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April 22, 2008 - 12:08pm
The media tends to control everything in a way that goes beyond conspiracy. Politicians are stuck with the image that they're dirty and conniving no matter how hard a few try not to be, actors forced to play the same roles over and over again, Cuba has been mellowing, but anti-Castro militants, and those who cheer the Cuban dream from afar prevent us from realizing it. Here in Philadelphia, we have the image frozen in our mind that Mumia Abu Jamal who has been resisting execution and the Move organization, he got in trouble while defending are militants. Though Move was once determined to expose and they hope end what they considered evil civilization, it has now been making more and more compromises with civilized world around them. One delusion that I hope John Africa can still expose is the illusion that prisoners aren’t human like us normal people on the right side of the law. Among Mumia’s more thoughtful comments was one urging that Saddam not be executed. Google, EMAJ "Saddam's Sentence" Chuck Africa of the Move 9, wrote an extremely thoughtful and gentle plea that elderly dying prisoners be allowed to die at home with their families. To me, I hope this will change the image of elderly prisoners and the image that Chuck Africa was, or maybe even ever was, a violent revolutionary. He is eligible for parole after 30 year in prison. One site says in May, and another in 6 months which would be in October. The parole board can be reached at Chairman Catherine C. McVey, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Attn: Inmate Inquiry, 1101 South Front Street, Suite 5300, Harrisburg, PA 17104 For Chuck's background you can go to www.onamove.com and scrawl down to October 2007 and also click on his picture. I posted other background material at, www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/6393 Video of Chuck Africa's plea to the world Enclosed is from an original email text I saved of his plea from prison. RichardKanePA@aol.com, ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ CHUCK AFRICA’S PLEA TO THE WORLD: In a message dated 10/8/2007 11:42:31 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, Dear Sirs/Madams: A sea of apathy floods the cell blocks and corridors of Graterford State Prison as scores of elderly/terminally ill inmates are dying at a rapid and alarming pace. The mere fact of anybody dying is not remarkable by itself; but cold indifference can border on the inhumane when people capable of easing needless suffering fail to act. It is not my intent to suggest that there is a quick fix to a complex situation involving many Counselors, Staffers, Administrators, Psychologists, Guards and Religious Authorities: You have all at various times interrelated with and gotten to know the character of many men here and you can make common sense evaluations and intelligent recommendations regarding this dire situation. Where there is clearly no valid reason pursuant to humanity to continue holding terminally ill men there should be alternatives. I realize that there are more priorities in the world that over shadow that of prisoners and this is not a call to lift the needs and concerns of prisoners above others; it is simply an attempt by me to shed light on a crisis here that requires special attention. Me expressing it with such urgency comes from the real fact that I watch Mr. Edward Williams (Abdullah Shah) AF-4687 wither away before me on A-Block. He is clearly ailing. And I’ve recently observed the late Jerry Mims’ last days as a walking dead man. Helpless and harmless. (1) The bulletin boards continue to announce more memorials as dead faces line the walls on an almost daily basis. Surely some of these men could’ve/can have a positive impact on the communities outside. There can never be enough wisdom out there that people can benefit from. Especially in the wake of the vicious streak of violence plaguing the inner cities. Finally, while death is inevitable to us all, in here and out there; terminally ill men should at least get to spend their last days of breathing with family and friends. Along with this letter to prisonofficials I’m calling on all Ministers, Guards, Rabbis, Chaplains, Priests, and Imams to have the courage as men; the moral imperative as spiritual guides; and the willingness to adhere The months of April and May of this year alone have had more than twelve deaths. Charles Sims Africa, AM-4975 (1) One of many who’ve succumbed to a terminal illness and is now deceased. And I have witnessed many other stricken men die in similar fashion between 2002-2007. video linkof Chuck Africa's plea added to blog May 1, see, Chuck's background go to www.onamove.com scrawl to October 2007 and also click on his picture. I added recent updates at:
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Several years ago, I got an
Submitted by Flapsaddle on April 23, 2008 - 1:54pm.Several years ago, I got an interesting perspective on prisoners from an acquaintance who used to work for the Texas Department of Corrections as a guard at a medium security unit at Huntsville. We were having a beer and making small-talk one summer afternoon, and I asked him about which prisoners gave him the most and the least trouble.
Without hesitation, he said that the least troublesome were the old prisoners, black or white, who were generally serving long or life sentences for murder without malice. Most of them had no family, or the family wanted nothing to do with them. The only family and orderly life that they had was in prison with other long-serving inmates. A few with family ties wanted to get out and die with their family around them, but the majority wanted to stay where they were, among the only people with whom they had been in contact for twenty, thirty or even forty years.
The real troublesome prisoners were the young punks, the toughs doing stretches for burglary, robbery, auto theft and assault. They were the jail-house lawyers, always looking to take advantage, always mouthy and strutting. You couldn't turn your back on these guys - but you could on the old timers. The old-timers didn't want out. If they were paroled - as happened on occasion - they would commit some small crime to get hte parole revoked so they could get back to their "family"; they just couldn't function in the outside world.
Most sincerely,
T. J. Flapsaddle
RichardKanePA capitolhillblue
Submitted by RichardKanePA on May 2, 2008 - 4:37am.RichardKanePA
capitolhillblue.com/cont/comment/reply/6393/32289
Dear T. J. Flapsaddle, I both appreciate and am bothered by your comment.
I’m sure you are right that some elderly people, whether or not they are in prison, wouldn’t want to be suddenly in a strange place right before they die. As you noted Flapsaddle, elderly prisoners don’t usually have the anger of young kids just being arrested. But unfortunately elderly radicals with supporters outside often think that they have to pretend to be perpetually angry, but anger gets in the way of parole but not staying angry gets in the way of outside support which is also helpful in obtaining parole, a real box.
I first met Move 35 years when they had their back-to-nature sect, near Winter Street where I lived, when they had a car wash. Never really separated Chuck from the rest, and knew Mumia Abu-Jamal when he volunteered at Community Underground Newspaper. I’m a bit of a Luddite and think it unfortunate that I am forced and/or force myself to sit in front of a screen most of the day exercising my fingers. At one point little Black kids would run up to the elementary school fence shouting “on the Move” when a man with dreadlocks would pass nearby. So an illiterate piecework handyman Vincent Leaphart, or an ancient spirit John Africa, who he thought communicated to him and sometimes through him, came slightly closer to challenging the rat race called civilization then many realize.
Vincent, before he had enough of trying to look respectable, spent a lot of time listening to classical music and wearing sharp clean clothing, until he decided that civilization’s delusions were enslaving him. And unlike every other prophet, many of the people he persuaded, that evil civilization was a prison, were his close relatives. He taught that all isms communism, capitalism and racism were delusions civilization used to separate people from each other and then natural animal world they were part of. The onamove commune thought that by managing to live naturally in the middle of a city they would prove to all those that gaped (people used to drive by in their cars to look at the skeptical) that civilization was totally unnecessary. To accept the Quaker’s offer of a free farm in the country, would mean in his mind that his experiment had failed.
People have frozen in their minds that Chuck, the Move 9 and Mumia Abu Jamal are Black Militants that hate white racism. Their so-called supporters push them toward declaring such and the press ignores Pam Africa except when she says something that fits into the fighting racism script, and those mad at what they think she represents, try to portray her as full of unreasonable anger. At one point a camera shy onamove-er was trying to avoid his picture taken of his face while holding a free Mumia sign, and trying to avoid the reporters questions as well. Pam Africa screamed and waved her hands hoping her picture would be taken instead but to no avail. Anyway, Move being Black militants fighting racism or spreading it is painted on them.
Years later Mumia was pressured to lay off the Move story as he began to reject Marxism, in favor of the idea that civilization was the problem. Some weeks after, I think the Inquirer, reported that the police stormed Mumia’s mothers apartment in a crowed public housing high-rise and demanded that her son stop criticizing the police (it could have been earlier I never retrieved the story while searching again for it) A badly wounded Mumia supposedly ran up to a wounded police officer, executed the officer, then ran or stumbled back to the curb where he was first shot to slump into unconsciousness. Obviously I think Mumia had nothing to do with the second shot. But unlike everyone else who claims to support Move or Mumia, I don’t think fighting racism, spreading racism or being a victim of racism has anything to due with his conviction or the trouble Move and Mumia are in. Living in Philadelphia I met people who knew officer Ramp, personally. He was a bit of a racist, and was going back to college to get degrees in criminal law. He didn’t mind bending the rules but hated casual corruption. If he was whistle blower, like many suggest, perhaps resent declassified government documents could be studied.
I would like to see Move and Mumia linked with the Tibetans, and US Indians not the Black Panthers. (Incidentally one of the chief Move haters condemns militant Indians as well) Though actually the young, desperately poor Mumia, living in a home without books, after hungrily relishing a meal at the Black Panther soup kitchen would run upstairs to the Black Panther library to read rather than going out to play with the rest of the little slum kids.
I personally oppose Capital Punishment and harsh punishment in general but oppose claiming that the basic problem with America relates to racism. Many in Philadelphia believe that mentioning Move or Mumia is spreading racial tension, and the pro-punishment lobby twists this into claiming that Philadelphians want Move and Mumia punished. I may over interpret Romana’s thanks but I make Pam uncomfortable, and perhaps Mario as well. The anti-racism lobby finds my input a waste of time or disruptive depending on which person I talk to.
Anyway I guess that T. J. Flapsaddle showed me that Chuck doesn’t have quite of much insight as I thought. But Chuck’s essay still shows that Chuck’s life isn’t built on hate. And logic, which I believe in, tells me that Vincent had less insight than I feel he does. But I’m still glad that Vincent didn’t force himself to listen to classical music and wear sharp clean clothing while trying to earn a living as a handyman all his life. If only I could figure out how not to sit in front of this awful screen most of the time, and at times drinking too much to relax afterwards.
Anyway, Tibetans, Indians and Move prisoners need a little relief. T.J. Flapsaddle, I guess if we will ever have a world that isn’t full of illusion your insight will be needed as well,
Only somewhat related to my feelings about Chuck, Mumia and Vincent and the conceivability that Vincent was communicating with a ancient spirit, is my speculations concerning Jesus and belief in general.
www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/6782#comment-328...
www.truthdig.com/includes/commentsinner/200512_jes...
Scrawl down to April 1, 2 am
(RichardKanePA)