Prisoner Writes to Gregory Koger:
From one wretched of the earth to another
December 16, 2012 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The following is a letter from a prisoner addressed to Gregory Koger, an ex-prisoner and revolutionary who is facing a 300-day sentence for unjust convictions on misdemeanors for attempting to video a political statement at the "Ethical" Humanist Society in Chicago three years ago (see a statement from Gregory Koger that was published in Revolution #285 at revcom.us).
Gregory,
Sup, comrade? I just wanted to write you a few words before you go back to court for those non-violent misdemeanors they unjustly convicted you on. Hopefully, as the statement at dropthecharges.net says, you won't have to spend one more day in jail. If things don't turn out as we all hope though, I already know you're gonna keep your head up and your chest out the whole way through. That's the only way we know how. You feel me? - especially when we know we are on the right side of history and truth.
Well... just to fill you in on a small detail about myself, I'm [a] comrade who wrote several letters to the PRLF over the years about your situation and the potential that individuals like us bring to this movement and struggle. After reading the statement you wrote in the Revolution newspaper recently, I realized just how much we've undergone the same sort of process to get to where we are today. And bra... if I had to do this shit all over again just to get to where I am today, I would because I feel like this is the FIRST TIME IN MY WHOLE [LIFE] that I'm actually LIVING! Real talk! I've been down nearly 15 years now and have alil' over 3 more to go, but when I look back at what I was when I arrived here at the tender age of 20 to the type of MAN I am now at 33 (bout to be 34), I feel like I've accomplished the impossible some time. I'm sure sometimes when you contemplate your own path, you be feeling the same yourself. That in itself sometimes keep me going and ready to fight another day with renewed resolve and determination. I really feel like we're the lucky ones in alot of ways because a lot of brothas and sistas aren't even here anymore; they were taken out by drugs, violence, or the death penalty before they could get the chance to reassess themselves, society, and life in general. You know? Nevertheless, the struggle continues... until all of humanity is emancipated. Until that goal is reached, I won't be satisfied. I know that you feel the same way.
As of right now, like I said, I have [a few more years] before I'll be released back to the streets again. I'm pretty sure we'll get a chance to chop it up and bring others into this movement… I really want to hit the ground running…Besides, I want to give back as much as I can to the PRLF and the Party. I dig what yall have been doing over these past several years, especially since the launch of the BAsics Bus Tour and what Carl Dix has been up to when it comes to abolishing Stop and Frisk and The New Jim Crow of mass incarceration. It'll take individuals like me and you who's been in these prisons and on these supermax units and witnessed and experienced the omnipresent sense of hopelessness in these cages in order to show others another way. The fact that you've been in the mix for awhile now, since your release from prison, I'm sure there's a lot I can learn from you and vice versa. I definitely look forward to that next chapter in my life.
Well... I'm not gonna make this much longer, but just know that I really respect everything you represent and symbolize. A lot of people, I'm sure, gave up on the both of us, but as a true wretched of the earth you've emerged from what appeared to be a "wasted life" to becoming one that shows that every life counts and is worthwhile. Nothing but respect bra... comrade.
From wretched of the Earth to another,
XXX
"No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that."
BAsics 1:13
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