UP
FOR
THE

CHALLENGE

An Interview

With Coyote

By: Anthony Rayson
UP FOR THE CHALLENGE:
An Interview with Coyote

1. Grastings, Brother! You were nice eaough (& consclous enough) to
do a serious interview with me & now I want to retarn the favor. First
off, how'd you got the name “Coyote?” Where'd you grow up? What
was your family like?

Answer: Working with you has been 8 fulfilling experience. and it is always
@ blessing to be able to do something with you, Bro. I fecl honored to be.
interviewed by you, and I've felt honored by your kindness from the very
first correspondence, and ever since we've first started collaborating, things
have definitely been taking off with my movement out here in Nevada. It is
‘because of your inspiration along with the support from ABC.of the
Burning River chapter, and the efforts of Ryan of the Houston chapter. I'm
honored to be able to share in these struggles with tru, dedicated,
anarchist comrades, and I just want you to understand that | have a
trememdous amount of respect for you.

Ob, yes the interview. Well, not o sound too bosstful, but [ was really
pleased with the interview that I did on you. [ honeatly thought it was the
best interview you've done thus far. That was until I read the “Each One,
Teach One” interview serics that you and Talib Y. Rasheed put down. That
was some serious stuff. Talib talls about Spiritual-Humanism. That was
deep and when he says that prisoners must resist and defeat the interal
foroes-that gives birth-and feeds the criminal mentality and recidivism, that
really had me thinking about the internal forces, rather than the “externar
‘which is what we usually stay focused on. All the answery that Talib gave
to your questions were thoughtful and deep. Anything that makes you
think is good and Talib Y. Rasheed made me think. Your answers to his
questions about anarchy were just as thought provoking. 1 especially loved
how you wrate that “nature is anarchy.” 1 can really dig that! All [ can say
is that we need to start putting more material like that out, because that is
the type of truth that needs to be told! It is the type of truth that needs to
be heard, acknowledged and embraced.

Now, t get to your questions. | hope you understand that talking
‘about my childhood is never an exciting thing for me. My story doesn't
really differ from the stories of the rest of the prisoners who dwell behind
these crooked lines of piggish territory: broken home, poverty, gangs,
drugs, growing up in the ghetto, in and out of juvenile faclities and
institutions; etcetera, etcetera. Have you ever read Fox Butterfield's book,
All God's Children? Well, if you get a chance to read that book, you'll
have a basic outline of my scarred and charred childhood.

1 feel that there waa a lot of neglect, abandonment and cven betrayal in
my childhood, and I'm still trying to get over it stil trying to deal with it,
atill trying to heal and siill trying to forgive my mother who 1 love with ali
my heart, riever-the-less. Unconditional love. That's what that is.

As-ayouth, | was very connected to nature, loved being in the sunshine,
loved playing with bugs and insects, loved the ocean; loved being under the
blue sky...
1 was bom in Long Beach, California and grew up in in Long Beach and
all throughout the harbor arca: San Pedro, Torrance, and my “Father” 3
lived in Paramount, (South L.A) right on the other side of the bridge fror
Compton. I-could wak over the bridge and be in Comptan in S minutes,
We lived in the most rundown neighborhood of Paramount. We called it
“Segundo-Territory.” 1 spent almost half of my time in Lang Beach, the
other half in Paramount. My “parents” weren't married, 80 it was whoever

‘That was until I started getting “locked up” if that's what you want to
callit. I prefer to call it as being locked up against my will, but we'l get
into that later. So anywayas, 1 ived in. Califacnia for the frst 16 years of my
ife.

My father was a *pill addict." He was addicted to “dowsers” like
Qualudes, valiums, yellow-jackets. His bedroom was.the living room, and
I'm not cven being sarcastic. The living room was officially fny father's
bedroom. We had these old “army cots” and whenever 1 wanted to stay in
the living room and sleep by my dad, we'd break out ane of these cota and
1d sleep an a cot, on the floor, next to my dad's couch, but most of the.
time, I'd sleep in the bedroom with *Super-Mom.”

We had lots of antiques in the house and in “chicken poxes” in the back
yard. “Super-Dad® mostly had old, Model T, Model A and Model B car
parts, and lots of antique hub caps. My father's collected a lot of antique.
pharmaceutical producta. That was our hustle. Every weekend, we'd got
up at 4:00 in the morving, load up the van and load up the station wagon
and drive to the swap-meet. Then we'd spend the entire weekend sitting in
the hot @ sur, trying to sell antique car parts. We lived “the swap-mest

My father kept lots of guns in the house. He had books and collection
of magazines, all about guns. And on a good day, when he wasn't all soned
out on pills, he'd take a couple hits off the bong and he'd sit down with me,
‘ith book opened and guns laid out on the living room floor and he would
teach me everything I needed to know abouy guns; from the history of
certain guns.to.gun safety: *Always point the gun down towards the floor
or up in the air;” to gun ethics; “Never point a gun at.somebody unless you
plan on pulling the trigger,” to how to break a gun down and take it apart,
how t0 clean it and then how to put it back together. He would ahvays
‘make sure we'd wipe off our fingerprints before putting it away.

Guns played a big role in our household. It was how I bonded with my
father, and whea L went from a “B.B. gun” to my first gun at the age of 13,
it was like an initiation or rights of passage from boyhood to man, 1 guess
mow, that look back on this, | can say that it was alla-part of my “carly
guerilla education.”

When | turned 13, my father bought me my first gun for my birthday.
‘We went to the gun store and picked it out together.He wanted to get e
2 30/30 winchester, but they were out o stock, 50 the rife he ended up
buying me was a .44 winchester, Remington-mag, lever-action and it held 9
rounds. It was the most powerful gun that I've ever held or fired in my lfe,
to.thia day. He would take me-to the shooting range all the time and we'd
spend the evenings doing *target practice” at *J.R.'s Shooting Range” in
Paramount,
Even before my *sacred rite of passage,” my grandfather bought me
B.B. gun and Id sit out in the backyard all day shooting cans. I'd take the
B.B.'s out of the cans and pick them out of the wooden fence that served as
a backdrop and-¥'d use them over and-over again. | would spend the entire
day, just sitting out in the backyard shooting cans. P

Until my cousin got out of the Marines, when he got obt of Camp
Pendleton, he came back to Paramount and maved back in with us. He
had a pellét gun. It was an air-pump that shot pellets and B.B.'s and | had
a Daisy B,B. gun with lever-action. Just cock it and shoot, cock it and
shost. Mine was quicker, but his was more powerful. My cousin would sit
outin the backyard with me and. shaot with me for a covple hours cach
day, teaching me how to aim, how to shoot and we'd practice hitting
“moving targets” and stufflike that.

1t was a good way to connect and bond with family. Then, my cousin
got tired of shooting cans and he came up with a new method: shooting
birds. We had a church that sat on the other side of the fence and behind.
the church there was a fiel that sat directly an the other side of the fence
from our back yard. My cousin would get a couple slices of wonder bread,
break them into little picces and throw them over the fence, into the fickd
and then we'd wait for the sparrows o gather on the telephone wire or on
the roof of the church and then we'd pick ‘em off, one by one.

1 think that's all the Marines really did for my cousin: turn him into
bird killer. Because his life tumed to shit after that, and 1 really liked
‘spending time with him. 1 really felt “at home" in that house. 1 had 3
cousins (all lder) and my dad, my grandfather (“Super-Dad') and my
grandmother (‘Super-Mom"} biess her-soull She was supposedly a
Christian woman with a mouth of a truck driver, chain-smoking like crazy,
‘which was the death of her. She had her own bedroom and Super-Dad
had his own bedroom down the hall, which now scems kind of strange to
me, but I never thought about it then.

Whenever Super-Mom would go grocery shopping, we'd go with a whole
clip full of coupons that she'd cut out of newspapers and magazines. We'd
0 from one grocery store to the next, buying everything with coupons. It
‘would take us § hours to buy all of our groceries. Nobody wanted t g0
grocery shopping with Super-Mom because it would take all day, so 1 was.
the only one who'd go with her, helping her out.

My other cousin was named “Digger.” He was a gang-banger, convict
and “sherm-head.” He liked smoking PCP. Whenever he'd get out of
Prison, his parole officer would come banging on the doar, looking for him.
We'd have to hide him out in a closet or get him to run out the back door
and hop the fence and have him stay in the field behind the church,
because ho was always high on sherm or coming down from it and the
parole officer was always trying to make him pissin' in a cup, and we didn't
want him 0 get a parole violation, 5o we'd always have to tel the parole
officer that “Digger” was out Jooking for a job. But, he would always get
out of prison, get all “shermed-out” and do something stupid, and end up
getting caught and thrown back in prison.

My fernale cousin, Denise, who is my heart and soul because she was
like & second mother to me, was a “strawberry.” She would sleep with men
for crack and all her homegirls were strawberrics, t0o. She damn near
raised me. Id go cverywhere she'd go and through her, [ learned al about
the “ghetto lfe” all about gangs and drugs and evading the police. The
ghetto was home to me. 1 loved everything about it
‘When 1 was 13 years old, my mother revealed to me that my “father® S
‘was not my real faiher and that meant that nobody in that family - who [
loved %0 much " was ealyrlated to me. And that hurt. 1 didnt know
how to cope with pain, 80 1 acted it out in anger. | was already angry, from
‘being locked up against my will, and this new development about e being
& bastard, added to my anger. Realizing that my mother waited 13 % years
to tell me that I've been living a lie all thia time, really fucked me up. 1 felt
confused. I felt betrayed.

‘smuggles peopie - and sometimes narcotics - over the Mexican border into
the United Statea: A-Coyote-ia sameone-who doesn't recognize borders or
boundaries and who has no regard for the law.

In many different Native American cultures, a coyote is,a “trickster.”
Usually a mythical figure, but, sometimes even a human being who uses
shock tactics, deceptions, humor, lack of seriousness (levity) and the
element of surprise, to help people “wake up” - opening their eyes, hearts
‘and minds to reality or a higher realm of consciousness, breaking through
‘mental o emotional barriera and overcoming old, destryctive behaviors,
bad habits, bad ways and sell-destructive patterns. Sometimes a coyote is
just there to help someone out in a difficult situation, kinda like an “angel
o a spiritual guide. But it's usually a “mixed blessing” 1¢% believed that a
“trickster” uses an element of misfortune to open someone’s eyes, heart o

echelon.

1 can definitely relate, identify and connect with all 3 of these legends
and myths attached to the cayote, but | was told that | was named after my
great grandlather. Most of my lfc my family and close frierids have always.
called me “Coy.” But it wasn't until this period of incarceration where 1
began to take a deeper look into myself, a deeper look into culture and a
deeper-look intro-my life and lifein general. With this higher
‘understanding of self, life and culture comes a level of consciousnese and
‘with this understanding of consciousness I began to embrace who 1 was or
who I am.

On paper my name says “Coy” or it might say “Coyote,” but in my heart
1imow who and what I am. While beginning to embrace myself, 1
simultancously began cutting all ties with the so-called standard of society
and the so-called social order of things. Because according to the
standards of our society, people cannot be out there running around with
‘animal names. We can't go to work everyday and say to our co-workers,
“Hi, Eagle.” Or “How are you doing today, Bear?” Animal names are just
not permitted in our everyday society and the way | understand things, 700
‘years ago, everybody had animal names; carth names; star names.

S0 you see, I am Coyote because that's who I am on the inside and out.
1am the guy who has no regard for borders, laws or limits. 1am the
trickater, who will do whatever it takes to help others see themselves and
their lives, more clearly. 1 am the scavenger, living among the lower.
classes, living off scraps, living off the land. But, just like a real coyote
will, ' hunt if 1 have tol

‘What was my family like, you ask? We were poor. Half of my family
‘was Hispanic, and white the other half — mostly white. 1 am mixed. 1am
mixed with Sicilian, Hispanic, whitc and a small amount of Osage biood
runs ‘my veins. When people ask me, 1 just tell
them I'm Chicano, because that's the heritage | identify with the most. My
cousin, Ashkea (Ashkea mean “one with a loving heart” in Yaqui) who i
Hispanic, Yaqui, Indian, white mountain Quero Apache, Sicilian and white,
says that there will be no more white people in the next generation of our
family, which is so true, because right now | have a very multi-cultured
family. My cousins, who are Sicilian and white (English and German) all
‘have children by black women. My beautiful little baby cousins are half
‘black and hald Sicilian/white. And it's like this with all my family on my
mother's side. My lttle half-brother, David, has step-childten who are half
black / half white. ‘Those little rugrats are my nephews. 1 have cousins
‘who are % Sicilian / % Hispanic. 1 have cousina who are 1 part Sicilian
and 3 parts white. | have cousins who are 1 part white, 1 part Hispanic
and 2 part Native American, like my baby cousin, Marika, Marika meana
“velvet black cyes” in Yaqui, And, it goca on and on.

People in prison like t look at me upside my head, wondering why I'm
not racist, why 1 get along with people of all races and nationalities, when
all of the foundations of these prison organizations are built on the
foundations of race. So people are trying to figure me out in here. Some of
my own “jente" question why I'n cool with blacks and whites in here, and
the whites don't like it that I'm cool with black people, and the blacks are
wary of me ‘cuz I'm cool with some of the whites.

But hey, Tam who T am. This is the way | was raised man. 1¢'s how I
‘was brought up and I can't change who or what 1 am, you know what 1
mean?

My comrades know where loyalty lies. They know who Il stand and fall
for, if push comes to shove. With the way things are right now, | don't sce
any serious reasons for me to conform to any of the racist ideologies,
‘capecially when the color of our true enemy is dressed in a green, pickle-
suit. Sel try to-stay out of all of the racist bullshit in here and replace it
‘with solidarity, when the opportunity arises, ‘cuz I'm not racist and
everything about me is against racism. 1t the way 1 was raised man, I
can't hate people because of the color of their skin. That's not me.

S0, to answer your question, if you were to ask me what my family is
like right now, well, we are & multi-cultured family.

2. When you were born (19777) I was 23 and fust getting married for
the first time. What was it like growing up post-Vietnam? What were
the cultural influences (music, etc.)? What were the political
influences as you came of age, in the ‘80's & ‘90's?

Answer: Well, I never considered it as being “post-Vietnam” but I guess
that's a new way for me to look at it. The cultural influences for me were
the influences of the ghetto. You'd see the pimps with the nice cars, shiny
jewelry and good-looking women; yow'd see the gangsters and hustlérs, the
ex-cons with all the tattoos and muscles, and you'd see all the lowriders.
‘Those were the people everybody wanted to be like.

And then you had the taggers, the ravers and the rebels. Everybody
else was an addict or a fiend; crackheads and tweekers.
My mother, she's from the baby boom generation. The article you ]
wrote, “Baby Boom Betrayall” hit the nail right on the head] My mother
was down with the whole *Hippie / Peace / No-Nuke Movement- before 1
was born. Flower-power, you know? Growing up 1 was exposed o lot of
8004, healthy and nutsitious food, fruits and vegetables, that most of the
‘people 1 associate with, don't even know what that stuff fa, But 1 was
‘exposed to that “be healthy” food, just ike the smell o good garja always
sulked through the air, in each room in our house. Growing up 1 got 1o
hear a ot of my mom's music - The Doors, Creedence Clearwater, Pink
that. 'And 1 sl i listening to that.

My cousins, they were all a bit older than me and Denige liked listening
0 all that funk music. Like Parliament, Rick James and Bootsy Collin ani
every Saturday we'd sit in her bedroom and watch *Soul Train® together!

My other cousin, “Digger” LOVED LISTENING TO OLDEES FROM THE
70, LIKE Rose Royce, the Delfonics, Blue Magic, the Temproes, the
Stylistics and stuff ke that.

My “Father” would pop some pills, lay on his couch and turn on some
biues music, like B.B. King, Muddy Waters and his favorite: John Lec
Hooker.

S0, all of that music had a big influence on me. 1 stil ke to listen to all
of that. To tell you the truth, music has alway been a big part of my I
and it's the same with my family. We didn't just listen to music, man, we.
feltit, we lived itl We'd get excited about it, we'd talk about it, dance o 1,
groove to t, have serious conversations about the music and the
musicians.” Music has always been an important factor in my lie. There's
‘magic in music, man, because it has the ability to bring people together.
Music moves us, it motivates us, it brings out the best and worst in ua,

Tlove music. 1 love all kinds of music, but as for my gencration, 1 grew
2P o that hard-core gangsta rapl When N.W.A. came out with that song,
“Puck the Police” ~ forget about itl 1 was hooked.

1 like 2-Pac, the Geto Boyz, the Outlawz, Nas, Dead-Prez. Because of
the political elements in their Iyrics and the music is good, too. 1 also fike.
Eminem.

1 love music. | can't live without it. 1 listen to reggae. { ie Bob Marley
and Ziggy Marley. The first time | really got into Bob Marley, | think I was
like 12 years old. The firot song I remember listening ovec and over again
by Bob Marley was “No Woman, No Cry” and 1 couldn' really understand it
he was trying to say no woman, don't you cry, or if he was saying that he
‘wasn't gonna cry because he lost his woman. But now that I'm sitting up
in prison, with no woman, I know what he was trying to say. It all makes
sense nowl 1 also like Sublime, System of a Down, Rage Against the
Machine, Korn and Papa Roach. 1 like No-Doubt, the Distillers, Nirvana. 1
like it all, from rock to rap to punk. 1 even write punk songs i my free
time. 1 ke oldies, fank and soul. Tve gotta have some Joss Stone in my
lifeor things wouldn' be right. 1 also like Los Lonely Boys, Thers really
ion't any kind of music that 1 don't like, because music seems o speak 10

sout
" Pl infucnces. To el you the teuth, most pople i prisom don'
‘become political until they come to prison, ‘cuz this is where we really start
o question the way things are with our lives and stufl. Before prison,

there were small conversations here and there on the likes of Pancho Villa,
Emilio Zapata, Cesar Chavez, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and Jesus Malverde.
But it wasn't until I came to prison where | really began to further my 3
studics on alt of thesc political people, along with other political people like
George Jackson, Dennis Banks, Huey Newton, Ward Churchill and some of
my personal favorites are Tecumach, Crazy Horae and Assata Shakur, A
ot of people don't know this, but Assata means “she-who-struggles” and
‘Shakur meana “the-thankfui-one.” So to me, that's ke saying that Joanne
Chesimard was truly thankful for all of her struggles, which ia something
that really speaks to me, because I'm thankful for all of my struggles. I'm
thankful for all the pain ve endured and the hardships I've suffered.

I'm a political person, but I'm not. 1 just want to live, to be free. 1 want
0 be in tune with nature and unchained from societies” shackles and
unrestrained from the systems’ handcuffs. 1 want to be like the truth: set
freel Too many people try to put limits and restrictions om the truth. But
they say that the truth will set you free. So, if truth is correlated with
freedom, then that tells me that there can't be any restrictions put on the
truth. The truth must always remain unchained, unrestrained and
unrestricted. The truth cannot be confined, contained or detained. 1t
must always be free. And I just want to live my life my lfe like that Bro.
Truthfully. And in freedom.

My palitical consciousness stems from my resistance to all that's
untrue. It has sprouted out of the sceds of resistance, disgust and
contempt towards all clements of the system and the American culture,
But there's somiething deeper that lies beneath all of that, something
deeper than politics, something unexplainably profound. The seeds have
sprouted, but the tree is still growing.

SO you ece Comrade, I'm a political person, but not really. I'n not as
politically versed as say, you, Sean Swain or Ward Churchill, all who |
reapect and admire, but I'm political because I am and will forever be set
against the system. 1 mean the entire system. Not just the justice system
and the prison system, which is in fact only the limbs of the system; the
arms and legs of the system; the. belly of the heast, but I'm talking about
the governmeat, the educational system, the church, the state, the
military. And, I'm against the so~called social order, the mainstream, the
public. Fuck the publicl That's how I feel. That doesnt mean that | want
1 go out and act like an ass in public. It just means that I'm not trying to
it into all of that. 1 don't want to ever have to ever live up to those
standards, because o me it's all backwards, like a bunch of lies and
hypocrisies, man, and like | said, I need truth in my life, and nothing but...

My heart is with and for the poor, the oppressed and the imprisoned, 1
don't give a fuck about the public ‘cuz they don't give a fuck about me,
man. So, in that sense I am a political person, | mean I'm 1n this for the
duration. When | say that I'm an anarchist, F'm not thinking about it ike
it's just @ way of lfe for a rebellious, youthful spirit, but to me it's a deep-
rooted philosophy, a way to see the world and a way to be in the world.
This is something that me and the “Comrade Abe* have been focusing with
sach other imr our letters, and | thought Id bring some of that to light in the
interview. But, the thing is, 1 have my own understandings and
realizations of things, for my own reasons. 1t may have all started for me
23 an avenuc to rebel, but like I said, the tree is still growing. But there
are deeper truths behind all of my actions and reasons. My life s real, my
struggles are real and 1 am the way I am for real reason.

3: When [ was a kid, we'd g0 to school with cherry bombs in our
pocksts - and set them offi Nawadays, kids are strip-searchod &
expelled for having cold medication on them. How 4id you ran afoul
of the “lxws*

Answer: Believe me Brother, the “law” does not need me to be run afoul of,
because the law is foul all on its own. 1fyou ever got a chance to read Fox
Butterfield's book, All God's Children, you wil see that the history of this
o-called justice system was founded on racism and genocidal oppression,
‘which seéms to be pretty damn foul to me.

Not much has.changed from then to now, they've just got bolder and
slicker at deceiving the public and in knowing how to get away with their
capitalistic dishonestica.

The law. Naturally I'e never cared for it. Never- it. 1mean,
do we honestly need all of these laws to tell us what's right from wrong? |
mean we got the law telling us what's right and we got.all these organized
religions trying to tell us what's right - and still, nothing is right! Nothing
is right about the way the world is right now. If there are all these lawa -
and there are thousands of them - to prevent us from doing wrong, then
there st be something deeper going om.

Before Columbus, before Pizarro, and before Hernando Cortez came to
this land, there wasn't thousands of laws to tell people how to live or what
10 do and what not to do. There wasa't even any prisons on the land and
people got along just fine. Why is that? You don't read about kids
shooting up schools, kids lilling their parents and parents killing their own
Kids, before Cotumbus. You don't read about drug addiction before
Pizzaro. You dont read about rape, child molestations and baby killing
before Cortez.

Are all these laws and prisons truly helping society? Is that really the
answer? Or is there a better way? If you ask me, Id say there’s something
So, like I said, I never adhered to these laws made by men. Made by

men that | don' even know. Made by men that don’t even give a fuck
about me. Docs that make me & bad person? Yes and no. 1 was a bad
person before | came to prison. 1 wasn't born a badperson, | wasa't raised
bad person. It's just what I turned into, its what 1 became while taking
up violence, vengeance and addiction. I was no better than the capitalists -
the oppressors, as | myself was trying to capitalize by the means of
oppression, even though 1 didn't understand that unti later. 1was a pawn
in a pig's game and didn't even know it.

| came to prison at the age of 19 for a gangrelated stabbing. 1 joined a
gang at the age of 18 because I didn't want ot be a citizen or civilian and |
had no intentiona of working for the man or cven trying o conform 1o the
‘social order of things. So to me, becoming a gangster was-my way fo
disassociate myself from this backwards ass sacicty. It.was my way to
rebel and it was my way of saying "FUCK THE WORLDI"

Too bad gang-bangers don't bang on pigs, mayors and governors,
huhn? Imagine that: ‘*What set you from foot? Democrat or Republican?
Where you from fool?”

No, instead, the sets we bang on wear the same clothes as we do,
‘maybe different colors, but the style is the same. Everything is the same,

our rivals are no different than our homies, the same style of dress, the |0
same style of hair, the same lingo, the same names, the same kinds of
cars, music and the same taste in women. It's all one culture, divided.

rwmmm.mmwms
mi_mcppflfiumjn-pdwlmflmh'uiuamlfiul
them and | had a knife...

So that's how I ran afoul of their laws, by living by the laws of the street
and that's what landed me in the slammer, ten ycars ago.

1 understand now, the error of my ways, and not because the system
'showed me, but because I took it upon myself tw re-educate myself on all

ing ‘the law.” 1 may be
lawless, but 'm definitely not heartless. And to me, that's the difference
between being good and bad and like 1 said, Bro, 600 years ago, we didn't
have prisons on this land, but, the people still maintained a natural sense
of order. Look at the shape of things now. It's sad.

There’s something deeper going on. You and I know what it is. We
nmmmmmmmmmmmmrywhm
‘that they can stay in power and so that they can stay in control. But the
power they have isn't doing us any good, the control they have isn't doing
any good for the people. And if we were to take over, and replace that
power with another kind of power, it still wouldn't make things better.
Power is the enemy, not people.

1 understand what's going on, you understand what's going on, but the
people of the public, the ones who like to judge, criticize and scorn the
people who are less fortunate than them, T don't think they understand.
‘They dor't understand:that the justice-system-doesn't work because it
wasn't made to work. They don’t understand that this justce system s
‘more of a problem than it is a solution,

1t's because they won't allow themselves to see beyond this, They limit.
the truth and when people put limits on something as sacred s the truth,
there could never be freedom.

People won't allow themselves 1o look beyond this system to a system
'where there is no.system. They won't allow themselves tg look beyond this.
System to a system where there is no power, no control and no oppression.

‘They're quick to oppose it to say it could never work, because they're
00 scared to stand up and make a change. ‘They're scared of change
becatioc people are always scared of the unknown. Why? Its becatse,
psyehologically, people need to feel a sense of control and stability in their
lives..

So, they say anarchy means a state of chaos to objectify their fears,
But anarchy does not mean chaos. Anarchy means bringing a natural
sense of order into our lives. We don't need these laws to tell us how to
live. These laws are not preventing crime and they're not solving any of the
problems we face in this country. These laws are no good. Do you know
what a placebo is? That's what these laws remind me of, & bunch of
placebos. People swallow these pills, thinking it is doing something, but
it's not doing anything. These laws are no good.

4. What was the “scene” like for you as a teenager? What was your
mindset going through that period and was there a sort of epiphany
that set you on a collision course with the state?
Answer: My life as a teenager? Man, Bro, you're going to make me dig up
all kinds of dark, cold memories, man. My whole mentality as a teenager
was: “Fuck the World,” “Fuck Authority” and “Fuck Anybody Who thinks

... 18 this an interview or an autobiography? I

1 feel that I was “robbed of my innocence” before the age of 12. Robbed
of my freedom, robbed of my youthful happincss and stripped of my
childhood. Id like to say that I was born a free-willed, free-spirited,
intelligent child, Anthony. T had & natural contempt for authority and 1
‘naturally-despised-the sanespt of confincment and limitations. 1was an
anarchist before I even knew what anarchy was, man.

But it was more than my mother (a single-mother) cold handle. She
took me to the doctors, to find out what was “wrong” with me. They said
that I ‘suffered” from A.D.H.D. (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
‘Them and their labels. Fucked up my whole life, bro, and then, that's
‘when the:real suffering began:

Lremember, with chills in my spine, the first time my mother betrayed
me. I was 11 years oid and she told me to get in the car ‘tuz we were going
for a ride, to go see some peaple, to talk to somebody. It.was o subtle, 50
cold. We walked into the adolcscent unit of a mental hospital in Torrance,
California. Del Amo Hospital. 1 didn’t know it then, but'in Spanish Del
Amo means “from the soul,” but this is the place that tried to strip me of
my soul.

1new something wasn't right when I seen all those other kids in there
‘and none of them-had-smiles-on-their faces: The moment the door closed
behind me, I felt it inside of me man, that something very unnataral was
about to take place.

Walking down that hallway was like walking the plank on a pirate ship.
1t took me to get all the way to the end of the hallway, to where the day
room was at; the place where the kids with no smiles on their faces were
at, to.realize what was happening. They weze“checking me inl" They
‘wanted to turn me into one of those kids with no smilts on their faces!

Man bro, | turned around and sprinted down that helish hallway and
ran for the door as fast as I could! It was lockedlil No way out. Panic set
in, then fear, then anger. All 1 could do was kick the door, cuss, cry and
scream. 1 was helpless. Powerless. Like when a cat comers a mouse, felt
like a helpless, litte mouse, caught in a corner.

‘Then when one.of the. stafl membera came back down the hallway with
‘my mother, t try to calm me down and reassure me, the only thought in
my mind was: “Who do attack?- Do attack my mother ar do | attack the
staff member?* Both of them became instant enemies. My mother was the
‘one who took me there, but the staff member was the ohe who wanted to
keep me there. So, as you can guess, 1 started bombing on the stafl
member! They called a code green over the loudspeaker: “Code Green!
Adolescent Unit! Code Green!” Then all kinds of stafl members came.
bolting through the door, they took me to the ground, hard! Bam! 1was
dovwn. They kept telling me to “Spread eagle!. Spread eagle!* 1 didn't know
‘what that meant, but all | know is | wasn't trying t spread no eagles, 50 1
writhed and wiggled and tried to resist, but there was really nothing I could
do. Then they carried me to the “timeout room.” On the way there, 1 tried

o bite, kick and yell. 1 never once tried to stop resisting, ‘cuz 1 knew in my
heart that they were‘doing me wrong, man. Once they got me into the | 3.
time-out r00m, they tied me down to a cold bed, with leather straps, They
tied me-dowrrin-4-point restraints~ both-arms-and both legs.

1t was “was” afer thatl Every time they let me out of restraints, every
time they let me come out of the time-out room, the first staff member |
saw, | violently attacked! It was back to the time-out roam, back in
restraints. After a while, they went from 4-point restraints t putting me in
S-point restraints, adding an extra strap around my saist, ‘cuz | kept
slipping out of my arm straps. I'd get one hand free-and then wait untl

All my mind could think of was to strike, hit, kick and atiack. There
was 1o fecling of remorse and there was no way that 1 wa going to be
friendly with any of the people who held me captive against my own will |
was like a snake in a cagel All I know is that I was betrayed, deccived and
‘handed over to the custody of strangers, by the person who was the closest
t0-me in my. . Aftes that | couldut trust-anbady. Something inside of

do was to be deceitful towards my captors, until 1 could get them into.
striking distance, then I'd unleash all my rage and fury on any and all
authority figures.

v, thre doctors-breaic out:their fitie-clipboarda.and their fancy little
pens and scribble down their nasty litle lies about me, eoming up with
disgnosis after diagnosis, a new label every time they came to visit me, A
new diagnosis, a new disorder. Man, I went from being A.D.D. to A.D.M.0.
to impulsive, violent behavior disorder, to manic depressive disorder, to
parancid-schizophrenic. These motherfuckers man, they even tried to tell
me that T had frontal-lobe cpilepsy. Tasked thenr, “what's epilepsy?” They
said it means.L suflered from seizuzes. That's when | knew they were full of
shit, that's like telling me I was missing my arm, when all I had to do was
Iook at myself and see that my arm was still there. So I railed at them:
I'm ot flopping on the floor. I don't have no fucken seizuresi” They said,
“No, frontal-lobe epilepsy, it means you black-out and go into fits of rage.” 1
told them that they could go to hell and that they better get out of my face
or else I'm-gonna have a case of frontal-lobe cpilepsy on their ass right
nowl

‘They wrote in one of my charts that | was *suspicious and angry.” 1
have the paper right here in my cell. Of course I was suspicious, Moms
dropped me off and just left me there, and that they come in and write
things about me inb their lttle notebooks, and when L asked them what
they wrote they wouldn't tell me and when 1 asked them to show me, they
‘wouldn't show me.So, of course L was suspicious and of course | was
angry. But for them to twist that up and turn that into “delusional,
‘paranoid and violently impulsive™ nuwthat was going toe far, and even if it

it was because that's what I was turned into by my situation,
surroundings and circumstances. But deep down inside, | knew there
wasn't a damn thing wrong with me.

These doctors are 30 cold, man, they had my own mother belioin ing /3
qumfimm‘nmwmmmmhmh

ey takes me (0 cokd place when 1 ook back on my childhod, |
T} vt o high-echol. never had a job, and T've never ive & Seed
e o tarted reading and writing at an carly age, oz my meiher o
ather would always take a lite extra time with e each day

me o read and write. It was a i

with my father. But when |
end to all connections with
T've always wanted - to get out
and live a good life.

1 don't want people to cry for me when they read this, because there's
thousands of people in the system who are just like me, 80 if people want
to cry, then.cry for all of us, not just me. But, | just sit in here thinking.
about Assata Shakur, “She Who Straggles / The Thanidul One” and 1

‘become more and more thaniful for my struggles each day. And just like
‘Bob Maricy said: “No woman, ne &7y, 14

5. You're a clear-sighted, active anarchist - a very refreshing
phenomenon in this intellectually gunked-up world. Who were your
main theoretical Influences (Both writers, activists & those you've
known personally?)-

Answer: Thanks for the lattering comments. Hold on, let me get my
‘sponge out 5o 1 can soak those up! _The only way for an anarchist to be is
active. If we are to reach anarchy then it's necessary to stay active. We
have to strive for it, because nothing happens while sitting on your ass,
nothing’s gonna happen if you just sit back and wait for it to happen. We
are human, not spiders: A spider-can spia web, sit back and wait all
day, knowing that everything is gonna come in its own. We can't do that.
We can't wait for things to happen, because, the way things are,
everything’s getting worse, nothing is getting better, you-feel me?

S0 it's important that we stay active, it's essential that we keep up the
struggle and I'm saying this from a prison celll Even in a prison cell I can
get things done, even from a prison cell 1 can get things organized, even
from a prison celLI can set goals and accomplish them!

T might be confined to a prison cell at the moment, but I'm stil as active
as-a five-grenade, andf F can-do-aifof this-from a.prison cell, there should
be no excuse for the people out there who call themselves activists.
Nothing is going to happen unless people get up, g9 out, gef together and
‘make things happen.

‘One of the most important messages that I always try to get across o
fellow prisoners in Nevada is that we need to organize ourselves and each
other. Have you ever read the book, Ten Men Dtad by David Beresford?
The way those Irish prisoners were organized ~ both on the inside and out
~is the way we need to be organized.

“The people behind enemy lines, especially, need to open their cyes and
recognize that it's time for us to get organized, it's time for us to get
politicized. Its time for people to recognize the clements that keep us
divided and the elements that keep us conquered. Recognize the
propaganda that's being fed to you. Recognize the lics that arc being told
10 you. That's one of the things that ABC is real good at - raising
awarencss! We try to flaod these prisons with all kinds of good materials,
literature and educational stuff, so that prisoners can take this opportunity
0 lft themselves up and each other.

1 wasn't sentenced to life i prison becauee | never killed anybody, but
it really doesn't matter what kind of sentence these pigs give me man,
becase in my heart | know that just like the rest of the men and women in
prison, 1 was handed a lfe sentence to poverty. 1 was handed a lite
sentence-to drugs and-addiction- Fwas handed.a lfe sentence to struggle.

To be active is to be alive, man. We must provide ourselves and each
other the tools to elevate ourselves, the tools to build things up for

I've dedicated myself to bettering myself on all , including mind,
Dody and spirituality. I've been struggling to shed my Qangater | coiminal
mentality and transform it into ing more: i

root of all that, ‘cuz therein lies my idea of anaschy.

The % people-were truly connected to nature and to the ways
of Mother Earth. They kaew how to speak to insccts and animals and they
e liow (0 sten to what the animal3 and-insceta had 1 say; they conle
perocive the messages and the gifts that the insects and animas ecme o
pring. They knew how to listen to the plants and the treea, They ey e
language of the stars, the sun and the moon.

There used to be a natural system of time on this land, the Mayan
People, for example had (and still do) their own calendar system called the

They didn't have anything around them but nature and each other, so
their main source of knowledge was, in fact, nature. They would atudy,
Cprerve and learn from insects and animals. They learmed practical ways

‘needed to know from Mother Nature.

There wasn't anything beyond that and there didn't need to be. The
anewers were all there, in front of them and around them. Our cultupe s
g0 fucked up compared to that man, all this technology, people thins 1y
inking ua closer (o something. Fuck nol It taking us further away from
the root of “all that is.”

So. my studies om indigermos cultare-have-been my main theoretical
influences. Anarchy, to me, means a natural order of 1 think I'm
more of a spiritual person than | am political. But as far‘as my politics]
influences, I've been reading the work of Alexander Berkman and 1 hage

cen able to get more of a basic understanding of anarchism from his /&
ook, The ARC's of Anarchism, George Jackson's book, Soledad Brother
/as inspiring. 1definitely dig George Jackson because | can relate to the
ray he broke dowr the racial-barricrs-between-prisoners and helped unify
hat whole prison movement.

Ive read Biood in My Eve which is about vanguardism, but that's one of
hose books where I'd have to read it 3 more times before | actually start to
inderatand it. Not to take anything away from his decp, itellectual mind,
suz | definitely respect and admire the way he educated himself while in
yrison, but to tell you the truth, I'd rather use the time it would take me to
wderstand Blood in My Eye ta read 3 ather books that | can understand.

You see Bro, I've never been able to finish a book by Lenin, Marx or

‘That shit is just too complex for me.
lli.kemdix(ubouuh:?mfluen,aMAyunm.':ulemm
>anthers talked about taking control of their own communities and how
hey talked about taking control of their own lives.

1 started out believing in socialism and 1 wanted to learn about
:ommunism, but the more | started to learn, the less [ wanted to know. 1
guess it just wasn't for me.
definitely strike a chord with me. | sometimes wonder what he would think
about Cuba now, if he were still alive, because if it weren't for Che, Castro
wouldn't be anything.

I've had round-about conversations with Sean Swain about Che and
Swain had some good theories of his own, but one thing we both agree on
Guerrilla warfare can definitely be related to being and surviving in

prison. Even though some might wonder how doing a mental death
sentence in solitary enslavement can correlate with guerrilla warfare, Che.
was able to display to us that guerrilla warfare is a poor man’s war, a war
for the people, one that teaches you low-tech methods on how to combat -
and défeat — an enemy that is more powerful tharr yeu. I can dig that. I'm
a-politically conscious prisoner, so I'm aware of who the true enemy is and
1 also understand that our very survival while in enemy territory sometimes
ts of guerrilla methods and through the means of low-tech guerrilla
tactics, because in prison we, sometimes, have to use low-tech methods to
make tools, weapons, crafts and other things that help us get by in hes

1 like to read about things like guerrilla warfare because | like how i
connected to the whole idea. of survivalism. The people on the streets really
don’t understand that in these graveyards we arc already at war, the whole
mentality in here is a warrior's mentality, because these pigs are really
trying to knock us off in here. It's called death by incarceration. So, it's
aiways good to read books like Quersilla Warfaxe in order o stay mentally
prepared, because like I said, we are already engaged in battle and a
Soidier who goes to war unprepared might as well cut his own throat before
2ven going to war. We must prepare ourselves mentally and physically, for
battle, for survival, for struggle and for everything in between. To be
wwwmmmm Study, prepare

‘train.

‘As for the people that I've known personally, in prison, who have been
infiuences on my, well first off, Id ike to pointr out that theyve got us

o

s far as the people on the streets who have been influences on me, ©'
well, of course you have been a great influence and inspiration. You really
Pt it down and I haven't come across any other Tadea who are as
Gedicated as you are. Youdo so arach and your help goes so fer. You
Send literature to thousands of prisoners and you write and put out good
“tuff on your own, and then you put that 2007 ABC catalog of yours
together in 8 illy &nd 1 wes pretty impressed with that; cspecially for the
o that mary of the other ABC chaptera don't even have catalogs. You
write letters t prisoners, you go to rallies, meetings, attend political events
‘id yon get up and speal on the issues that need to be spoken on. You
are the most active peraon. that Linow, and.you live up to your words, you
‘don't jast speak i, but you live it every day — all day!

| don't say any of this to flatter you. 1 say it becauiec its the truthl You
give me inspiration with your dedication and spirit. You inspire me in
Sther ways, too like, sometimes I think about how you ssid you didn't start
‘getting scrious into being an anarchist until the mid-90's. What's that —
Jour Iate 30' or carly 40's? Well, I'm only 29, and if you put it down like
Jou do in your 50's, what do you think I can do? What do you think I can
ccomplish by the time I'm 507 You've done so much in such litle time
and that inspires me in 5o many ways, Brol

‘Other people who have been an inspiration to me, indirectly, arc people
like Ed Mead, Dennis Banks, Bobby Sands, Assata Shakur and Tecumsch.

B Mead, who has done time in the Washington State Prison system,
got out of prison and he's il actively invoived in the struggle o this day.
Fe docs the California Prison Focus Newsletter, which is very empowering
1o prisoners and he docs all kinds of activist work. To get out of prison and
continue to struggle and get things going like he has is an inspiration to
me.

its the same thing with Dennis Banks, who co-founded AIM (American
Indian Movement) When he got out of prison and he was a wariort If you
haven't read his book, Qiibwa Warrior, then you're slipping! Dennis Banks
is an clder now, but he still does the sacred runs every year and he really

puts it dawn for his people, o this day! That's heart!

‘Bobby Sands dics for his people and his cause. He's an inspiration.
Read the book, Ten Men Dead, by David Beresford.

“Assata Shakcur. “She Who Struggles.” These pigs arc still after her.
They recently put a million dollar bounty on her head and these punk ass
bounty hunters are talking about how they're gonna go out to Cuba and
get her.. But, they must not be laowing about that Santeria and Voodoo
fhat them Cubans practice. These bounty pigs are gonna go out there and
et turned into lzards! They better leave Assata alonel Straight upl

Teoumseh, he was the Warrior of Warriors. His medicine was 50 strong
that he could reflect bullets! The way he took a stand to try to unite all the
‘atives from all the tribes to take one last stand against the European
Tettlers, he was the last of a dying breed! He was from the Shawnee tribe,
but to mew, he is the “Last of the Moicans®

'As for theoretical influences, being in prison has put a imit on my
studies; eapecially in regards to anarchism; which is why I'm always trying
1o emphasize to people on the streets the importance of sending books into

i ‘But, Il elaborate more on my thoughts on theoretical
influences in the answer to your next question.

& How would you define yourself as an anarchist? What principles
do you particularly feel driven by? How do you apply them to your
daily work? 21

Answer: Before I get oo deep into this question, | want to tell you a lttle
something about myself,to give you a better understandirig of who 1 ass s
a person.
pewh:nlmyml,lllxsorQormy-nnld.lnudfivmnlmal
homeless people outaide o the grocery stores, on benches at the bus stops
tnd owtside the localliquor stores. If1 had change or extra food, I aiweye
be inclined to share it with the homeless people.

1 used to tell my mother that when I grew up I wanted to be a “bum*
and she would gt mad. To me, homeleas people scemed to be free. They
weren'®in any hurry to g0 anywhere or to do anything and it seemed I
they wanted 1o go somewhere, that they could go anywhere they wanted,
Just drifting on the land. They didn't seem to care what other people
thought of them.

‘people ook care of the people.
So, gieas it just made sense to me when I was young to share my
xtras with the homeless people. It just acemed like the natural thing to

do.

So, when you ask me how do | define as an anarchist, I guess the most
basic answer would be to say, ‘I am what | am” lie Popeye used 1o say.
Have you ever looked up the word *altruism? in the dictionary? It says
“unsclfish interest in the welfare of others.” To me, altruism 1s anoubey
word for anarchism. Not another word, but a definition to part of wha
anarchism is.

When 1 was held captive in those mental hospitals s a youngater, the
doctors ried to say that | sullered from “ant-social / paychotic Sisuione
The truth is that [ used to be very social belore they stack me i o
completely unsociable environment. And now that I see how sick the

society is, it seems like ‘anti-social” s a good way to be.

So, 1 guess 1 could say that as an anarchist, | define myself as being 27
‘against the system.

It's kind've funny how the doctors were always trying to say that 1
suffered from some kind of disorder. If you were to ask someone who
‘didnt know any better what they “thought” anarchy meant, one of the
most common answers would be “without law and order.” So gueas these
‘Joctors might have been on to something. Maybe they were saying that 1
‘was an anarchist? You think?

Wait a minute, did you ask me what PRINCIPLES did 1 feel driven by? 1
thought anarchista were supposed to be unprincipled? Are you trying to
contradict me, man? You better watch out because you know | have anti-
Social / psychotic disorder, right? 1 mean we are unprincipled right? How
ioc ae we gonna participate in our scheme to cause chos and disorder
across the world, right?... right?... right?..... Hello?

Olcay, I'm back. | had to go see “the doctor” real quick: Now, what were
we talking about? Oh yeah....

a2 member of Anarchist Black Cross, 1 believe in the work 1 do as a
prison abolitionist. 1 believe that it is essential to provide prisoners with
o0, uplifting and educational books, literature and reading materials, so
hat they can tale it upon themselves to better their position, to better
themselves and to try to rise above these oppressive circumstances. It fecls
good to be a part of that.

"But, particularly 1 feel driven by my resistance to authority, my
resistance to oppreasion. 1 feel driven by my resistance against organized
religion and 1 feel driven by my resistance against wanting to fit in with the
idea of the so-called American Dream. 1 feel compelled to help people,
eapecially the people who have a hard time helping themaelves.

T could sit here and list all the things that I'm against but I'd probably
sound like a *hater.” When the truth is I'm the opposite of a hater. There
2te too many comrades who are motivated by hate and ndt enough who are
inapired by love. 1 think that we should love the people, love ourselves,
each other and the struggle more than we hate the system, hate the
injustices.of the government and more than we hate the greedy and
‘abusive people in power. Let our love be the reason, not just our hate.

How do 1 define myself as an anarchist and what principles do |
particulaly fecl driven by? 1 feel driven by all principles of anarchism, or
Flac Id be be a “half-assed” anarchist or a punk like you call them. As far
‘a5 how | define myself as an anarchist, well besides being against the
System, | am also for the people.

‘When 1 write I try to educate, inspire, heal. Uplift and motivate. Most
of us are 50 oppressed (capecially the people in prison) that no one takes
the time or make the effort to try to lift others up. | want to spark some
‘ype of reaction. 1 want to get people to think. People these days don't
B enough time to sit back to think. Everybody's constantly on the go.
Thinking is good. Thinking sparks creation, thinking sparks revolution.
Have you seen all the staff that comes out of prison, the artwork, the
crafts, the writings, the poetry? Yowd never imagine that so much beauty
“ould come out of such a dark, ugly place. But it's because people in here
re using their time wisely and putting a lot of thought into their creations.
Thought gives birth to creation.

"So, yeah | am driven by the will to want to inspire people to think and
ls0 how I define myself as an anarchist.
oo be humaniatc, i t help peopie who sufler, help the people in prison

1o hecome better people, help thepeople who just got ut of

lquu‘hmnnhhnmdwumfimhdpflummhukunthmfiq.

‘about t, but you've got to live i, too.
1 am what | am, and all I can be is who | am. This is anarchy
‘heart. 1 don't nced books to tell me how to be an anarchist. all |

4m not knocking study, because | definitely encourage everybody to
study as much es they can and study all things. I'm jugt
‘conformity, where people just go along with things out of bijng

and also I don't think anarchy or anything for that matier should e
shoved down anyone's throat. .

0 am naturally,
Hecause anarchy is in my heart and ll 1 can do s live by whats i ey
heart. Living by what's in your heart i kind've ke iving off the kst ALl

of your resources are already made available to you. You dont need &
‘anything ‘oz everything that you truly need in lif is already provided to

You. Living off the land and living by my heart, that's the type of stuffF'm
on.

Ive sat in solitary for many years, since a young age and when you sit
in solitary and in resistance, you do a lot of thinking. You.think 80 much
et you Jearn to think for yourself. When you're able to think for yourself
Tt only are you able to formulate your own ideas, but you don't allow
‘Yourseif to be confined to anyone clse’s thoughts o ideas. There is nothing.
Tore empowering or berating than to be-able to-think for yourself. The
Tictionary says that a philosopher is a reflective thinker, and 1 can atest to
the fact that there are a lot of reflctive thinkers in prison.

I am an anarchist comrade. 1 am a free-spirited, free-wiled person. 1
am passionate about life; passionate about love, passionate about equality
&nd 1 am passionate about freedom!

| am a compassionate, caring, and understanding person. 1 will remain
engaged in struggle. 1 wilkremain engagedin resistance. 1 will remain

in activism and I will remain engaged in combat.

" stive to combat oppression. 1 strive to combat power. 1 strive to
combat government. 1 strive to combat slavery (which still xists in this
ountry) 1 strive to combat all levels of the system, because the system
oppresses, because the system divides and because the system congquers.

T resiet the powers that be. I resist the powers that brainwash. | resist
the powers that force a systematic education down our throats and down
the throats of our children. | resist the powers that promote conformit
and I resist the powers that ry to control the minds of the masses with the
ideas of organized religion.

atraggie for the People. 1 struggle for the poor, the oppressed and the
imprisoned. And by myself or with others, 1 will continue to struggle
‘against all that conforms, confines and restricts.

“What is a comrade? 1 am a comrade. I'm a worker. | strive to uplit
myself and other. | strive to clevate myself and others. 1 strive to rise
‘gainst the system, either by myself or with others.

"And here 1 1ay, in the belly of the beast, and I refuse to lay down and
die- T refse to drown or be digested. 1 refuse to give up or give in, and if
this beast don't spit me out or shit me out, I'm going to bust his belly open
from within!

7. How do you cope with being in prison with such a deep longing for
fresdom? What do you have to do to-ward off assaults and bogus
ticket write-ups?

Anewer: A deep longing, indeed! But, it's all about being in the here and
the now. 1¢s all about resistance. Resistance is what gets me through this
Ihadneas, man. 1ts all about keeping appositive outlook on lfe,
Tmaintaining & strong and positive mental attitude. When ] write letters o
Teople on the trects, they always scem 1 be o surprised that I'm such &
posttive person in the face of all this adversity. People are attracted o
ositive people. Nobody wants to be around someone who s always
egative, They'd rather be around people who laugh and smie; they would
rather be around people who are happy, outgoing, bright, snappy and

positive. So, 17y to keep that in mind, because that always helps me get
through this. 2

1like to read, 1 like to write, I like to eat good and stay healthy. I try to
excreise as often as F can: Ftake vitamins, drink lats of water, because to
me, its all a part of resistance. They might have my body gonfined to these
cells, but at the end of the day, the only person who is in control of my.
body i me. That's what its all about, resistance. I stay off psychotropic
drugs. That's a slow death. You'Ve got to stay about your wita in here,
‘man, ‘cuz if they kill your mind, they kill your soul. They got my body, and
they'll never get my mind and as far as my soul goes; | keep that above the.
treetops, like Tecumsch says.. So they can't ever touch that. They could
never get a piece of my soul. N

T'm not going to get into details, Bro, but they tried to set me up for my
downfall in August 2006. They tried to do me in like George Jackson, but |
stood up and fought for mines, and instead I ended up getting 2 years in
the hole, because they exaggerated their story in my write-up. So yeah,
they're-foul, and I've got to stay on my toes and be ready for the
unexpected.

‘This is madness. On all levels, this is foul. So, my survival in here
consists of rying to rise above all of this degeneration. And everything ia
locked down. This prison has been locked down for years. Every unit is
Tocked down except the warker's unit and they'd never let me go to that
unit because of alleged “internal problems.” I wouldn't want to go to the
worker's unit, anyways. | wouldn't feel right to have all of these privileges
while everyone else is being punished for nothing.

So to me, I'm just trying to co-exist while under these locked down
situations. I'm trying to co-exist with my comrades, with my enemies, co-
exist with these pigs and co-exist with just about everybody around me,
‘cuz everybody is locked down, just like me. The cold part about it is that
these pigs cven have atrategics to make sure that we aren't co.cxisting,
even while locked down and one of their main strategies is to keep
informants, P.C.'s and psych-patients all around us, in each wing, on each
unit. They have lots of strategies because they're heartioss.

As long as 1o one’s trying to put their hands on me, I'm cool. As long
as these pigs aren't constantly in my face, telling me what t do, when or
how todo it, I'm cool. As long as they're not fucking with my mail, I'm cool
As long as they're not fucking with my music, I'm cool. And as long as they
show respect to my friends and family when they come up to visit me, I'm
cool. Aa long as they're not going out of their way to fack with me, I'm not
£0ing to g0 out of my way (o catch another “assault on an officer” case.

‘There is 1o true solidarity in here. There is no true unity. So, we are
taught o believe that we can't trust anybody and we assume mentalities of
selfishness, corruption and predation which keeps the foulness going, It's
disgusting.

The people on the streets don't truly understand the siruations we are
going through in here and they don't understand that this system is
cutting us off from our abilities to be social. They don't understand that
this systeas i cutting us offfrom our-abilities to be loving, caring, kind and
compassionate people. They don't understand that this system is cutting
s offfrom our abilities to be humans,
The people on the streets need to understand that we ned people to get
involued in our individual struggles as prisoners, as well as our collective
struggles. We need people to help us with our transitions back into 2 &
society. We need to know that we are loved and cared about. We need to
¢ supported on al levels and treated like human beings. We need our
friends, familics and activista to get involved with our lives, on an
individual basis. Activista especially, need to understand that we need
them to get more involved with us on decper levels, helping us build in
here, helping us organize in here, helping with transforming ourselves back
into a sociable, caring and understanding people and belping s overcome
the true nature of our oppression and assisting us with our transitions.
‘back into society. We need people out there to get involved and help us
with the process of de-institutionalizing ourselves!

T get more into that in a minute, but first let me focus on your
question about warding off assaults. The best way to waxd off assaults is
by not putting yourself in confrontational situations. You've got to respect
prople and not allow people-to diarespect you. You've got to show others
Tespect and at the same time, you've got t0 let it be known that you're not
the type of person who's going o let people walk all over you. There might
be a few who walk around like *King Kong® but deep down inside, people
Just want to get along, because nobody really wants to live in a constant
‘war zone all the time. Nobody wants o always have to be Jooking over
their shoulders, watching their backs all the time. That ain' living. So,
doep down inside, people just want o get along. But we're all men and we
‘all ave our egos and our foolish pride. So, you know bow it is. In an
environment like this, our minds become warped and that pride and our
<gos - in & mixture of prison madness — provides a combustible
combination,

In primitive society such as prison, the normal thing to do scems to
be for prisoners to repress their emotions and to nover express their
feclings. Because to do 5o, would be the same as exposing your
vulnerabilities and displaying weakness. Because we have been taught to
believe that everybody is out to manipulate us in one form or another, that
others prisoners are out to get us, out to use us, and we are trained to
believe that if others know what makes you tick and click, they can wind
you up ke a jack-in-the-box doll. So we repress our emotions and
Zonsider a display of certain emotions to be cquivalent 10 a display of
‘weakness. Without emotions, we aren't truly human. So, we undergo
{ype of de-humanizing process in here.

If people began to realize that *getting along” could actually be our best
survival tactic, instead of the other way around, then we'd really be making
some. in here. 1 would suggest that prisoners look up the word.
“co-cxist In the dictionary and learn the definition of “co-existence” - not
what it means on paper, but what it means in our cveryday lives.

"As far as bogus write-ups, | really don't care. If they're gonna write me
up, then, they're gonna write me up. O, welll When it comes to the police
‘and their write-ups, 1 just keep an 1 don't-give-a-fuck-attitude.” I'm
already locked down, so who gives a fuck? That docsn't mean I'm gonna go
out of my way to get into trouble. It just means that when.they come at me
ith all their petty ass rules and regulations, there’s nothing they can say
‘or do to affect me. Theyve got us alllocked down, no programs or group

2
recreation or nothing, There’s really no reason for anyone to cooperate ~ |
with these pigs and they're not giving us any kind of incentive to even want
0 follow their rules.

‘The rules are 5o petty. They treat us like kindergarteners. No, I take
that back, they let kindergarteners run around on the. swing
on the swings and play in the sandbox together. They don't let us do that,
‘They belittle us with all of this pettiness and degrade us with their rules
‘and none of this is going to help us. It stunts our growth and
development. It doesn’t rehabi
et back into society and become better individuals. I's actually part of
their de-humanizing process. They know cxactly what they're doing, It
sad situation bro, and what's even sadder is that the peaple on the streets
have no idea of what we're going through in here.

‘This is why I say people need to get involved in our lives and get
involved with our struggles on an individual level. We need peopie to help
‘u8 with some type of de-institutionalizing process, especially for the people
who are getting out. They should be willing to want to go through a de-
institutionalizing process at least 2 years before they're released. It should
be like a 2-year program.

The more that a prisoner keeps his mind on the prison setting and on
‘prison life, the more the prisoner becomes comfortable with his, ber
surroundings and warped environment, the more institutionalized the
prisoner begins to become. It is a subtie process. 1ts a process that
appens even though you don't realize it's happening.

Like I'e already pointed out, prison s such a primitive place that it's
incvitable that most prisoners get sucked into the idea that a prisoner
‘must adapt to his = ings in order to survive. Although it may scem
ke it's better to try to fit in just 10 keep your head above the water, for
those who will eventually be relcased, its a sclf-destructive process in the
long run, because it docsn't do anything for a prisoner’s adjustment back
into society. 1f a prisoner were o got released with the hard-core prison
‘mentality, he's bound to end back up in the bonds of incarceration.

When you put someone in prison for a long time, the prisoner s cut off
from society for 5o long that he/she becomes institutionalized, whether
they realize it or not. Society takes it for granted that prisoners are
becoming reformed or rehabilitated while in prison. They don't seem to
understand that prisoners cannot expect any true help from the system.
‘They're not here to rehabilitate prisoners and it's not their job to
rehabilitte prisoners. They're not going to do anything to get a prisoner
ready to re-enter socicty.

For prisoners t de-institutionalize themselves, in order o prepare for a
healthy life of freedom, they must go through a process of breaking down
the hard-core mentality, while replacing it with a healthier outlook on ife
and providing ideas on how to live and maintain in society.

We have t0 take it upon ourselves to initiate these types of processes or
start our own programa for prisoners, while implementing suitable
principles of honesty, equality and self-sufficiency, pertaining to cach
prisoner's own culture. We have to take it upon eurselveg because we
cannot and should not depend on the same system that imprisons us - to
help us?

1 went through my firat 8 years of incarceration without being able to ™
imagine sy release. Sometires | would cloae my.cyes and try to imagine
myself walking through those prison gates, and trying 1o get mysel to foel
what it would be like, but Twould druwa biani each tire, 1 wa so caught
up in the prison madness, ripping and riding against the police and rying
10 be a gangater and convict that the last thing | was thinking about wes
going home. Now that it getting closer to the time for me 1 get out of
here, {now I necd to start making mental plans for a lic beyond these
prison walls, but it sdl hard to get myself to think about & i after

We noed people out there to get involved.with prisoners on a real, more
‘human and deeper level. We need help with understanding ourselves and
our struggles, both inside and outside of prison and we need people to
connect with us on all types of levels, just like people out there need to
connect with them on all types of levels. We need real, true, genuine help
from people out there.

. Survey & critique the anarchist landscape. Who's doing serious
work, who isn’t and why? Do the same for non-anarchist progressives
and revolutionaries.

Answer: Well, I'm still traveling that landscape bro, but 1 will point out
that ABC has given me a tremendous amount of support, cspecially in
helping start up thi prison chapter in Nevada, which also allows me to
continue with the movement that I already had going out here, which aims
o bring a solid support structure for Nevada-prisoners.

Also, 1 must give a shout-out to Charles Perroud in Canada, who has
given me much needed support. I be getting things going with him very
s00n, which will also involve some of the comrades of ABC. So things are.
starting to come together on this end.

T'dlike to give a shout-out to all of the warrioresses who have cither
‘been involved in my struggles with me or who have offered me
encouragement along the way. Wasrioress Abigail of the Burning River
chapter, Warrioress Katy in Oakland, Warrioress Gina in San Francisco,
Warrioress Julia of the Chicago chapter of ABC and last but not leas,
Warrioress Amanda (Ms. Charm) in Reno. Soon we wil be coming together
0 start a collective and also we will be doing some benefit.shows this
‘summer.

On another note, the thing that upsets me is a lot of these free books
for prisoners places that say they don’t provide books to Nevada prisoners.
Man, we don't have nothing going on out here for us, why don't you want
10 help us out? So, I've spoken to Ryan of the Houston chapter of ABC and
1 think he's going t0 try to help me get things cracking with some of these
P.A.R.C. peaple in Berkeley, CA (Prison Activist Resource Center) On their
form letier, they have all these “well known" names like Angela Davis and
Dr. Mutuls Shakur and I'm thinking “Demnl These people must really be
‘serious! They must really have things going on. Maybe 1 can get at them
and see if we can get something going™ But, when.l sent them my letter,
“Greetings From the Graveyard” all they sent me was an old, outdated
resource guide (the same resource guide they sent me four years ago) and a
form letter that starts out “we apologize for this form letter.” Then it gocs
on o suggest that they're overwhelmed with thousands of requests and 2/
letters from prisoners and I guess that means they are already 100 involved
with previous projects and other prisoners to take up aay new projecta.
But, this 8 the exact same Jeter they semte-four years agol It just
makies me wonder, you know? 1f they're rcally involved with anybody or
anything, 1 kindve wonder with who and what they're doing and 1 seally
like to know why they wouldn't want to get involved with me, with our
struggles out here in Nevada? So yeah, I'm a bit disappointed and 1
wonder if Angela Davisis really inolved with this PA-R.C. thing?

‘There are a lot of different groups out there that Fio sl tryin to figure
ut cxactly. what they'se about and what thei involvement with prison
aboliion, or prisoner support work. T'd like to collaborate with as many of
these groups as I can and try to see if we could “networlc” - if we could help
cach other out.

Everybody scems to have the same problem - they're getting
overwhelmed with too much mail and they don't have cnough staff to
‘answer al the letters on time. Dowe really truly need all these different
political groups and organizations if nobody can get anything done when
everybody's trying to do the same type of work? Why can' all these.
different groups come together under one flag, since we all aim towards the
same objectives? 1 mean if you have one group or organization over here
with only one person invoived, answering letters, making ~als, etc. and one
group over there with only one person involved doing the same thing, well
then why can't they both agree to male some kind of sacrifice (o corme
together and do the same thing, together? Woukdn't we be able (o get more
dom this way?- Mayberit sounds-casier when-said than i is when done, 1
don't anow?

But, is that what activism has come down to? Writing and answering
letters? 1 thought there was more to activism than that? It important to
et the message across, that we really do need serious support from people
o the sireets, especially if we're to get anything accomplished in here, We
need to get things established both inside and out. We are bving foul in
these graveyasds and this system.isn't here ta rehabilitase, cducate or
relorm us in no way, shape or form, do you understand? We need to take
it upon ourseives ~ both inside and out - o really get things going for
ourselves. We need to take it upon ourselves to build, organize and
educate ourselves. The people in prison cannot o it without a real level of
support from the outside and the people on the outside can't do it unless
the people on the inside are scrious sbout making setious changes.

Let me talk more about activism. Why do we call ouzaclves activists?
Why? I mean this is something cach person has to think about, because
some people call themselves activits to try to ft into a specific kfeatyle and
Some people are activists because they are driven by the idea that things.
need to change., So, | believe that cach of us, myself included, must get in
touch with our own personal reasons for calling ourseives actvists,
radicals, revolutionarics, or whatevor, and once we've examined ourselves
closely cnough, then we should consider which strugales, movements,
changes we'é ke-to-getinvolved: with-and then, we must ask ourscives
how are we going to make successiul, positive and productive changes?
What needs to be changed and what are we going t do t bring those
changes about? Is it just a lfestyle for us, or is it also a chance to.

‘something real; a chance to do something good, not only for ourselves, but
foc others, and especially for-those who suffer, struggle and starve? 3 5

1 don’t know Anthony, you know, I've tried to reach out to lots of people
man, but I'guess they-dorrt-take me-seriously because I'm a prisoner, or
‘maybe it's because I'm not a political prisoner. 1 don't know. Buteven
from my solitary confinement cell, I've been able to get a lot of things going
for the movement of Nevada and for ABC as well. So | think that says
something, right?

Ive seen & lot of nothing. everywhere. Everybody seems to be stuck in
the mud. Not enough people, not enough money, nobenough resources,
not enomgh time, not enaugh heart, nat enmgh dedicatian, not enough
commitment.

It's a combination of a lot of things. Not enough of this and to0 much of
that. Not to mention that we really need to change our tactics (in my
opinion) devise new strategies and come up with new plans. We need to be
willing to take certain risks at appropriate times, make specific sacrifices
‘when it's necessary and advantageous, and we need to come together, .
unite and organize.

‘Think about it, all of these years we've been doing the same stuff, and
‘with little to no changes or accomplishments. 1 mean is it even appropriate
to call ourselves prison ablitionists? How many prisons have we
abolished? That's & bold term to be calling ourselves, maybe t0o bold.

We call ourselves revolutionaries but are stuck to an old, tired-out
pattern: We call oursalves revolutionasies but we've been following the .
same path abd the same blueprint for over 30 years. I you ask most
But what has changed? To make changes, we ourselves must change! To
make effective changes in the system (if that's our goal) we must make
changes in our strategics, we must make serious changes in lfe. That's
like a “leader” calling himself a leader when he's following the same design
that the leader before him was following, Not that I believe in the idea of
dictatorship, ‘cuz I don', but if we're going to make any real changes for
the better of humanity, we must first change our thinking, and we have to
stop following the same old patterns we've been following for 50 many years
and we have to start taking direct action more often. Sitting behind a desk
doesn' get things done. We must get more physical in our activism. We
‘must make changes through our direct actions.

So for now, I'd like to give a “shot-out” to all of the ABC networks, to
Charles Perroud, to the people of the D.RLV.E. movement, to Bonnie
Kerness, to the people of AF.S.C. and I'd like to give a shot-out to Bunice
McAllister in South Carolina. She's an 80-year okt woman who is stil
going strong for the people in prisons all overlll Now that's dedication.

As for everybody else, I'm still trying to figure you out. I'm not saying
nothing bad about you, | just want to know how serious you really are,
how committed you are to your work, t our struggles, to your activism?
So, if you're reading this interview, got at me, let's collaborate. We don't
have anything going for us in Nevada. We could use yeur support, if yowd
like-to branch out-and start & chapter out here-in Nevada, we could get
something going. We need that type of love. We need that type of
commitment. We need that type of supportl And for the individual people
out there who would like to get involved in some type of activism but don't

know what t0 do or where to start, | hope you have enough courage to write
me aletter. We have a lot of things geing o heze in Nevada and we could
really use your spirit and support. It doesn't matter where you'rc at, 3 |

o imrthis.causet Please contact
mel

9. Do you have a parole date? What do you hope and plan to do, if &
when you join is in “minimal” - the “outs?”

Answer: Parole isn't freedom. Parole is a less restricted form of
imprisonment.. Ita like..dog.on.a leash, man. If | were to get out on
parole, I'd have all kinds of people breathing down my neck - people 1 don't
know and who could care less about if I'm free or if I go back to prison ~ Id
have my parole officer breathing down my neck and thea he'd make me go
work for the man and then there's another motherfucker I'Ve got to worry
‘about breathing down my neck!

As an anarchist; I can't have that. I car’t live like that. So, yeah, | have
a parole date, but unless something serious comes up Hike an iliness in the
fasmily or if the revolution starts o something like that, trien I'm not really
concerned with parole. Id rather expire.

1just want to get out and live my life. T've been living this crazy, sad,
locked up life on and off since the age of eleven (11.) Right now, | am 29
‘years old with my whole life ahead of me. I'm feeling good about my life,
¥m fecling good about my heaith, Fm focling good about my body, 1 feel
g00d about my future, because whatever happens from here on out could
never be as bad as-aif that's already-happened: All the bad times are

From the early part of this interview, you'd think miy lfe is nothing but
a sad story, but | don't foel that way. It fecls like my Life is just now about
0 begin. It feels Like I have my whole life ahead of me, man.

1 atill have.my doubts and 1 have fears about getting out, but fear has
always been there to challenge me.

To.be completely honest with you, Lam gaing to need so much support
from the anarchist community to help me make the transition from being a
priscner t0 being a free person, because you've got to understand, I've
never went to high school, never had a job, never drove a car. I don't know
how t live out there in that society. | don't know how to make it. 1don't
want to live like that either.

When | turmed 18, the system couldn't hold-me anymore. They wanted
to hold me, but I knew they had to let me go. They triod to convince me to
‘comi to outpatient programs, half-way houses, adult group homes, etc.
But | had enough of the system. | didn't want any more “assistance” from
the system. 1 didn't want nothing more to do with the system. 1was
through with that.

So, 1 got out and said to hell with a job. 1 don't need nobody telling me

t0 do, 1 said to-hell with the public, I don't it into that scene. So
tead 1 did what seemed to be the best choice for ma.at the time and 1
joined a

1 still have my homies. 1 could still go back to that if 1 wanted to, but
there's nothing for me to go back to. There's nothing back there for me
man. I'm hoping to go forward not backwards. Going back to that means

«coming back to this and if that's all I've got, then fine, but, I think there's
‘more out theze for me.

This is all 1 know. This is all I've known for the past who knows how
many years. BUt I'ave enoughsense-toknow-that this ain't life - this 35
ain’t “living.” So, it may sound sad, but it's going to take a lot to break
these chains that hold me down. 11’ going to take @ lot of love and a ot of
support from friends, comrades, family and loved ones, t help me free
myself o these oppressive and psychological chains that keep me bound to
‘the ground, you feel me?

Pmpl:don'lunflmndflwp"chnbs’ulfimhmhmmmn
prisoners face. ‘They.might think that-once you gt out of prison, its all
over and everything goes back to normal. But I don't know what normal is
and it seems like there's a bigger prison out there than the one I'm in now.
1 might get out of prison but it's still going to take a lot to lf the
“psychological chains” that bind mel People need to understand that a lot
of us are still chained by psychological shackles even after their release.
You don juit get out of prison and cverything's okay. Therc's an
important transition that has to take place. It's not going to be easy to
‘make that tramsition and maintain, but nothing has been casy and
anything worth struggling for is worth living for, you know? So, I'm
definitely up for the challenge.

Before I get out I'd like to study a little bit on things like communal
anmmmmm—mmmmm‘mxmmm
towards. There's a lot of thinge.ld ke to research before I get out, a lot of
thinking to do. T don’t want to leave this place until I'n ready and T don’t
want to wak out of here-without a-plan.

1 need support from the anarchist community, to help me become self-
sufficient and if they can do that there's no doubt that Il be there for them
on any level, on anything they need me for, you know? | am committed to
‘whoever's committed to me, and | am down for whoever’s down for me and
1L get up for you if yau'll get up for me.

Right now I'm studying a little bit on things like* consensus decision-
making” and “direct action” because I'd like to remain active and involved
after my release. 1'd like to do a lot of the type of stuff you do, speak at
conferences, run a chapter and a zine distro, support prisoners and lots of
others things. It's not just a lifestyle for me, you know?" I mean, it is &
lifestyle, but I feel like I'm dedicated to being an anarchist and dedicated to
trying to make effective changes. But I have to delve deeper into my own
personat reasons of being an anarchist as weil, because | don't want to
chase illusions and 1 don't want to become disillusioned, do you
‘understand?

My heart goes out to the poor, the oppressed and the imprisoned. My
heart goes out to the children of the ghetto, my heart goes out to the
duldxme(ldflx;flnn.myhanmwlmflnlb\ludlndn@emd
children. My heart will forever be with thee people. With this struggle,
‘because these aremy people, this is my strugglel

1 definitely want to get involved and Id like to remaip active after I'm
released from the belly of thebeast, as of right-now I dori't really have a
plan, but 1 hope to have one before I'm released. All I really know is that I
want to get myself together and my life in order first and foremost, and 1
really don’t know what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do that, because

the last thing I want to do s get out and work for the man, because that's
an accident waiting ta happen 73

If there's & way for me 1 get out and become self-sufficient without
having o be a wage-slave, Fin dllTor it. AT, I've bren antertaining the
idea of maybe getting a job working outdoors, or in a national park o
something, 80 if 1 do have to get a job it can be one where I'm clascly.

S0 y0u sce brother, there's a lot for me 1o think about before I'm ready
0 get out of here. Like I said, I don't want to leave without a plan and I
dont want to leave unless I have something 1o go out there to, I don't want
t10.be like-it waa the laat time araund.

Up until now my life has never been easy, all 1 truly believe that lie is
not supposed to be easy all of the time for anyone. Everybody must endure
pain, hardships and struggle in some point of their lives. Things can't be
good all of the time. Life just doesn't work that way. There can't be good
without the bad. There can't be yin without the yang you know? Our
hardships; our struggles; our pain; it's alf there foca_real reason, to help
us, to strengthen us, to make us wiser and more caring individuals.

1 feel good about life, because 1 can take the good with the bad, the
bitter with the sweet and keep on moving. All my pain and suffering, to
me, that's lie a gift. 1feel blessed to have been given so much pain and so
much heartbreak in my life man, ‘cuz now I can go out and enjoy the
sunshine. 1 can live with the bugs and the insects. 1 can go out and live
‘undor the blue skies. }-can enjoy life-now. | can go out and share my joy
with others, share my storics, share my struggles. 1 can take my heart out
of my chest and put it in someone clsc's-hands-for a moment or for an
etemity.

Do you understand what I'm saying bro? I'm ready for the world
(aimost) Pain and hardship has preparcd me, and lifc has shown me that
Tcould get through and past any obstacle o situation put in front of me.

10. Thanks, Brother! Expound at length at what-you think we need
tahear!

Answer: Thanks for the interview bro. 1 feel these interviews are a very
important addition to the literature we put out - especially theas written
interviews, because you can really take your time answering the questions.
You can rescarch something before giving an answer and you can put a lot
of thought into what you are saying, and like I said, thought gives birth to
‘creation:

‘There are a couple of things I'd like to expound on before we wrap this
up. Where I come from I've scen a lot of people chasing the llusory idea of
power, thinking they have t be better than the next man, thinking they
have t0 be stronger, wiser or have more money than the next man and
that's crazy.

‘There can't be any unity or organization when everybody's chasing after
somatliing as slippery ax power. The only thing pawer brings o us is
corruption. I've scen 160 many good dudes turn into scandalous
individuats - chasing-after :

Chasing power is like chasing a pipe dream. Have you ever seen a dog
race where the dogs run around the track chasing after a rubber rabbit?
Well,it's kind've like that. We're not in control, the pigs put the rubber
rabbit out threre and we chaseit. But the only Gne who wins is one of the
pigs. Think about it, what power do we really have ovec life and destiny?
I prisorr what power-do-we-have™Fhe-onty power we redlly have as people
s power over ourselves. It's called *self-empowermentl® 24

Self-empowerment, mow there’s an ideal If you have control aver
youraelf, then nobody can control you. You don't have to be more powerful
than the next man to survive. All you have to do is maintain control over
yaurself, over yaur chaices in life, over yaur thoughts, over your feelings.
Because when you let others do your thinking for you, you're giving your
power away. i you et othors contzo your.choicea and gptions, theh you
give your power away. If you let others control how you feel, then you're

Chasing power is bullshit. Chase knowiedge, for the right reasons, not
the wrong reasons. Chase freedom, because all of the other things you're
chasing, man, those things aren't getting you free and when you get them,
shey're not going to-make you any happicr. Rubber rabbits, that's afl they
are. They were probably gt there by opcratives of the aystem in the first
lace, because they probably want you to chase them, probably so they can
control your options ~ while you're out there thinking you're gonna get
something. But all you're really doing is running around in circles, and the
only one who wins is the asshole who put the rubber rabbit out there for
you to chase.

Look at & of the people who are in power now. What good are they
doing for the people? Nonel They don't care about the peopl, they don't
give a fuck about s, all they care-about is-being pawerf. With their
power, they keep us down, they keep us oppressed and they keep us
divided. A divided people is a conquered people. Just ‘cuz we are all on
the same track together chasing after the same rubber-rabbit doesn't mean
we're together, belicve that, ‘cuz we're gonna be fighting for the rubber
£abbit as soon.as one.of us gets it by the neck! With their power, they got
us chasing rubber rabbits and ranning around in circles, like damn fools.

So Lsay, *Fuck Powerl” Power is bullshit. Do you really want tobe like
the people in power? Do you want to climb the hierarchy just 50 you can
80 from being oppressed 0 being the one who oppresses people? 1s that
what life is about to you?

Before 1 end all of this, there’s one more thought Id like to share with
the people on the outs. | just want the people out there to understand how
important it is to get involved withr the-struggies of prsoners. And try to
get them 1o realize that the struggles we go through in here are all
‘combined to the struggles of the community.

So, it could be said that by helping prisoners overcome these oppressive
circumstances, you are helping out your community. You're even helping
out your community by helping the prisoners who have life-sentences, if
you're helping them with vital things like acquiring a genuine reapect and
kindness for humanity.

‘There are so many ways that people out there can get involved in
prisomer’s struggles; because tirere-are so many-people if\ prison and we all
have different struggles as well as common struggles. A It of us in here
have been in prison for 5o long that we've been institutionalized, even to
the point that some of us have become scared of getting released.
“Why go back out into a world we know nothing about, when we've
become comfortable with living like this?*

‘That's one of the many diluted thoughts that often.foats in the back of
our minds:” IFs a very warwicuntion: bt rvery real sitiagion.

Soif you can get involved with a prisoner and help himh with the process
of de-institutionalizing himself before his release, help him with his

We need support from people on the outside. We need to overcome
these tmgediea. We need help. with becoming Joving, caring and generous
people. We need help with transitioning back into society, and lirs need
help with connecting with their humanity while iving in suich lieless
place. Its a process. It's a mental process, a spiritual process and it’s an
important process of lfe and we need help with that process. Whether
we're going to be getting released soon, or in 10 years from now, or if we're
doing & life sentenee; prisoncra need help-with theae naural processes f
ife, while living in an unnatural, locked down environment.

‘This is real, probably ane of the realest struggles youl cver get involved
inl Please understand that we cannot get that help from the system. We
need help from our own peopie, from the concerned people out there,
because this system wasn't built o tarn us into reformed individuals and
even if it was, what would we be “reforming” to? We'd be reforming to their
sick culture and their sick standards. That's more like conforming than
being reformed. But this system docsn' really care, cither way. The point
s, weneed-aik the support we-cam get fronr-the-outside if we arc to
overcome this oppression. We need all the support we can get from the
outaide if we ase gaing to rise above this degencration,

o please, get involved with a prisoner’s struggle if you can! We may

donel So, please get involved! My heart goes out to all of those who havé
been a positive force in our lives. Thank you for all your compassionate
blessings!

InFruth and Towards Anarchy,
COYOTE

ABC - Nevada
Prison Chapter
For letters of support and encouragement, please contact Coyote at this
address:

P Anthony Rayeon
P.O. Box 1989 Hamewood, Illinois 60430

Ely, Nevada 89301-1989
Or contact Anthony Rayson at this address:
SOUTH CHICAGO
ABC ZINE DISTRO
PO BOX 721
HOMEWOOD, IL 60430