This is a letter published in Rolling Thunder #6:
Howdy, ex-worker comrades!
It's good to see someone take the time to publish information for people
interested in doing prisoner support. Also, the "Green Scared?" article is a
good source of reference for the goings-on surrounding Operation Backfire
and the arrests since then. It's so informative that the Civil Liberties
Defense Center[1] made the article into a pamphlet to hand out at
their events in support of non-cooperating Green Scare arrestees.
There was something mentioned in your article about prisoner support that I
feel needs far more emphasis, and that is letting the prisoners themselves
have a say - I'd argue that they should have the MOST say - in what prisoner
support groups do, and whom they support. I've seen other movements and
groups grow this way inside prisons.
The thing to remember is that we, as a movement, do not have a wealth of
resources. It makes sense to me that we could do a lot for a few prisoners,
rather than try to do something for just about anyone. For instance, the
prisoner support work that I'm currently undertaking is centered around the
folks incarcerated in the Green Scare repression.
Believe me, other prisoners notice when someone gets regular mail, receives
reading material, and writes a lot of letters. They'll also notice if
someone has folks sending them enough funds to live comfortably. Prisoners
often share resources with their friends, so it would be natural for a
person on the inside to spread word about free resources, like
books-to-prisoners projects. Just this type of word-of-mouth growth can
escalate beyond a group's ability to keep up. There are a number of reasons
why this is a good practice.
First of all, having prisoners make referrals would severely reduce, if not
eliminate, the number of opportunistic stalkers, sex offenders, and other
predators seeking out their next victims in our communities. It would also
weed out the snitches and others who may have their own agendas. While I was
incarcerated, I grew disgusted with the amount of space such despicable
characters were given in anarchist publications. This is why I am very
reluctant to work with "traditional" prisoner support groups like ABCs
[Anarchist Black Cross collectives].
Also, having our incarcerated comrades initiate contact between other
prisoners and outside resources will do a lot to ensure they get the respect
they deserve for having principled ideas and taking action based upon them.
Many prisoners will automatically give someone respect for fighting for what
they feel is right. Others, however, look for victims everywhere and see
anyone who doesn't fit into mainstream stereotypes as being both odd and
weak. Conformity to social norms within the prison system is very heavily
reinforced - by guards and administrations, by other prisoners, and by
isolation from alternative sources of information. One of the most hideous
aspects of prison life for me was how much the overexposure to mainstream
media influenced my thoughts. Now that I'm out, it's very unusual for me to
read, view or listen to mass-market media. Back then, it was more than 90%
of all I had access to.
However, having a lot of contact with comrades on the outside exposes
prisoners to another pitfall, which is to become so wrapped up in
correspondence and other communication with the "radical" communities on the
outside, and so aware of repression in their daily lives, that the prisoner
believes there to be a growing, thriving revolutionary movement out here,
which they will be welcomed into upon their release. This is scary, because
it is - for now - unrealistic. The antidote is to develop reality-based
relationships with the prisoners[2]. Let them know the mundane
aspects of your life in your interactions. It makes a huge difference when
someone treats a prisoner like a person, and not some sort of icon, hero, or
martyr. It also helps prisoners remember who they are, where their passions
are, where their lives could grow upon their release. It's difficult not to
feel like just a number attached to a conviction inside those cells.
Such personal involvement is what makes lending support to just anyone who
requests it a bad idea. No one wants a sex offender to turn up at their door
out of the blue upon their release. When our comrades initiate contact
between a prisoner and their outside supporters, we can count on their good
judgment in doing so. Also, it helps a whole lot to have someone inside who
can hold fellow prisoners accountable for whatever misdeeds they may inflict
upon the folks outside.
Prisoner support is getting to be a more important issue in our scenes as
more people are locked up. This is only going to increase in the coming
years. America is the most advanced police state on earth, with laws on the
books that make almost any expression of dissent against government and
corporate actions illegal. The hammer will fall on us eventually, no matter
who wins the next Presidential selection farce. The issue should not be how
to avoid our repression (wishful thinking is for the weak-willed), but how
will we respond to it. Revolutions aren't won by cowards, and now is not the
time to cower in fear.
Revoltingly yours,
Rob los Ricos
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[1] The Civil Liberties Defense Center is a
nonprofit organization focused on defending and upholding civil liberties
through education, outreach, litigation, legal support, and assistance. The
CLDC was instrumental in saving the non-cooperating Operation Backfire
defendants from the life sentences threatened by federal prosecutors.
[2] Another antidote to unrealistic ideas about a thriving
revolutionary movement would be to create one. Or several.
