RECIDIVISM, THE COMPULSIVE CRIMINAL-MENTALITY, AND AMERICA'S NEEDED SOLUTION.(Maybe,You'll Really Understand This Time.) Talib Y. Rasheed (C. Anthony Taylor) FOREWORD 2 Whun 1 began € vrite thid plece, "] vas four aunthe avay from beginning 27 thirtyCaccund (32nd) consecutive yeur of ioprisonsent. | bebas vith the thought thit it vould b sy dest oriting on recsdiviss vhite I v in prisun. I have appronched this irogic phenoaenon {ros soveral sgpies R SO B e T Ry At Y Bave appesled Lo the wing and sye of sieryon Ih GEeral, prisiners mationvide have Somsbnted 1o the disteibutor thet 3y 'vork'hia besn sye upening and given thes insights that nothing elac has. 0yt such of you that snsight Ls omiy the berinring. and hat you'auststrive Vith all your heart to undersiand and soLgrid the Forcen ot raciaiv K1 e T v &0 the concluston e in suciety. Vith this understand- 12 intended not only to reduce recidiviss an”criainalization, but just as lsportantly,vickinisation, becauss I al- Vaye-—with evary stfoke of the pen and LePPiSE f & iypevriter key--bees the sulfering of victiss in ming. In pril 2008, Gongress and Prasident Geurge Bush legalised the Second Chance’Act. T ab baliave that they true need to Feduce recidivi: 204 he revolving door syndrome of ihe State ans Federss: Hovever,"I'nave Foad the Sscond Crance Aeb. and thiy freticeity and strategicatly Buing that 1u nec tonded gusls. 1'do not critleise the intent, but serely poist eut ity Lack of ineight and understanding of heiresl forees oF Lecidivi Yo need, in addiiion to'a Second Chance Acts is s Read Chance Aot have 10'be olfered insights, understan o that giv # real chance 10 save themsslves and Tron the conpul. aive'erininal-sentality. 11 that'T have vritien on rectdivies ts geare: ors s resl chance Lo underatand snd o 3elves and Grop out of the ranke that vios ociaty” Every felon sust reslize that they must 41 the Second Chance Act'is to have ahy trie worth and value, and thie: £00, 18 vhat Foliticians and the uhole of Assrica sest realibe. fhers ie 00 Socund Chance vithout a Real Chance attached b0 fer Lot ss a1l ence’ Forevard vith this svares IThe Secund Chance Act has to be complisented by s Reed Chance Conseious- Dess, or it uill becose mo ore than tne chance failura of hundreds of thoo Talib Y. Rasheed (C.” Anthony Taylor) RECIDIVISM, THE COMPULSIVE CRIMINAL-MENTALITY, AND AMERICA'S NEEDED SOLUTION.(Maybe,You'll Really Understand This Time.) The aajorssy of recidsviat n 'a prisons todey, thotr Yiotinsin sosiety, are ca o a"var that has ta {heoughout. the hisvory oF Civilisetion and 1is svcial Telationship ind yhon T 383 relationshipe 1 sean the prissry_relationship s1so, that i3, ihe relstionship sach individual has vith Bis oF heresif. his var, characterised by the realities Uf orise and punishasnt, ha an’Unpercaivad and greatly BisuRdnrstoods thersors, wmsbinoulesged s Spects The contlict batvesn healihy: conitruciive hisan forces and un healthy, socially destructive neuroiic forces vithin the peyehe of s11 restatviat. The word rectdiviat that ve get fro the Fronch vord recidiviste is dorived Fron the Latin ters rebidtyis 1 becx, 10 Fa1 seck o s 1ifs of sociopathic thinking and cri The key word Rare is fali. 10 ie delined as faliing back, not choosing 0 back. 0 L v, ‘Ga 3 suelety; are Intorest it Flagus ua, oo tinding: wnd approsch rectdttiads T o ars dealing vith he el back Tnto poTis Star Be 1872007, i the P That rehabilitation rest on the successful acquisition of Job basic educaiiun, drug treataent, and social support networks has en s ayth. Hundrede of thousands of sncarcerated falons cus hoses vith vell-irained, sducated, decent parents and family beckground: Hundreds of thousands of Gthers cise froa broken homes, uneducated, unekil- 10d parents, and dysfunctivnal, nonsupportive fasily backgrounds: So, vhat i3 thecomain'slesant. that puts both types o the path of crisinal 1ivisy an0 Tocked up Vithin the sonfines of {Ails and prisons? fiow do people Tros diferant ends of & graphic line end up convergiag at the same unfor- tunnte point? ‘Thousands of historically vell-to- i their fasily waent U6 povr Tolons say poverty Sato cxine. e knov, Bovever, that oriss s not & direct influ- once or atgrovih of poverty, beca i1, ana Sten1. 17, then, ve eliminase th nds in terss of sconobice the deciding Tactor in both individuale' crisinel orientation, then 4"80'Ve turn o fot our ansver as £0 how, fros coaplately diffarent s Bles, they’ 22 the enme point on & 1ineT *sxcking marijuana, for sxample We Cind the ansver by sncad their saotivial developaen 1on of un unproductive pe ve 10 urn o' the conditivn of personality ecific approach o' suiving their provles vith ciise end re- 11y vackground Thr the. divite, thous. dastratie o the sy, The question then arises, PWhat sbout G boredto.death. i lesp into the depths of this reslity. gine thet ol suse point during the coarse of thess iyps of childhood grovth and developaent their ability to fresly ex- the eutional drives and passions within then vere Hlucked or o d by sume type of self-doubt, threst, fasr, or anxioty. mg OF their natural eautionsl drives snd Fassions resuited in g Of being separated fron their ous irde spiritii. This created, symptossticeily, o ity; then, is thal 511 the sental proce: ives thea the enbtional fspulses snd, unfortunsie lake then Taol elive uith shergy snd oned snotionsl state, St 15 th 10d unproductively crave. They sre only ‘hey sty sxeit In sther, aore acsptable’ ven Beafrada to o theixgenuine 1ave Been, in ofder tu fre elated to"the past. Hovever, and whas ineasel erves This Wit PITit of Their self, snd thet o '2ing 1s whot Vill riatore their smovional iutelligemce ond 1ife' fona VIthuut the heightensd snd sxaggerated res nt o For suctopathic exeite. Of rocidiviss fron the poor fasily be: nternal conditions exist, bet ihi prostige, snd ma and foeiing vorthy ince 1natsadsor P anily educotitn, and poor socisl netvork: reatly Lo his batng robbed of th and, "4 ‘acknovledged naturally, ue artifiolal athods: :Pover, Prestigesn and Meterial P o unidkely that his parents or single sother vith wore Shi ord sxpenaive, nas Seiety; hove Ve and na nobody. A dilessa gripe his mind. con- 1dence, knovledge, sducation, and vorking skilis to getes Job thal peye s » sufficient sslary to west his vants and needs, i.e., desires, the unly ather vey he oan etrn’or accumilete the'sdequeis cin So through some fors of 113 S Seing perceived endure with- seans of keeping his ovn negative feslings sbAut himsell repres— ey, hererore, 18 17 o classtc Svotdancaevoldanes Gtlemma, and b 1itile tresdon (vhat he Tecls sn practically nome) o cue of two evile. Whet he feels ineide, despite vihers! tenoancy to not un- derstand, fo'hell. And for his to choves Lo stey in 1ot hell would be ans1ogous 0 someone sllouing thesself Lo drown when they beliave they can ravch safaty by grabbing the leg of somecne tles who has airsady +lish- e aination, o a2, conventions1, but. it 1s the sbove fulrill pover the spirit, fres the aind, and creste s perasnent sense of aliveness and seif-uorth snd value. 1i ie these fulfillments thet will free the sind so thet the budy can rossin free from jails and prisuns The esutionel and peychoiogicsl conditins of influence described sbove apply %o the mentality end lives of countless paogle, but thers sre still speciic ne: tive o sach porticuls: Sonal wos 0 sa vell ba the 5t on ops thology vr cri; Fecidivien con be acknovledged, underatosd, snd [inelly outgrown. Scientific Paychological-Secial Anslysis There are basically three (3) types of crime in suctety, and four 20r conditions of influence tovard crisinal sctivity. The three types are social, econvatc, and sexual. Ve will only deal with so- cial and econoaic here. The four sajor conditions of influence are poverty of character, s9ciopathdtogy, psychopathology, and greed. In some cases , poverty of character, sociopathology, and gr: 4 are overlapping. *(1) Poverty of Charaster can be linked to economic poverty, sveial poverty, or both. What s seant hore is that the character of an in- d1vidual Jacks the bastc fulfillsent of husan peychic nesds. fe o she say lack unconditional self-scceptance, self-sstecn, and self-con- fAdunesd Gonplesthis with ecunoaic poverty and you have an increased potential for vulnerability to crisinal orientation, especially in the latter years of teanhood vhere saterial possessions and money have taken on the perceived power to give or take avay one's social prestige or socta; tHo things that have an exaggerated value and dispre- Portionate value vhen genuine self-ssteen is absent from one's charac- it 43 this poverty of character in people who are sconosically poor Chat makes the difference betueen one poos.parson turning to crise and snother not. A child or teen can still have a rich cheracter in con- sitivns of economic poverty if the social lessons in the homs healthily rurture the character. Most poor people are not crisinals because eco- fomic poverty, in and of 1tself, duse nut necessarily induce erisinality. Tuis doesn't mean 1t ls never a contributing factor. [n urder Lo overcoss poverty of character, une has to uprovt unproducs tive paychic conditions that perpetuate a poverty of character. This t5 s proc that one can be helped to perceive and understand, but the ceal vork is personal and requires alot of courage and perseverance. It ©s not sasy, for exasple, to adait to oneself: "I don't have any real aclf-confidence or self-estess." These are painful, sometizes terrifyisg wcknoledgenants, because they underaine the pride-systes and idealized- iaage that one say have crested Lo cospensate for an aliemation iron the real self. However, it is this courageous acknovledgesent that sakes the pruspect of genuine change, grovth, and developaent possible. - Cae 1o face the reality of one 1f, befure the character of one's self can be meaningfully dealt with. With the decreasing of the condi- Uivns uf poverty of character, genuine self-sstess can esergs snd asks novledgenent of one's vorth and value. This prosotes a desire and wil- ingness Lo achieve goals and take on further constructive intersst in one's ovn 1ife. It is vith the strengthening of constructive fore nstructive interest, and self-confidence —- that the prior influsnce tovard erisinal vrientation and crisinally orisnted goal acheivement “re veakened and Vithstood as patterns of sucial expression. The indi- Viduul develops the belief that he/she can achieve success through l ing, herd work, and effort and begins to respect and appreciate thess Gualities in others. Overconing poverty of character through genuine self-acceptance, self- 9stess, and the building of self-respect and self-deteraination crestes ©he internel otivations for self-realization to develop. This leads to o desire for conventional soctal achievement, i.e., improved relation- ships, acadesic goals, vocational and job skills, and saybe even the “xpression of one's creative intelligence. step-by-step, Luild confidence, and confidence strength ing one the belief that thers is a better vay 1o achieve goals than oris Talih 1. Rashoed (. Anthony Taylor) (2) Sociopathology Soctopathology nvoly “poverty of charastert but a0mic puverty. In this'case, the poverty of one's Sharactor in Fela- Tive 15 things such as ayapathy, Compusyion, and sspaihy. he soeie Path ia usually'the Vietls of iinusanities, brutal 1ndifierences isd and doprivations hisself or herselrfe/ dpeychutogical raiiels hia sitized to'his Jher oun pain and suffering. ‘Thi undoubtediy has sade it that such o pain snd sufforing and Los era. Siaply put, if one a from his own pain and suffering, then how i he/she guing to be to'that UF Othars, even victiss Of orisel The siciopath hes nce, Dut ho/she 13’100 Wedk o acknoviedge ihat seascrente.or of the conditivns related to 11 10 40 with sco- Of 5t, becauss of the inability to suspend s of foolings of his or her ovn pain and suffering. T in the suciopath's payohe 1s 100 turmenting for his or her Hofsha 15 which appears For 40 face emvtional conflicts uith relsntless porseveranc generally torn betusen two or aore altsrnative o offer the most expedient path to relief is oxeaple, the alternative betusen belng disciplined and detersin ard constructive goal achievesent and that of being cosp nd {spatient about getting what ono desires, uften has. the soblopath leaning tovard the latter of the two. Under ihis fora of thinking and emotional ressonin h " gonerally vin o o condones L1t uut Of anxisty snd desperation This seans we are referring to is crise. The sociopath is criminel orisnted due to unfortunate social conditions, and relationships that have hars bis or hor self-isage, primary-relationship, and fresfos Lo relate to and construstive huaan potentials. He/she is not criminal oriented by cals and collective choice, but actually is and feels driven to in to crininal coapulsions and other mot sy h relioving snxiets e1f-hatred 1 crise and/or arrest. 100 and be s0”overuhelaing because the socio- and self-hate drives his/her to offectively woras. Unlike the psycho and Nost suciopatha, acter dovelopaent sucial and | want 1o grow, to chenga, to ian beings and citizens; they are just too d their motivations and anxieties, beckuss and understanding about unponscivus, meurstic Toctively change ibe vy they are. They need help, but this type of help is very hard to encounter, and even when 1e Ln shvuntere it will still require an enoracus asount of iuner-strengin and cours for the individual to resain cossitted to a long and challenging proc. Talih Y. Rasheed (€. Anthony Tayler) Excorpt. Sxcerpt (3) Peychopatholony Modern prychology uses the vords sociopsth and paychopath interchang obly, as though they are i1 husen condition. In reality, they not. 'One sajor difference la that of having end not heving o sonscience thei engendars remorse. The suciopsth has & conscience, he/she 1s just Griven by other peychis conditions to keep it fron operating on & con scious level. On the otherhand, the peychopath is void of a conscience conecicusly and unconscicusly. His or her anti-social behaviors and criainality are rationslized through sgocentrisa and self-justified soning. Hle/she 1s not helplesaly driven, but sore often than mot, rated againet other husan beinge. conscience. To hisher a con- 20 well 19, a veakening thing in relation 50 Character sxpression and toughness. To'a prychopath, sl snds desired Justify whatever means is necessary. Sociopaths do not'vperate this vay. For axasplo, & suciopsth say be a conpulaive robber his self-vorth vith the absolute po hovever, vould naver engage in hom Crinac, bacause his conscisnce is actively rasistant fo harsing oiner pavple’in certain vays. That is, the end docs not Justify the Bia or her. With the piychopath'1tls different. e reject: Any of his 7 her vishes, sconomic, social, sexvsl...are capable of being pursued crininelly, peychopathologically, snd iasorslly. Absolute freedos and Sbeolute 201f-gratification doalnete the peychupathe social outlook. To'hin/her, crime s just as legitisate s sethod of achievement ss hard vork and siudy. He/she qualifiss neither as more just or rightecus then the other: Tt is the end thet ultisately satiers Tt ehould be noted that peychopathic reasoning and its ends are not slvays labelled ss criminal in society, nor ars all psychopaths clas Tied ss oriminels in character. roductive, lav. 2biding citizens. Thil ‘Deychopathic’ than the average serisl-kil When'va hear sbout pharsaceutical cospenies that kn an the market that they knou will K1l hundreds of ing about a fors of culturally, legally, and politically tolerated pey- shopathology. These are the accepted peychopathe; the typs that justi. fy and rationalize their murderous actions through false ohilanthropic 2oning, o.g., "Our product helps millions of consusers, so the fo Tondred 8 (h0uiands of lost 1iven are counter-balsnced aad, therefors, The peychopath 1o @ cold-hearted, insensitive (vhether logaily sanctioned or labelled as such or not), and will naver 1110w the possibility or expected reslity of collateral consequences to loter hia/hor from reaching end. The roritable florifying that end, then the xtress or far resching the featruction g to condone. caloulating criatnal a 1083 of property and husan life the peychopath soral consctence for one Talib T. Rash (e Ratnony Foyion) Excarpt [y envy,ote., can be such a o §2'13 Capable of blindly dr: Ty and irrational pursuit of s ¥4 20 tamcdiate or i iing sen- alaset anyone ions, even ning need for the woney and they risk 1ife, 1ish, and frasdos for. Gresd is an syesiap- nce In crisinal Sons. XL can drive the actions of s soclopn, peycnopath. ur itizen. The 40 prison’vho wers otheruiss sucesssful, lav-abiding oftiiens hov becase gripped by the blind ariving force of greed. The question is une of historical sagnitude and sternal lengt such going Tor thasaelves snd up Letting grecd dviincy then B bectee st trar ® ‘e 4154 the cuapel- 1),the chroic anxisty of never hou- Aved of an opportunity’ 1o acquire 10N Uhat une has becoas vty orce of g ough, or"the Tear of being 4 ‘nieds, Or the anxiety o neurotically sitachad to b 2) K neurtic than sveryons 1ng 1. Ling Oreed becuses @ motivation in criminal activity when, as in the cuse ot poverty of pors: character, the level of one's saterisi geals and’denire 1oped capacity of une's current abiiicy 1o Veare only capable of ia- point'in Lisa. uhat ve mave the de- Sometises, what of onais potantiai, bet tial and gives expression Lo path- t Tack of patience ological soui, Soati Toinforces gresd, or greal bacones so intense that 1ike an unnacessiry obstacle on the path 1o schise- iMoo anindividusl Tacks patienchs then hoy o' frustrations. This bakes it by tileg Geadly sins.This aun's pati of Thess qualitie: expediont . But thors are o are Felitea'ts faar of 1 stand auch aore, the onnection between ooda, & y satisricd, thore® e in patholopicel vayss Talib Y. Rasheed (C.dnthony Tayior) 10 — Exasining the ne One of the Bost infasous svcial crisss 1n Western literature fs the srdor or Kbl by his brother Cain: Cain killsd bel beckuse he folt Slighied and rejected by God. e aisv savied the relationship betveen 30¢"4na Abel. Sinca the Financial or sateris Saiats actions, his criy purely soctal crize $54"he Tntend b gatn, thens by bratelly surdering bis brothet, vho had Tine o Airect or'intentional hara £ his? This case deals with some 15800 CFTect tuaues that have mot-besn given much sxasination in TR For“inetha caves Of this sibling surdar sy partly st the 50 e T T i deal atory, 18w ‘et of Glacrisination iiuadeiviey) and rejection OF Cain's o " anger., o Zortaent, and vindictiveness in Gain. ALL O Uhese ssotionsl responses LTSN 100s1 Tnetant defensive sruption to hurt and Busilineion: 230, "Tasgine sn analogous situation snd the Lragic social affects that £t uild have un s husan peracnality: Two children in a fasily spend the Ciuter saving their allouance soney and helping sach vther 4o sxira chores arcind The nelghborhood Lo sarn & feu sore Gollers a weok. Their comson £931% are to buy their sother a couple of Mother's Day gifts this year, “5in child prasenting ite oun one after the other. The first child gives “ho zother his RIft 4nd receivas a hug and a kise with several kind and Sppreeistive uurds. Uhen the second Shild bressnts his RifL, the sother S08ir7 4 oven resch for it Tnstead, she saye: *1 don't Care'fur that type Si5esont, really. T 1ike uhal your brother gave me. Why don't you take Tnat Tack efund, and Think & 110416 harder about whet 1 sight T SecOnd gIT% bringer is eavtionslly crushed by the sother's rejec- 4i50" ife turns avay, huriing and fesling unloveds but benasth the. hucs an Siinr xolders 2t the thought of how sueh work and faith he had saeally Foreed in being sble Lo offer his sother s gift. “he Telationanip betueer the tuo siblings changes. The second sun s less Cordlal tovara RiE brothar mov, and on Gceasion ba sxhibits hostility to Gart his. W nesd 1o understand and hat”the hostility is astual- 2y “ovard the muthar, but feeling poverless to sct againat her, the Rii3 Slaplncen 10 tovards the firat: The sother's act of Tesection has 200 1o Bulin the relationantp conditions for a personality neurosis 1S evatop, a ‘an savtionally estranged relationsnip betwsen tuo Grothurs Sho”once sherid heslthy affattions. Aa they Erow Slder nov, they Fights, and sventusily grov Turther and farther apart Lerir o get into Cefaieo the older ik U how' o res Uere'to"cuntinue associating regularly, one of the other could end up seri- utly hurt or sven dead: %o can sasily say that the second child should not have r Than 6 acos ing done this would have not cr 1iSnship nflusnces, for neurotis o svelopathic personality sonditions toovotte 1o 12" thise Conditions thet are’generaily behind soctal crises b “have. sxas- ined, the God of the 014 Testasent should have bean more sensitive to- vard Cain. The Bible doss not indicate that God instructed Cain and Abel n how'to'sake an Offering, nor that Adus and Eve Laught thes, so Cain Dot the e Gain, just sacona’son, had 10 sake Cain fesl disrespected and devalued. The surder f his brolher, then, vas an act of v sessage in Cain's murderous actions? * 1 will Can'10ve ind " valte over me. Only T as lefi nov. ALL soctal eri thing_ope: nt s hewd thy Products of disturbed par. st 'nvolve reducing ther husan beings Lo becoas distarb, 42,4511 a8, helping pecple becoas auare of hou they are disrerusd: ioi'f Their personalsty probie Talib 1. Rashees (€2 Antbiny Tayior ~THE HUMAN CONDITION- Excorpt The putentisl to comsit crises exist in a1l hu 23673 o matier of whethar or not svasune is b chopathic or paychupethic, suds dus] fron cosaitving criste; Tage of hussn persenality o of Gne’s soralily. in the peyohe of heurotic, su- o one indivis Varied vithin the fons. "It could be the strengil ethy. In any event somsthing engage in crisinality sperates ot sce: Draving from Keren Hormey. i portpestive by rmnaterring 10 reine ar, or Self-Preservetiun. Many people itting dociel’crises by either love or fas; bihers, be deterred frua commitiing scononic crimes by fesi When these checking mechanisss are not working ‘then the pover forces hove taken svay. This s only possible vhen hu- genising or constructive peychulogicel and svetsd Tork orerily or neurotically put out of operation vy smens ot i not Snothar, “osial ng touched by ih b by Plato, Gyges And The hing. Wno vare tivin s Spimer bt Theors isan beings in poorer countries: the vorld, 14 ie hard not to conciude that the, bumen condition! 1 s sad and troubling conditien. Mo, er s eorsie thver fe1] drastically anort o our ability'te o beveer: to’ fnf1oeane Ba%s Cineyand conatructive changes in' the ives of individusis sad soctety such'a part of recidivies pstemneof criinal thotgnt d reality, then on o Of wucial onsciouanese: iy e et BOINE 10 sddrens thin Yitel meed Taiib Reshaed (Chnthony Tayior £ tha oy et {ocbo ahvered ih are ve going to or not RECIDIVISH, THE COMPULSIVE CRIMINAL-MENTALITY, AND AMERICA'S WEEDED SOLUTION. (Haybe,Tou'll Really Tnderatand This T Talib Y. Rasheed (- Antuony Taylor) So. Chicago ABC Zine Distro Publisher & Distributor P.0. Box 721 1L 60430