Prison. Read it.
Okay folks, this will be a long one... but hopefully, it'll be worth the read. So READ IT and ALL OF IT please.
For those of you that I talk to regularly, you will remember that I had to go to a prison today for a "field trip" for grad school. Why the fuck we are taking field trips in grad school is beyond me, but anyways...
I meet up with Diana, Nikki, Kerri and Liz to go. We all cram into Nikki's two door fuckin convertable Solara. Not a big fucking car, and we were LATE. Kerri got lost so luckily, we had planned enough time as we intended upon going out to dinner in Wrentham before going to the prison...but that time was taken up by us waiting for Kerri to "unlose" herself.
So, everyone gets slightly car sick on the way down because it was pouring out, so we couldn't crack the windows and Nikki needed the heat on to keep the windows from fogging up.
Finally, we get to the prison. This is what we had been told:
1. This was a MINIMUM security prison
2. It was for non-violent offenders.
BULLSHIT! It was medium security... we were in with MURDERERS and rapists. I thought they would be in maximum security, but oh no. Not unless they present a danger to themselves or others do they have to go to maximum places. Unless their crime is particularly henious. These are just your garden variety murderers. HA! People were in for life. Not like a fucking white collar crime joint, like we had been told.
No jeans, underwire bras, cleavage, tank tops, skirts/shorts above the knee, jewlery, body piercings, bobby pins, toe rings, anklets, open toed shoes, belts and NOTHING in our pockets. Okay, fine. They gave us no rules about talking to the prisoners, taking/giving anything to them but we were told that anything we went in with had to come out.
So, we get there and we have to turn in our ID's, like drivers licenses, etc. Fine. We had to sit and wait for everyone to show up and then we were told to split into groups of 4.
They let in one group of 4 and had us take off our shoes etc, and walk through the metal detectors. I had taken out my belly button ring before going in but I told them flat out I could not/would not take out my tongue ring, as it would close up within 15 minutes (and before you ask, I've had it for 2 years but it just closes up quick). So, they asked me to show them... and I did. Then the guy said "It has to come out with you." and I about laughed in his face. I was NOT planning on swapping spit with a bunch of cons. Thank you very much!
So, we get shut in to this little clostrophobic room and are forced to stand there until our entire class comes through security.
So then, this guard walks us out, in the rain, mind you, and walks us through this courtyard with the fucking razorwire on all the fences and crap. Terrifying.
So, we get in and we sit down but the prisoners are just running around loose. So they sat intermingled in with us ladies. This is also a MEN'S prison and some of these men had not be around women in 35+ years!!!!!
So, they read poetry and we read poetry. Spitzer, the teacher, lost mine...or the prison lost my poem that I had picked... so I had to stand in front of these inmates and classmates and read a poem Spitzer gave me. Like, talk about on the fucking SPOT kids. God. Nervous? I almost shit.
So, then after a few more poems we "took a break" and were forced to mingle with the cons. Fine. Peachy. A bald guy who had been in for 20 years sat with us. He was very nice and friendly and wished us luck with our careers and hoped we "could fix the system", etc. Fine. Super.
We read more poems, they read more poems and finally, when we finished, we were forced to "mingle" more. The old bald guy was no where near us, so this left our little group open for a prisoner to find his way over. Well, we got this nice, quiet guy who said that he wished us luck and appreciated us coming and we brought a little bit of sunshine to his week. Fine. Super.
Okay, so here's the weird shit. Nikki had wandered off and was talking to some guy. Well, this left Diana, Liz and I (Kerri was sick with a nasty head cold so she was in and out of the bathroom, getting tissues and shit) but anyways, this fucking white guy with a big snake tattooed on his forearm came over. He didn't look like the A-Typical criminal.. He was clean cut, nice styled hair, etc. Only the tattoo would make me think twice, cause it was just so stereotypical "prison ink".
So, anyways. This guy... holy crap, like I'm going to have serious nightmares for a week. I will never, ever forget this guy.
He would not stop STARING at me. I'm not a vain person and I rarely notice when someone even looks my way but this fucking guy gave me the CREEPS. There was just such a menacing presence about this guy. I felt like someone had walked over my grave. I got a sinking sicking sense of fear from this guy. I'm not one of those girls that has issues with "scary men" but this guy made me literally terrified. He looked all innocent but there was something rotten in Denmark, people. Holy shit.
Okay, so this guy he looks and me and the conversation goes like this:
Guy: Did you vote yesterday?
Me: No. I'm not registered for Massachusetts.
Guy: Where are you registered?
Me. Maine.
Guy: There's a thing called an absentee ballot. You know that right?
Me: Yeah, but since I didn't know much about the races and questions going on up there, I didn't feel like I should vote without knowing something about the issues.
Guy: You should have found out.
Me: Well, I didn't have the time really. ( This guy already stated to the group that he was the residential republican and I'm not... so..)
Guy: You should have taken the time.
Me: Well, not much I can do now. Besides, you should be happy I didn't vote.
Guy: Whys that?
Me: I'm a Democrat.
Guy: Oh, good fucking thing you didn't. So what are you doing with your degree?
Me: Well, um...ah..um.. (not wanting to tell him) Probation Officer.
Guy: Really? Interesting. Pays well and good benefits, right?
Me: I guess so.
Guy: Probations.. Probations.. I'll be seeing you in a few years then..
AND THEN HE WINKS AT ME!!! Ugh!
Me: (Nervous laughter) Uh, yeah okay.
Guy: So you wanna get into therapy?
Me: Uh, no.
Guy: Well, Probation officers have to listen to some shit, ya know.
Me: Yeah, I'll recommend one for the people.
Guy: Why? You got issues?
Me: Everyone has issues, I guess.
Guy: You could be my therapist anytime...
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Gross.
Then all of a sudden, shit hits the fan! Holy crap. This guard comes out of nowhere and starts fucking screaming "Get in lines! It's time to fucking GO. Line up! Line up!" They forced the men into a line and us into a line and we were virtually shoved out of the visiting area.
Turns out that one of the inmates had given my friend Nikki his address. Apparently, that is a HUGE GIGANTIC NO-NO. Well, nobody fucking told us! So, she gave it to Professor Spitzer immediately and said "I don't think I should have this" and he took it and she told the guard. The guard was LIVID but she wasn't mean to Nikki about it or anything.
Well, when we get back to the bay where they dragged us through security, they picked Nikki, Spitzer and two other girls and dragged them out into a separate room and we could hear them through a giant metal door.
The guards were like "We have you on tape receiving an item from the prisoners! What the FUCK is it? What the fuck were you thinking!?! You're a fucking graduate student, how can you be so fucking stupid!??! What the fuck is it?" And she explained that he had given her a paper with his address on it which she had turned over to Spitzer.
They said "You're lucky you aren't going to get kicked out of school for this shit! You know it's illegal to try and get shit past us?! What the fuck is wrong with you?" and so on. They yelled at Spitzer, saying he should know better, etc. Well, it turns out that the guards forgot to tell us and Spitzer forgot to tell us and they didn't tell the prisoners the rules either!
But anyway, Nikki burst into tears, like full on sobbing because these fucking huge guys were rippin her apart. When I finally went back through security, I had to show them my tongue to make sure the ring was still in it and the guy gets in my face being like "These men are professionals. They are professional CONS. You stupid girls shouldn't come in here thinking you're gonna find your soulmate." and then I left. I was like fucking WHAT?!?!
So needless to say, my day was fucking STRESSFUL!!!! HOLY SHIT!
I have never felt so relieved to leave a place. I can't even imagine what these men go through. Like, for real. I would have never have thought about how much pain and suffering they go through in there. And they do, which most people are like, GOOD. But these men are heartbreaking.
Except for that guy, who is a fucking PSYCHOPATH. I'm not joking, I minored in Forensic Psych and that guy is a psychopath. Not kidding.
For those of you that I talk to regularly, you will remember that I had to go to a prison today for a "field trip" for grad school. Why the fuck we are taking field trips in grad school is beyond me, but anyways...
I meet up with Diana, Nikki, Kerri and Liz to go. We all cram into Nikki's two door fuckin convertable Solara. Not a big fucking car, and we were LATE. Kerri got lost so luckily, we had planned enough time as we intended upon going out to dinner in Wrentham before going to the prison...but that time was taken up by us waiting for Kerri to "unlose" herself.
So, everyone gets slightly car sick on the way down because it was pouring out, so we couldn't crack the windows and Nikki needed the heat on to keep the windows from fogging up.
Finally, we get to the prison. This is what we had been told:
1. This was a MINIMUM security prison
2. It was for non-violent offenders.
BULLSHIT! It was medium security... we were in with MURDERERS and rapists. I thought they would be in maximum security, but oh no. Not unless they present a danger to themselves or others do they have to go to maximum places. Unless their crime is particularly henious. These are just your garden variety murderers. HA! People were in for life. Not like a fucking white collar crime joint, like we had been told.
No jeans, underwire bras, cleavage, tank tops, skirts/shorts above the knee, jewlery, body piercings, bobby pins, toe rings, anklets, open toed shoes, belts and NOTHING in our pockets. Okay, fine. They gave us no rules about talking to the prisoners, taking/giving anything to them but we were told that anything we went in with had to come out.
So, we get there and we have to turn in our ID's, like drivers licenses, etc. Fine. We had to sit and wait for everyone to show up and then we were told to split into groups of 4.
They let in one group of 4 and had us take off our shoes etc, and walk through the metal detectors. I had taken out my belly button ring before going in but I told them flat out I could not/would not take out my tongue ring, as it would close up within 15 minutes (and before you ask, I've had it for 2 years but it just closes up quick). So, they asked me to show them... and I did. Then the guy said "It has to come out with you." and I about laughed in his face. I was NOT planning on swapping spit with a bunch of cons. Thank you very much!
So, we get shut in to this little clostrophobic room and are forced to stand there until our entire class comes through security.
So then, this guard walks us out, in the rain, mind you, and walks us through this courtyard with the fucking razorwire on all the fences and crap. Terrifying.
So, we get in and we sit down but the prisoners are just running around loose. So they sat intermingled in with us ladies. This is also a MEN'S prison and some of these men had not be around women in 35+ years!!!!!
So, they read poetry and we read poetry. Spitzer, the teacher, lost mine...or the prison lost my poem that I had picked... so I had to stand in front of these inmates and classmates and read a poem Spitzer gave me. Like, talk about on the fucking SPOT kids. God. Nervous? I almost shit.
So, then after a few more poems we "took a break" and were forced to mingle with the cons. Fine. Peachy. A bald guy who had been in for 20 years sat with us. He was very nice and friendly and wished us luck with our careers and hoped we "could fix the system", etc. Fine. Super.
We read more poems, they read more poems and finally, when we finished, we were forced to "mingle" more. The old bald guy was no where near us, so this left our little group open for a prisoner to find his way over. Well, we got this nice, quiet guy who said that he wished us luck and appreciated us coming and we brought a little bit of sunshine to his week. Fine. Super.
Okay, so here's the weird shit. Nikki had wandered off and was talking to some guy. Well, this left Diana, Liz and I (Kerri was sick with a nasty head cold so she was in and out of the bathroom, getting tissues and shit) but anyways, this fucking white guy with a big snake tattooed on his forearm came over. He didn't look like the A-Typical criminal.. He was clean cut, nice styled hair, etc. Only the tattoo would make me think twice, cause it was just so stereotypical "prison ink".
So, anyways. This guy... holy crap, like I'm going to have serious nightmares for a week. I will never, ever forget this guy.
He would not stop STARING at me. I'm not a vain person and I rarely notice when someone even looks my way but this fucking guy gave me the CREEPS. There was just such a menacing presence about this guy. I felt like someone had walked over my grave. I got a sinking sicking sense of fear from this guy. I'm not one of those girls that has issues with "scary men" but this guy made me literally terrified. He looked all innocent but there was something rotten in Denmark, people. Holy shit.
Okay, so this guy he looks and me and the conversation goes like this:
Guy: Did you vote yesterday?
Me: No. I'm not registered for Massachusetts.
Guy: Where are you registered?
Me. Maine.
Guy: There's a thing called an absentee ballot. You know that right?
Me: Yeah, but since I didn't know much about the races and questions going on up there, I didn't feel like I should vote without knowing something about the issues.
Guy: You should have found out.
Me: Well, I didn't have the time really. ( This guy already stated to the group that he was the residential republican and I'm not... so..)
Guy: You should have taken the time.
Me: Well, not much I can do now. Besides, you should be happy I didn't vote.
Guy: Whys that?
Me: I'm a Democrat.
Guy: Oh, good fucking thing you didn't. So what are you doing with your degree?
Me: Well, um...ah..um.. (not wanting to tell him) Probation Officer.
Guy: Really? Interesting. Pays well and good benefits, right?
Me: I guess so.
Guy: Probations.. Probations.. I'll be seeing you in a few years then..
AND THEN HE WINKS AT ME!!! Ugh!
Me: (Nervous laughter) Uh, yeah okay.
Guy: So you wanna get into therapy?
Me: Uh, no.
Guy: Well, Probation officers have to listen to some shit, ya know.
Me: Yeah, I'll recommend one for the people.
Guy: Why? You got issues?
Me: Everyone has issues, I guess.
Guy: You could be my therapist anytime...
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Gross.
Then all of a sudden, shit hits the fan! Holy crap. This guard comes out of nowhere and starts fucking screaming "Get in lines! It's time to fucking GO. Line up! Line up!" They forced the men into a line and us into a line and we were virtually shoved out of the visiting area.
Turns out that one of the inmates had given my friend Nikki his address. Apparently, that is a HUGE GIGANTIC NO-NO. Well, nobody fucking told us! So, she gave it to Professor Spitzer immediately and said "I don't think I should have this" and he took it and she told the guard. The guard was LIVID but she wasn't mean to Nikki about it or anything.
Well, when we get back to the bay where they dragged us through security, they picked Nikki, Spitzer and two other girls and dragged them out into a separate room and we could hear them through a giant metal door.
The guards were like "We have you on tape receiving an item from the prisoners! What the FUCK is it? What the fuck were you thinking!?! You're a fucking graduate student, how can you be so fucking stupid!??! What the fuck is it?" And she explained that he had given her a paper with his address on it which she had turned over to Spitzer.
They said "You're lucky you aren't going to get kicked out of school for this shit! You know it's illegal to try and get shit past us?! What the fuck is wrong with you?" and so on. They yelled at Spitzer, saying he should know better, etc. Well, it turns out that the guards forgot to tell us and Spitzer forgot to tell us and they didn't tell the prisoners the rules either!
But anyway, Nikki burst into tears, like full on sobbing because these fucking huge guys were rippin her apart. When I finally went back through security, I had to show them my tongue to make sure the ring was still in it and the guy gets in my face being like "These men are professionals. They are professional CONS. You stupid girls shouldn't come in here thinking you're gonna find your soulmate." and then I left. I was like fucking WHAT?!?!
So needless to say, my day was fucking STRESSFUL!!!! HOLY SHIT!
I have never felt so relieved to leave a place. I can't even imagine what these men go through. Like, for real. I would have never have thought about how much pain and suffering they go through in there. And they do, which most people are like, GOOD. But these men are heartbreaking.
Except for that guy, who is a fucking PSYCHOPATH. I'm not joking, I minored in Forensic Psych and that guy is a psychopath. Not kidding.