JANUARY 4, 2007 -PROTEST UPDATE
It's a new year, and as I told the comrades: we're starting out with a strong and relentless resistance. We gave the administration 7 months of peace to address and rectify fixable problems that they did not keep their word on. In fact, during those months of peace, a chain of command would not even speak to us. I presume their thinking was that they broke our spirits. It’s a blasphemous thought that literally makes us laugh. Their arrogance and ignorance is such that they really force themselves to think that they perhaps broke us from standing up for and demanding our human rights.
As I said before: we are reasonable and intelligent men who are not seeking trouble just for the sake of trouble. We are willing to work with the administration as long as they are willing to work with us. But as long as there is no justice the resistance will continue. We were asked for time for them to be able to look into things and fix what was within the jurisdiction. Even long before those 7 months were up we were realizing that it was a ploy from them to simply stall as long as they could just to keep the heat from Huntsville off their asses. Nonetheless, we kept our word as reasonable, respectable and honorable men and human beings. They, however, did not keep their end of the bargain (as is "Business As Usual" for TDCJ and the Administration on Polunsky Unit). So now, here we are back at square one with very strong resistance almost on a daily basis.
On January 1, 2007, a few of the comrades (and others not related to DRIVE) began another hunger strike (and some prisoners on other pods are also participating in the hunger strike). Reginald Blanton and Steven Woods (two of my comrades) are participating in the hunger strike and also participating in other forms of protest: Occupying certain sections of the murderous compound and being carried back to their cages. On January 1, 2007 Da'Mon Simpson was carried back to his cage after being gassed with a tear gas grenade on the outside yard. Minutes after, Carlton Turner vacated the day room, sat on the run and was carried back to his cage in protest of conditions and in solidarity with everyone hunger-striking. Later that evening Comrade Reginald Blanton refused to vacate the outside recreation yard and was gassed with a tear gas grenade on the outside. He was laid on a gurney and rolled to F section 75 cage when he was being caged on C section with me in 42 cage (3 cells down from me--I'm in 39 cage). As they rolled to F section he sang a song of resistance on camera. Seeing these men stand up to resist the oppression is a very inspiring thing that really lights these dark, murderous and oppressive walls with hope for a change of something better.
The following day Darryl Wheatfall, after being carried back to his cage a few days prior because his toilet had overflowed with shit and they tried to force him to remain in that cage and took all his property when he resisted, occupied E section dayroom and refused to come out. He occupied the dayroom because although they'd moved him to a new cage, they'd refused to give him his property back (he had nothing).
As usual, Sergeant Tolly (a boot-licking, Gun-hoe flunky for the Polunsky Unit Administration of tyrants) showed up with the 37 millimeter rifle of gas and canister of LE-10 crowd control gas. Wheatfall climbed on the bars and flunky shot him with the gas rifle. Then they sprayed him with the canister. Then they shot him with the rifle again. If you ask me it is their intent to gas someone to death using all that gas on one man alone. It makes the whole pod choke -- imagine the main one being directly assaulted by the gas. It's like some tiny critter invaded your nasal passage and is throwing a desperation party in your lungs hoping to watch the sadistic after party of the administration: carrying one's body out in a body-bag. Wheatfall came out after being shot with the rifle a second time. The mixture of the two gases was very potent. He was carried back to his cage.
January 3rd, 2007 Carlton Turner after returning from the shower sat on the run and was carried back to his cage in protest against conditions and state-sanctioned murder. Later that afternoon Carlton Turner had a media visit. On his way back he sat down on the visit walkway and protested some more. I could see him from my tiny cage window. They brought the gurney and the shackles, shackled him and laid and strapped him to the gurney and rolled him back here to F pod. I saw them roll him in and I could hear his speech of resistance. I could only smile at all the resistance and those refusing to participate in the oppression. Makes me think of the title of a book my dear comrade Carolina sent me about Zapatistas called "YA BASTA!" Which means "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" And as they brought him in those were my thoughts: Enough is enough!
January 4, 2007 after recreation I came out of the dayroom and sat down on the floor in protest. My specific focus that day was the atrocious mail problems here and let him know that I have tried everything from sending I-60's to the mailroom, sending I-60s (which is an inmate request form) to the wardens, the Major, the captain, sergeants etc and got no response. I tried grievancing the mail problem, but when I attached the envelope with the proof of delay my grievances were returned to me implying that the attachment was an "excessive attachment". How can I get any resolve regarding the mail problem if the proper channels to get some resolve won't even accept your grievance with your evidence attached to prove your claim? That leaves a person no other recourse but to protest. I protested!
As Tolly came to speak to me and I addressed it I told him everything I'd love to get some resolve through the proper channels. He says I never spoke to him. My response was, "I can't even get you to stop at my cage door for a few moments so we can address problems and yet you expect me to send you an I-60 addressing my problems? Get off the bull shit. You know you don't want to talk to someone until you've pushed them this far and then you want to talk and see what the problem is but could have avoided it had you listened previously to their problems and had done something about it. Well, today have to deal with me."
He asked me for a chance to look into the problem. I told him that he has no jurisdiction over the mailroom and that I’d really like to speak to the Warden about the mail problems since he's the only one who has any say-so over the mailroom. Tolly told me the warden is not going to speak to me and to please give him a chance to look into it. I told him that he has me back in the cage, all he's going to do is come back and tell me he can’t do anything about it: That he spoke to mail room personnel and they claim they are delivering mail as it arrives on the unit (which we all know is a DAMN lie!). I told Sgt. Tolly that maybe next time when someone tries to address him on problems before it goes this far, he'll go and talk to them and see what the problem is and actually try to rectify the problem before it goes this far.
I was shackled, lifted by 4 guards and carried upstairs to my cage as I gave a speech on camera about the mail problem. The fact that we've tried all proper channels to resolve this mail problem from I-60s to addressing all chain of command to filing grievances that the grievance department refuses to accept claiming the evidence attached was is an excessive attachment when its only one envelope proving validity of our claims; how because of all this we are forced to go this far to protest, how when people send us certified letters we always get them on time because there is documentation of when the mail arrived on the unit, but that anything not documented is often delayed for anywhere up to a week to 3 weeks to 60 days! I let them know that as long as this mail problem continues we will continue until it is resolved.
Ironically, although I know I've had plenty of mail sent to me weeks prior to 1/4/07, that evening at mail call I received not a single piece of mail.
I think that was retaliation. That's how these people like to work, but it won't work on me. Whatever they do will only fuel me to continue protesting. In speech I also addressed how the delay of mail impedes on one's right to law of due process which allows him to participate in his legal endeavors regarding his appeals. Correspondence is the central means of communication for DR prisoners to participate on their legal endeavors. There are legal deadlines to meet that if not met can cost one their life on such a legal technicality. I explained to them that the delaying of my mail is interpreted as a direct attempt at impeding on me fighting for my life, a direct attempt at trying to get me and the others murdered by the state. As long as the delays continue the protesting will continue.
I encourage any and everyone reading this to write letters, emails, send faxes and make phone calls to the Officials in Huntsville (Regional 1 assistant director, Kevin Mayfield) and address this mail problem. Flood them with letters about this problem, emails, phone calls and faxes. Do not accept their abuse of authority!
"YA BASTA!"
Gabriel Gonzalez
D.R.I.V.E.
DEATH Row INNER-COMMUNALIST VANGUARD ENGAGEMENT
