Hey Free,

I justed wanted to write and let you know that i was thinking of you during this International Weekend of Resistance. I recently finished reading Heartcheck and wanted to say thank you. There is so much in that zine that i am thankful for, most of all your (and Rob’s) dedication to never give up. I can only hope that your refusal to be silenced and to be made complacent is exported by this zine and taken to heart. While i’ve spent brief amounts of time in jail for my beliefs and actions (including time in solitary), i have never found myself locked inside a penitentiary. Your writings and the words of others who have survived prison to come out just as dedicated as when they went in have provided me with the strength to take action without fear of prison. Not that i do not have fear, but i refuse to allow it to paralyze me into submission. Hell, if it did i probably wouldn’t be writing this letter to you knowing that it is being censored. But i have nothing to hide and no reason to run.

I really like the word heartcheck and the meaning that yall described in the zine. It can be frustrating here in the radical scene to hear so many scensters talk the talk. I would much rather hear nothing and see action than listen to the same old rhetoric time and again. The last time i was arrested was because the anarchist organizers of a ‘reclaim the streets in solidarity with the people of iraq’ event decided at the very last minute that they weren’t into the idea any more. I said fuck that and just started walking down the middle of traffic by myself (making a lot of annoying noise along the way:). I was grateful for the six friends who joined me. About twenty minutes later, we were surrounded by 15 cops or so and two of us were arrested (i was charged with inciting an officer to violence). My friend’s charges were immediately dropped while i represented myself in a five-month ordeal. They eventually decided they did not have the evidence to convict me and the case was dropped. But i’ve never taken action with those ‘organizers’ again. Now i have a response, “heartcheck.”

We all need a serious heartcheck. I know that i have to keep mine in check on a regular basis or risk finding myself getting caught up in work and day-to-day living. So thank you for your writings, your dedication, and my new favorite word. I take them all to heart. Keep strong, Free, we are with you.

In solidarity,