Prisoners Join Revolutionary Conversation on New Draft Programme

Revolutionary Worker #1161, August 4, 2002, posted at http://rwor.org

I received all materials that you forwarded. My tardy response is due to the ignorance of my jailors. I'm in Klan country and there are rightwing militias around this concentration camp. Whenever they see the word: "communist," they must inspect all material. But a sex book exploiting women doesn't make a stop--straight to the prisoner. When you seek to improve your condition, the conservatives always seek to hinder your growth.

My papers are scanned ever since I started receiving them; they usually arrive on Mondays, instead I receive them on Thursdays. The Draft Programme was held up for 14 days. Six pages were removed (12, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32) because the particular pages were "against governmental authority-- incites violence." These officious clowns have a Facility Media Review Committee. Anything outside the mainstream, i.e. fundamental Amerika, they must put their fingerprints on it. Some prisons don't care, some are just extremist.

Regardless of those minor irritations, I thank you highly for sending the material. As for the DP , I have yet to read the whole programme. The first section, in my opinion, is a bit utopian in scope. Re-educating the masses will be a protracted struggle alone. People are welded to the old idealisms, they refuse to give up their childish belief in a supernatural godfather after it has been proven that he doesn't exist. My people are the saddest example of these childish belief systems. "Give me that 'ole time religion..."

I'm not versed in the communist perspective or vocabulary (jargon) so my opinions may seem unenlightened or not well thought out. I ask for help (education) and patience. I'm 38 years old and I'm recovering from 20 years of misdirection and ignorance. Unwittingly, I've promoted destruction in my communities. I've "woke up" and I'm willing and able to participate within the struggle. I march against oppression and fascism on my people.

First, the people must be reeducated. Where music was once the spirit of rebellion and liberation, now music has become an imperialist voice for destruction and exploitation amongst Black youth. Before my people can be comrades within the universal struggle they must be educated. A revolutionary education expands a people's horizons. Once horizons are expanded, there can be armed struggle. This can only occur once my people learn to stop killing and hating themselves. The mental bondage of slavery must be removed.

I wish to know how to organize the masses of disenfranchised people. I desire strongly to organize my brothers and sisters. I have no desire to be a reactionary or some low life demagogue. I intend to instigate a true movement with revolutionary zeal. The name of my vision; The Black Nationalist Party. The goal of the party is to promote the unification of Black people, to produce outside of the imperialist structure, to protect Black people the world over from extinction and exploitation.

I still have much education to acquire. I believe I'm very ignorant to so many issues. But without unity amongst my people we will be worthless in any struggle.

I hope you understand my position. Secondly, I hope we can establish a forum to convey ideas and issues. I have no one I can speak (write) on an intellectual vein. I've been in prison for 10 years, 7 months and 2 days. I've struggled during this time to maintain my sanity amongst people who desire nothing but my constant destruction. Nothing can break my spirit or determination. I slept long enough.

Any material you desire to send would be highly appreciated.... Once I'm out of this particular situation I will be able to send funds. I cannot work right now (I'm confined for 1 year, 23 hours a day). Again I do appreciate anything the PRLF sends.

I want to hear from you.

p.s. Don't be afraid to criticize anything I write now or in the future. I demand it! The only way a revolutionary can grow!

Please allow me first to commend you for your efforts in the upliftment of our people. The Revolutionary Worker and the Draft Programme have allowed me to better understand, expand and enrich my thought and helps me express my ideas more clearly and powerfully, both orally and in writing. It has also helped me plan, organize (by taking a sentence or more and creating my own paragraphs) and deliver a verbal (as well as in writing) presentation that has captured the attention of a mass of people and has inspired them to join in the struggle. The RW and DP has walked me through an entire process of knowing and understanding and helped me in my research and gathers the answers to questions that may follow. I've made my presentations understandable and memorable with the help of the RW and DP . Thank you for helping me in my progress and the gift of your struggle to awaken the men, women and children to the realities of our existence in this so-called "free country."

I support and believe in the section on religion on pages 85-86 of the Draft Programme. It explains everything that all people internationally should take into consideration, question and criticize. I do not wish to continue learning much about religion since my struggle to learn the "truth" has blocked me from learning a "myth." What I've come to realize is that religion affects your ordinary social conscious way of thinking. It is lie-created, lie-hungry, lie-led and lie-dependent, stained with rationalized deception, compelled in people who do not have a positive understanding and education of the scientific worldview (especially of the anthropologists.) Most people have been hypnotized, engendered with religion, so they fail to see that their behavior is the act of a compulsion because they can see only what they have been programmed to "see" and are operating under a juggernaut of control and not from the will of their very own being. But if we can snap them out of the hypnotic state by propagating atheism and education of the scientific worldview, then they will be emancipated and brought to full awareness and higher understanding of their very own will and intuition and oppose any bond of religion and other mental shackles.

Once this has happened, the masses will be perceptive and reasonable individuals and boldly opposed to any kind of mind-bending, etc. by any government, group, etc. and will whole-heartedly serve the people in the vanguard for a better today and tomorrow and the "good" interests of the vast majority of the people of the world.

And there is where the majority of the problem lie, not knowing what's really the truth in what's happening in today's world. Many who do know and want to do something in opposition, don't know where to start. Those who depend on the mainstream media are degraded with lies. That clearly proves that capitalism needs censorship to survive. So with the voice and leadership of the Draft Programme and the Revolutionary Worker and broad-minded individuals like myself, we can persevere and lead masses of people where they need to be led and win more people by capturing their attention. Like I stated in the beginning of this letter, I've inspired plenty of people to join the struggle, question and criticize and I have clearly helped them understand so that they will spread the "voice" to all the people they can. There's what I see we in the struggle have ambition for, in getting heard. I see in the RW that more and more people are joining in the struggle, so we are progressing in getting heard...

A human being cannot form a community or share in a common life without communicating with one another. The standards set by the vanguard party in the DP already expressed the attitude and responsibility to be aware, reasonable, perceptive individuals as a party and that is how the RW and DP has helped us "Community Revolution In Progress" members perform. It would be wonderful if we could get everyone in this country to change. We continue to be inspired by those people who undertake this effort themselves. We here in prison and our members in the street will continue to fight hard against these inequalities.

Thank you for the five copies of the Draft Programme and "The New Situation and Great Challenges" (by Bob Avakian). Although you sent them out weeks ago, I just received them today. Apparently these McCarthyist deemed it necessary to read my materials to a censorship committee to determine if my political affiliation to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism posed a threat to the security of this complex. I received the materials today with the hierarchy's stamp of approval. I am, however, infuriated because these fascists didn't follow their own penalogical codes which is to inform the "subject" of his/her materials being forwarded to the committee and why. Knowing why it is being censored affords us captives the opportunity to write an appeal to the committee to accompany our material, for the committee to consider while reviewing our materials. Informing us is also vital because these vindictive, sadistic bastards here still dispose of your materials without your knowledge. Besides, I am seen as a "problem" because of my legal and political activity, not to mention my resistance to oppressive silence that has become commonplace in these concentration camps in the south.

We have however, been utilizing the Draft Programmes that were sent to us individually. It's hard to find a fallacy in these pages because this programme is well researched and written. We have had immense and sometimes heated dialogue around certain issues, but have done a very poor job in recording these debates. There are days when we're politicing one page for the whole two-hours of class.

We are "allowed" to come together twice a week for a total of four hours in order to study culture/religion. We meet under the auspices of "Rastafarianism" but everyone of us are materialists. In fact, when so-called "real" Rastafarians transfer from another camp to this one, they usually scream to the administration that we're not practicing real Rastafarianism. And if the truth be told, we're not! "Real" Rastafarianism is that praying, passive, turn-the-other-cheek to abuse and oppression type shit that we revolutionaries aren't down with!

Although we do embrace the struggle of the Jamaican people for national liberation, we embody their struggle without their government acceptance of their religion. Meaning, Rastafarianism as we know it today (the spiritual aspect over the revolutionary aspect) is supported and endorsed by the reactionary government wherever this religion is practiced.

We use this class time to politicize our cadre members in the field of revolutionary nationalism. But because Rastafarianism has historically been used to address the political conditions of the Jamaican people, our keepers here allow us to practice politics. We strongly oppose the practice of politics and religion of a reactionary nature in our class. In fact religion has no place in our study group.

In any event, you've probably seen an increase in the request for the Revolutionary Worker from this camp in recent weeks? We have been spreading the word and passing on the papers. Due to the Revolutionary Worker , I have seen an increase in political discussion around issues raised in the paper. Thank you comrades for all your support. Your commitment is greatly appreciated. I will continue to raise the political consciousness on this side of the wall and I know you'll do the same on the other.

I'm writing to inform you that I have received the copy of the Draft Programme and that I have been receiving my issues of the Revolutionary Worker.I would like to thank the party for keeping me informed. Although at this moment I have not completed the Draft Programme -- I have read a great portion and skimmed over the rest (I will finish reading the complete programme)--I would like to offer some input that I did not come across while reading.

A monopoly on the means of communication may also define a ruling elite as well as on the means of production. Since man extends his nervous system through channels of communication such as the written word, phone, radio, etc., the person or persons who controls these media also controls part of the nervous system of every member of society. The contents of these media also become the contents of every individual's brain.

Reality is what man accepts it to be. Reality is what man makes it to be. For the past, let's say 400 years, Afrikan people have allowed a murderous "people" to dictate their reality without question. The only rebellion on their part has been aimed at a sense of justice that simply does not exist. This dictatorship of the Afrikan's perception of reality has not only distorted reality but has destroyed the Afrikan pride, love and esteem and has destroyed his (her) ability to think. In essence, the Afrikan has been brainwashed and programmed to remember certain coded information and any information that does not compute is disregarded. Therefore limiting his ability to function outside of the guidelines set for him, enables these "people" to maintain a slave-master relationship and keep the Afrikan in a position of servitude. In order to change this, we must change this conditioned perception of reality.

It would be misleading for me to insinuate that only the Afrikan people have been subjected to this mental conditioning, although it started out that way, eventually these "people" saw it fit to turn this tool of slavery on his own people. They exchanged the physical slavery of the Afrikan people for the mental slavery of all people. It was through religion and fear that they enslaved the Afrikan and through the educational system and the hate for all other life that they enslaved their own. In order to understand a man's actions, you must first understand his beliefs. Therefore, if you can control a man's beliefs you can control that man through his beliefs (religion).

Rebellion against authority is considered a crime and evil, no matter how corrupt the imposed authority may be. Submission to this same authority is considered virtuous. To the slave traders, Nat Turner was not a hero but a villain and the submissive slaves were not cowards, but they were virtuous. Have you ever wondered why it is a crime not to have your child enrolled into school by the age of 5 or 6? The subliminal messages and mind control methods are easier to implement while the brain and thought patterns are not fully developed. "Stay in line;" "fire drill;" and "raise your hand before you speak" are a few of the commands they use in order to control the mindset of a person by constant and positive reinforcement of these commands from childhood beginning the process of controlled behavior. The child that doesn't raise his hand or continues to step out of line is considered delinquent and a prison cell is prepared for him. That's right! This government predicts how many prison cells will be needed by counting the heads of 5-year-olds that will not stay in line, literally. To the submissive and obedient child goes the spoils. The obedient person gets to keep his illusion of freedom and the rebellious gets his illusion taken away. The message is clear, one way or the other we will control you. Prison is the reality of society's illusion.

In closing, the people of Afrikan descent are educated by a system that implies that every great writer, poet, mathematician, scientist, inventor and anyone else of importance was and is European and Afrikans are nothing but slaves: sent to church and told that every prophet was European too, and as a matter of fact, God's son Jesus was European and although no one has seen him, we must assume that since the son is European the father must be also. With these subliminal messages that the Afrikan has no importance reinforced at church and school it can only lead to one conclusion. Rebellion is evil. Stay in line. Don't question authority. Have blind faith. Do as I say, not as I do.

Garbage.

p.s. I will write again after I finish reading the Programme.

I would like to thank you and the RCP for opening up my eyes to the world.

I've been reading the weekly newspaper and the Draft and I'm seeing the world in a new light. I never used to notice how censored the American newspapers were until I read the Revolutionary Worker. I like how you don't hold you tongue and are not afraid to speak your mind. Plus the Draft Programme is like ten times better than the U.S. Constitution. It makes me want the Draft to be read worldwide. Wouldn't that make the world a better place?

I don't know what I can do to help make a difference, but if you think of anything, just let me know. My family comes to see me once a month and I'm trying to open up their eyes. Some of them think that communism is just a dream, but the others are really listening to me. I don't try to beat them over the head with communism. I just ask them what has capitalism done for you? And the answer is always "nothing." I just try to let them know that they wouldn't have to struggle this hard under communism. It's capitalism that's making their lives so hard. They're breaking their backs on jobs that have no meaning. They're being open-minded and maybe when I educate myself more about communism, I'll be able to educate them.

If I can spread communism by word of mouth, I will. I will do anything that I can to help the struggle. I really want to make this world a better place for our women and children.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. Take care and enjoy life.

I recently obtained the Draft Programme of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.I was in awe. I have had a lot of ideas about a world that is VERY similar to what is projected in the ideals of the RCP. I must admit that I do not have much knowledge on Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties and/or organizations. I do want to learn! I am writing in hopes that you could give me any literature, sources of literature. I thirst for knowledge. Unfortunately there is not any useful information where I am at -- in prison. I would like to be put on a mailing list. Please! Thank you for putting your Draft Programme in print. It helped me realize that I am not the only person with a need to rebel against capitalist oppression. I now have hopes of proper guidance. Thank you.

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