posted by Sam Richards

A number of people have asked about our experiences with “lifers” at the prison–what it’s like? can you visit? who are these people? With that in mind Laurie asked one of them to write something that we could put on the blog and have you step inside the mind of someone in prison, take a peek inside the walls.

That said, as you read this you need to recognize that this particular man is quite evolved in his understanding of himself, his past, and his crime. He feels deep regret for the murder he committed and has sought victim-offender reconciliation. There are plenty of men inside of those walls “who should never get out,” is what this man would say. And he would also say that there are others who are not the same people that they were when they first entered through the prison gates.

Read his words. He wrote them for you…for this class. And remember that the world is infinitely more complex than any of us can imagine. This guy never graduated from high school, by the way.

A few years ago, when I was much younger, I saw something that changed my understanding of the world in which I now live. It wasn’t something that I didn’t already know; I just didn’t realize that I knew it. Nor was it something that I didn’t already do; I just didn’t realize how natural it was for me to do it. But seeing it, naked and out in the open in the way it happened, made me realize how amazing this act really was in this environment.

I was sitting on some bleachers with a friend of mine shooting the breeze when I glanced around and noticed two men huddled together. I knew both of these men and it was strange to see that one of them had his arm around the shoulders of the other, who in turn had his head hanging low and appeared to be crying. What made this so unusual was that from what I knew of these men, they hated each other.

I turned to my friend and motioned with my head and asked, “What’s up with those two?” He looked over and replied, “Oh, his son died in a car crash and he can’t get in touch with anyone on the phone.” Without words we both understood why the one man would put aside his hate and provide comfort. It seemed perfectly natural to us.

As we stood up to leave, both of us deliberately chose to walk over to these two men. In passing them, each of us in turn put a hand on the crying man’s shoulder and with a slight squeeze we told him how sorry we were. This, too, was natural for us and didn’t take any thinking in order to make that gesture.

My friend and I are “lifers,” convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to spend the rest of our lives behind bars with no possibility of parole. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that this entire event took place in a prison yard. But to us, it is simply the world in which we live. To us, those two men weren’t strange; the situation wasn’t even that rare. Perhaps unusual to see it so openly, but that just made it more meaningful to us.

Later that night as I lay in my bunk, I couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing those two men and that simple act of compassion made me review my world. How many times have I seen or done similar acts and never really thought about it? You would think that in a place filled with convicted criminals, compassion would be so rare that the sight of it would cause suspicion. But here in this place that most people think is full of “beasts” and “uncaring violent predators,” it is actually rather common.

Here there were two convicts who didn’t like one another sharing this very human moment. One was in pain and the other wasn’t’ going to get anything in return for helping to alleviate his suffering. He was doing something that any thinking, feeling, caring man does for another.

Everyday behind these razor wire topped fences there are little acts of compassion. Sometimes it is stopping to listen to another man complain about his day, even though your day has been just as rotten. Another time it may be letting a man use your phone time so he can speak with his daughter on her birthday. But no matter what the act, it is often done without hesitation and with no expectation of anything in return.

You might not believe men in here are capable of compassion—beneath the surface knowledge of another’s plight…not simple sympathy…but a deep soulful understanding. I’m talking about truly feeling another’s pain and wanting to help. This compassion isn’t reserved for fellow prisoners; it is felt for all who suffer any kind of misfortune anywhere in the world.

I have stood beside men as we discussed with a hitch in our voices, blinking back tears, some horrible disaster in the world. I know how upset and frustrated we all feel that we cannot chip in and help. I’ve stood in line with others to give blood, or helped fill out forms to donate money, even written letters to try and help those in need. It seems that whenever a tragedy occurs there is a rallying of men here to provide whatever we can do.

Even in this dark place of hate and misery, you find compassion. You see human beings helping one another simply because seeing another suffer touches their soul. Such compassion is not a commodity held only for the innocent; it is the heart’s recognition of pain in another and the soul’s demand to provide succor—and to any human being no matter their circumstance.

You may believe prison is filled with the worst of men, and there is some truth to that. But look beyond preconceived ideas and you will find some of the tenets of humanity performed in the most incredibly simply ways and by the most unlikely of individuals for the greatest of reasons – to relieve suffering. And why? Because we all suffer and any relief, no matter how small, is of great relief to us all.

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posted by Sam Richards

There is a good deal to say about creating “terrorists” and making enemies. I guess I laid out what seems to me to be a reasonable argument in the Christian Invaders lecture…but I didn’t have time to give a good many concrete examples of killing civilians. Here is a timely article about some real life, real time examples of people deciding that they must fight back against the invading forces. How many of us consider that “suicide bombers” might be avenging the death of a loved one and not just “crazy people”?

READ THIS ARTICLE: More cause and effect in the War against Terrorists

Here is some graphic video. One of the women who blew herself up in Russia was avenging the death of her husband by Russian forces. It’s funny how we often glorify vigilante killers in our society. Would YOU avenge the death of your mother/spouse/child if you had the opportunity? Look at some of the comments for insight into humanity.

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Diana Nicholson, the mother of Taraha Shenice Nicholson, is comforted during a news conference in Tarboro, N.C.

posted by Sam Richards

Part of this story is about social class…maybe most of it is. I don’t know and nobody does. Race and class are so intertwined that they’re impossible to disentangle. My raised eyebrow to the fool who says it’s all clear to him or her.

All I know is that when I read this story I cannot even possibly imagine that these events would be silenced if the victims were middle class, and certainly not middle class and white. I really don’t expect the media outlets to cover every negative and sad event from across the land, but I have to wonder how much a life is worth and why some lives are worth more than others.

Read the story and chew on the question that is embedded into that last statement. It’s going to take you a few minutes, but it should keep you thinking. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE STORY.

UPDATE: Perhaps you’ve been following the case of the man in Cleveland who tortured and killed 10-11 women whose bodies were buried or hidden in his house in a poor section of the city. The man is black, as were most (perhaps all) of the women. This case juxtaposes well with the one in North Carolina in that the relatives of the missing Cleveland women all report that the police entirely disregarded their attempts to report someone as a “missing person.” In one case the aunt of a missing woman was (purportedly) told to just sit tight because her niece would return “when all of the drugs were gone.” It seems as though the message is the same: the rape, assault, and disappearance (i.e., murder) of poor and marginalized women is not really a public concern.

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posted by Sam Richards

The cartoon is by Marty Two Bulls, Sr., a Native American cartoonist who is saying something rather instructive about the recent Senate apology–the official U.S. Apology–to American Indians. Thought it might be worth reflecting on it today–Columbus Day. It’s an odd day to celebrate and my guess is that most of us would feel extremely uncomfortable doing so if we took just a bit of time to reflect on the history and current life conditions of Native Americans in both the United States and elsewhere in the Americas.

But we don’t…because THAT would require us to rethink the official story by which we live and that allows us to get on with our lives day after day and not feel some kind of way about the blood and bones that are buried beneath the land that we now own and the structures we now call “home.” And by “we” I guess I mean those of us who do not claim ancestry to some indigenous people or culture.

Genocide. There’s that unfortunate word again. Alcoholism and addiction. Unemployment. Reservations. Suicide. Rape. Violent attacks. So the apology is just a first step???

Take a few minutes (probably 6-8 total) and read the document–the apology. Unless you are Native American, it’s coming from you, afterall, and so you probably ought to at least know what it says.

READ THE APOLOGY.

Here is a quick video of Brownback discussing the apology.

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posted by Sam Richards

There are scores of ethnic groups in China and the majority group, the Han Chinese, make up over 90 percent of the population and remain relatively entrenched in their power to influence Chinese society. Think European Americans in the United States before the 1960s. The problem is that China has not had it’s 1960s civil rights movement and accompanying “conscientization” and so many of the Han are thinking about the rights of minorities in much the same way as many white southerners were fifty years ago–that is to say, “rights” are not on the table for a public conversation.

So remember the riots that broke out in China this past summer between minority Uighurs (who are Muslim) and majority Han? Not likely…because it’s probably not an issue for you. But do know that these riots were big news in the world’s most populated country. Many hundreds died all because of an overt racism that we rarely see on this side of the Pacific. Both the majority Han and minority Uighurs violently clashed over the issue or rights. Imagine thousands of majority Han (think white people) roaming the streets with knives and meat cleavers looking for Uighurs (think people of color) to kill after Uighurs had killed over 150 Han. The Uighurs attacked, so they said, as a response to racist attacks and policies by the Han. So yeah, big news in China.

Read this is from a James Fallows column in the New Yorker to get a sense of the racism in China. Fallows has had considerable experience living there as a Westerner/foreigner.

Regarding the “no Uighurs” sign [that is often seen in the Xinjiang region], that type of thing is pretty common in China. Many advertisements for foreign English teachers will include something like “Whites only” or a “Looking for Caucasian teachers” sentence somewhere in the text. Additionally, many a native speaker have flown from their country to China only to find upon arrival that regardless of the applicant’s qualifications, the job could only be performed by a white person. At these times the Chinese are usually polite and a little embarrassed (most Chinese are very nice people and mean no harm), but they will remain very firm in their conviction that a person with darker skin than theirs could not possibly make a good teacher.

I have experienced this on a number of occasions. But after living in China for a while I realized that what we would consider racism in the West is simply a deeply ingrained cultural characteristic of mainland Chinese people. White skin (the Chinese like to consider themselves white) and/or being a Han (the dominant ethnic group) means a person is good. Dark skin or not being Han means a person is inferior (and more likely to be a bad guy/a thief/incompetent etc.). It does not equal KKK style hatred. It does not even mean a Han Chinese wouldn’t be friends with a person from India or Africa. It simply means that if a person is non-white or a member of certain Chinese minorities [like Uighurs], they simply are to be considered less smart, less competent and less trustworthy than the average white person or Han.
On a lighter note, the Chinese are not inflexible and when exposed to nice people of color they usually will change their minds quickly, as with Obama. However, the tendency towards ethnic and racial chauvinism is a current running through Chinese culture that is unlikely to change in any meaningful way anytime soon.

These are pretty graphic scenes. I realize that there are many sides to this issue and there is no way that I can begin to present them all here. Nonetheless, these riots are not much different than the riots we have seen here in the United States in terms of their causes and consequences. What I want you to get a window into is the idea that ethnocentrism and prejudice and discrimination occur all over the world. I say this because I often hear people say something to the effect that the U.S. is the “most racist country in the world,” when in fact that know little to nothing about other countries in that world of which they speak.

This post is just a window into another culture and their struggles for civility and understanding.

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