. ...
"What's going on outside the youth can affect them in the future if things don't change. And why wait til those kids get old and take em to expose them to march and fight for your rights? You know I love to take these young adults to a movement like that, cuz that gives em knowledge of life, that there's more than just hanging out on the street. But unfortunately we're not allowed to participate in that kind of movement."(5)
ULK-based Institutions
Under Lock & Key (and the new newsletter that's coming January 2020)(6) is a media institution of the oppressed, with a mission to serve two classes: 1) the oppressed-nation lumpen in the First World, which our class analysis says is the most likely class in imperialist society to be favorable to the long hard struggle to communism; and 2) the Third World proletariat, which is the revolutionary class with the least to lose in imperialist society. All the articles and line in ULK revolve around this mission.
The pages of ULK, and behind the scenes in MIM(Prisons)'s work, have developed many other institutions of the oppressed. Regular readers of ULK will be familiar with the United Front for Peace in Prisons (UFPP) and the accompanying 5 Points of Unity.(7, 8) The UFPP can't in any way be canceled by prison admin or stopped because of budget cuts. In fact, the impetus for the UFPP being formed was because prison staff were actively creating disunity among the prisoner population. We had to create our own independent networks and agreements for creating peace, because peace efforts were being actively thwarted by staff. We have to build "Unity From the Inside Out."
United Struggle from Within (USW) is the MIM(Prisons)-led mass organization for prisoners and former prisoners, and another example of an institution that has developed and organizes within the pages of Under Lock & Key. USW is a way people can plug into anti-imperialist organizing from behind bars, leading campaigns, handing out fliers, putting out art, participating in petitions and struggles. USW cells have independent institutions locally, including study groups, libraries, food and hygiene pools, jailhouse lawyer services, and other forms of support. Through ULK, USW can share experiences and knowledge to further build the anti-imperialist movement behind bars.
USW and UFPP organizing comes with its own set of challenges. Organizers are moved and isolated all the time. Repressive attacks and false disciplinary cases are also carried out by prison staff on our comrades. Censorship of mail impacts our ability to organize, with some states or institutions fully banning ULK or mail from MIM(Prisons). It means we hold no illusions that anyone else can or will do this work for us, and we take that on, with all the sacrifices and challenges that come with it.
Some comrades choose to work within larger organizations, or with prison staff, to get a bigger platform for their organizing. Like any alliance, a big consideration is if one can actually do the work that needs to be done within that alliance, because most likely these alliances will require you to water down your political line. Everyone will assess their own conditions to see what they can do to be most effective in the facility where they're held. The method we use to do this in MIM(Prisons) projects is analyzing the principal contradiction in a situation, and upholding MIM(Prisons)'s 6 main points.(9)
Other Prisoner-led Projects
Within ULK we also regularly report on independent institutions that didn't originate in our circles, which serve the interests of the oppressed-nation lumpen in the First World. There are many hardships that prisoners can organize around inside, to build independent institutions (communication channels, organizational connections) and public opinion in favor of socialism.
One example is the organization Men Against Sexism (MAS), which existed in the Washington state prison system in the 1970s. Men Against Sexism worked to protect new, and otherwise vulnerable, prisoners from sexual assault and other forms of gender oppression that prisoners were doing to each other. It was a different time back then, and these guys were celling together so they could organize better, and collecting donations from outside to purchase cells from other prisoners to house people who needed protection from the typical prison bullshit. MAS eliminated sexual assault in the Washington state system.(10) Imagine if you came together with other people in your facility to enact your own prisoner rape elimination campaign. What difference would that make for you and the people around you?
Somewhat similar to MAS, in 1969 the Colorado State Penitentiary housed an organization called the Latin American Development Society (LADS).
"Like prison groups today LADS focused on combating oppression and providing education for the imprisoned [email protected], and LADS also left us with some good examples to learn from. They created several serve the people programs in the pinta, for one they created a committee that worked with new prisoners, what we may call 'first termers' here in pintas in Califas. This was important because a new prisoner or 'fish' may be easy prey for some predator in prison. In this way youngsters were given revolutionary clecha once they entered the pinta by LADS 'O.G.'s.' LADS was comprised of prison vets who were politicized. Within LADS were many sub-committees such as the Committee to Assist Young People (CAYP), as well as a security committee called the Zapatistas. The LADS were anti-dope and combated drug use or sales in the pinta. They were not trying to poison the imprisoned Raza, rather they were trying to build the Raza."(11)
Protecting newcomers, sexual assault, and drugs are only some of the issues that prisoners have to take care of themselves. There are no petitions we can send you, and there's no one to appeal to to resolve these problems. Like our comrade at Telford Unit in Texas reported in ULK 59,
"My brothers in here have fallen victim to K2, which is highly addictive. They don't even care about the struggle. The only thing on their minds is getting high and that sas. I mean this K2 shit is like crack but worse. You have guys selling all their commissary, radios, fans, etc. just to get high. And all these pigs do is sit back and watch; this shit is crazy. But for the few of us who are K2-free I'm trying to get together a group to help me with the struggle."(12)
Nowadays conditions are a lot different in prisons than they were in the 1960s and 70s. Still, it's possible to build independent institutions to meet prisoners' needs. Bigger organizing happens in even worse conditions than the United $tates. There's no perfect set of conditions that need to be present in order to make a difference. It's a matter of choosing to do it ourselves. We want to report on and support these prisoner-led serve the people programs in ULK. So get to work, and send us your updates!
Educational Institutions and Public Opinion
ULK is a big part of how we build public opinion in favor of socialism, and in studying different movements and organizations, we saw that many failures are based in a lack of education and empowerment among the masses in society, or the organization's membership. Depth of political consciousness (and, related, correctness of political line) is arguably the number one reason why movements fail. Depth of analysis isn't about flashcards and pop quizzes. It's about "How to think, not what to think."
We've taken this to heart in our emphasis on educational programs. We run a number of different correspondence study groups, including a University of Maoist Thought for our advanced comrades. We run a Free Political Books for Prisoners Program, which isn't just about books, it's about books in service of our mission of liberating everyone, including the Third World proletariat, from imperialism. We don't do general book distribution because we want to liberate more than just individuals' minds. With our comrades' help, we develop study packs and distribute literature and study packs to prisoner-led study groups on the inside. We are really offering every format of political education we can through the mail, because this is such an important task in our work.
Besides the written word, there are many other channels for building public opinion. POOR Magazine and the Poor News Network (PNN) are independent institutions using events, rallies, and street theater in combination with the internet, radio, and videos to build public opinion in favor of oppressed-nation and lumpen struggles in the United $nakes. POOR Magazine runs a liberation school for children, and many, many other programs. POOR Magazine is funded independently from its own participants, events, and a donation program for individuals via Community Reparations. PNN goes hard on its line against capitalism, imperialism, and settlerism even with some funding from "reparators," which is the real measurement of independence.(13)
One radio program on the Poor News Network that especially builds public opinion for national liberation struggles and socialist revolution is Free Aztlán. Free Aztlán airs weekly and covers current issues concerning Raza and [email protected] communities. It has interviews, poetry, music, and even readings from the book [email protected] Power and the Struggle for Aztlán for people who don't or can't have a physical copy to reference. That PNN is willing to air a program like Free Aztlán says a lot about PNN, and we look forward to this program being a staple in our independent education institutions moving forward!(14)
Building public opinion isn't just about sharing information and exposing people to ideas. Applying our study to our conditions, we can help educate others in developing their own desire for socialism. It's an exercise in "Each One, Teach One." This was explained in our book review of Condemned by Bomani Shakur:
"The first theme addressed in 'Condemned' is the author's ideological transformation. MIM(Prisons)'s primary task at this point in the struggle is building public opinion and institutions of the oppressed for socialist revolution, so affecting others' political consciousness is something we work on a lot. On the first day of the [Lucasville] uprising, Bomani was hoping the state would come in to end the chaos. But 'standing there as dead bodies were dumped onto the yard (while those in authority stood back and did nothing), and then experience the shock of witnessing Dennis' death [another prisoner who was murdered in the same cell as the author], awakened something in me.' Bomani's persynal experiences, plus politicization on the pod and thru books, are what led em to pick up the struggle against injustice."(15)
We can't predict exactly what events, what books, or what conversations will spark the revolutionary fire in people. Everyone has their own unique journey into this work. Building independent institutions is one huge way we nourish and support that spark: empowering ourselves and others to do things to change our actual present conditions, while we build toward a socialist future.
1. Wiawimawo of MIM(Prisons), "Newsflash: Amerikans are the Top 13 Percent", ULK 23, October 2011.
3. MIM(Prisons), Defend the Legacy of the Black Panther Party, October 2016.
4. Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin, Jr., 2013, Black Against Empire: The history and politics of the Black Panther Party, Berkeley:University of California Press, p. 371.
5. MIM(Prisons), "United Playaz Build Peace on the Streets", ULK 24, January 2012.
6. Final Issue of ULK article 7. MIM(Prisons), "Announcing the United Front for Peace in Prisons", ULK 19, March 2011.
8. MIM(Prisons), "United Front for Peace in Prisons – Statement of Principles", ULK 19, March 2011.
9. USW11 of United Struggle from Within, "Analyze Local Conditions for Organizing Opportunities", ULK 67, April 2019.
10. PTT of MIM(Prisons), "Review: The Anti-Exploits of the Men Against Sexism", ULK 29, November 2012.
11. cipactli of Brown Berets - Prison Chapter, "Book Review: The Crusade for Justice", www.prisoncensorship.info, January 2014.
12. Texas prisoner, "Epidemic of K2 Overdoses at Estelle, Throughout Texas", ULK 59, November 2017.
13. POOR Magazine.
14. Free Aztlan radio show on Poor Magazone radio.
15. PTT of MIM(Prisons), "Tactical Lessons from Historical Lucasville Struggles", ULK 54, January 2017.
Book Review: The Crusade for Justice
Review: The Anti-Exploits of Men Against Sexism
United Playaz Building Peace on the Streets
Newsflash: Amerikans are the Top 13 Percent
United Front for Peace in Prisons - Statement of Principles
Announcing the United Front for Peace in Prisons
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text:
Josh Gordon talks about the 'culture shock' of becoming a Patriot
(Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)
Josh Gordon is finally back. There were the concerns whether or not he would get reinstated by the league, and again if he would pick up where he left off last season. After a very convincing TD reception and win over Pittsburgh, Gordon opened up on what it was like when he first signed with New England.
"For me, initially it was a culture shock," Gordon said after the season opener. "It was definitely different. I think as I grew in this environment and got to observe other young men move and organize and act professionally, expectations were high. It wasn't anything more than what I think they knew that they could do what was being asked of them. "I was like, 'All right, this is the way it's done here.' I could either get with it or look for a transition somewhere else. It's tough, but if this is what you want to do, I think this is the best place to be."
Gordon's tough past has been very well documented throughout his career, but the Patriot receiver feels that he is in a great place in the Patriot culture.
"I'm doing very well," he said. "I'm extremely filled with gratitude every day, just enjoying myself. Coming inside this building, being with this family-oriented type of environment, and just doing what I love to do. There's nothing better than this, honestly. It's great."
Obviously you want him to succeed from a football standpoint, but I'm really rooting for him on a personal level. He clearly has had his struggles in life, but it looks like he is taking advantage of the opportunities here with the Patriots and it very grateful for them as well.
Follow Tommy on Twitter-@Tommy_Quigley
Tommy Quigley 9/09/2019 05:50:00 PM Tweet Edit

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Mark your calendar for the Mayor's State of the City Address. Attend Mayor W.J. "Jim" Lane's annual State of the City Address at noon Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. There is no charge to attend and RSVPs are not needed. A luncheon to benefit Operation Fix It begins at 11:30 a.m. Purchase luncheon tickets here; for sponsorships or table purchases, call 480-312-2466.
Reporting bike and scooter issues is EZ. The fastest and most effective way to report devices that are parked improperly is through the city's Scottsdale EZ website. Type "bike" or "scooter" into the search box and follow the prompts to make a report. The application will forward your report to city staff and to the private bike/scooter-sharing companies. You can also report bikes/scooters from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, by calling 480-312-RIDE. View rules for parking and riding as well as frequently asked questions.
Watch as the old 68th Street bridge is demolished, and a new structure rises in its place. The project should be complete in April. Learn about other city construction projects here.
Watch the Hashknife Pony Express complete its 200-mile journey to deliver mail, this Friday. Experience living history when the oldest officially-sanctioned Pony Express in the world, the Hashknife Pony Express, rides into Scottsdale. The posse will deliver more than 20,000 pieces of mail at high noon to the front steps of Scottsdale's Museum of the West. The fun starts at 11 a.m. with entertainment, food trucks and family-friendly activities.
The Parada del Sol and Trails End Festival take place this Saturday. The parade begins at 10 a.m. on Scottsdale Road south of Camelback Road and weaves through Old Town. The celebration continues with the Trails End Festival at noon with live music, performances, refreshments, activity booths and more. Get parking and road closure information.
Celebrate indigenous people at the Arizona Indian Festival, this weekend. Arizona tribes will share their culture – including food, song, dance and crafts – Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 9-10, on Scottsdale Civic Center. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show trots to WestWorld Feb. 14-24. Since 1955, this annual horse show has set the pace in the Arabian horse world. It has grown from 50 horses to more than 2,000 horses, bringing top owners, trainers and breeders from around the world competing for a chance to win.
Sunday A'Fair minifestivals continue on Scottsdale Civic Center. Sunday A'Fair features free outdoor concerts by the Valley's top musicians, an arts-and-crafts market and fun activities for children and families. The concerts run from noon to 4 p.m. most Sundays through April 7.
February is American Heart Month. Schedule a free hands-only CPR class for your group, company or organization through the Scottsdale Fire Department.
Scottsdale pools are open and heated year-round. Enjoy lap swimming or water exercise classes at one of three facilities: McDowell Mountain Ranch, Cactus or Eldorado. Get more information on facility locations and specific schedules.
Find a Smartscape-trained landscaper. Smartscape is a landscape training program specifically designed to educate landscape professionals on appropriate practices for the Sonoran Desert. A well-designed desert-friendly landscape will add beauty and value to your home and minimize water use. Hire a Smartscape-trained landscape professional to design, install and maintain your landscape. Find a list of Smartscape professionals.
Fleet's in-house repair of trolleys reduced downtime by 66 percent. In August 2017, the Fleet Management Department assumed responsibility for maintaining and repairing Scottsdale's trolleys, a service previously performed by a private contractor. By bringing the overall maintenance standards up and completing necessary repairs, the number of broken down trolley road calls went from 170 in 2017 to 145 in 2018. The overall reduction in downtime was reduced 66 percent from 2017 to 2018 – and this is with an increase in the number of routes served.
Take advantage of the Old Town matching marketing program. There is still time to apply for the city's matching marketing program, which supports leisure tourism marketing efforts in Old Town. The Tourism and Events Department will award up to $30,000 to each approved applicant until the program's funds are depleted. Contact Jackie Contaldo, downtown specialist, at 480-312-2459 for more information.
Protect your identity by attending "Shred It" event, this Saturday. Bring your personal and/or commercial documents to the "Shred It" event from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Walmart parking lot, 15355 N. Northsight Blvd. Cost is $4 per box.
Here's an outlet for your unwanted electronics, this Saturday. Electronics make up the bulk of waste that threatens our environment because of the potentially dangerous elements contained in them. Properly dispose of your unwanted electronics at Scottsdale's Electronics Recycling Collection Day from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the city's North Corporation Yard, 9191 E. San Salvador Drive.
"All Things Senior" Expo & Tradeshow offers one-stop resources, Wednesday. This free event features more than 100 exhibitors providing information about health care, senior housing, recreation and fitness opportunities, entertainment, lifestyle, technology, transportation and much more. It takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
Register now for the Spring 2019 session of Scottsdale Neighborhood College. Our 20th year of Neighborhood College continues with two tracts: "Homeowners Association" or the "History of Scottsdale." Attend as many classes in each tract as you want.


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Travelling with Roots
(+27) 021 913 9553 |
info@rootsafrica.co.za
A distinctive and thrilling safari destination, Zimbabwe still remains one of Africa's best safari destinations in the face of its political woes, as discerning safari goers still visit this country in good numbers. Anticipate warm smiles, cheerful greetings accompanied by dazzling wildlife encounters. Global media headlines have displayed tragic events, however at present the country is as safe and well-preserved to visit as it was in the 80′s.
Holidaymakers can look forward to having an up-close wildlife experience away from hordes of tourists. Zimbabwe safaris remain special, intimate, untamed and unscathed. A variety of accommodation options are available, ranging from lavish 5 star lodges to basic portable tented camps. An experience tailored for people who like to walk, one of the best ways to break away from the vehicle view of the bush, is to search for adventure by canoe and on foot, in the form of terrific game walks in one of the three national parks (Matusadona, Mana Pools, and Hwange).
There are numerous good reasons why a Zimbabwe safari is a fantastic experience as it stands out as one of the most inexpensive safari destinations in Africa. Zimbabwe has some of Africa's most exclusive wildlife areas and national parks which remain pure and isolated. Playing host to the world renowned Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall on the continent, the mighty Zambezi River and its tributaries form the fourth largest river basin of the continent.
The Victoria Falls represents one of the most magnificent natural wonders of the world. The Local people call it "Mosi-oa-Tunya", meaning the smoke that thunders. There is an enchantment about them manifested in the soaring column of spray when the river is high, the rumbling of the falling water, the terrifying abyss and serene lagoons upstream in which hippo and deadly crocodiles lie in wait. The Victoria Falls is 1 708 meters wide, making it the largest curtain of water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge and an average of 550,000 cubic metres of water is thrust over the edge every minute. Amazingly preserved in its natural state, Victoria Falls inspires visitors as much today as it did David Livingstone in the 1860's. The falls and the surrounding area have been declared National Parks and a World Heritage Site, thus preserving the area from excessive commercialization.
Positioned between Zimbabwe and Zambia, Lake Kariba is an undiscovered Riviera. It presents visitors with stunning views, dramatic sunsets, great fishing, boating opportunities, water sports, amazing relaxing holidays or weekends spent just soaking up the sunshine. The weather here is mostly sunny and fine. It can get fairly hot in midsummer, but even mid winter days are warm and the nights are pleasant. This is Africa's largest man made dam, 226km long and in places up to 40 km wide. It supplies considerable electric power to both Zimbabwe and Zambia and supports a thriving commercial fishing industry. Its sheer size makes one forget it's a dam and in certain places it almost feels like an ocean.
12 DAY 'SPLENDORS OF ZIMBABWE' SAFARI
Arrive in Kariba, transfer to Rhino Island in the Matusadona National Park. The schedule for the next two days includes bush walks, boating, and game drives in open 4WD vehicles. This is one of the best places in Africa to track the elusive black rhino and get within whispering distance of bull elephants.
Rhino Island Safari Lodge is the only lodge of its kind in Matusadona. It has everything; remoteness, lake views, and stunning wildlife in a fantastically abundant game area. Elephant, leopard, hippo, lion, and even rhino call Matusadona home. The lodge is simple, authentic and exciting. There are six thatched cottages, each set on a raised platform about 10 feet off the ground with en suite bathrooms.
The magnificent thatched dining room and bar overlook the lake. The stunning scenery is the perfect backdrop for your evening meal.
Charter flight to Mana Pools. The afternoon is spent on a game drive along the flood plains of the Zambezi.
Overnights in a tented camp with hot showers and three-course meals served under the canopy of trees on the banks of the river.
Early morning walks exploring the area on foot. After some basic instruction in the art of paddling and a general safety talk, board the 18 foot, 2- or 3-person canoes and meander down the mighty Zambezi past an abundance of hippos and other interesting wildlife. No previous canoeing experience is required. On your canoe safari through the Mana Pools National Park, you quietly paddle and drift with the current. These winding channels often have herds of buffalo on the banks and you may get a chance to canoe right up to elephants crossing the river.
A charter flight takes us from Mana Pools to Hwange, Zimbabwe's largest national park, located on the extreme eastern edge of the great Kalahari Desert. Hwange is remarkable for its wide variety of mammals, more, perhaps, than in any other game reserve in Africa. The area boasts good grazing which attracts a number of different antelope species and big herds of buffalo. Elephant seasonal migration routes go through the area, and lion and leopard sightings are plentiful. Settle into your comfortable tented camp, Somalisa, a private concession in the heart of the Hwange National Park.
Daily "walks on the wild side", plus explore the park by open Land Rover on day & night drives.
DAYS 10-11
From Hwange, a three-hour drive to the Victoria Falls, the adrenaline capital of Africa! There are many optional activities to choose from: the " Flight of Angels" over the Falls, a relaxing sunset cruise on the Zambezi, authentic Shangaan and Mukwishi tribal dancing, or the most exciting one-day whitewater rafting trip in the world. – Overnight in the fabulous Victoria Falls Hotel.
Flight home.
We can create a customized safari itinerary to match your availability or your budget – just ask! And the safari can be done individually, with a group of friends or family and with your own Tour Leader if you'd prefer.
•	COST PER PERSON
FROM US$ 5 640 PP SHARING
•	GROUP SIZES
•	LENGTH
FLEXIBLE TO SUIT
•	DIFFICULTY RATING
THIS REQUIRES A MODERATE LEVEL OF FITNESS
•	ACCOMMODATION
A COMBINATION OF LUXURY LODGES AND TOP GRADE SAFARI TENTS WITH EN SUITE FACILITIES AND AMENITIES
•	ADD-ONS
VICTORIA FALLS (ADD-ON TO ANY TRIP)
VIEW OPTIONAL EXTRAS
•	CUSTOM ITINERARIES
WE CAN TAILOR A CUSTOM EXPERIENCE TO MATCH YOUR REQUIREMENTS
If you are interested in making a booking, please fill out your details below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
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Email: info@rootsafrica.co.za
Copyright © Roots Africa 2015


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Anti-technology Fantasy and the Author's War Experience
This past weekend, I was delighted to spend at Readercon in their new location in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Here is the description of one of the panels that got me thinking:
If Thor Can Hang Out with Iron Man, Why Can't Harry Dresden Use a Computer? . Gillian Daniels, Elaine Isaak, Andrea Phillips, Alex Shvartsman, E.J. Stevens. In a series of tweets in 2015, Jared Axelrod pondered "the inherent weirdness of a superhero universe… where magic and science hold hands, where monsters stride over cities." This is only weird from the perspective of fantasy stories that set up magic and technology as incompatible, an opposition that parallels Western cultural splits between religion and science and between nature and industry. Harry Dresden's inability to touch a computer without damaging it is a direct descendant of the Ents destroying the "pits and forges" of Isengard, and a far cry from Thor, Iron Man, and the Scarlet Witch keeping company. What are the story benefits of setting up magic/nature/religion and technology/industry/science as either conflicting or complementary? What cultural anxieties are addressed by each choice? How are these elements handled in stories from various cultures and eras?
The ending of The Lord of the Rings, in which the hobbits reclaim the Shire and take down the mills is often cited as one reason that fantasy novels often ignore or even reject technology. However, another title that came up was Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, published in 1889. The work is often viewed as a satire of the chivalric ideal, and thus related to the idea of the Southern gentlemen who drove the Civil War. Twain apparently blamed Sir Walter Scott and his medievalist romances for resurrecting knighthood as a worthy goal for contemporary men.
But it is hard to read the final battle, where thousands of knights cast themselves upon the Yankee's electric fence and die under the fire of his Gatling guns, without feeling some dismay. This is not the satisfying come-uppance of a backward society, it is the wholesale destruction of a generation of nobility.
Even as I read that line, the echo is clear, and some commentators have noted that Twain's battle prefigures the catastrophic effect of the battles of World War I. The Lord of the Rings, published in shows the heavy influence of Tolkien's battle experiences–the loss of his friends, and the devastating effects, in particular, of new technologies for slaughter. He served in the army from 1915 until 1919, though much of the latter portion he spent recuperating from Trench Fever and declared unfit for active duty. His service included front-line duty at the notorious Battle of the Somme, where the total losses are close to 1 million soldiers.
Mark Twain himself was only a soldier (in a Confederate militia) for two weeks, but his anti-war stance became increasingly set. Twain's "War Prayer" (1904) says, in part:
O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire;
A sentiment which covers both the killing of people, and the destruction of their idyllic setting, their "smiling fields".
It got me thinking about how these seminal works in the fantasy genre suggest a link between their authors' understanding and experience of war, and their anti-technology conclusions. The advance of technology is often seen as an inevitable course, usually providing people with more and better and less expensive goods and services–but always tinged with the knowledge that this technology often degrades the land and lends itself to applications that will forward the cause of war.
Better, then, to remove the technology all together. No mills mucking up the Shire, no Gatling guns to mow down the flower of chivalry. The technology in these works may be seen as a frightful enemy which it is hard for man to stand or strive against. Interestingly, the armored knights did not succeed, but the angry ents and the plucky hobbits did, striding into the fray armored with courage if little else, standing in for all of us who are, as the panel description suggests, a little fearful of what technology might bring.
About E. C. Ambrose
I spend as much time in my office as I possibly can--thinking up terrible things to do to people who don't exist.
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This entry was posted in conventions, essays, fantasy, fiction, guns, history, medieval, technology and tagged Civil War, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain, technology in fantasy, Tolkien, war, War Prayer, World War I. Bookmark the permalink.