How I See It

The world isn't perfect, so I don't expect prison to be perfect either. When I was a kid, whenever I went somewhere with my father (may he rest in peace), people always said hi to him and said good things about him. When I got a little older, I found out that my father's method of dealing with people was simple: Always try to treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself. Here's how I see it:

Guard: Step out of your cell, inmate!
Inmate: For what?
Guard: So I can do a cell search.
Inmate: What have I done wrong?
Guard: Are you gonna step out of your cell or do I have to put you in cuffs?
Inmate: Okay. (inmate steps out of the cell)
Guard: Next time don't take so long!
Inmate: Shut up, rent-a-cop!!!
Guard: Take him to the hole right now!!
(inmate is escorted in cuffs to the hole)

How I see it: I see this one all the time. Neither the guard or the inmate is in a good mood. The guard has the upper hand, but the inmate can't see this because he is so angry. So now the guard will use his authority and the rest is history. In the future, the inmate should just obey the guard's order because he's fighting a losing battle. Depending how long this inmate will be in prison, this is going to happen a lot, so he needs to find alternatives of how to deal with it. It's not easy, but he has to learn to not let these guards get to him.

Guard: Don't yell out your cell door number to me! I will open your door when I feel like it!!
Inmate: Sir, policy is that you allow me to go inside my cell to use the bathroom anytime I need to use the bathroom.
Guard: Well, policy don't exist when I'm working. I'll open your door when I'm finished eating.
Inmate: And I will report all this to the warden through a grievance.
Guard: Whatever. You grieve, I'll eat lunch.

How I see it: Apparently, this guard seems to think that he is above the law. The inmate did the right thing by staying calm and not saying anything disrespectful or threatening, which I am sure that the guard was waiting to hear. This is a guard that probably has numerous complaints against him by other inmates. He knows this, so he doesn't care. He did this to himself by talking bad to inmates and abusing his power/authority. Eventually, he will quit, resign, or be fired.

Inmate: Excuse me, but I overslept this morning, can I still go to breakfast?
Guard: Breakfast is over, you should have went when everyone else went. No!
Inmate: I still see inmates waiting in line to go eat, may I join them in line? It won't happen again.
Guard: English must be a second language for you. What part of "no" don't you understand?
Inmate: I speak English very well.
Guard: Then you should have understood "no" when I first said "no".

How I see it: As soon as the guard told me "no", I would have went back to my cell and ate a bowl of cereal with cold water. You can't win playing word games with guards because they're the best at it. So even if it does bother you, you can't let them see that, because if they do, they will only push your buttons again and again in the future. So you have to act as if it's "nothing".

What I have learned over the years from being inside of here is that guards have bad days too. They deal with a lot of inmates on a daily basis and some of them just don't know how to deal with inmates other than yelling and screaming at them, which in return, the inmate will usually act or yell back at the guard because he feels that it is his only line of defense at that moment. Eventually, someone has to step up and be the bigger person, etc. The inmate is probably someone's son, grandson, father, or grandfather, etc. Same with the guard, he or she is probably someone's brother, sister, wife, uncle, etc. They both have families that love them, yet it seems like they're unable to coexist inside these prison walls, or unable to establish some kind of level of understanding and respect.

Rookie Guards: I see rookie guards, first day on the job, uniform smells brand new, etc. Some look nervous, but try to hide it, some look curious, some look with a blank expression. I wonder what goes through their minds when they step foot inside this place. I wonder what their reaction is when they hear a shotgun going off because two inmates are fighting. I wonder if they ever ask themselves, "can I do this", or "do I want to do this". What made them want to work inside of a prison. These are all the questions that I ask myself when I see them.

The Good Guard: This is a term for a guard who is plain and simple, "laid-back". He doesn't go out of his way to bother inmates and he's respectful to most inmates. Inmates have a high level of respect for him and vice-versa. I NEVER have any problems with these kind of guards. They're usually older guards who have worked around inmates for a long time and don't see us different from anyone else.

The Bookie: This is a term I use for a guard who is "by the book" and loves to follow all the rules. If you sneeze wrong he/she will discipline you through disciplinary sanctions, etc. They always think that inmates are up to something, etc. If you're reading a book, the bookie will swear up and down that the book you're reading is to help you become a better criminal, etc. I stay far away from these kind and I don't even give them the satisfaction of bothering me.

Female Guards: Some female guards will try to act tough and yell at inmates, etc. I can understand that they're working in an all men's prison and they don't want to be too soft of a woman because they think the men will take advantage of them and not give them any respect. It's easy to stay away from female guards because they get more than enough attention from inmates looking at them all the time. I can't imagine my mother, sister, aunt, etc., working in a prison, especially since I've been in prison and see how some inmates treat female guards. Most of the time when I look at them I think of them as being someone's sister, wife, mother, etc., who just happens to simply have a prison job or a job as a guard. I can't blame her for wanting to have a job to support her family/kids, is how I see it.