In our times, racism is mainly enforced by maintaining a large state prison population of ethnic minority people. These people are there because (perhaps) they’ve done something wrong but in any case because their attitude is regarded as socially problematic and they are regarded as ‘irrational’. We have to acknowledge that it is institutional racism in general and the current state prison enforcement agenda in particular that sources their rage, not just go ahead and ourselves blame these clients for their attitude! The rage of the clients due to the experience of racism needs to be understood correctly if it is going to be distinguished from an agenda of attack-based & self-centered objectives.

We must have a rational way of dealing with the direct face of racism, or our rage will be secondary in importance to people’s rage at society. With racism, one place to start is to put a state prison support component into our self-help organizing. Our target is that people need to know how to live within the understanding that they are being judged by the consequences of their actions. We need to provide the support process for people to learn how to be responsible this way and earn their own respect.

If we can connect based on this kind of accountable sense of self-worth, then maybe “we can all get along.” If we are working on finding the correct interpretations that enable us to be accountable, then we will be able to have reasonable discussions about what is controversial. Then we will be able to develop the capacity to work out collectively meaningful boundaries for productive and visionary behavior. Until then, we are going to make mistakes and attack those who are actually intending to make contributions.  :-(

Andrew Phelps

Jose Rangel