About Us
Here is a long ramble about our group that we all wrote together, (it needs making short)
WHO ARE WE
WHY WE EXIST
HOW DO WE DO THINGS/WHAT ARE OUR VALUES
WHAT DO WE DO
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WHO:
(Who are we?)
- we're an eclectic collective passionate about the redistribution of
power. we recognise our reliance on eachother despite and especially
because of our differences. the emotional relationships we have are much
stronger than our fickle differences in opinions.
- Disparate group of activists with some common values and goals to
make the world a better place/ a group of human beings learning to be kind to ourselves and each
other / a group of people from different walks of life, ages and experiences who
care about standing in solidarity with people having a rough time.
We learn together.
- An honest group, and diverse (in some ways). We want to stand in
solidarity with people on the edges of society. We are un-learning how
we do things. We are hull based, committed group, thinking long term,
learning.
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WHY:
(Why do we exist?)
- If we don't organise ourselves, the state will organise us. Whoever is
left alone will be well and truly shafted & left for dead. We want
empowerment through love and compassion and a deeper understanding in
the face of black and white judgement.
- We randomly exist, good luck, universal order....We are the Ying the
Yang, but also the Wutang.
- Prison is the best example of how messed up things got, an example of
disconnection- to each other, self and land. We exist to create the
opposite of that. To create a different culture, un web the web, unravel the ravel. Unravel what people in power do.
We exist to help the world be trauma informed, to think about root
causes of problems, make things less simplistic, less black and white,
less good and bad.
We don't want people to be locked up, physically or mentally. We want
people to be fulfilled. Basic needs met and more. How bad have things
got that people feel safer behind bars, how disempowered? We exist to
encourage the potential in people and each other, through love
- (this more difficult and we didn't really get to it but.... )
If we try to create change in the same way we've created the 'broken',
we're wasting our time. This feels like its not a waste of time.
Because lots of important people in his life have been in prison
Has had direct experiences of the criminal justice system through them.
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OTHER GOLD NUGGETS THAT WERE SAID IN DISCUSSION:
-society values stuff, capital....what do we value?- connection!
-we need to rely on each other.
-change in society and change in ourselves
-we exist because we can't carry on like this.
-I'm personally part of this group because of the people I know that are
inside prison, the people I care about!
-grief and rage to do something different. I want system change!
-shifting power
-the criminal justice system offers false stability....it's an
inadequate response to peoples trauma, to why people do bad things.
-in a disaster we stop asking permission and start looking after each
other. We are told lies about us, told were fundamentally bad, greedy.
-we exist to learn how to survive. How to TRUST.
-we're not a service. Don't want to become one. We are a community.
-IT'S A RIPPLE NOT A NIPPLE.
-there's no place to get to, the journey is the place.
- prison is a false solution to harm. individualism is a false solution
to society.
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HOW:
(how do we wanna do things? what are our values??)
in two's, people came up with:
-Honesty, Open-mindedness and Willingness... -'taking time', 'really listening', 'doing it together,
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- always in education - always in self analysis & emotional exploration - embrace healthy conflict & prioritise good communication - emphasise curiosity in new ideas and eachother, and resist unnecessary rigidity - strategic and tactical (think big and small!) - equal balanced focus on individual internal processing work / group dynamics / broader struggle for collective freedom & grassroots democracy - learning to recognise when it's necessary to focus on which of these 3 - equal focus on content and proccess - collective need is much more important than individual desire - driven by passion never fear / guilt / shame - our emotional relationships are stronger than our fickle differences in opinions
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-Gentleness, warmth, kindness, compassion. -Open to transformation on an individual and collective level in line with our name OUT. -Egalitarian and welcoming. At the forefront of criminological and sociological research with the help Of Meron. -Equally content and process driven. -remember to have Fun and not take ourselves too seriously. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -long term, route causes, not black and white. -Courageous- make room and stick up for people on edges & dont be afraid to say the unpopular thing. dont get too comfy. hopeful-
believe in and aim for something better. -shifting power/aim for flat structure/non hierarchy: in the way we organise meetings but also in the work we aim to do. (be aware of peoples capacity)....give space for everyones opinions and voices, everyone is valid, encourage people to take responsibility if they can.
(it would be good to boil it down a bit one day don't ya think?? not sure how)
(OTHER STUFF THAT WE TALKED ABOUT/MENTIONED)
-Continuously reflective (regular intervals of being like---whats going on!?...are we living up to our intentions?)
-embracing healthy conflict and learning from it.
-convo about the feeling behind words, and some words being adressive/machine like....think about what language we use, e.g. impactful and fruitful could mean something similar but has different vibe. or what about using plain language?...what is the prison language? what is the OUT language?
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WHAT:
(what do we wanna do? What fruit shall we bear?)
EDUCATION: -giving workshops on prison abolition -breaking down naratives about the crim justice system through zine/film/podcast -GATHERING STORIES, art, music, poems, portraits -collabing with meron
SUPPORT/EMOTIONAL STUFF: -letter writing to people in prison -support people coming out, encourage, find out what they're interested in, whats they need, buddying up and/or inviting into our community. -12 steps -OUT (drop in session, support and activities and education)....could we go to hostels instead of expecting people to come to ground? -build relationships with people in prison...letter writing and visits. -'escape pod' idea....(probs a bit further down the line) -find grassroots projects, e.g. housing projects, and link up with them (we can't do everything, so why not fill in the gaps with stuff that already exsists)
-do stuff OUTSIDE...(people are removed and disconnected from thier communities, and place and maybe a way to start to heal that is to do some project outside (linking up with this place project?)), FOOD, FIRE, NATURE... resillience building through doing fun/challangeing stuff outside ( going to a river with logs of wood and building a raft- get to other side... learning about plants, what can you find around you that can sustain you/give you what you need?)
-invite different groups/orgs/people, e.g. together women, N.A, meron, grassroots orgs, etc, meet and share our ideas.