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OBM 2017-03.Pdf Attitude Our Mission: Out of Bounds Magazine (OBM) is a quarterly publi- cation produced and distributed by prisoners, currently Jack Yu & Steve K., at William Head Institution. Its pur- Volume 34 Number 1 pose is mainly to provide an avenue for contributors to express their views, opinions and experiences about prison, Spring 2017 and to give prisoners a creative outlet to express their art. It is our hope that although our contributors may be physically confined, their ideas will transcend both time and space. Submissions: We welcome any original prisoner-generated writings and artwork. We also appreciate prison- related statistics, news, legislation, politics, stories, and opinions from community members. Particularly, we love to hear our contributors stories relating to volunteers, Prisoner Justice Day, and the Christmas holiday. Any and all rights to articles appearing in OBM remain solely with the authors unless otherwise stated. Permis- sion to reprint any article may be requested from the author in the care of Out of Bounds Magazine. Editorial decisions on matters of content are made by the magazines staff. In no way should this be deemed to mean that Correctional Service of Canada or any affiliated branch of the criminal justice system supports these decisions. Furthermore, publication of submissions and/or advertisements means OBM neither opposes nor en- dorses the opinions expressed, or the advertised products and services. The views expressed in the articles ap- pearing in OBM are those of the authors alone. Submission Standard (for paper submission only) requires, written on the piece of paper that your submission is on, (i) contact info, (ii) date, (iii) whether you authorize us to edit and other publications to reprint, (iv) if your work has already been published, please detail the publication. If permission is not given (to reprint or to edit), please state how long you expect to be at the given address, so we can contact you, and (v) if you want us to print your full name, please explicitly state so on your submission. Furthermore, if you include a cover letter and you do not want us to print the entire letter, the entire page, or just the paragraph, please write Do Not Publish (or DNP) by the salutation, the top margin, or the paragraph respectively to signify such intention. Otherwise, you are giving us permission to print that letter. For more information on subscription, submission, and all other correspondence, please address to: Out of Bounds Magazine, 6000 William Head Road, Victoria, B.C., V9C 0B5 How to get on our mailing list: Subscribe: For people residing in Canada, a subscription to OBM is $18.00 per year or $32.00 for 2 years. An additional postage surcharge of $20.00 per year applies to anyone outside of Canada (If you have Internet access, I recommend reading this publication from www.penalpress.com). You can send your cheque or money order (include your name, address and postal code on a separate sheet of paper) to Out of Bounds Magazine via mail. Contribute: If you are currently in prison and OBM chooses to publish your submission, we will send you the issue in which your work is published. Please note that our publication is now posted on Penalpress.com. By submitting your work to us, you are giving us permission to not only put it in this magazine, but also on the web-site. We will contact you at your last known address if permission is requested for reprint. If you do not respond or do not notify us when you move (or do not explicitly tell us not to give permission to reprint), you are giving permission to reprint. One time promotion (OTP): If funding permits, a one time promotional issue may be sent to those who express interest. However, we strongly suggest that any interested party subscribe or contribute. Cross Promotion: If your business is willing to promote this publication, to assist prisoners, or to encourage or recruit volunteers to assist prisoners, we will gladly put your business on our list. Better yet, e-mail us your business logo at [email protected] so we can put it in our magazine. We will also send a copy to those who advertise with us. Out of Bounds Magazine, 2017. Printed and Bound in a Canadian prison. ISSN 1195-9142. Please feel free to copy and redistribute this magazine in its entirety within prison. The following poem was found in the chapel. Contents Attitude By Charles Swindoll Editors Note---------------------------------------------- 6 The longer I live, Readers Forum ----------------------------------------- 7 the more I realize the Office Journal -------------------------------------------- 11 impact of attitude on life. Word Games in the Big House ................................. 11 Attitude to me, New Address .......................................................... 12 is more important than the past, Opinion ----------------------------------------------------- 13 than education, Into the Forest: A Decolonizing Film Review ............ 13 than money, Prison Culture-------------------------------------------- 15 than circumstances, Private Prisons: A Brief Overview ............................. 15 than failures, How private prison companies increase recidivism .. 22 than success, An Ecstatic Parolees Border-Crossing Journey Home ......................................................................... 27 than what other people Inside American Prisons ........................................... 29 think, Or say, or do. Peace & Non-Violence ------------------------------- 33 Moving Forward ...................................................... 33 It is more important Around the PENinsula --------------------------------- 37 than appearance, Vandalism ................................................................. 37 giftedness, or skill. Breaking the Lock ..................................................... 37 It will make or break an organization, Lighting Up ................................................................ 38 Neverending Story (part II) ........................................ 38 a school, a home. Are you a plumber? Cause these pipes are burstin . 38 Where theres smoke, there might not necessarily be fire The remarkable thing is .......................................................................... 38 we have a choice everyday Danger, Danger, High voltage ................................... 39 regarding the attitude we Dimming the light ...................................................... 40 Foraging for treasure ................................................ 41 will embrace for that day. OMG Its a goddamn winter wonderland ................... 41 We cannot change our past... Non-fiction ------------------------------------------------ 42 We cannot change the Farewell .................................................................... 42 fact that people will Last words ------------------------------------------------ 42 act in a certain way. Fiction ------------------------------------------------------ 43 We cannot change the inevitable. Grounded .................................................................. 43 the only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, Poetry ------------------------------------------------------- 46 and that is our attitude... Who I am .................................................................. 46 I am covinced that life is 10% Weak ........................................................................ 46 Prisoner .................................................................... 46 what happens to me Stoned ...................................................................... 46 and 90% how I react to it. Fickle ...................................................................... 46 Prisoner of Love (Caught in a silken snare) .............. 47 And so it is with you... When I was born ....................................................... 47 Whats Next? --------------------------------------------- 48 Editors Note Editors Note During the last WHoS production, I had the privilege of working in the green room with Chris. In between handling various props and sorting out makeup supplies, Chris and I started to talk. That sequence of conversations changed my perspective about doing time in Canada. Chris was recently transferred here after doing six years in vari- ous American prisons. Since his arrival at William Head, he dedi- cate himselves to WHoS. He regularly spent over 10 hours a day working for WHoS. From fixing costumes, doing cleanup, and checking inventory, his tireless presence was inspiring. Personally, after four years of William Head, I am jaded from all the shiny things of William Head. I long for a reminder of what makes William Head great. So, I drove our conversations toward the difference in prison systems. States prisons are nothing like this, bro. They readers. If you dont feel like writing poetry, fic- dont have all these girls running around you. They tion or an opinion piece, just throw some thoughts dont let us roam around the prison. In some down on a page, send it out our way and well throw states, we lived in a 300-man chicken coop We it in the magazine. Trying to drum up support for wouldnt have our own rooms with our own keys. a cause? This is a perfect way to get your message It is great here. Then, there are all these gangs. out. We want to establish a dialog with our read- Down there, we of different races cant even talk ers and we feel this is the best way to getr done. privately. We each would have to bring a guy with Weve
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