Politics

There is an untold story behind the last year, one that may never be told. A part of it involved a Devils Bargain - that if I withdrew from certain political activities, then my release would be more reasonably assured.

This was extremely tempting, though selfish. But now, given my current circumstances, I have to revisit an old question - am I more likely to affect positive change from inside, or from outside?

People Pressure

One of the joys that has come from my studies over the years is a recognition that people - just like you or I - can cause momentous shifts in established structures of power.

This is why I have a picture of Gandhi on my picture-board, stuck between erotic greetings cards. Not company he'd expect, but there you are... A skinny little bugger with an iron will who managed to defy and defeat the guns of the British Empire, without firing a shot. As Gandhi pointed out, if the people simply say 'No', then without their co-operation nothing can move forward.

The revolutions of the eastern European States were largely bloodless, as these things go, again revealing the nascent power of ordinary people who refuse to be squeezed. In quiet moments of individual decision and resolve, people decided to say, 'no'. And the structures of power crumbled.

And so I can appreciate why the Prison Service has always been very afraid of prisoners organising in any way. Our keepers appreciate that prisons (like Governments) can only function with the cooperation of the prisoners.

This is an understanding that prisoners have persistently failed to grasp. When buried beneath a pyramid of power made of concrete and steel, it can be difficult to appreciate that one has a latent power.

Throffer

Not a typo but a deadly piece of prison terminology. It combines "threat" and "offer".

Much of what is required of us to "address our offending behaviour" (a hideous term) is voluntary. There are psychological courses intended to help us control our anger, think more clearly and reign in our deviant urges.

They are wholly voluntary. But... if you don't do them then you won't be released. This is the essence of a "throffer".

The poor sods most sharply hit by this are the innocent. Without admitting their guilt, they rarely get released because they won't do the psych courses.

Legally, they don't have to admit guilt to gain release but readers will appreciate by now that law and practice are only occasionally overlapping.

These innocent people exist in a twilight world governed by throffers. "Admit your guilt and we will let you go... do the courses, we will let you go...you don't have to do these things, of course, but if you don't..."

Throffer. Add it to your spellchecker dictionary. And file it next to "Kafka".