by Hayden
Coming to terms with fate is a difficult task. With it comes a sense of hopelessness—that fate cannot be changed. Succumbing to fate is an even more intense mental battle. Stubborn people don’t succumb easily. I guess I’m one of those people. I will not stop fighting with Arizona, even if I fall.
I can’t prescribe an easy solution to my own issues, so I have no choice but to fight. There are too many lives at stake. I can’t stand by and watch people suffer, especially youth. Defeat can’t stop me from living for the movement for youth justice.
I recently wrote of my own definition of love. Love requires action. Love doesn’t need to be applied in the romantic sense to qualify. You can show love to a complete stranger by doing something with their best interests at heart. There are no strings attached in this sense, if you seek to help people.
Today I made a difficult decision. I realized that it will be nearly impossible to fight against the injustices in Arizona unless I go back. If I lose my next appeal in California, then I will voluntarily return to Arizona. I would rather stay here in California where I know I am safe, but my voice will be more valuable where it’s most needed. I am going to go to prison in Arizona so I can start my movement.
The Beat Within does not serve Arizona, but I will seek to change that. Arizona has one of the cruelest prison systems in America, and I am going to expose it to the world and to the readers of The Beat. I will be your connection to the inside of an awful system.
I’m preparing myself for the long haul ahead by learning the law and working out a plan of attack to liberate people from the system’s awful bureaucracy and ideology. Once I’m within the Arizona Department of Corrections, I will be part of the large class of people who have constitutional claims to freedom within the prison. I will be able to litigate on their behalf once I’m a part of that class.
I will freely sacrifice my own safety for the cause. The Arizona Department of Corrections is a dangerous place, and someone needs to act soon. So far, I’m the only one who has brought people’s stories out of Arizona, and I will continue to do so. Once I arrive at the prison, I will write weekly reports to The Beat. Somebody needs to shine light on the awful situation out there.
I do have a lot of concerns. I have no way to pay for stationary or stamps. The prison jobs are unpaid. The facility doesn’t provide these things for free. I will probably need stationary, stamp and envelope donations. I don’t know where I’ll get these things. In the meantime, I will have to write to charities, I guess.
Another concern of mine is the horrible conditions of confinement in the Arizona prison system. The safety in those facilities is nonexistent. The food is garbage. People are beaten and raped in Arizona more often than they are in California prisons and there’s no easily accessible education services. At least I might be able to give these prisoners a voice through our movement.