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NEWS & LETTERS, December 2007 - January 2008Woman prisoner's response to JenaWe all understand what a hang noose is. It stands for a tradition of lynching. It shows your "family values" if you think this symbol, a reminder of this history, is nothing but a prank. One would like to think that this no longer happens in this country. But it seems to be lurking all the time. It is very serious that history is not listened to. We have to be able to call things as they are. Jena would not have escalated this far if the whites were willing to listen. They could have made the tree a lesson in reconciliation, in peace. I understand why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was for non-violence--we don't want to stoop to the level of the racists by being as violent as they are. JUDICIAL SYSTEM AS VICTIMIZER The judicial system is supposed to be fair, but it only heightens and perpetuates the victimization of a part of society. The justices are supposed to be aware of the issues that have been raised in the past. They let the whole of society down by implying it's OK to hang those nooses or to prosecute Black youth as adults, but not prosecute the whites at all. Selective prosecution and letting the noose incident pass as a prank is wrong. It shows racism. It shows how far we have not come. How can people think it is funny to spread hate? It feels like we're back in the 1960s, before the Civil Rights Movement. I feel like I am in an upside down world. The prison system is not able to rehabilitate anyone, because it does not allow for any experience or exercise of freedom. Prison is very much like slavery. The slave system makes the overlords inhuman and unfeeling. It makes them see us all the same, not as individuals. They get good salaries, buy their toys and lose their compassion. They lose a part of themselves. How they treat prisoners exacts a price on them. The way I keep my humanity is to quietly help people who get picked on by everybody. There is always somebody you can help. I try to develop genuine relations with people, not as a front for getting something from them. I learned how to discern when people want a genuine relationship. God does not require me to be a part of others' games. --A woman prisoner, California |
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