The courage of silence in the face of repression is seldom easy, and those who choose that path can sometimes speak volumes in the defence of human dignity. The state is never a soft enemy, it can be vindictive, harsh, brutal, vicious, duplicitous and unforgiving, and those who feel its wrath and maintain their principles are heroes. Jerry Koch is one of those heroes.
This is not to say that I haven’t suffered – I’ve lost more during my incarceration that I ever thought possible. I grieve for every goodbye, and I doubt that some of these scars will ever heal. It is during truly difficult times that reveal what lives in the core of people, and that knowledge can sometimes be incredibly painful. But so too can that knowledge make us stronger; I take comfort from those of my fellows who have also refused to be made into subjects of this place. My own resistance is far from unique. It is found in those who have always said NO to those in power. My refusal to cooperate is my contribution to this tradition of defiance to arbitrary and repressive power. I will not cooperate. I will not be institutionalized. No compromise in this. I will not sacrifice my dignity in order to leave this place, and that’s not nothing.”
No comments:
Post a Comment