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Untitled My views on attacking the prison and criminal justice systems are that improvement of conditions should only be employed as one of the tactics in bringing pressure to bear on reducing the need for prisons. Unfortunately, way too many see this as a goal in itself. Therefore, they don't make preparations which would enable us to achieve more. Certain reforms prison officials will grudgingly make, as long as it doesn't threaten the status quo. Therefore, until we seriously threaten the status quo, we have not initiated positive change. The main force of resistance has to come from us prisoners. A very difficult task in itself, as the greater percentage of prisoners are complaisant with the manner in which we are treated within the prison and criminal justice system. That is because they buy into the indoctrination that we are criminal minded and will never be anything else. Consequently they respond in the manner they consider is expected of them. Then there are prisoners, especially amongst the Whites and Mexicans, who feel that putting up with resistance is a “Black thing” and un-American. This is the segment of the population which is most responsible for preventing collaboration between the races. Added to this we now have, since '81, the caste/class divisions. This means that an A-status, who has all the privileges which prison officials allow, thinks that he is better than a B-status. Whereas a B status, who is granted 75% of the privileges, thinks that he is better than a C-status, who has hardly any privileges. These A- and B-status men are more interested in protecting their privileges than confronting the ills of prison existence. The worst part of this is that the A-status privileges, before '81 belonged to every prisoner in the general population. The outside community should have more direct access to prisoners in order to bridge the gap of misconceptions which exist. Only this does not serve the interest of prison officials, which is why they construct all these obstacles in the name of security. But the use of security as a pretext is merely a smokescreen by which they can maintain the absolute control they desire. Sure, there are prisoners and outside individuals who violate prison rules. They are not a high percentage, yet all are punished for the acts of a small few. Once the outside community and prisoners are able to interact in a less restricted manner, many of the misconceptions will disappear. For now, prison officials are able to dehumanize us to the outside community by using the negative acts of a few as representing the actions of us all, thereby enabling them to perpetuate the myth that we have no redeeming qualities. Many times they manage to turn our families and loved ones against us. Especially since they started using the prison gang tactic. Indeterminate SHU's need to done away with, as their only purpose is to provide a body count for control units. That's why 80% of prisoners in control units have no rules violations, yet we are designated by prison officials as the worst of the worst. Nowhere else in our society are individuals allowed to be punished based upon confidential allegations of wrongdoing. When the wrongdoings are not made know, we have no way to refute them. This is a major area where independent intervention is necessary. Abolishing the prison system, unfortunately for so many, is a pipe dream, because first it would require a major reconstruction of society's thinking and approach to our problems. Presently our society is leaning heavily toward making the prison system a bastion of economic prosperity for a small segment of society. With this in mind we have to focus on creating an atmosphere of fairness and respect for the rights of prisoners amongst those who work within the prison and criminal justice systems. It's difficult to ask prisoners to do the right thing when we witness those in charge of us violate the law with impunity. What has to be confronted is that incarceration as a final solution for combating crime is an experiment which is failing. Presently all prisons are over capacity and every county jail in every major city is full. Yet crime continues to occur. Within the prison environment this provides us with powerful leverage, yet few prisoners are willing to use it. Were prisoners to participate in a simple act of Civil Disobedience -refusing to accept cell mates - prison officials would be forced to act upon our concerns and treat us with more respect. For whatever reasons, this is a strategy few are willing to implement, although it is one to which prison officials really don't have a negative response. Our lockdown situation has not changed since I last wrote, although they should be in this hallway this week to work on the doors. This I say because I heard them calling officers over the PA system to report to all the units in the other hallway. Thanks for your demonstrated concern. May these thoughts of mine serve to give you and other a better comprehension of what I view as critical to bringing positive change to the prison and criminal justice systems.
In Solidarity and Respect, Mata -M. Mata Johnson
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