INDIANA, May 16—Progressive Labor Party (PLP) played an active role against racist incarceration during a rally and car action at Indiana State Prison (ISP).
The racist disregard of workers in prison is not new and continues to be a tool for capitalism. Mass incarceration profiteers have long used racism and sexism as their primary ways to keep incarcerated workers separated from one another. They are also used to keep the wider public from empathizing with the class struggles inside of the prisons.
The number of Covid-19 infections and deaths among prisoners continues to rise, with no illusion of concern among bosses. The only solution to ending this capitalist-caused cycle of systemic exploitation and victimization is to smash capitalism with an armed communist revolution, led by an international PLP.
Putting the line on the line with workers
The PLP collective arrived early to the rally, giving us an opportunity to talk with other workers about our connection to the prison and other struggles against capitalist violence.
We discussed how the coronavirus and the state government’s mishandling of the pandemic are affecting our base . PLP comrades shared that if society were under control of the workers under communism, operating in the best interests of the working class  instead of capitalist gain, there would be a drastic reduction in the loss of lives.
Workers talked about issues their family members in the prison have been going through long before the Covid-19 crisis. . Abuse at the hands of guards in the form of food tampering, forced isolation, suspension of visits in all forms, physical abuse, and unwarranted, harassing searches all made the list.
All these result in worsening conditions for workers, specifically their physical safety as well as their mental and emotional health. This is proof that rehabilitation is far from the goal of incarceration under capitalism. Brutalization of the working class, control, and profit is the bottom line under this system.
The fight against capitalism includes all workers
When the featured speakers arrived, they gave comments about their organization’s platform and the current demands laid out for the well-being of inmates. During open comments, a former guard of the prison spoke about the shared hazardous conditions for employees and inmates.
Their point was that the risks were related, and everyone had an interest in pushing back against the refusal of prison administrators to initiate safety precautions. Some in the crowd were surprised to hear how the lives of guards were also endangered by their money-hungry bosses. The shared interests of workers, incarcerated or not, to demand change and improvement in conditions from administrators to increase the safety of all was made clear.
The speaker quit their job due to how great of a risk they all faced, and due to the clear intention of their bosses to do nothing about it. After the invited speaker read a list of reformist demands, a PL’er shouted out that there’s no negotiating with the prison bosses. The PL’er said real justice for incarcerated workers means smashing capitalism and their system of for-profit torture.
Speaking on the bullhorn, the comrade expanded the conversation by saying that workers coming together and showing opposition in events like these is important. It steels us for the fight that the whole working class must wage against this deadly system that would rather see us all caged and broken than free. Smashing the capitalist system is the only key to freedom for us all.
The comrade led the crowd in Party chants after they showed an interest in the revolutionary line she delivered. PLP distributed CHALLENGE newspaper and made contacts. When the main speaker took to the mic again, they agreed with what the PL’er had stated and added ending imperialism to their group’s list of demands.
No reformist retreats!
Mass incarceration remains a valuable weapon for the ruling class. The reasons, and many of the methods, remain unchanged in the U.S. since the era of post-Civil War Reconstruction. Black workers, newly “freed” from one form of enslavement, were thrown into another form in jails and prisons. Racism and sexism are clearly used by poverty and prison profiteers as tools of control, separating workers on both sides of the wall.
Workers in prisons are waging fights for basic humane treatment against capitalists who continue to profit from withholding it. Being a part of collectives that support that fight is an important area of mass work for our comrades to engage. Actively leading with our line will win us supporters, who will become our base, and then our comrades. It all starts with putting our line on the forefront of the struggle.
We push people past the point of asking for kinder abuse from capitalists. This is the essential difference between reform and revolution. PLP comrades must build for the latter everywhere we are present. It is through personal and political relationships that we will win others away from reform and revisionist movements, to fight directly for revolutionary communism.