Revolution #262, March 11, 2012
Get BAsics for prisoners!
The following letter was received from a supporter, and has been translated from Spanish.
Since we took up the task of the campaign to get BA Everywhere, as part of promoting the campaign, to get money to send Lo BAsico to prisoners some of us decided to reach out to everybody who already knows about BA's work or who at least have bought Lo BAsico and all the people who are interested in the book, or to buy a copy for a prisoner or donate to the PRLF.
One of the experiences which I thought was interesting was with a compañero who has been reading the newspaper for more than a year and has been following the works of BA. I think he has read his memoir, Lo BAsico and other articles.
When we showed him the BA Everywhere video* and after having discussed some points about the past conference on the same campaign, he said:
We need the damn money! To promote this guy BA and the Party. That's what we need the money for!
When we asked him what he thinks about Lo BAsico, he said: It's true, what Lo BAsico says is like an epiphany, it's like you get some light on things... After reading all these books, you understand that all this stuff about change and struggle. That's what BA is talking about!
You have a leadership which has confidence in the reality of the masses, like Mao was saying. Rely on the masses! You are putting it in practice.
He also said that the work with the prisoners is real important. I asked him why he thought that, and he answered:
For someone who already has been in prison, who has already had a clash with the system, at first he thinks that everything is his fault. That's how they start. He knows why he is in there... (hitting his palm with his fist) That's why education is important. (Lo BAsico) teaches you the truth and why it doesn't have to be this way.
Look what happens. We have these mixed-up thoughts, but BA organizes them, from the simple to the complex, because he wants you to understand it.
He told us that he was very interested in the question of the prisoners and that this was something he wanted to contribute to—and has now contributed to—and that maybe he knows two or three friends who could also contribute or maybe he would struggle with them to donate something.
* [Editor's note]This is referring to four video clips: historical video footage of Bob Avakian speaking in 1966, 1979 and 2003; video of actors reading letters from prisoners on BAsics; Next Stop—Revolution; and advance trailer for forthcoming film Occasioned by BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World. [back]
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