"angry-hippo:  blackcatfactory:  We made a Writing to Prisoners FAQ zine.  Check it out! http://zinelibrary.info/writing-prisoners-frequently-asked-questions  Also: Here is my quick list of shit that you should never do when writing to a prisoner- 1. Do not put a circle A on the letter or envelope. Many prisons and jails consider ""anarchists"" to be a gang. I once got thrown into a gang control unit in New Jersey because someone sent me a letter with a circle A and the words ""vegan power"" on the envelope. 2. Do not mention the prisoner's sexual preferences unless they have expressed that they are comfortable with discussing it. All prisons have slightly varying cultures, but in general, men's prisons are hyper masculine and homophobic. Mail does occasionally get stolen, mis-delivered, or read by the wrong folks. You could be putting someone in harms way! Even at women's prisons, the guards read all incoming mail and a homophobic guard could do a lot of harm to someone.  3. Do not compare your situation to theirs. If I had a dollar for every fucking time someone in the free world referred to the outside as ""minimum security"" or told me that they understood what I was going through because the college dorms were so very hard on them… You don't understand incarceration unless you have been incarcerated, and I don't mean for a weekend after a protest. Spending years under constant surveillance, threat of violence, and without the most basic liberties is unique, if you haven't been there don't pretend that you have. 4. Write on plain paper with a plain ball point pen. Don't put stickers on anything, and don't enclose postage unless the prisoner has specifically said that they are allowed to receive it. Remember, no glitter, no staples, just paper!   Initiate penpals!!"
{}