April 1 2012

Hi everyone,

So it seems there’s been a bit of a hold up with the blog, and that it has been causing a bit of stress. Don’t worry! Everything is still fine — I have just run into a logistical snag with the mail system here. I dictated this post over the phone.

On March 11 I sent out my 9th post, entitled Women, the Police and International Days, but it was never put in the mail. I know this because on march 23 I was given a large stack of letters — some of them had been received by the jail at the end of February! and a couple of them were addressed to Leah — and there it was. So I sent it out again on march 23. I assumed it was an honest mistake, however as of today Ali still hasn’t received it.

According to the INMATE INFORMATION GUIDE FOR ADULT INSTITUTIONS (oct 2010) that is posted in full on the wall of the range:

“Institution Staff may check letters you send or receive. The Superintendent can refuse to send a letter that affects the security of the institution, threatens someone or might upset the person it is being sent to. If this happens, the staff will tell you why your letter was not sent. The letter will be returned to you. You can either rewrite it or have it stored with your property.”

On March 31 I put in a request for the mailroom and/or security to look for any misplaced mail of mine, and to the superintendent to return any mail that has been withheld on purpose. I also sent out another post on March 30 so we’ll see if that one makes it.

In other news, I got a hair cut! and I found Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars on the bookshelf. A second inmate on my range has successfully subscribed to a newspaper, and as of April 3 I have only 8 months to go.

I’m reminded everyday of the strength and resilience of people in very difficult situations, and I continue to be humbled and inspired by the solidarity our communities and our movements are capable of. I’m grateful and feel incredibly lucky, but to quote Albert Einstein:

For the most part, I do the thing which my own nature prompts me to do. It is embarrassing to earn so much respect and love for it.

In solidarity,

mandy 🙂

This blog post was originally published on Bored but not broken.