Ain't it the truth
By Brandon Astor Jones
Three years ago a small group of prisoners here joined forces to form what was then The Teddy Bear Project (TTBP). I designed while others crocheted hundreds of cute little stuffed animals. The donations we got for them were used to buy more crochet supplies; and the rest was used to help feed, clothe and house homeless people of every kind. The money we obtained through them, I sent to various churches and relief organisations in the US.
Having spent some time hungry and homeless myself, I am convinced that a hungry stomach does not care who feeds it. I would rather doubt that any of those people TTBP fed said they did not want the food because it came to them via the good intentions and labours of prisoners — death row prisoners at that.
Alas, after a couple of years TTBP had to close down because we could not get enough local or national support to continue. There are those in regional and national politics whose stomachs are probably full of caviar and filet mignon who, for whatever reasons, actually resent the humanity and audacity of those of us in prison who actively care about hungry and homeless people outside of prison.
I have never seen inside a human stomach, but I have seen the unmistakable reflection of a demoralising hunger on the faces of many. It is not a look that can easily be hidden, I assure you.
I cannot say I have ever seen a soul before either, but I have seen the reflection of a need for spiritual sustenance on the faces of many sisters and brothers.
The Church of England recently ordained 32 women, over the vociferous objections of 35 Anglican clergymen and several hundred lay people who have quit the church in protest since last November. The ceremony so outraged the Reverend Francis Brown that he stood outside of the church during the ordinations and said in his protest, "Henceforth 'C of E' means Church of Error".
What a very self-righteous thing for him to have said.
There is one thing I am certain of, though: the Reverend Brown is full of that age-old patriarchal pseudo-sustenance that too many "churchmen" have served to Anglican congregations for more than 460 years, i.e. sexism and bigotry. I wonder does he also object to death row prisoners feeding the hungry and/or if he has a penchant for caviar and filet mignon?
The novelist Saul Bellow said it all: "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep".
Yeah, ain't it the truth!
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to receive letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]