September 19, 2013

- "Every exit is an entry to somewhere else..."

Hello world,

May the peace and blessings of ALLAH (God) be upon you as you read my thoughts and words.

I would like to discuss how the average American never contemplates the US Governmental policy choices that have caused the arousingly abnormal situation of 'mass imprisonment'.

Most US citizens have not seen the inside of a jail cell and their concept of our criminal justice system is based upon 'what they've heard' or seen on TV or in the movies. The social and the physical realities of prisons are constantly confused and mythologised. But the truth of the matter is quite simple. Incarceration is a tool of social domination. Its function is to 'discipline' those economically depressed people who are not imprisoned, YET.

Amazingly, the general belief of those of you out in society is that what occurs in prisons will not affect them. But that's simply not true. Let me give you this example: say you have a pit bull dog that you keep in a little cage and every day you walk by this dog, you kick the cage and torment this dog. You do this day after day for years to this dog. Then after years of this mistreatment, you take this dog to the middle of a plaza crowded with people, you open its cage, and let this pitbull out of its cage. What do you think this dog will do? This is the worst case scenario, but it is an accurate example. The reality for most of the two million American citizens (one million of them African-Americans) who are incarcerated; prison is a dark, barred world of brutal, muscled, tattooed men, prison gangs, a world of violence, sodomy, stabbings, beatings, surrounded by high walls and razor wire.

As California has 32 state prison (and the government wants to spend $315 million to build more?!) we who are housed at 'San Quentin' in the general population (about 5,000 prisoners) have the opportunity to improve our conditions. As mentioned in my other blogs, this is the ONLY state prison that offers 'rehabilitation' to the prisoners. But this is not available to the other 115,000+ prisoners located throughout the state's other 31 prisons. What about these men and women who will, one day, enter back into society? Ask yourself, what kind of 'ex-cons' do you want in your community?

To transform this 'reality' you must first begin by transforming your own consciousness and to transform conciousness, you first present people with a vision of 'hope' that challenges our society's current criminal justice system of 'retribution' and 'retaliation'. Our society really needs to take a good, hard look at our current system of 'lock em' up' and throw away the key' mentality and start looking for ways of helping and 'healing' those who are hurting.

It's quite simple = 'hurt people, hurt other people. Healed people can heal other people'. If the causes we create arise from wisdom, compassion an care, we create or allow to continue comes from fear, ignorance, and hatred, so then will be the results.

Should we not move more towards a justice system that encourages 'conciousness', self awareness, self determination, and creative and collective rehabilitation which is focused on human dignity and human rights? What do you think?

Everything that happens to us, as a sociery, as a people, and individually is from the results of what we, ourselves, have thought, said, or done.

WE ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR LIVES...

Please feel free to leave comments and you may contact me directly at my return mailing address.

Peace...