The Liberation of Education

The lack of understanding, so pervasive in our
society amidst systemic inequality, so_choked with laws
and prisons, makes for a toxic personal and communal
reality. In this hyper Czq"(l‘\st society, money is
morality and “legality” - like everything ¢1se - has a
price tag on it. Natural law, the acquiring of
necessary 1ife skills and the nurturing of person’s
basic (and innate) humanity is as doomed as a naked baby
in a blizzard! X

And though a neurotic (or psychotic) reaction to an
insane reality is a sane reaction, without any
Significant understanding, 1t's afmost invariably a
self-destructive one. The schools are designed to not
teach what students actually need to Tearn! This, even
though many teachers begin their careers with the best
intentions. It's analogous to the rookie cop looking to
“Serve the people” who finds himself beating a “suspect”
$9,2,2ulp with 3 heavy stick - and being congratulated
for it by his now, fellow thugs. .

Thus, many_students lose the desire to “learn”
which had’been 5o acute up to age five. So of course,
profound confusion, bitter alienation and the killing of

ope will be the lessons that become ingrained. Many
drep out; 95, chroush the motions and che Tonger they.are
rogramméd through the system, the more artificial they
ecome - the more alienated from their true selves.

The system seeks bodies willing to obey monotonous
&/or horrific orders - not free-thinkmg humanists! The
System (hich controls how people are educated) s a1l
about death, 1ies, coercion, slavery and more death!

genuing educition is about the encouraging of a
person’s innate humanity which leads to self-love,
social responsibility, fulfilinent and a Tiberated every
day life. It's freely offering the assistance in our
Tifelong quest to actualize our potential, by expanding
our interests and developing our talents. A teacher
respects his or her students and allows the learning to
9o both ways. _ students should feel thus loved. Trust,
respect and love open the portals to insight and
development.. ;

ouring chattel slavery it was a serious crime to
teach slaves how to read and write, much less encourage
Toving relationships, unfettered by vile coercion and
predation. The same'holds true today. The truth is,
and always has been, “dangerous” to the functioning of
an evil society. This is most tellingly obvious these
days by the frank admissions from the prison censors
that particularly enlightening zines have been deemed
“dangerous to the grderly running of such and such a
penal institution.” In fact, they have zero e on

how these tombs are run, but rather how their slaves
perceive their rea)ity. Their bodies are as shackled as
ever but their minds are taking off on a journey of
Tiberation.

For, werre all in a huge mental prison and (some)

zines have the capability of offering the glimmer of an
&scape route to freedon;’ M

Genuine education leads te insight and
understanding, reamakening curiosity: WhTch develops 3
conscious morality (Innate in all of us) which can lead
to positive actions, corrective behaviors, love and
Tespect for Seif and others and can blossin o
effective opportunities for mutual atd, which ag. social
animals of the highest degree, we so fundamentall
desire, crave and need.. hat, to a top-down fascist
system is the worst of “terrorist threats!”

Let’s renenber that the message of this demented
world-nendce, based In Vashington 15: “abey our
authority or i ny n to you. - Cry, bu)
iel” Your Tife.is ours to manipulate. vor ‘Préedon’
consists of buy‘ln? manufactured products with monies
acquired from 3elTing your Tabor for the profit of some
For-profit business.! 'Many chafe at this perverced
arrangement and_go off the books (go “i1legal.™ But
with a mi1Tion 1aws, cops and cameras everywhers, sooner
Or Tater many'are captured and funneied.through the for-
profit punishment industry and often - depending on the
Eotor of the skin and the thickness of Their wallets -
are sentenced to degenerative and often draconian rape
environment in one of countless prisons.

STnce we are all constant victins of daily
propaganda and indoctrination even most “rebels” are
Sust mirror inages of the arch criminals running the
show, " nstead of aspiring to accumiate Stock
portfolios, political power, armies, body counts and
Sansions 1 Saced Comtmitics, Shey' sede “Biing.
entourages, Weapons, drugs, flashy clot . 1
Still has nothing o do with actualizing ones’ humanism
ind developing their calenss Th3 mitually beneficial
manner with those around them. -

But, 1t does take something to refuse to go along
with the program, “rebel” and often, end up in prison.
Sadly, these are often outcomes of their psychotic
reaction to a cold reality. They are products of their
environment - bitter and angry, thrashing Out at their
families and community, but only rarely at their
oppressors. But, it 1s a refusal to be an acquiescent
€00 in the machine.

So, there are a lot of natural born rebels and

talented thinkers, who potentially, can ri
themselves, develop (Mgr consdozsness an?'lt‘f_uflve to

put their newfound understanding to work for the benefit
of others - inside and out, who have been and continue
to be drfl;j into the gulags.

who better to collaborate with than prisoners who
have come to realize what their mission in life is?
Many spend their time studying, reading, writing,
struggling - and learning, in order to become bonafide
educators. Some have been teargassed, tasered and
beaten within an inch of their Tives by their captors
because of their fearless consciousness! The only thing
restraining them is their inability to find comrades on
the “outs” with 1/10 the courage, dedication and resolve
to work with.

This is where genuinely educational zines comes in.
Zines are pure free schooll” They're not beholden to
anybody !X(I?( ‘those who create them. True, 99% of them
are inarticulate speeches of the heart and don’t really
want to cross the fear line the government makes so
Scary.

ut some people have crossed that line and have
found that the spreading of genuine education in
mflabfl'at}wl with Amerika’s most conscious, talented
and articulate prisoners is a watershed of fulfiliment
and personal education. .

This is what I do and I'm considered a “terrorist”
by the authorities for doing it. Those who benefit from
it tel] me every day how grateful they truly are for
this distro. Here's a letter read within the last hour:

_After reading the things that I have come across
from you it broadens ones perspective on things from
angles that I hadn’t looked before. It shows the many
different ways to observe and dissect the many obstacles
in our path, and how to avoid a lot of the mistakes of
the past. Take what has proven to work and continue to
push forward in this struggle for true freedom. I have
really been ll;ygillg deeper in myself and learning to
channel that fnto something positive. I don't have but
w0 years left on my sentence and plan on being an asset
to my community instead of a liability. This time away
has been time to find myself and to better prepare for
the bigger task ahead.

I thank you again for the work that you do and the
knowledge that you provide to those who search for
truth.

1n struggle,
Mr. Daniels

Now, I don’t know what he is in for or what he will
do when he gets out, but I will continue to engage with
him in this form of education and I feel he has a better
chance at _living a righteous life, which can’t be said
for any of the other sources he has kown, whether in a
Classroom, on the streets or in the prison setting.

we all have a helluva long way to go before we
realize our potential and interact amidst a sane,
sustaining and non-coercive society. Ass-kicking
revelatory zines are a great way to begin and continue
on = Lhis individual and collective transforming
process. N

The Lruth is revolutionary and thus “dangerous”
because the powers that be do not want thejp sick
3potecart Flibped and their monstrous crimes exposed.
They want people to stay oblivious and insensitive 1o
them.

manania notwithstanding, most people realize
chat profound revolutionary change is hecessary for any
9f us to even have a chance at a sustaining and just
future. The great revolutions of the past that Aade
great strides had one thing in common ~“an unusually

us equipped, were able to

The social progress
was thwarted (and often reversed) not by the coljectiue
sensciousness but by a band of opportunistic phony
irevolutionaries” who deceived and bludgeoned the people
ghto 2 new form of state tyranny, as exampled by the.
bloodthirsty Lenin,

As Zinesters, it behooves us to use every trick in
the book and. invenit new ones as we go along 1o help gor
fo that level of social awareness, get to that peiedoe)
barrier and blow right past it in'a 1ifetine of
morality-driven striving.

cyerywhere there are pencils, pens, markers, paper,
Iypewriters, printers, computers, printing presses ang
so forth to'be put to fantastic use:

Running a zine distro is both Tgicutousty
{ncomplicated and work-intensive. ATl you reajly need
o do is get a P.0. Box, think up a namé then combes.
the two on a stamp’and ban! You've become a publisnr
and a distributor! How far y9u take it is up to you.
Wistrong a distro is, is all about resoive; How mich
willpower are you will ng to infuse this project with?
A genuine effort gains the respect of even the moet
Gical and jaded among us, who may very well cencer
their study Circles around'them! Any questionsy

Anthony Rayson curator / publisher / editor
south hicago ABC zZine Distro
P.0. Box 721, Homewood, IL 60430

wwwabczinedistro.org,
http://www.Tib.depaul. edu/speccoll

So. Chicago ABC Zine Distro
Publisher & Distributor

P.0. Box 721
Nmmgo:?,‘lL 60430