#the relationships that cannot be detangled from trauma

[takethelx3]

I was just scribbling A Hug because I'm trying to practice drawing multiple people at once (in one space) but somehow Timkon carved themselves out of the stone

[flickeringart]

Death and transformation

Death is usually tied up with fear and dread – it is something that is irreversible, but it’s generally not the end of life in an overall sense. Life continues on, through other forms – but never exactly the same as before. Everything that is alive can die. Although life itself is immortal, the form it expresses through can change. The error that many people make is to equate life with the form and fail to recognize that nothing is ever lost except the particular version or form of something. That which is lost through death usually gives rise to mourning and grief and legitimately so. Death can come in many guises and is present in every transition that people go through. The end of childhood has its own grief, the end/beginning of a relationship or the end/beginning of a project. Death walks with us every step of the way and leaves its subtle and not so subtle traces.

In astrology, Pluto is the planet that’s associated with death and transformation. While Saturn is more characteristic of lack and struggle, life lessons and challenges, Pluto is a little bit more difficult to get a grasp of. He is the god of the underworld and isn’t seen by mere mortals; he is never out in the open. In other words, his function is largely unconscious and looms in the hidden corners of our psyche. He can be sensed as an inevitable psychic threshold that most people avoid thinking about until it’s no longer possible to avoid. He is constantly in the works, because as I mentioned, death follows us everywhere. Sometimes there’s no specific point of crisis that is experienced, but rather a series of minor deaths that somehow lead to profound change. For people who have Pluto strong in their chart, there’s likely going to be a lot of shedding of one’s skin, like a snake, these people need to crawl out of themselves in order to abandon the emotionally suffocating shell, the outdated and ineffectual form.  

Some people, and I’m sure they have Pluto prominently placed, seem to consistently encounter situations that demand intense deaths and rebirths. They seem to be confronted with realities that they can no longer deny, that make it impossible to continue living the same way. Life seems to be impatient with these people because there’s a constant burning ground provided – crisis after crisis seem to want to destroy them. It’s impossible to live lightly and expect the best from life because there’s always something that calls them to “level up”, to become stronger. In a sense, they attract situations that will challenge and alter their very core. In mythology, Pluto is also the god of riches and there certainly are treasures to be derived from the intense process of burning and birthing. Life is revealed and immortality can be grasped because with every shedding of the skin there’s an awareness of that which cannot be destroyed.

There’s a fine line to walk with this planet. Some may be weakened and some may be strengthened. In my experience, it seems as if it depends on the person’s ability to separate life from the form, to detangle the self from the intensity - one can only let something die and endure the process of dying if one knows that it’s not of the greater Self.

Although writing about Pluto can be fascinating and poetic, the reality of this planet is not for the faint of heart; he’s the god “most feared by mortals”. Yet, it’s not evil or anti-life. Even though it might difficult for us to grasp from our limited perspectives, I’m convinced that Pluto has his own intelligence. He is stern and unforgiving and doesn’t let anyone off the hook. He is the one who allows the tie and the one who cuts it when it’s time. There’s nothing that can be done from a conscious standpoint to stop it from happening. I’m sure most people can relate to the feeling of not being able to go back no matter how badly one would want to. The door is closed, the chapter has ended and there’s not much that can be done to restore that which was before. Something has been permanently altered. People instinctually know when Pluto has had his last word and when one if forced to accept that there’s nothing left to be done. I have found that sometimes, in my own life, I intellectually know what I would want to do – but for some reason I can’t. I am forced in a direction, seemingly against my own will. People take actions that seem destructive all the time, yet it’s usually because there’s complete despair and longing for transformation that can’t be avoided any longer. The personal will is at the mercy of the plutonic forces and one must yield, just like the myth where Persephone had to be abducted and forcefully taken from her mother Demeter to go and live with Pluto in the underworld. Pluto doesn’t bargain, he takes and never apologizes or take pity. What has to be done has to be done.

In mythology, Pluto was more of a keeper of relative balance than a mere force of evil. Certain crimes are not only crimes because society has established them as such but because there are laws of the unconscious that hold each person equally accountable. The Uroboros, the symbol of a snake swallowing its own tail is a perfect illustration of this. The 8th house in astrology is also symbolic of this. The 8th house is Scorpio’s and Pluto’s house, and is the domain of intimate merging and the occult. Although people are physically separate, psychic energies are merged and unified, just like the Uroboros is one serpent circle - one can’t bite without being bitten. That which one inflicts upon another is impossible to isolate, there’s no escaping the consequences of trying to destroy and over-power another human being – one will pay the price, because one is essentially eating one’s own tail. This is not necessarily in order to punish, but it’s to establish balance. 

Love and Hate patterns in relationships indicate strong emotional entanglement and subsequent power struggles. Some relationships work in the fashion that one is put “under a spell” and one can’t break free until both parties are altered at the core no matter how “dysfunctional” the union is. These types of relationships are not based on free choice; they are magnetic and all consuming, presumably for the purpose of transforming both individuals. There’s no rhyme or reason that constitutes the base for the relationship, but there’s a hidden intelligence underneath it all. Pluto provides excellent burning ground.

If people were to be completely honest, certain things would never change unless pain forced them to. Pain forces change because it’s unforgiving. It also forces strength. Death is inevitable, but perhaps only because the old form has been dragged along for too long. Old psychological patterns, unprocessed trauma and unconscious ties have to come to the surface to transform. The question is if one can consciously rise above the battleground and in that way separate the riches from the ashes and trust the process of dying in favor of something new being born.

[missmentelle]

Hi. I’m reading your FAQ page and see that you’ve listed the suicide crises in First Nation communities as something you know about but rarely get asked about. As a fellow Canadian, I’d love to hear, based on your experiences, what’s helping the most in these communities? (Including but not limited to any recommendations for agencies accepting charitable donations.) Thanks!

Figuring out how to solve the suicide crisis among Canada’s First Nations communities, particularly Northern communities, is more of a PhD thesis than a Tumblr ask - there are no simple solutions here, and I certainly don’t have all the answers. This is more of a systemic issue than a matter of charitable donations; the issues in these communities are deep and complex, and what’s needed is widespread policy change, rather than intervention from charitable agencies. A lot of this crisis is deeply rooted in the fact that First Nations communities have been intentionally prevented from becoming self-sufficient and have been forced into a position of dependency on the federal government - trying to fight this crisis with charitable donations is well-meaning, but ultimately makes the issues of dependency and lack of autonomy even worse. 

The specific needs and issues of First Nations people vary from community to community, and I am certainly not in a position to speak for any of them, or make absolute statements about what they need to solve this crisis. However, many reserves and bands have been pretty vocal about what is needed to reduce the poverty and despair in their communities - and by extension, alleviate the mental health issues. Some of the big things include:

Giving First Nations communities autonomy over their own lands. Under Canadian law, reserves are considered “crown lands” - they technically belong to the Federal government, and individuals are not allowed to own the land they live on. Again, this issue is way more complicated than can be covered in a Tumblr post, but not owning land means that homeowners cannot take out mortgages and loans, since they have nothing to offer as collateral to secure the loan - so if they want to build a house, they have to offer 100% of the building costs up front, something that most people can’t afford to do. The result is that many First Nations families live in outdated homes that are not up to building code and are dangerously crowded. Not owning the land they live on also means that First Nations people cannot build equity, and face enormous obstacles in trying to start businesses - reserve land cannot be used as collateral, which can make it next to impossible for people on reserves to get the kinds of business start-up financing that other Canadians can get. Moving off reserve is also a lot easier said than done; many reserves are quite remote, and leaving is expensive. The lack of opportunity on reserves makes it difficult for First Nations people to secure the skills and work experience needed to compete in the job market, and starting over in a new city with no connections and no money is not necessarily going to improve your situation at all. Again, the solutions here are complicated - implementing private property on reserves is not a cure-all and is not necessarily the best solution - but the current situation is unworkable, and is contributing to a severe housing and economic crisis. 

Implementing high-speed internet access on reservations. This is actually a project that is being worked on now, but many remote and Northern communities in Canada have only the most basic of internet access. This is hugely crippling for those communities; it contributes to their isolation, restricts education and economic opportunities, and puts them even further behind in a job market that is increasingly tech-savvy. Implementing high-speed internet access also gives First Nations people improved access to mental health and medical professionals via Skype, or other forms of online communication.

Improved access to mental health and addiction services in remote communities. It is incredibly difficult to get mental health and addictions workers to actually stay in remote communities long-term - the conditions in these communities are harsh, the cost of living is high, and in the case of Northern communities, not everyone is equipped to deal with the “six straight months of darkness, six straight months of sunlight” thing that happens in the far north. Instead, most of these communities rely on “fly-in, fly-out” professionals, which are exactly what they sound like. A professional will fly into the community, stay for a few weeks to try to deal with the mental health crisis, and then fly out again, with a new person flying in to take their place. This makes it extremely difficult for people in these communities to get any continuity of care, and makes it all but impossible to develop a strong therapeutic relationship with one care provider. Creating much greater incentives for professionals to stay in these communities long-term and training people within these communities to provide services is something that’s sorely needed. 

Addressing the water crises on reserves. Many reserves and remote communities do not have access to clean drinking water, which is absolutely unacceptable in a nation that has the world’s largest supply of fresh drinking water. There are reservations that have been under “boil water” advisories since the early 1990s, which is unacceptable - there are First Nations people who are nearly thirty years old and have never been able to safely drink the water that comes out of their taps. This is hugely degrading for people who live in these conditions, it has caused numerous health issues and generally worsened the quality of life for people in these communities, and it underscores the pain that these communities feel at having their deep connections to the land severed and being treated as second-class citizens in their own homeland. Resolving this crisis needs to be a priority. 

Closing the First Nations education gap. Schools in First Nations communities are grossly underfunded compared to non-First Nations schools. As a result, First Nations schools struggle to attract and keep qualified staff, they struggle to meet the needs of an often deeply traumatized student body, and they generally struggle to provide the same caliber of education that other Canadian parents expect from their children’s schools. In urban environments, First Nations students attending mainstream public schools often face discrimination and don’t have access to the services that they need to thrive. As a result, graduation rates among First Nations youth are abysmal - 61% of First Nations people in Canada do not earn a high school diploma or equivalent by their 25th birthday. First Nations people who do graduate from underfunded First Nations schools are often well behind their peers who graduate from non-First Nations schools, which leaves them struggling to keep up when they attend university. Only 8% of First Nations adults hold a university degree, compared to 23% of the general Canadian population, and that number is even bleaker when look at First Nations people living on reservations. Not providing First Nations children with the education and the services that they need can leave them at a lifelong disadvantage, and contributes hugely to mental health issues and despair. 

Ending housing and employment discrimination. First Nations people face huge amounts of discrimination when it comes to applying for jobs or looking for housing in urban areas. Even having an obviously First Nations name can get your application thrown in the trash, and First Nations people who do land interviews for jobs and apartments often find that they are treated much more harshly as soon as they show up in person and their First Nations identity is discovered. Landlords will often demand extra documentation, demand months of rent payments up-front, or ask insulting questions about the First Nations applicant’s drinking habits. Facing discrimination when you are trying to land a job or find an apartment is humiliating and degrading, and ultimately contributes to despair and mental health issues. Stronger protections for First Nations people are needed, and more resources are needed for people who’ve faced discrimination to report their experience and receive recourse. 

Detangling hundreds of years of oppression, intergenerational trauma and systemic racism is not an easy task. There are no quick fixes here, and I haven’t even touched on all the issues that these communities face - there is the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis, domestic violence crises, police brutality, discrimination in the justice system, food insecurity, and so much more. I don’t have all the answers here. But I do know that we as Canadians need to decide that this is a priority. All of us - not just those of us with direct ties to these communities - need to decide that it’s fucking unacceptable that we let this happen in our country, and we need to make this an issue that we fight for. Canadian children are dying at their own hands by the hundreds; apathy is not an option. This needs to be an issue that decides elections. This needs to matter. MM

[thedistantstorm]

Keep On Rising (Until The Sky Knows Your Name) 16

Found Family | Zavala is Tower Dad | Father-Daughter Relationship | Childhood Trauma and Recovery | Canon-Typical Violence | Amputation

A story about how an orphaned Amanda Holliday comes to belong in the Last Safe City and the family she finds along the way.

(Or, the story of how Commander Zavala finds himself responsible for one Amanda Holliday.)

Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

This time: The conversation.

-/

Her eyes focus on the clock above the door first. 02:18, it says, projected in pale blue. She feels heavy, limp, and sore. Hollow, like there’s no point in moving. There’s no sound, the screen that’s mounted up in the corner turned off. It takes a moment to remember, her mind fuzzy and dark like the edges of her vision, not fully awake. She lets her eyes flutter closed.

Karena. Matron Karen was there. She said they were going… back. They were going back.

Still in a haze, her head lolls to the right when she tries to look in that direction, her half-lidded eyes meeting the gaze of the dark haired nurse from before, the one that almost always checked in on her at night. The woman smiles gently down at her, fixing one of the many tubes that are attached to her arm. She doesn’t say anything, which is a little strange. Her eyes seem to light up though. Happy.

That’s when she feels it.

There’s a warmth, a weight around her fingers. A hand cradling hers. A thumb running over her knuckles, steady and sure. 

Amanda carefully tilts her head the other way. Slowly, she coaches herself, feeling very much like a rag doll. She knows it’s him immediately. His eyes are so gentle, like one of his blankets. Like she could curl up and go back to sleep and know he’d keep her safe.

“Hello,” He whispers, the left corner of his lips curling up in a half smile as her eyes clear. 

“‘Lo,” She whispers back, her voice small. Her throat is scratchy. Not enough to make her want water though. She yawns, feeling floaty and heavy, all at once.

His hand traces over her knuckles some more, and her clenched fist relaxes. “It’s late,” He says, when she tries to keep her eyes open. He hasn’t looked away from her face, even though it’s dark. “You can go back to sleep.”

She sighs, letting her eyes fall closed. It feels like hours pass, but she just cannot fall back asleep. She peeks open an eye at him. Only one. His eyes are still trained on her face. “Yer lookin’ at me funny,” She drawls. “D’I do somethin’ wrong?”

“No,” He answers, sounding amused. 

“Wanted to,” She tells him. He should be able to figure things out. “Was real bad there.”

“You won’t go back.”

“Good,” She says, both eyes focusing on him now. “No fosters, either.”

“No,” He agrees. “No fosters.”

She squirms, getting more comfortable. She’s propped up by all manner of pillows. “Miss Karena will take me back, right? When I'm better?"

"She will not. She has the other children to attend to."

"I won't cause any trouble," She grouses. "I tried, like y'all wanted. Should be enough proof."

One eyebrow rises in a question. "Proof of what?"

Amanda sighs, tapping his palm. "I don't need to be adopted. I don't want another ma or dad. I can stay in the orphanage and grow up jus' fine."

"They moved you because of your injury, I was told."

"Yeah, and I'll get better."

"It will be an adjustment, getting used to your new situation."

"But I'll get better, Zavala," She argues. “I seen people - old people,” She stresses, like it makes a difference, “With bionic legs ‘n arms. They got on well enough, should be the same for me.”

“You will,” He agrees. “But you need more attention than a matron can provide. Someone who is looking out for you first, without other children-”

“I won’t go back to another family.” Both eyes open, their blue-green gaze holding his without backing down.

“I know. You’d need to be placed with someone who understood you. Who you wanted to be with.”

“You said no fosters.”

“Something permanent,” He elaborates.

“No.” She sits up, ignoring the twinge of pain in her hip and the way her leg desperately thinks there’s still a knee and foot attached. It’s been doing that lately. “I don’t wanna go with anyone. No more people.”

Zavala watches her adjust herself, turning to face him, good leg dangling off the bed, her stump making it almost to the edge in its wrap, the pant leg of her pajamas ripped and rolled up to mind the swelling. There’s something terribly brave about her, her hands balled into fists at her sides, her eyes bright with determination, the will to fight.

She opens her mouth, and he expects it to come out in a yell. “Please don’t make me,” She says instead, levelly. It’s not a whisper, nor a flashbang of sound. Tears glimmer in her eyes.

“A man came to see you yesterday,” He begins instead, and she tilts her head at the sudden conversation change. “Someone I work with.”

“Yeah,” She agrees, confused.

“He came to tell me how you were doing, after. And to help me make sure you would not stay in the home you’d been sent to, the one attached to the other hospital.”

“But, why-”

“No one told me where you were being taken. Even Karena did not know until afterwards.” He leans forward as he speaks, invested. “We called the hospital. I tried to come see you. They would not allow it. I was beside myself.” His eyes shine in that honest way, the one that tells her he doesn’t know how to do anything but tell her the truth.

He takes both of her hands in his. “I missed you too,” She admits softly.

Shiori shimmers into place beside them, casting a delicate beam of light on the small tray-table that Amanda usually uses for meals. The child’s eyes are drawn to it, watching as a small pile of paperwork appears beside them both.

“What’s that?”

“A lot of it is legal jargon,” He tells her. “City laws and ordinances designed to protect the rights of a child. But,” He lifts the page Shiori placed on top, “I think this might be the page that would interest you most.”

She handles it delicately, little fingers curling around the edges of the paper. “This is-” She inhales sharply, her eyes scanning it quick, seeing the flourish of the ‘Z', a signature that’s almost artistic in heavy black ink. She rakes her gaze back up the paper.

Her name is on it, in perfect type. The seal on the bottom corner is signed and raised. She runs her finger over his signature, feels the indent from the pressure he’d put on the paper.

“I wanted to ask you first,” He admits, softly. Maybe for the first time, she hears something quiver in his voice, the truth tumbling from his lips nervously. It’s not unlike the shakiness of her hands, the way her eyes dart across the paper, not believing… 

In conjunction with City Ordinance 052.8.26.3, the below signed designates themselves as the legal guardian of the above mentioned youth, who has been recognized as a ward of the City. Until such time as they reach the age of majority, the below signed does so swear to provide for the youth’s needs and to uphold all responsibilities befitting a parent of any child of the City. Sworn this day-

“You-”

“I was meeting with Karena when they moved you to the other hospital," He murmurs, perfectly enunciating each word despite the way his speech speeds up. "I was going to come back and tell you that night, to make sure you would not turn me away, that my intention-”

“Turn ya away?” She thrusts the paper back onto the table, crying but not bothering to wipe the tears from her face. “Don’t you know that’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted since I got here?”

“But you’ve said-”

“You ain’t tryin’ replace my Ma or Pa,” She tells him, serious, her eyes never leaving his. “You’re Zavala,” She continues, like that explains everything. “Just Zavala.” Her expression crumples, voice cracking like a wave cresting against tall cliffs, sharp and broken. “Ya just… care, an’ ya wanna see me be happy, an-”

The nurse enters the room with a sense of urgency, hearing the alarm go off from the nurses’ station down the hall. One of the child’s IV lines has been pulled from her arm, the fluid slowly dripping into the bed. She has a mild rebuke on her tongue, ready to ask what’s happened, but stops before she makes a sound.

“It’s alright to cry,” The Commander says, in what might be the most soothing register the nurse has ever heard. “I know it is a lot.”

The woman keeps her head down, not wanting to draw attention to herself as she pulls back the ruined line, coiling it up before throwing it away and shutting off the alarms. She removes the saturated pad beneath the sheets from the IV solution and replaces it.

“You’re gonna take care of me?” The girl whimpers into his chest. “Y’promise? No take backs?”

“Absolutely none,” He agrees.

Instead of leaving, the nurse rounds the bed, reaching between them carefully. Amanda looks up at her, half of her tear-streaked face pushed into the familiar red sweater the Commander wears beneath his armor. She makes a sound of concern when the nurse carefully moves her arm, not wanting to be pulled away.

“Shh,” The nurse consoles, looking first to Zavala with an easy smile before turning her attention to Amanda with a warm blink. “I’m just disconnecting the rest of your lines, sweetheart.” She works quickly, detangling the mess of medication cables until the child is unbound, swiping at the remnants of the one she’d pulled out with a cotton pad. “There we go,” She coos. “Hug away.”

Zavala pulls the child into his arms with ease, not speaking to the nurse, but giving her a thankful glance. The nurse nods, stepping away. “I’ll come back in the morning. Let me know if you need anything.”

“‘M good,” The little one whispers, well after her nurse has gone. “I have everything.”

Zavala can’t help but hold her tighter.

[blackdoctors]

5 THINGS THAT’S STOP YOUR HAIR FROM BREAKING EVER AGAIN

Black hair. Many women have a love-hate relationship with their hair. When it is cared for it can be so beautiful, but when it is mistreated or neglected it can be difficult, frustrating, and unpredictable. However, one clear sign of hair mistreatment that many women deal with are those little hair pieces that end up in the sink, on the pillowcase, on the back collar of a shirt, etc. That is breakage and believe it or not, not everyone experiences this every time they do their hair. Fortunately there are five primary things you can do to maintain healthier and stronger hair that sees less breakage!

Keep Your Hair Clean. Shampoo your hair as needed. If your exercise often, work outside or often find yourself in an area where dirt, odors, smoke or excessive residue is in the air, you should shampoo your hair at least once per week. Use shampoos that are suited to your hair type, texture and condition. If your hair is relaxed, color treated, dry or has any other special needs, take extra care to ensure that the shampoo is not only gentle.

Keep Your Hair Strong. Use the right conditioner. If your hair is weak and breaking off, you will need to use a protein based treatment to add strength back to your fragile hair.  Hair is approximately 85-90% protein and will need protein to restore what may have been lost.

Keep Your Hair Moisturized. Always follow a protein treatment with a moisture treatment to soften hair that has been strengthened and often hardened by protein. Your hair needs moisture, particularly when it is exposed to chemical treatments and heat appliances. Use a moisturizing hair dress between shampoos. Deep condition your hair, at least once per week to keep hair soft and flexible. Hair is approximately 10-15 % moisture and when moisture is lost hair become dry and brittle and will surely break off.

Keep Your Hair Detangled. Friction is the number #1 cause of breakage in women regardless of culture, hair type or texture. Hair is a fiber and when fibers rub against each other, they create friction and often tangle. Tangled hair often becomes torn and ripped out. Leave in conditioners are excellent for their detangling benefits. Better quality leave-in products provide a much needed layer of protection to the hair that can last long after the conditioning service.

Keep Your Ends Healthy. Pay attention to the ends of your hair. If you notice split ends, cut them off immediately because splits can go all the way up your hair shaft. Think of it like a run in your stockings, it cannot be repaired and will continue to expand with daily wear and tear. The only way to rid yourself of the split is to remove it before it goes up the hair shaft.

More Tips To Avoid Hair Breakage:• Comb your hair once daily, with a large tooth comb. No broken teeth – they can rip and tear hair strands. • Use a baby brush for smoothing your edges because edges are naturally very fragile. • If hair is natural use a boar bristle brush, never nylon, because it can cut hair strands. • If your hair is relaxed, use a paddle brush, plastic and rubber with balled tips to protect your strands. • Avoid using excessive and repeated heat. Use curling/flat irons and blow dryers only when hair is clean, and only when absolutely necessary, such as for special occasions. • Sleep in a satin cap or on a satin pillow case. • Eat a balanced diet and take vitamins to keep hair healthy and strong from the inside: vitamin C, vitamin E and silica vitamin B, zinc, copper, protein and Biotin, to name a few.By Jacqueline Tarrant, BDO Hair ExpertJacqueline Tarrant is a beauty expert, consultant, columnist, founder & CEO of Style Infinity Products & The Hair Trauma Center in downtown Chicago. Jacqueline Tarrant has pioneered effective methods to help men & women re-grow hair with her multi-layered approach to hair loss, known as Quadra-Follicle Stimulation. Jacqueline’s expertise on hair care and hair health is expressed monthly in national columns that reach millions through various publications. With numerous Style & Beauty appearances nationwide on Good Morning America, NBC, CBS, & the Fox Network; Jacqueline’s credits also extend throughout print in such publications as Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Essence & the Wall Street Journal.Her reputation as a renowned Educator, Trainer and Platform Artist has taken her throughout Canada, Europe, Africa, South America and the Caribbean.

[artsed105]

TITLES:

Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis

“Artists Grapple with America’s Prison System” By Sabine Heinlein

Video: “Mass Incarceration, Visualized” By The Atlantic

SUMMARIZE & REFLECT:

In Chapter 1 of Angela Davis’s Are Prisons Obsolete, Davis clearly and directly outlines the rise of the prison industrial complex in the United States. She offers a rather interesting comparison regarding the difference in public opinion and outcry between efforts to abolish the death penalty and efforts to abolish the broader american prison system, and highlights the level of complacency and silence that surrounds the general U.S. public in relation to prison reform. Much of the information she discusses I have heard over and over throughout these five weeks, but I still rest in disbelief—they continue to give me chills. What I found to be really most fascinating in her initial chapter was her point regarding geography in California regarding where and how these facilities are being built. She quotes geographer Ruth Gilmore, who states:  

“California’s new prisons are sited on devalued rural land, most, in fact on formerly irrigated a cultur­al acres … The State bought land sold by big landowners. And the State assured the small, depressed towns now shadowed by prisons that the new, recession-proof, non-polluting industry would jump-start local redevelopment.”

This quote and the location of prisons is something I have interest digging deeper into—As our collaborative group this week decided to work with the theme of constellations, both in the way Davis uses the term, to describe a woven and intertwined system of separate objects or units working in tandem, as well as the way we generally think of the word, it is clear the location of prisons create their own invisible constellation—rooted in private dealing and false promises. Much like a constellation in the sky, the specific units at play are entirely invisible during the day, and many times only partially visible at night. Additionally, constellations are deeply rooted in history, with individual stories and background—however most of this information is not known by the general public—we just know they are there. The constellation I find is a fantastic symbol in describing both the negative complex inner workings of the prison system, as well as the need for a constellation of reform and activism—a interworking of creativity, positivity, outreach, and collaboration to make the invisible visible.

Ben Briggance

In the third chapter, “Imprisonment and Reform,” Angela Davis outlines the history of human incarceration, focusing on the influence of Enlightenment on traditional European forms of punishment. Davis navigates through punishments’ transformation from public spectacle to individual reflection and in light of shifting social ideologies shaped by capitalism and growing interest in personal rights. By analyzing how increased emphasis on the individual led to a method of punishment based on the assumption that solitary existence would be the most fruitful path towards cultivating progress, Davis proves that imprisonment is a form of punishment that grew out of a very specific historical context. She quotes Charles Dickens writing that instead, “[t]hose who have undergone this punishment MUST pass into society again morally unhealthy and diseased” (48). Her discussion of the cross-influence between Enlightenment, capitalism, racism, sexism, time constructs, mental health, surveillance, and labor exemplifies her underlying argument that an alternative system of reform will rely on a network of solutions.

The concept of a constellation visually incorporates the idea of a system or network; however, our creative connection used this relationship as a metaphor to explore other structures involved in the prison industrial complex, both positive and negative. In the third chapter, Davis’ notion of a web of solutions most closely relates to the isolation of incarceration, and the need for community infrastructure both to prevent imprisonment and assist with reintegration. Responding to Davis’ quote, “The body was placed in conditions of segregation and solitude in order to allow the soul to flourish” (49), we responded by creating an artwork that relied on support from our peers; our responses thrived on collaboration, not separation.

Alyssa Scott 

The last chapter in Are Prisons Obsolete? Addresses the need for synergy and creativity in order to imagine and thus create a society where prisons are abolished.  In order to imagine alternatives, we must understand the prison not as a single entity but rather “a set of relationships that comprise the prison industrial complex” (106).Historical mechanisms of oppression combined with moments in history that made “sense” only in that time and must be refigured. For instance, the association of crime and punishment has become something we take for granted and accept as part of society. However, to strive towards abolition we must as Davis puts it “disarticulate” crime and punishment as well as detangle the processes that allow for the punishment and criminalization of social identities.

Each decriminalization as a tool of decarceration should be thought of as a starting point to delve into the complexity of each issue. “Alternatives that fail to address racism, male dominance, homophobia, class bias, and other structures of domination will not, in the final analysis, lead to decarceration and will not advance the goal of abolition” (108).

Angela ends the book with the Biehl story to provide a powerful example of restorative justice and the Biehl family as an example of investment in improving society rather than incarceration, responding restoratively rather than retaliating. Our creative connection works to address the idea that bold and complex relationships are both inherent to the prison industrial complex thus must be intrinsic to a radical solution.

Gabrielle Sheerer

In order to create a prison-less society, Angela Davis suggests that “a constellation of alternative strategies and solutions” is essential. The New York Times article by Sabine Heinlein, titled “Artists Grapple with America’s Prison System,” proves the vitality and efficacy of this approach; the article lists twelve artists of varying mediums and demographics who have and/or are currently creating artwork critiquing America’s prison system. In recent years, major museums like the Whitney and Moma PS1 have been curating shows featuring these artworks. The prison industrial complex’s growth has spurred increased discourse, resulting in more mainstream museums promoting prison abolition/ anti-P.I.C. themes.

The focus on the topic is wonderful; however, Ben Davis points out that “there is an icky history of using the suffering of the people at the bottom as a spectacle.” This statement is certainly true considering the potential for exploitation when artists collaborate or make works focused on incarcerated folk. The people locked inside are powerless to prevent their ideas from being misrepresented, appropriated, and stolen; therefore, it is the responsibility of the art community to ensure that a high level of artistic integrity is maintained as prison abolition movements expand.

We approached this creative connection initially looking to collaborate, and didn’t necessarily plan this format. However, it seemed appropriate that each of us could individually represent a star, making up a group constellation. The only parameter we set together was a rough estimate for a 1-2 minute video, so Ben and I approached the music with little predetermined ideas other than to create something with a mellow vibe - tying into the space theme of stars and constellations. Together, our four different mediums were meant to parallel the diversity of mediums in the NY Times article, and also the range of alternatives that Angela Davis suggests.

Ellington Peet

CONNECT:

“An abolitionist approach that seeks to answer questions such as these would require us to imagine a constellation of alternative strategies and institutions, with the ultimate aim of removing the prison from the social and ideological landscapes of our society.” (107)

Like all words, “constellation” holds multiple layers of meaning. On one level, it is the sublime and awe-inspiring: The stories of Andromeda and Pisces we have been taught since childhood. However, this narrative obscures the deeper reality of constellations as fiery stars: a violent and cruel spectacle that harms humans who approach without protection. Finally, a constellation cannot exist on it’s own – It is, by necessity, a collective arrangement.

 Through these multiple meanings, and Davis’ consistent use of the word in her book, we discovered a deep resonance between constellations and incarceration. While politicians and citizens legitimize mass imprisonment through rhetorics of “safety,” we obscure a deeper reality of trauma and violence. Additionally, as Davis argues, in order to counter this mass trauma, we must act collectively: Individualism was the basis of Prison Reform, therefore it cannot be the primary basis for freedom.

For this reason, we decided to work collaboratively. Utilizing our distinct trainings – poetry, music, and dance – we hoped to make a video that speaks to this power of collectivity. Though important individually, each art form takes on a more nuanced set of meanings when viewed as a whole. Finally, we were inspired by films ability to effectively synthesize these disparate art forms, particularly after watching The Atlantic’s short film, “Mass Incarceration, Visualized.”

Colleen Hamilton-Lecky