“We need more police, we need more and tougher prison sentences ..."

[JonLP24]

85. I never saw prison to be much helpful of anything

There are rules the guards give you and rules prisoners give you and those are enforced with beat-downs "checks" usually handled by self-segregated gang leader but the overall prison logic that you have to learn to survive but you learn to live by this code I've noticed more often than not people out of prison show respect unless they're perceived as weak or a coward then sthey don't deserve it or -- "might is right". Some of the 3 or 4 yards -- the maximum security ones are really off the hook. I only did 2 weeks in jail and saw someone jumped in the showers -- the only part of the guards change that was walled off out of their view but you aren't going to tell the guards or the next time might be you or me.

Aside from countless things that I find counterproductive -- private prison labor wages that they bill so many random things you're paying off -- they lobby Congress for tougher & longer sentences it isn't about reformation or punishment, just more low-cost labor they can pay pennies a hour. But when they get out they have a felony so no housing, very difficult to get a job or anything more than a laborer but sometimes you have friends -- an older man told me probably about a year ago "if I could do everything in life over again the one thing I'd make sure is to never get a felony" -- knew him from homeless survives, worked hard -- far more productive than most people I know but couldn't find housing or a job that was anything more than tempory or low wages which IMO were by the far the most exhausting & difficult jobs. I broke my hand in Bar Louie before it was Bar Louie.