Reading is fundamental
Incarcerated people are being denied access to reading materials in the name of corporate profit
Vol. 49
In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | GO OUTSIDE | FINAL FRAME
Reading is fundamental.
I take my access to books for granted.
Not on purpose. I am grateful for books and the written word! But I’ve grown up with them being always available, first by parents who made a point to read to me before bed and encouraged my love of stories, then by teachers and school librarians, by public libraries, and eventually by awesome independent bookstores, too.
I love the transporting effects of a good novel, the edification of a well-written history or cultural deep dive, the vulnerability of a memoir. I love smutty romance, too! Books have helped me understand myself and the world better.
And I have the privilege of taking it for granted that I can get my hands on just about any book I want, either through my library or my local indie shop.
Reading–and access to reading materials without censorship–should be a fundamental right. And yet we’re seeing the erosion of that right across the country, via the banning of books deemed “unsuitable” because they contain LGBTQ characters or themes, or talk about race in an honest way, and so on.
While all book bans are bad, today (the start of Banned Books Week) I want to talk about one kind that is especially pernicious: book bans for incarcerated people.
Last week, news broke that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections had banned the non-profit Wisconsin Books to Prisoners organization from continuing their program of sending free books to people in the state’s prison system.
The reason cited? That some mail had been sent impersonating other agencies like child support and the IRS, and the DOC is worried that “bad actors” might try to impersonate WBTP. So, in spite of the fact that WBTP has never once violated DOC policies in its 18 year history, nor have there been incidents of impersonation or other issues, they’re simply being banned.
According to the statement from WBTP, “The DOC claims their interest is in increasing safety by regulating book vendors to prevent the introduction of contraband, including drugs, into correctional facilities. To date, no evidence has been provided that reading materials delivered to people in correctional facilities in the state have contained illicit materials.”
As infuriating as this is, the move does feel in keeping with the overall trend of prison systems finding new and ever more awful ways to strip incarcerated people of their fundamental rights and dignity, and to further privatize any and all services.
It’s hard not to assume that the DOC’s “regulation of book vendors” is just part of the same trend that resulted in a move earlier this year to switch private vendors for the tablets that are made available for purchase by incarcerated people. The DOC is currently being sued by prisoners over that process, which has resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars worth of digital media purchased by inmates and then lost when the new tablets were rolled out. The DOC earns a commission from the private vendor for everything purchased on those tablets, after all. There’s a clear, financial benefit for the DOC to make people re-buy everything, and to cut off access to free books from other organizations while they’re at it.
Everything from phone calls to internet access to the tablets involve charging prisoners every step of the way. Given that the average hourly pay for incarcerated people nationwide is just $0.69 (and that’s when they’re paid at all - because some states make them work without compensation, thanks to the 13th Amendment’s carve-out for slave labor in prisons), those fees add up quickly. Some 70% of incarcerated workers report not being able to afford basic necessities with their meager pay, let alone buy ebooks or other digital media. While some folks can rely on friends and family on the outside to help pay for certain things, that’s not true for everyone, nor is it a good standard to set.
And the ebook selections made available through private contractors are often extremely limited. Many of these “libraries” simply contain texts from old books available in the public domain. That means a lot of wildly outdated and irrelevant reading. But it does help the prison system circumvent rules around censorship. To wit:
Censorship is legal in prisons, but it has to conform to certain criteria, one of which is that the bans have to enable some way for incarcerated people and booksellers to exercise the right to free expression. So, the banning of some books is fine, but the banning of all books is not. By pointing to the tablets [as giving access to a library of books of the company’s choosing], prison officials are effectively telling the courts that they can stop allowing paper literature into prisons.
The DOC boasted that the new tablets would be given to inmates for free and would enable them to make phone calls from their cell phones (if they have them). But in addition to the loss of all previously purchased materials (which the DOC made commission on), basically every service on the tablets comes at a cost. Each individual email costs money to send and comes with a 2,000 character limit (down from the previous limit of 13,000).
I could go on about the many ways in which the prison system profits off inmates who are overwhelmingly from low-income backgrounds (and you should feel free/encouraged to read up on it). But honing in on the WBTP ban is illustrative of the bigger problem. Telecom companies, corporate booksellers like Amazon, and prison systems have a vested, financial interest in restricting access to reading materials to only that which they provide.
Censorship and limited access may come in part because of prejudices against incarcerated people and the communities they represent, but the cold hard truth is more often just about money. They can claim it’s for “safety reasons,” but there’s no evidence of that being the case. Meanwhile, there’s abundant evidence that they’re looking for any way to cut costs and corners while raking in whatever profit they can off the backs of people who’ve been stripped of any right to refuse.
Incarcerated people are people like you and me. Regardless of what they did (or didn’t do) to end up in prison, they deserve basic rights and access to the things that make life worth living. They are parents, siblings, spouses, friends. It’s disgusting how many people we incarcerate and how we treat people when they’re inside. There’s much to be done to fix this deeply broken system (I would argue for abolishing it entirely, but that’s an essay for another day). The least we can do is ensure access to basic things the rest of us rely on–get to take for granted–on the outside.
Sign the petition to have the DOC reverse its ban on Wisconsin Books to Prisoners.
Follow WBTP on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Learn more about Prison Banned Books Week.
Further reading: “Lifeline, cash grab, tool for censorship: Three incarcerated readers on eBooks in prison” [LitHub]
Now Read This.
“Inside Colombia’s surveillance and disciplinary operation for student protesters” [Sarah Huddleston and Maya Stahl for the Colombia Spectator]
An eye-opening investigation by the Columbia Spectator about how the university is surveilling and disciplining students following last semester’s protests and arrests.
“There will be no ‘climate haven’” [Christina Leiffring for Tone]
The heart of the problem with presenting “climate havens” as a solution is that inequity is baked in. Large segments of the southern US population are barely getting by, and certainly do not have the means to pack up and move to another state (and that’s not even touching on the issues in the Global South). The people who can move will have the resources to displace poorer northerners. As Keller says, “It’s a solution that seems made for people who already have lots of solutions at their disposal.”
“MAGA’s scariest environmental proposal” [Arielle Samuelson for Heated]
In the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term, there’s a brief proposal to potentially deregulate a class of toxic chemicals called PFAS, found in firefighting foam and gear and linked to high rates of cancer among firefighters nationwide. Written by former members of Trump’s administration, it says the Environmental Protection Agency should “revisit the designation of PFAS chemicals as ‘hazardous substances’.”
“The Red, White, and Blue Screen of Death” [Sarah Kendzior]
Humanity has been stripped from the virtual world: deliberately, maliciously. The goal is to make humans less human. Less imaginative and more callous; more desperate and less kind. Less demanding of authority, but ruthlessly demanding of ordinary people who hold neither leverage nor power.
Go Outside.
It’s officially autumn as of Sunday! The weather decided to make the switch instantly, it seems. I’m here for it. And I plan to celebrate by spending as much time outside as possible.
I’ll be participating again in this years’ Mammoth Hike Challenge, put on by the Ice Age Trail Alliance and free to join. They encourage folks to hike 44 miles of the trail and visit some of the “trail communities” along the way. It’s an easy, fun way to get outside and explore parts of the state that you’ve maybe not seen before. And the Ice Age Trail really is a gem, with segments across Wisconsin offering everything from relatively flat and easy walks to more challenging hikes.
One of my favorite segments in the area is Table Bluff, in Cross Plains. Mostly wooded, with some open prairie sections, it offers beautiful views and fall color without road crossings or having to travel too far outside of Madison.
You can explore every segment in detail at this interactive map. Sign up for the Mammoth Hike Challenge here (again, it’s free/honor system!). And see you out there?
Final Frame.
I had the pleasure and honor of DJing for a friend’s wedding last weekend that was held at the Lussier Family Heritage Center on the southside of Madison. The center overlooks Lake Farm County Park, which is an absolute gem within city limits for hiking, bird watching, camping, and biking.
The ceremony thankfully wrapped up just as a storm rolled up and I snapped this photo of the dramatic sky that followed, over a beautiful, autumnal prairie.
‘Til next time.
Abolish the death penalty. Save Marcellus Williams. Take care of each other.