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Prison was nothing like I imagined and very different from the movies. I was in for CP possession, which in my opinion should not be a crime, but in the eyes of the system is one of the biggest crimes ever. Best word to describe prison is "boring". Generally all the prisoners were of lower social back ground and education, more than half were addicted to something or other. The most intelligent and fun people were the ones for CP, the drug dealers came next, but a lot of them were very conceited with a self-esteem a bit too high. The junkies, consumers, robbers were better avoided, a lot of them would shank you if they knew you had money and didn't buy them a coffee. There were a lot of fun people inside, though, we played lots of games, read lots of books, watched a lot of TV, honestly, it was more or less like a really cheesy holiday with not a lot of things to do. The biggest problem was that you knew life was going on the outside, people were doing things, going places and you were locked inside, with very little control over your timetable, food consumption, and entertainment opportunities. The psychologists, the social workers and the rest of the dreamy gang who got paid to do nothing were and example how prison is anything but rehabilitative in nature and is basically a form in which society acts out its most evil revenge nightmares. Since CP possession is so nasty and hated, so are the length of the sentences. In order to get early release you have to volunteer for sex workshops etc. which are just laughable. Child love is considered a pathology with the excuse that it doesn't happen in nature, they actually believe it is treatable like some form of a disease. Not aggression or contact, the actual pedophilia, according to science is a treatable condition. Absolute nuts. I mentioned a few times that homosexuality was considered a treatable deviation just a few years back and they didn't like the comparison. I tried to bring the point of damage and how copying images from the dark web onto your computer for personal use has created no damage that should be punishable by such extended sentences and them dream team of psychologists are absolutely convinced that CP is paid for, that the money goes to mafias who kidnap and film torture of children for some weird sex hobby, which justifies the lengthy sentences. It was sad and useless to argue with them. There were a few suicides, a few shank fights, a few fist fights and there were cell mates who had sex, consensual. People for CP or child rapists were considered the same category and had a lot of things restricted - most jobs were not available to them, and you had to be on special wings with less aggressive prisoners which was actually much better - I met a lot of people and had a ton of interesting conversations. For example, I had plenty of time to think about philosophy, logic, sociology, history, psychology, something that I don't do on the outside. After a few months in, you develop a kind of a pleasant relaxation, there is no hurry for anything, there is no pressure, no timetables, no bills, no late night work, no stress, no traffic, no real problems. That all comes tenfold when you get out. The real punishment of jail is not being inside, is being on the outside, with a record, moneyless, friendless, jobless, houseless, oportunitiesless and bitter. Best advice I got was to fix house and job first, and the boys will follow and I give that advice also to whoever comes next and needs it. Here are a few sample experiences. One time, prisoner A paid a guard to open prisoner B's cell so he can steal his drugs. B was a drug dealer, and blamed his cellmate. They got into a fight and both were sent to isolation. A. started dealing the drugs, the guard knew nothing and life went back to normal. Prisoner C. has a serious health issue. The doctors don't send him to get any tests or medical assistance because they haven't received official documentation of his condition even though the prisoner has paperwork to prove it. However, that paperwork couldn't be accepted because it had not reached the prison doctors by any official channel. Prisoner D. was a phone dealer. He had a job as a plumber and was allowed to go into other prisoner's cells to fix plumbing and while working there would find and steal their mobile phones and then cell them to other prisoners. The nicer, smartphones, were brought in by the guards. Gov't money, grants, educational money, etc. was mostly stolen by the Prison Warden and his cronies. Education was laughable. Teachers came in badly prepared and half the time didn't even know what they were teaching. They'd walk around the isles on official exams and mutter answers to prisoners. That was allowed by the exam supervisors because it raised the prison scores and it looked they were doing the job of re-educating. Most fights were over nothing. A rolling paper, cutting in line, flushing the toilet at night. Worst part of prison was the total lack of preteen boys :) |