STILL HUNGRY FOR HUMANITY

When I started my “Hunger Fast” on the morning of 10-24 I knew it’d be a challenge. I was more prepared than others that started before and after me due to the fact I had disciplined myself over the years in different fashions:

-Since 2001 I’ve fasted Ramadan

-In an act of discipline I went 3 months not eating meat

-Showing solidarity to a friend I went a month on juice and trail mix (small bags of raisins, peanuts, almonds, dates and sunflower seeds)

-I’ve fasted days (between 1 and 3) at different intervals

You see, I believe in constantly training when you’re in a war. But we all have a limit.

I was able to go 8 days (i.e. 25 meals) before I stopped. Already under massive stress due to the recent rulings on my case I knew I could only go so far; and my intentions were never to go as far as the original 6 wanted to. I tell you – it was tough.

The first three days were pretty easy. I was prepared to do 3 days with ease. And I did. I came to solitary (9/29) weighing around 218 or so pounds.

The way the process goes is after a person is documented as missing 9 meals, Medical is to be notified and they are to be pulled out and weighed. Since this Administration knows a Hunger Strike was at hand, if an inmate was to be striking and it was being ignored and not documented then that inmate hurt himself, they’d be held accountable. So, they were looking for meal refusals.

After I missed my first 12 meals I was finally pulled out and weighed (on October 27th). I weighed in at 202 pounds. I was doing pretty well at this point. As long as I stayed busy writing I was fine. Drinking water was a task, because the water that flows through these faucets is very “heavy” (as I like to say), meaning you can taste the chemicals, etc… So it’s not a joy to drink this water, but it was either that or fall apart.

The experience was not just in not eating, but watching the hard-line 6 go out. A few of the first 6 fell off the strike after about a few days; 1 at 3, 2 at 7 or 8. The hardliners were Steven Woods, Richard Cobb and Steve Moody.

I watched these men’s bodies slowly start to deteriorate; not a hard task for Cobb and Woods who were already very thin. After about 10 days or so their energy began to drain, so wheelchairs were brought in to push them to and from Medical. They started October 8th, so by the time I (plus 3 others – Carlton Turner, Ryan Dickson and John Rubio) started on 10-24 these men here were already deteriorating.

Shortly after 10-24, on the 25th, a few other guys joined in. They did so with good hearts, but broke after 3 days. John Rubio would stop after 3. It’s not easy. I applaud them all.

But, I carried on a few more days. I at least wanted to get past the weekend and show solidarity with those marching in Austin on the 28th. I was able to do that.

Then, day 6 hit and things began to take a different turn. The hunger pains folded in and reverberated out to my entire body. As I began to stand I found myself getting dizzy spells. My entire body began to ache and the only solace I found was in sleeping. But, that worked against me as I always have work to do – letters to write about my case, my web-sites, etc. It was a brutal scenario.

After about day 17 or so Moody and Cobb stopped. I don’t know how these men endured that many days, but they did. I knew I could probably hold on for a few more.

I found myself having some problems getting my refused meals documented. This is what we call a VR – Verbal Refusal. My VRs weren’t getting marked down. After the first 9 meals are VR’ed you get pulled out every 24 hours for weighing. If a meal is accepted you have to go a full 9 meals again before being weighed. I wasn’t getting pulled out to get weighed and when I asked why they said it was because they had me marked down for accepting meals.

This underminement infuriated me, but being the prepared person I am, I pulled out my list of every meal, every date and every officer who served it and showed it to the shift supervisor. Once it was looked into it was verified that I had accepted no meals. By the time I was pulled out to get weighed on the 30th, I was down to 194 pounds. Each weigh-in is accompanied by a urine test which verifies if you’ve eaten. Thus, our strikes/fasts all can be verified as legit.

Word spread on the strike and I was glad. You see – these officers here were constantly saying – “It’s not going to change anything.” A few of the original 6 were even offered food by officers. Steven Woods was offered a slice of “free world pizza” to stop! He wouldn’t compromise his integrity.

I told them all – this is NOT for YOU! It’s for all those people on the outside so that they can see men here know how to fight/protest/resist without violence. It’s a self-sacrifice for Human Rights in the spirit of ones like Dick Gregory and Cesar Chavez. These systemized simple-minded TDC robots do not understand this. The key is… do the people on the outside understand?

On Monday I found out that Woods, Cobb and Moody would be having media visits with the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday. I also knew I’d be going to visit the same day. Ah! A double sign or relief for myself. I saw the media visit as we were heard! Point taken! It was a step in getting the story out.

So, on November 1st, after 8 days and 25 VR’ed meals I sat down to a feast with my family. Now, I won’t embarrass myself and say how much I ate (smile), but let’s say I left sicker than I came. A good sick though.

I was happy those men got their story heard, because their story is my own. Striking/fasting is a rough process. It’s psychological as well as physical. You even dream about eating and any sense of food sends a piercing pain through you. Your mouth is constantly void and bland. I brushed my teeth at least 4 times a day just to keep a sense of flavor there.

But the flavor we’re looking for is beyond ribs and sauces – it’s just a flavor that says though I’m fallible I’m still Human. As I write this today, the lone man standing of the original 6 is Steven Woods. Going since October 8th he still has not eaten at the time of this writing, November 2nd (Carlton Turner and Rick Dickson are still going from the 24th). He knows that soon his kidneys will begin to fail and that if he continues he will inevitably end up being force-fed through a tube. What makes this man go? What made Gandhi go? Do you not come to the same conclusion just because Steve is here and Gandhi was there? Why in America do mistakes outweigh redemption? In America the wretched have become the righteous and the ones who claim morality have become the mercenaries.

Steven Woods stands as a reminder to the power of 1 – that one man with courage can be a majority. I don’t know what the future holds for Steven, but I know that he is like a beacon of hope. And that hope falls to all of you and we shall see how you will do with such hope invested in you. We stand here today encouraging and inspiring each other. We need you to do the same, because we can’t let death destroy us. The loss is not in that, but in hate and malice. Let’s not allow struggles such as Steven’s to be for naught. Though the rest of us have eaten we are still hungry for humanity and we will not stop until we get there.

In Struggle,

Kenneth

D.R.I.V.E.

DEATH Row INNER-COMMUNALIST VANGUARD ENGAGEMENT