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Sept. 20th, 2022 Dear APWA, (Fellow Readers), (Hello,world), Once again I would like to extend my well-wishes to fans & supporters of this movement as it pertains to criminnal justice reform as a whole and attacking the "theoretical" (mantras) voice by the powers that be which are clear-cut "hypocrisies" for the most part, Political gain is the main motivation in placing emphasis on those issues by candidates as well as current seat holders. I consider myself although still currently an inmate a "Independent Journalist" who lives by the philosophy that the "Pen is Mightier than the Sword," I believe that cliche or maxim to be undefeated and welcome any cynic or journalism enthusiast to test its durability. Our country and it's Constitution has been written in medieval pen and betrayed at it's core by the technological advances of keypads by current and former students of law that swore to uphold it's core principles (Perjury at it's true Essence). But anyway back to the purpose of this essay I would like to kind of weave the fabric of the current happenings in the world together with the thread of "Mass Incarceration," Prisons can only profit from those that are held in "bondage" and trust me but feel free to verify these facts with your own research, The U.S. is in the middle of a "Migrant Crisis" countrywide and as we know with numbers at a record-high 2 million plus undocumented and counting, that type of crisis only leads to a more vulnerable marginalized group of people with a dier need for human needs (food, clothing, shelter) that if not provided with a "legitimate" means of obtaining those "basic human needs" their next understandable alternative is "crime" which is part of the U.S. fear on one side of the spectrum but also there is a "Tails" side to the coin "Capitalism" (Private Prisons) so and so forth, Can you imagine how wealthy these (CCA)(GEO) and other private entities are getting in the wake of profiting off of someone else's pain. Look at like this Arm & Hammer never condoned any body engaging in trafficking or selling cocaine but ultimately saw its best gains/profits during the "Crack Era" (baking soda), Can you imagine how much money condom companies made after the announcement in (92) by Magic Johnson (NBA player) that he had contracted (H.I.V.). Pharmaceutical companies since the pandemic (Catch-22), If I'm not mistaken they always use to tell us "fish in troubled waters," They say in the "wild" the vulture has the easiest job because it never has to make the "kill" it just consumes whats already is dead. Now do you see why there is always room in "hell" because there always is a consequence and ultimately a "realistic place" that one dreads as a result of those bad decisions. Not to play a "Race Card" because as a Black man I do truly feel privledged to reside in a country in which I'm surrounded by a "surplus" of opportunities and cannot wait to take full advantage of the many that still remain even for an ex-convict upon my release. Now with that being said on the same token I cannot forget that our country was founded on "savagery" which it still practices to this very day by some of it's occupants, And what I mean by that is as "Americans" its in our "patriotic" (DNA) to not apologize for victory which I believe in wholeheartedly but even in that belief I'm not "blind" to the "reality" that in a "war" world whcih by definition is a "quest" for "power" there is a popular term coined as "Collateral Damage" which means that if my "enemy" is hidden in the village then the whole village must go. "Harsh Reality" but one that exists despite emotions that come before, during, or after it takes place. One thing I do enjoy about our country as a whole is that due to technological advances e.g. (Internet) we can no longer perform plastic surgery on our public identity as a country to enhance the image or the appearance of what is our true character that ultimately is what you judge any living, breating thing by, its (Heart!!!), Imagine feeding a dog, giving it a home, walking it, bathing it, etc, and one day you walk in the house you gave it and it attacks you like your the (intruder) Treason) Betrayal) and that's what a lot of our occupants or citizens are experiencing right now, The prison system is filled with former servicemen (Army, Navy, Marines) who have truly been attacked by their own (country) and last time I checked a sacrifice of life is (priceless) so there should in my opinion never be a waiting line for resources or access to those resources after one has pledged his or her life for a cause that our country posterizes as "political propaganda" for its own purposes of reference all these different issues to highlight the "common sense" or "instinct" that most of us are in possession of as "human beings" and what I mean by that what do they say about a "Broke Clock" its right atleast twice a day. Okay with the overturning of (Roe v. Wade) by our "Supreme Ignorant Court" can you imagine what companies investing in "Contraception" will profit off the fact that all roads lead to their "Bottom Line" seeing it as though people are not going to stop having sex and along with drugs or any other subject you place a stigma on it only leads to a more active indulgence in said behavior. Prison can rehabilitate a persons way of thinking if you apply it to the "Chess" game of life and what I mean by that is you begin to look at things totally different when you look at yourself as the owner of the mansion instead of the "butler" which don't get me wrong the "butler" is an important piece to how the day-to-day operations are run within the confines of said residence but "he" or "she" is often the "most" unappreciated & neglected staff member apart of the faculty, Question "Who serves the butler ? That's why often times people in these positions if "smart" enough "thrive" off the fact that they are underestimated and end up bringing a whole empire down with the information they make public or if the gatekeepers of said residences are "smart" enough to avoid those tragedies from happening they end up writing these maidservants into the family's will. I highlight this analogy like others in this passage again to reference how prisoners are treated by guards, administrators, society and sometimes their own family, You will be suprised how people will treat you when they consider you to be an "Ant," often times they'll step on you or in many other ways consider you to be insignificant. But not to get "Theological" open up a "Bible" and turn to "Proverbs" and it eludes to the "wisdom" of the "ant" and they call their groups/Colonies, Didn't our country start with Thirteen (13) colonies and look now what we've built it into, Survival is about "Adaptation" which again is so "inherent" in not only day-to-day "Human Philosophy" but" Prison Survival (101) which is its own "world" within a "world" alot of "Lions" in prison would be "Goldfish" out of water in "free society" due to not knowing how to "Adapt" to a different "social mechanism" in existence. The "pandemic" has forever changed not only our country, but the entire world which we are all "global citizens" of last time I checked and we all have a job which is to "survive" and teach our fellow "brethren" to do the same in order to not live in fear of being preyed upon for the same possessions that your fellow brother & sister can attain with those same hard-working principles, I don't use the word "Recession" mainly due to the "upward surge" in job growth because as long as people have enough to "survive" they can learn to live without (leisure) desires in their eventual understanding that meat & bread make a sandwich not the mustard & mayonaisse, Listen when I was growing up people never use to wear seat belts until law enforcement instilled a practice of (Click it or Ticket) now even the driver of a stolen car wears a seatbelt, People can & will adapt and I ask that of my fellow prisoner, my fellow reader and also more importantly myself, (Adaptation) is the Mother of growth which ultimately gives birth to a necessary change that seperates "human existence" from that of the dinosaurs which we have scientific proof of e.g. (fossils in museums) that they once roamed these plains, But I give that last comparison between "humans" and "dinosaurs" to bring this point home it is no (question) that dominance has an expiration date if only practised without true foresight meaning not just (today) but 10 years from now, security is better established through equality than it is through "vengance" or "greed" Us the "U.S. as a country & society need to better practice these principles in avoiding conflict with not only our returning citizens/prisoners to society but also in exhibiting "global diplomacy" with other countries in true senseable efforts of avoiding conflict or as we see it eventual war understanding that if we are all inhabitants of this planet "No Citizen (Globally) Should Be Left Behind. Please Feel free to write back with your feedback, support, or disagreement. September 20th, 2022 Terrell James Robey [address]
