Why do I feel some type of way? The higher ups at SCI Phoenix are embarking on a cell compliance mandate. 

The gist of this mandate is, limiting the amount of property that a prisoner can possess. To be fair, I have seen a small portion of my fellow prisoners with an obscene amount of property jammed into a small cell. So in theory I can understand the logic behind this mandate. However, when it is my time to downsize I truly, viscerally and traumatically feel some type of way. I am going through my belongings and a sense of dread and loss fill my body and an urge to fight this mandate is at the forefront of my mind. I have been preparing to get rid of much of my property for some time now, so it makes no sense why these emotions are so strong.

I think about what it is that I have (property) and what am reacting so strongly to.

I have a footlocker that is full of paperwork, neatly organized labeled, yet it's a lot of paperwork. Years of legal work, appeals, research etc. I currently run two nonprofit organizations that require paperwork. I have somewhere around 200 pictures of friend's family, etc. a TV, fan radio, lamp, commissary, t-shirts, boxer briefs, browns and sneakers. My worldly possessions. That's it! That is why I feel as I do. These are my possessions, my only earthly riches and someone is deciding today that this paltry number of belongings is too much, and I have to discard some of them. I have seen many other prisoners decide to Buck the system and refuse to downsize, that ends up with a trip to the hole (RHU). I have seen men attempt (some successfully) to hide property in other cells. My normal response to adverse situations is to somehow find the silver lining and utilize the instance for bettering myself. So that is what I will attempt to do. Yet I see so many who this is impacting greatly. Men with no family, jobs that pay 19¢ per hour "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." Fyodor Dostoyersky

who have spent decades in prison, just absolutely devastated by today's mandate. What is worth fighting for? Going to the hole for? The importance of these items is relative. All of one's worldly possessions picked over, tossed out and then forgotten is undoubtedly a traumatic experience worth fighting for. Unfortunately, this trauma pales in comparison to frequent strip searches, sanctioned and unsanctioned violence, shakedowns, trips to court (will have to blog about that experience) and a whole host of usual occurrences inside of prisons. Not to mention the unspeakable traumas that the majority of our Nations incarcerated have faced prior to prison. The impact of this is being felt by communities all across this Nation. 700,000 prisoners released each year in America, and they are returning to rural, suburban and inner-city communities (everywhere USA). The corrections inside of prisons needs to be a reality and not just the latter part of an acronym (D.O.C.). We need our returning citizens to be mentally healthy, spiritually strong and ready to engage productively with society. Not mentally ill, defeated, unprepared and then set free within community. All of this trauma, oppression and anger is why discarding property has me feeling some type of way... One mandate so much collateral damage we must demand better. wearethesrc!