My Personal Journal

There has been a lot of coverage lately of the prison system. Frontline recently had a big story on the prison system, and there have been various other stories that have hopefully educated those that know little about it. Most stories have focused on the long sentences being served for minor drug offenses. Some stories deal with the financial reasons that so many men and women are in jail. Prisons are big business, and many prisons have been privatized. The more men and women incarcerated, the more money the private enterprises make.One aspect that is not talked about much is the division of inmates, by race. This was one aspect of prison that Ron was not expecting. During his first week at Taft, he sat down for dinner at a table with four African Americans. As soon as he pulled out his chair, the four men asked him if he knew what he was doing. He was not supposed to sit there, but was supposed to stay with the "whites." He did not move, and some of the African American inmates became his closest friends. In the state system you often hear about the "white prison gangs" to which most whites that are in for a long time must join. In the state system it's a matter of survival, of protection. At Taft, men divided themselves by race, religion, and education. There were three TV rooms. One was for the black inmates, one for the brown, and one for everyone else. The Jews also seemed to stick together, as did the Mormons. The doctors, most of them Asian, also stuck together. I find it interesting how in the larger society we want everyone to get along, integrate, accept one another, but in prison there is massive segregation.Among Ron's bunk makes in the 19 months he was a Taft were a big hunk of a man originally from Pasadena (in for drugs), a farm worker from Bakersfield (in for drugs), a Muslim man from Stockton (white collar)and a man from San Juan Capistrano (white collar). He got to experience all kinds, all races, all religions, but when they left their sleeping room, they segregated. Lucky Ron was in a federal prison where violence is unheard of, because he broke the color barriers all the time. He spent time tutoring Hispanic young men in accounting, he watched football and basketball with the blacks, and he had interesting intellectual discussions with the doctors, lawyers, judges, and mayors. Yes, prison is a cross section of life on the outside in just about every way.