Prison USA

Bill wrote a piece likening present day America to one giant prison.  Since I have an unfortunate insight to the topic that most readers do not, I figured that I'd add my 2 cents.

Bill is correct.

Do you know that Federal "Low" prisons are nothing more than a High School campus with a fence on the perimeter?  Do you know that a Federal "Camp" (lower security than a "Low") is the same campus, without the fence?  There is no Dead Line with armed guards waiting to drop you if you wander out of bounds.

People stay in camps (and "Lows" for that matter) because they choose to remain.

The majority of my time was spent in a Camp.  No, it is NOT "Club Fed" as many would have you believe, nor is it any more restrictive than a High Scool.  In fact, I'd be willing to bet the average High School has much more physical and electronic security in place than did my Camp.  I know for a FACT that the average Wal-Mart has more security, and M street in Georgetown (DC) has more cameras than any Federal Prison Camp.

In a Camp (or a Low for that matter) there are no "Cells".  You do not get locked behind bars.  You sleep dorm-style, just like in college.  You have a job, and if you do your job, all is well.  The rest of the 24-hour cycle is yours.  There is no "bed time".  There are "counts" 5 times each day, and you must either be at your bunk or at your job during said count, but otherwise, you can make popcorn and watch TV all night, if you wish, or shoot pool, whatever.  There are vending machines with Pepsi and candy.  If you want liquor, drugs, or women, it is routine and the price is pretty darned close to what you'd pay on the street.  Anyone who wants a cell phone, DVD player, et cetera, has one.  And yes, they know how to defeat the Cell disrupters.  (Women, cell phones, dvds, etc are all "against the rules" of course - but that is another story)

The only real place you feel their "power" is during visiting hours.

Once in a while someone wants to test you, but for the most part there is no Alpha-Omega tough guy BS.  There is no rape, or even bullying, for the most part.  Camps are filled with 3 types of prisoners, generally speaking: White Collar, short-timers (less than 10 year sentences, non-violent, which includes most drug dealers) and snitches.  Yes, the snitches are an infestation.  However, the organic intel system in a prison would rival the professional state-run services of many countries.  We knew who the snitches were before they got a bunk assignment.  And if a bunk gets set afire (with the prisoner sleeping in it) or a real beating is handed out, it's a snitch on the receiving end. 

There is a 4th type of prisoner in Camps - sometimes.  Guys who have been in the system for a LONG time, were convicted of violent crimes, and are nearing their out date.  Sometimes they rotate these guys into a Camp to acclimate them for the next step - home.  But many of those guys stay in a Low right up until their out-date.

When I rotated out (my wife picked me up, just as she dropped me off) and I started to see my hometown (Washington DC and the metro area surrounding) with different eyes - the eyes of a man who was sent for a time-out.  I saw cameras everywhere.  I saw more uniforms and armed guards (LEO) than I ever saw in prison.  I realized the level to which every single thing you do is observed by some element of Government - from the car you drive to the insurance you pay, to the part of your income you are required to surrender, to the registration on your boat, to the places you are legally allowed to cross the street.

Patriots: You may say whatever you need to say to protect your Ego, but I can tell you from experience, I was less-observed and more "free" in that camp in Pennsylvania, than I am at a local mall, or streetlight while driving. 

Boot camp and High School were more "oppressive".

So Bill's statement that you are already in prison is true.  And I can tell you this - you may choose to stay where you are, because the Warden allows you X treats (you get to sleep at home, go to the bar, even own firearms with permission) - or you can choose to walk away, and tell the Warden to fuck off.  But to do that, you will have to kill the Warden and his hunter-killer teams - because they will come for you.

You decide.

Here's Bill's piece.

Kerodin
III