Rebel greetings:
I just wanted to take some time to let everyone know what’s been up with me. Well, as you know, I’m in lockup right now so I’ve been reading a lot (thanks to you all who have been sending zines, journals my way) and writing to stay in touch with comrades and the world out there. It’s easy to forget there’s an out there. And a lot of thinking. I hope this is coherent because my thoughts are jumbled.
You know, we have been so caught up in the resistance against the pigs (police killed 172 people in the first 2 months of 2015) that it seems as though we’re so distracted that we haven’t given much attention to all the transwomen that have been murdered just in these first few months of 2015. Over 10 beautiful transwomen have been murdered and at least 7 of them are people of color. The numbers are not as high as the pig killings, but enough to warrant, at least, mention and an analysis in the Black and radical media. Many of these transwomen were active in resistance in the movements taking place right now. I’ve perused the many different publications I receive regularly and nowhere is any mention made of these murders except one, the SF Bayview newspaper, and that was in the context of another Black person murdered by the pigs. Not that transwomen aren’t also systematically murdered by in the US just for being transwomen and not conforming to heterosexual notions of life. Transwomen are being hunted just as young Black males are. So I understand when some transwomen say they are not fighting for change, but to survive. Although these transwomen were not killed by pigs alone, the same twisted, bigoted, racist logic that Black people lives are worthless and of no value holds true when it comes to trans and queers. I’m especially angry with the Black and radical media for not reporting and raging at the least about this genocide. I’ve only become aware of this from reading queer and punk magazines.
Then you have this sicko in California who is an attorney calling for the legalization of killing queers. This sick society must be destroyed. The patriarchal and racist system of domination, slavery, and control attempts to destroy what it can’t understand, exploit, and control. LGBTQ folks please, please protect yourself. This world wants you dead. Don’t make it easy for these pieces of shit.
Speaking of shit, a stomach virus swept through the prison. I wasn’t spared so I was constantly on the toilet for 3 days. Then F.A.M. called for another shutdown (workstrike) to begin on March 1, 2015, but only St. Clair prison answered the call, and only for 3 days. I started a hungerstrike on the 2nd day of the strike to show my solidarity with the strikers. I didn’t get word until the 9th that the strike had ended on the 3rd day. I don’t know why it was ended when it was supposed to have been indefinite, but I hear that it was a test run and I’m also hearing that St. Clair is on quarantine because of a widespread breakout of STDs. Back in February 2015 we had a National Call-in Day to demand that prisoners be allowed condoms to fight against the spread of STDs. Their response, that prisoners are not allowed to have sex, but everyone knows that it’s one of the major stress relievers and pastimes in prison.
A comrade recently sent me the zine “War on Patriarchy, War on the Death Technology” on the urban guerrilla group Direct Action. I’m really digging it because not only does it give clear and insightful analysis of the politics of patriarchy and capitalism, but in light of recent rebellions taking place in the US and the subsequent attacks on police by young Black rebels, it’s easy to see the possible trajectory this could take, urban guerrilla formations. I hope the young Black brotha that has been arrested for the attack on the Ferguson police are receiving solidarity and support from anarchists. I don’t really give a fuck about the title of Political Prisoner/P.O.W. but many people do, and if anyone deserves the title it is the young Black rebel. He’s in jail for allegedly attacking the police by shooting them in retaliation for the murder of Mike Brown by police and the non-indictment of the police who shot Mike Brown. He’s a prisoner of war (P.O.W.). If we believe in our own rhetoric that there is a war going on and that one of the targets of this war are Black people; if he did attack these pigs he was only engaging the enemy, the opposing force in this war on people that look like him. Anyway, the strategy and tactics mentioned in this zine, which I won’t give away here, but I think we all should take as instructive for above ground and underground rebels.
Also, I’m doing a little research on prisoners being used as guinea pigs by universities, the state, pharmaceutical companies, etc., in experiments. There has been many such instances such as the Oregon state prison, Washington state, NY, Statesville experiments. People don’t really hear about this exploitation of prisoners’ bodies for profit and control. So, if you have any info on this, please send it to me. I can’t receive books but Xerox pages are OK, just not too many at one time unless in zine form.
I think I’ll end this here, they are about to start showers.
FIRE TO THE PRISONS,
RAZE THE WALLS,
LOVE AND RAGE!
Michael