Piper comes to Portland!

Piper Kerman, who wrote Orange is the New Black, was in Portland today to support the Partnership for Safety and Justice in campaigning for more humane ways to achieve justice rather than abuse for women in prison. Before her panel presentation, Piper, who I have known and appreciated for many years, joined Sue and me for tea. The waiter, bless his sweet heart, had a little trouble with my Nikon, so forgive the slightly frozen smiles and the rather stiff pose. We had to grab a picture of the occasion as best we could.

Piper pointed out in her talk that most women who end up in prison have four problems: they lack housing, a living wage, connection with their family, and health care; and that if we could fix those problems in "free" society, there would be no need to incarcerate thousands of non-violent women.

Also on the panel with Piper were a powerful woman named Alverda McCoy, who was incarcerated for some years and now coordinates a program that offers services for women coming out of prison; and Fariborz Pakseresht, who is the director of the Oregon Youth Authority.

Pakseresht began his talk by saying, "I believe that all suffering comes from disconnection." That's a different approach than the Buddhist point of view I've been studying for many years. Buddhism pins suffering on craving and aversion and their near-relatives greed, delusion, and hatred. But I like Pakseresht's explanation. I keep turning it over and over in my mind. I think he's right. Disconnection or fear of disconnection underlies just about all human suffering, and human suffering underlies most of the rest of the suffering we know about.

I loved seeing Piper again and watching as she and Sue got to know each other, and I'm very grateful for that panel and all it has left me to think about.