Lockdown- Corona - be positive
Since it is the time when everyone has to stay indoors. Some find it difficult! Thought of sharing about this book with you. I read it a few months back. It was on Barak Obama’s list of his favourite books of 2019.
Albert Woodfox served for more than 40 years in #solitary confinement in the infamous and brutal Angola prison in Louisiana. His early life was nothing but a series of petty crimes-in and out of jail. Till he was convicted for armed robbery and sent to Angola prison. In 1972 a white prison guard was murdered in Angola and without a shred of evidence Albert Woodfox and his two companions were accused of the murder and convicted in what he calls an unjust trial. He was put into solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in a 6 by 9 feet cell for more than 4 decades. And was subjected to torture, mistreatment and brutality almost on daily bases.
Instead of breaking down in prison he transforms himself and develops qualities and character that very few people have.
Without a tinge of bitterness he struggles against racism and prison brutality. His story is also about how much a human being can endure and how limitless human spirit can be.
He writes, “ (In that 6 by 9 cell) I often thought of myself in the free world: having dinner with my family, driving a car, going to store, going on vacation. I fantasised about Yosemite National Park, which I’d seen in a National Geographic program on TV. It was a way to reinforce my belief that one day I would be free. I learned that dreams and fantasies are not bound by physical limitations, because there are no limitations of the mind or the imagination.”
And then further writes, “ By the time I was 40 I saw how I had transformed my cell, which was supposed to be a confined space of destruction and punishment, into something positive. I used that space to educate myself, I used that space to build strong moral character, I used that space to develop principles and a code of conduct, I used that space for everything other than what my captors intended it to.”
If Woodfox can walk out of solitary confinement after more than 40 years with a character, just being inside homes for a few days shouldn’t after all be a big deal!!
#StaySafe #StayIndoors
Albert Woodfox served for more than 40 years in #solitary confinement in the infamous and brutal Angola prison in Louisiana. His early life was nothing but a series of petty crimes-in and out of jail. Till he was convicted for armed robbery and sent to Angola prison. In 1972 a white prison guard was murdered in Angola and without a shred of evidence Albert Woodfox and his two companions were accused of the murder and convicted in what he calls an unjust trial. He was put into solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in a 6 by 9 feet cell for more than 4 decades. And was subjected to torture, mistreatment and brutality almost on daily bases.
Instead of breaking down in prison he transforms himself and develops qualities and character that very few people have.
Without a tinge of bitterness he struggles against racism and prison brutality. His story is also about how much a human being can endure and how limitless human spirit can be.
He writes, “ (In that 6 by 9 cell) I often thought of myself in the free world: having dinner with my family, driving a car, going to store, going on vacation. I fantasised about Yosemite National Park, which I’d seen in a National Geographic program on TV. It was a way to reinforce my belief that one day I would be free. I learned that dreams and fantasies are not bound by physical limitations, because there are no limitations of the mind or the imagination.”
And then further writes, “ By the time I was 40 I saw how I had transformed my cell, which was supposed to be a confined space of destruction and punishment, into something positive. I used that space to educate myself, I used that space to build strong moral character, I used that space to develop principles and a code of conduct, I used that space for everything other than what my captors intended it to.”
If Woodfox can walk out of solitary confinement after more than 40 years with a character, just being inside homes for a few days shouldn’t after all be a big deal!!
#StaySafe #StayIndoors
Comments
Post a Comment