https://themilitant.com/2019/07/13/join-fight-against-prison-censorship/
Join fight against prison censorship!
??Editorial
Vol. 83/No. 26
July 22, 2019
The Militant is fighting for the right of workers behind bars to read
the Militant and other books and publications they choose in two of the
21 states where we have prison subscribers ??? Florida and Kansas. We???re
asking our readers to help us push back the censors!
Write and get others to write ??? co-workers, your union, church or
community group, and others ??? to authorities there urging them to
reverse their censorship of the Militant.
And it???s not just the Militant that faces the unconstitutional and
arbitrary bans by prison officials. Kansas censors have barred some
7,000 books and periodicals. Prison authorities from coast to coast keep
looking for ways to shut down access to news, information and culture.
Sometimes what they choose can seem so absurd you have to laugh. They
tend to censor material that they fear will increase the class
consciousness, understanding, discipline and sense of self-worth of
inmates. Censorship, arbitrary or not, is one of the tools they use to
try to break the spirit of those behind bars, to dehumanize and
demoralize them, to keep them from discussing what workers face today
and can do about it.
But the prison officials have a problem ??? whenever the censorship
becomes public, they meet opposition and often are forced to pull back.
That???s what happened in New York state, Washington state, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, New Jersey and federal prisons when officials tried recently
to restrict access to books and newspapers. In each case, when word got
out, the restrictions were rolled back.
Virtually all prisoners are fellow workers who happen to be behind bars.
More than 90 percent never went to trial, never had a chance to make a
case to a jury of their peers. They were pressured into signing plea
bargains, under threat of more draconian sentences if they refused. The
purpose of the capitalist rulers??? so-called criminal justice system is
to dehumanize and intimidate working people.
Workers on both sides of the bars, whatever our nationality or skin
color, face many similar challenges, problems and common interests.
Those behind bars have the same need to have access to reading material
of their choosing, to think for themselves, to be part of the world.
Every time we win against the censors it is a blow to the capitalist
rulers??? efforts to control what we read, what we think and what we do.
It helps hold them off, opens up room for prisoners to be part of
struggling humanity. When we fight to defend the rights of our brothers
and sisters behind bars, it is in the interests of the whole working class.
But to win, we need your help to organize support. Every letter can help
make a difference. Join with the National Coalition Against Censorship,
Amnesty International USA, the American Library Association, the Florida
ACLU, the National Lawyers Guild and many others in our fight to
overturn the bans on the Militant in Florida and Kansas!
Related Articles
???Militant??? fights censorship by Florida, Kansas prison officials
BREAKING NEWS ??? The Militant has scored a victory in the fight against
prison censorship with the announcement by the Kansas Department of
Corrections that it has lifted all its bans on the Militant. The
Militant had informed Kansas officials???
Kansas Department of Corrections Letter
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???US hands off Iran! End sanctions now!
???2020 election debates show crisis of bosses twin parties
???Almost half of all US workers live ???paycheck to paycheck???
??????Working people need to break with Democrats, Republicans???
???US rulers step up economic war against Cuba and Venezuela
??????Militant??? fights censorship by Florida, Kansas prison officials
Feature Articles ???Ethiopian Israelis fight police brutality, racism
Also In This Issue ???Protests mark 2 years since Grenfell fire disaster in UK
???Sudan military lifts siege, agrees to rule with opposition
???50,000 New Zealand teachers shut the schools down, win higher pay
???Kansas Department of Corrections Letter
Editorials ???Join fight against prison censorship!
On the Picket Line ???Airport, catering workers say, ???One job should be
enough!???
???Ramp workers protest working conditions at Miami airport
???Indiana Machinists strike for health care, living wages
???New Zealand workers who care for disabled strike for contract
Books of the Month ??????Mandela pays tribute to Cuba???s internationalist
fighters???
25, 50 and 75 years ago
?? Copyright 2019 The Militant?? -?? 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor -?? New
York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxx
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Voltaire
??? Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
???
??? Voltaire,
