Revolution #199, April 18, 2010
Readers Respond...
We received the following comments online:
Comment on the article: "NYPD in the Classrooms: Turning Schools into Prisons in the Name of 'Safety'"
I really appreciated your work in disseminating the story about police harassment in NYC schools. I believe that focusing on clear objectives and getting out information to people who have simple common sense is our best tool create a better society for all people. Keep it up.
*****
Two comments on the article: "Pelican Bay State Prison, CA and Menard Prison, IL: Overturn the Ban of Revolution Newspaper!"
I was extremely struck by the following statement...
"I am...offended by their notion that they are 'cultivators' of my mind, that they 'water' my mind with their approved books and approved reading and I will 'grow' to be an 'approved crop' instead of a weed."
I don't think I have ever really, truly, analyzed the internal situations a prisoner must go through. All I can recall from movies I've watched or books I've read or even through other people is that in prison one of the major concerns are your cellmates turning their back on you, or the fear of dropping a bar of soap in the shower, and having to stick with people of the same race, or being the notorious "pipe carrier." After having read this powerful article, I am certain I will never look at the prison system with clouded eyes again.
*****
When I was in the Ohio pen in Columbus, Oh, I received the Revolutionary Worker at that time, and it helped me get through all those years in the Ohio prison system. End the ban.
*****
Two comments on the article: "The Harm of The Hurt Locker"
First, I want to note that I thoroughly enjoy perusing each edition of Revolution as soon as they are published online. This being said, I do have a bone to pick with Annie Day's recent article, "The Harm of The Hurt Locker."
The intent of the movie's message can be seen in the Chris Hedges quote that it begins with: "...war forms its own culture. The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug...". Over the course of the rest of the movie, no real attempt was made by the director to delineate the "good guys" from the "bad guys" as pertaining to the cause of the war. Rather, she focused on the effects of war on the soldiers who fight it, with the conclusion that it is intoxicating. This is made clear in the scenes in which Renner can't get comfortable without the bomb suit helmet on, when he gets in the shower with his uniform still on, and ultimately when he redeploys after calling combat the only thing he loves and lives for. The director then proceeded to throw the shit and muck of the conflict in Iraq into the audience's face with scenes of death, destruction, and insanity. She then goes on to show that despite such devastation, war is addicting to our men and women and to our Western imperialist concepts.
By the end of the movie, Mackie's character admits that he has had enough of this war bullshit and realizes that the war is all just a big fuck-up and wants out.
Admittedly, the film was Eurocentric at times and did have you rooting for the Americans, but it did show some of the Iraqi plight. While definitely not enough, there was still some effort shown.
My verdict on The Hurt Locker: a Hollywood-esque creation that has pro-American tendencies, but still manages to get across the message of war being a drug that is abused by imperialism and our youth.
*****
Dear Annie Day:
Your article, "The Harm of The Hurt Locker," is extraordinary. Thank you thank you for publishing this. May I copy it and send it to many people and/or organizations as long as I credit you?
Thank you,
*****
Comment on the article: "Battle Over Abortion Raging In Mexico"
The forces for legalizing abortion should use the shit that is going down in the catholic church right now (from the pope down) to show the people the contradictions in the infallible catholic church.
*****
You have very insightful, straightforward articles about revolution and change, which I wholly agree with, even though I am not a Communist. But more people desperately need that "flame."
I could particularly relate to the recent article on the pornification of prisons since I had just seen an episode of Oprah where she talked with a porn star as if it was any other discussion. I'm glad to see articles like this that are discussing problems head-on instead of dancing around them like there's nothing wrong. Typical American: "Oh, no, there's nothing wrong with it! What are you talking about??????"
A very interesting excerpt: "As most of you know by now, I have been state raised by cold steel & concrete since I was 13 years old. I'm 31 now. I can remember when I first entered juvenile prison, some of the officers would bring in porn movies for us to watch depending on how we 'behaved.' If we were really 'good' which I never was according to their standards, the institution would bring in a bus load of girls in from the female institution & organize dances."
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