Part 1:

I came from the seed of Adam & Eve just like you

I was in the womb for 9 months just like you

I breathe the same air as you too do

I eat the same foods that you too do

I drink the same water from the same rivers that you do

When I am at home, I walk & drive down the same streets as you do

I shop at the same stores as you do

I watch the same TV shows & listen to the same music as you do

WHY?

Because my friend, PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!!
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To society & the U.S. Census Bureau I am nothing but a NUMBER….

Another statistic, just another poor black man who got locked up again because he can’t stop committing crimes

To DOC & the Prison Industrial Complex, I am nothing but an: Offender, Inmate, “Recidivist” & most of all a $$$$

To my family, I am a: Son, a Brother, an Uncle, a Nephew, a Cousin,
person whom they all LOVE!!!

To myself, I AM: A Man, a Muslim, Jonathan Gordon, A HUMAN BEING, with a heart, a soul, a mind, wants, desires, likes, dislikes, goals, accomplishments

WHY?

Because: PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!!
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I told you what I am, now I’ll tell you what I AM NOT:

I AM NOT: a prisoner, I am just a person who is in prison

I AM NOT: an offender

I AM NOT: a slave

I AM NOT: a label

I AM NOT: a DOC number

I AM NOT: any label

I AM NOT: what others define me as

I AM NOT: going to allow others to dictate who I AM!!!

WHY??

BECAUSE PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!!
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PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!! part 2:

STIGMAS ATTACHED TO A NEGATIVE SYSTEM OF NOMENCLATURE:

I AM: bones

I AM: tissue

IAM: muscles

IAM: blood

IAM: nails

IAM: hair

WHY?
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Because: PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!!

Society & the media have a cold, calculating way of attaching labels to everyone

When the labels are bad, they are meant to “Demonize” dehumanize, strip a person of his/her dignity & make them into a monster.

When people hear the label, they are conditioned to kept away from him/her like they have a contagious disease
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Being the fact that I, & others who are in prison are locked up, being punished, serving a debt to society

At the same time we are being: segregated, ostracized, outcasted & tortured

Labeled & named

The punishment doesn’t start with a guilty plea or guilty verdict

The conviction doesn’t start with a guilty plea or guilty verdict

IT STARTS WITH THE MEDIA!!!

When a person is arrested, his/her face is plastered all over TV & newspapers

The media finds the most ugly looking mugshot they can of the “accused” person

When “normal” people in society see the image, they say: “Man that guy/girl looks crazy…He/she looks like a criminal, I bet he/she is guilty.”

The person is called a: thief, murderer, rapist, drug dealer…ect
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After his/her debt to society is served, the punishment don’t stop, the repercussions don’t stop

He/she goes for a job, & are told: “No, we can’t hire you…you’re a FELON!”

He/she tries to get a house & are told:
“No! You can’t live in our neighborhood. You’re a FELON!!!”

He/she tries to get a driver’s license

He/she wants to vote

He/she wants to get a loan

But all he/she hears is “No, No, No, you’re a FELON!!!”

When are we ever told: “YES!!! BECAUSE YOU ARE A HUMAN!!!”

WHY?

Because PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!!
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PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!! part 3:

Where in any of all those “NO’s” are we ever called what we truly are: HUMAN BEINGS?

Once a person is labeled as a Felon, or called a: thief, murderer, rapist, drug dealer…ect

He/she looses any individuality & is thrown in a class/category that describes him/her with the most horrendous images:

Images that provoke raw emotions such as:

Fear, apprehension, distaste, distrust, discomfort, hate, abhorrence, & prejudice…

Now the general public has a reason to look down upon another person, elevate themselves & feel: “Holier than Thou.”
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Those labels are a PRISON!!!

The prison has huge brick walls with huge letters spray painted on then that broadcasts us as: FELONS, CRIMINALS, THUGS, GANGSTERS…

The walls the labels are attached to prevent people from getting in & prevent the real person behind the labels from getting out & being seen…

Instead of seeing me, you see the label in front of me…

But in reality my friend, the label confines you in more than it confines me in

If your prejudice prevents you from talking to me, from seeing me for who I am, from going to this place, or going to that place because of the “Type” of people who are there….

Than you are in a bigger prison than I am…it’s called PREJUDICE!!!

When is society gonna be released from the prisons of labels & prejudice?

Give their brains & hearts FEEEDOM!!!
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SEE ME FOR WHOM I AM!!!

WHY?

BECAUSE PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!!!
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I REFUSE TO LET YOU DEFINE WHO I AM:

Call me what you want!!!

Your labels, names, categories & descriptions

DO NOT DEFINE ME!!!

I refuse to let your perception classify & identify me

I speak for myself, I have my own brain, I have my own will, I have a tongue, I have 2 lips, I have 2 jaws, I have a larynx, I have a voice

AND I WILL SPEAK UP & I WILL BE HEARD!!!

BECAUSE PEOPLE IN PRISON ARE REAL HUMAN BEINGS TOO!

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http://www.jonathankeenangordon.name

Jonathan Gordon
DOC #793350