Judging others seems to be a special pastime in prisons. Staff and inmate alike pass judgment on people for the wrong reasons. Yet, they never want the maggot things they are doing to be seen by others. These staff and inmates even think of themselves higher than they should. It reminds me of high school in a way. You and another classmate both like a girl, and the only way for the other guy to be noticed is for him to poison your name and character. He has to talk bad about you just so he can shine for a second. Then his true nature comes out when everything is said and done. I usually phrase it as,” A nobody trying to be a somebody to a bunch of nobodies.”
Staff are suppose to be professional and non-biased. The standards of employee conduct mandate they treat every inmate with the same respect. Often, they are the ones who both encourage and enable inmates to harass, fight, and steal from other inmates. This of course keeps the inmate population divided against itself. Please do not give them more credit then they are due. They are not smart enough to have done all of this for that reason. They do it because they are a vindictive and sadistic lot, looking to inflict pain and discomfort where they can.
It is the inmate population that surprises me. Almost every inmate has a story about how the courts have done something atrocious to them. However, they believe the courts got it right with all the people they want to judge. All the child molesters have to be guilty. These same inmates will falsely accuse other inmates of being child molesters based upon appearance alone. They just want someone to judge so they can feel good about what they have done. The gossip they spew is just like the school girls use to do. They sit around and talk about who is “cool” and who is not. How they are a part of the “in crowd” and others are not. I would have thought such things would have been left in their high school locker.
Stealing from family, robbing friends and neighbors, murdering, beating wives and girlfriends, and turning accomplices into the police are all accepted practices as long as you are not one of those guys over there. It appears far too many inmates thoroughly enjoy living in chaos. The inmates and staff can have this place and all it contains. They are the kings here. Just let me go home where I can live in peace.
It is more tiresome than anything. Their opinions would have to matter first, before it could ever be damaging. I do wish many of these inmates and staff would read this. They should know they are not as important as they believe themselves to be, and that they have made some serious mistakes in their lives they do not wish to be judged for. The worst thing in all of this is to be continuously judged for something that never even happened. The wound that just will not heal.
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Hi Shane,
I found your insights on inmate life highly accurate as reflected in commentary I have heard from other articulate inmates.
I copied it to send to one inmate in Alabama to give him comfort so he’ll know he’s not alone in the insane world of prison life.
Thank you for taking the time to write. Best, Carol Hopkins