The L.E.T. Project – A.J. is not feeling it.

A.J. said he is going through a down time right now. I don’t really know how to respond to him right now. Sometimes people need to be left alone in order to ponder and think. 

What is crazy is that I also heard from my cousin who is doing time. I haven’t heard from him until now. He gave me a lot of insight of what it’s like to be an inmate. His biggest gripe was the traumatic effects of being institutionalized. Losing his ability to be a man. He has a fiance and he sometimes has to beg her for commissary money to get by. He told me stories of him working in the jail cafeteria, only to get paid 13 bucks a month. He is in prison right now getting paid 21 bucks a month cutting hair. It is insane how jail is literally legal slavery. My cousin wrote me an 8 page letter, which really shocked me because I heard that he didn’t write at all. He apologized for not responding, and promised to start responding from now on. All sins are forgiven in my book. Besides, he has 9 more years of mail that I will send to him, compared to zero. Once people get thrown in jail, they often get forgotten about and abandoned. No one wants to talk to them or hire them because they wear a felon jacket. No one wants to hire them or deal with them period. I can’t erase the public’s stigma of inmates, but it is really sad when you commit a mistake at 18 years old as a black man, you get the maximum punishment that someone of a different background may get a fair sentence for. All that I can do is tell these inmates to read books and become self taught geniuses. Take advantage of correctional facility programs that are available to them. I want to see these guys become more successful than me. For some it may or may not happen. There could be underlying drug issues or mental illness, so it could be a complete crap shoot for all I know, but it is worth the effort.

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A.J. Responds [The l.e.t. project]

“Hey Eddie,

I received the books you sent to me. I want to say thank you very much it is appreciated. Eddie I have poem I want to share. (It is called (wasted)

wasted…

with the sense of urgency, you look at us troubled criminals and you grieve our lost of life is far worst than you thought. Believed, or ever conceived see beyond our crimes, pass the fear we create–

you see the lost overflowing, slowly turning our minds to (waste)

we are incarcerated wallpaper that quickly fades and wastes away

and the numbers continue to grow at a unprecedented rate-

we lack the needed belief in ourselves and the desire to educate our minds

lost the will to advanced

helpless and so far behind

but violence has forced society to lock us “away” at any cost

soon all of us will pay because each one of us is lost

lost…

This poem is not copyrighted, however,  I just want to be heard.

Another thing I am wondering do you have any information on prop 57, or can you help me figure out what the prop is about

Thank you. will write again soon. with respect”

– A.J.

 

 

L.E.T. Project “A.J”

 So I sent AJ some books. The first book is a dictionary, because it is literally like a translator in jail. It helps expand his diction. The second book I sent was Tupac ‘the rose that grew from concrete’ in hopes that he could be inspired by some of Tupac’s poetry. AJ says he likes poetry, and I think this would be the book he would read first. The third book I’ve sent him was ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Viktor Frankl. You guys will automatically see me send this book to almost every inmate. This was a man who survived concentration camp under Nazi rule. Incredibly heartfelt book, it shows the power of a positive mindset under any circumstance. This book is hands down the greatest book for any one facing a difficult time. I can’t wait until I hear his take on the book(s).

~Eddiestarblog

:D✊