American Slave Labour Camps.

       The American prison system is nothing less than slave labour camps, where billions of dollars of merchandise is produced for the American military and large corporations, and the prisoners get no choice in the matter.
          Regarding the action against the American prison system, June 13th. from Free Marius Mason site. 

         Greetings to all the good folks who are coming together on this day to fight together against an important Environmental Justice issue. It inspires me to see that friends in the environmental movement and friends in the prison abolition movement are seeing some essential common ground, to join forces and visions in their work.
       Many, many years ago in Detroit, I and a small group of neighbors got together to oppose a trash incinerator that was being built in the city, in our neighborhood. At one of the many public hearings, I accosted an EPA official who had signed off on a report that said that the fatalities due to the operation of this monstrosity would be about 40 people. His answer to me, was that was only if people were exposed to the toxins coming from the stack every day, all day. His assertion was that most people would go away from the area, either by moving or for vacation or for work…..but this was a false assumption. The poor people of my neighborhood were stuck there, many were house-bound elders or small children, and most of us who were able to work did so minutes away from the faculty. We were in essence a sacrifice community, deemed expendable because of our poverty or our race. We eventually lost our fight, for the most part. But were able to get them to put the state of the art capture technology on the Incinerator that would NOT have been put in place had it not been for our intense struggle. Direct action really does get the goods, but you have to be in it for the long haul.
        No one is more locked into one spot for the long haul than are the prisoners incarcerated in the United States; so many for decades on end. Many are prohibited from transfer and would certainly be exposed relentlessly to any toxic source that was on the premises. And as recent litigation has proved..hardly anyone is less likely to be served as to their medical needs. So the curse of a toxic facility on a prison population is doubled by the lack of access to any monitoring or treatment. Given that the prison population is overwhelmingly people of color, trans and queer folks and poor people – the result is a great human rights tragedy as well as the thoughtless destruction of an environment that is literally coming apart, unable to withstand the damage that our society is inflicting on it.
     As an environmental and animal rights activist, as a trans prisoner of conscience, as someone whose choice and whose voice are so often taken away by the system – I am infinitely grateful to all of you who are here today to insist that we want a world that cares and respects all beings and this Earth. Thank you for speaking for so many who cannot. I wish you strength and success in your campaign.

We are all in it for the long haul, love and solidarity,

Marius Mason

Write to Marius.

        We encourage everyone to write to Marius in prison:


Marie (Marius) Mason #04672-061
FMC Carswell
Federal Medical Center
P.O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, TX 76127

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Tomorrow, January 22nd. Trans Prisoner Day Of Solidarity.

       Society is not civilised as long as it locks people up in cages. All those unfortunate enough to find themselves locked up under some state legislation, suffer humiliation, trauma and violence, both mental and physical. For some the experience can be even more brutal, those who society considers not to fit the "norm", can find prison an unbearable experience, and in many cases, their experience ends in suicide. This type of treatment is intolerable in a modern civilised society. We have a duty to stand up for those put through this repressive state treatment, and show our unstinting solidarity.

Download and distribute this pdf zine in low-res (6mb) or high-res (24mb)
This zine will be distributed to folks both inside and outside prison walls.

       January 22nd 2016 will be the first annual Trans Prisoner Day of Action: an international day of action in solidarity with trans prisoners. This project was first imagined by Marius Mason, a trans anarchist prisoner in Texas, USA. Since then, through his friends and supporters, an international collective of people both inside and outside of prison walls have come together to make this day a reality. A preliminary list of trans prisoners can be found here.

 

US prisons: 
Statement from Marius Mason for the Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity January 22nd 2016

        Happy New Year, Family and Friends! Many, many thanks for so much support and care over this year from both long-standing friends and new pen pals. I feel very grateful and am always humbled by the encouragement and resources sent my way by folks who are doing so much already to increase our collective chances for survival. The news has been full of stories about someone winning the big money pool that has accumulated for the US Lotto – but the most important “win” has nothing to do with money. I am betting on the movement to win big this year: in getting more control over their communities and defending against police brutality and racial inequality, in winning more victories for animal and in the defense of wild spaces, in creating social relations based on respect, dignity and compassion for all people… irregardless of their race, orientation, creed or gender presentation.       Thank you for coming together today, to hold up those members of our community who struggle so hard behind walls to keep their sense of self intact. Sovereignty over our selves, our bodies is essential for any other kind of liberty to be possible. By reaching out to trans prisoners, you affirm their right to define themselves for themselves – and defend them against the overwhelming voices who claim that they do not exist, that they must allow others to define them. In the isolating environment of prison, this is toxic and intimidating, and amounts to the cruelest form of psychological torture. By offering your help and solidarity, you may just save a life. I know that for the last year and a half, as I have struggled to assert myself as a transman, as I have advocated for the relief of appropriate medical care for my gender dysphoria – it has been the gentle and loving reminders of my extended family of supporters who have given me strength and courage to continue. Please join me in offering this help to so many others who need it to keep going. Never underestimate the healing power of a letter, those letters have kept me going…and I want to pass that gift on, if you will help me.
       Thank you again for coming together on this day, for connecting to those on the inside who truly need you, who need you to see them as they really are and striving to be. Until the prisons are gone, we need to work hard to support those of us inside – especially those of us who are not always as visible to the rest of the world. We are always stronger together.
Marius Mason
January 2016

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk