Pablo Piña
P.O. Box 5244 ASU-178
Corcoran, CA 93212

Dec. 2014
Friday AM

Re: Update: End Hostilities (Post)

Greetings.

After much thought and soul searching, I have had to look at all of this from the inside out. And one that has contributed much to this problem. As I write this, I must admit that there is still a lot of bullshit going on throughout the system. This is even after reading articles in the prison newsletters and from speaking with other inmates.

You see, this is the real problem: a lot of prisoners who are talking all this talk —End Hostilities, and so forth— are really just doing a lot of talking that has no real meaning. Before leaving the Pelican Bay SHU I was told that we should stop all violence, and that this was to be explained to all groups. Everyone was included. I was told this because some believed that if I was let out of the SHU, I was going to go after certain prisoners the moment I was out of SHU. And I won't deny that it had been in the back of my mind, up and until a few prisoners reached out to me and convinced me that it was better to set all prior issues aside and let's work to get everyone out of the SHU.

But I have seen the violence firsthand, and though it's not as bad as it was before, it still continues to affect some prisoners.

So how should this be looked upon? Are we being lied to? I had given my word that I would not do anything and would avoid all confrontations. That goes against everything I believed in and have practiced all my life. All those who know me personally know that I never let my guard down, nor let someone get next to me. Now, I cannot support End Hostilities for some, but continue the same program against others. Because it's misleading and friends can be seriously hurt or worse if they trust the words from some idiots that are bullshitting them.

On a more positive note, I've seen the type of work that the youngsters do on general population. They do sloppy jobs that to them they consider as doing a hell of a job. But in reality, all they did was scratch someone up.

These youngsters do not realize that any felony conviction is a strike. If they have two prior strikes, that third one becomes a life sentence. And all they did was scratch someone.

I understand that when you're young, you think you're invincible. It's all just a joke, and you think you're tough. But in reality, you and another guy attack a person, he's unarmed, and in most cases, is unsuspecting. Kind of like attacking someone asleep or stabbing someone in the back. It's not something to be proud of. It's a cowardly act. But what makes it worse is if all that was accomplished was superficial scrapes, abrasions.

Today's youth are amateurs who are taught by amateurs on the way of the warrior. The old code of conduct is not used nor even known.

This could be a good thing for the victims and staff because they know it's probably just another amateur assault. And in most cases, don't even need to use bandages.

I still believe that an end to hostilities is good for everyone. But it must include everyone. It's the violence that plagued California's prison system in the 1970s and early '80s. But a lot of folks were carried out in body bags. Today, they don't even need gurneys. Because today it's more like a cat fight.

And none of this will be understood, sad to say, until ten-twenty years have passed. And they think, "Man, I'm doing life and I didn't even kill anyone." But when you're young, it's all just having fun and laughing about it. Until twenty years pass and he's still sitting in a prison cell.

I've been in prison over 30 years, and I don't have anything positive to show. I never went to school. Didn't take up any self-help courses, trades, nothing. But I have a lot of disciplinary infractions. I've done nothing to better myself because I was too busy having fun. Being young and stupid.