I was there. For (between 10 and 20) years. I was in the States. Yes, there are acts of violence in there but, for the most part, if you keep out of other people's fun and festivities, most people like me are left alone. I never backed down from a stare and, several times, I was in a "confrontation" that I could not get out of but I was lucky in that the physical events were over quickly and I was not as hurt as my opponents. I was never without a weapon although I never had to use one. Once, I was on the wrong end of a smash and grab team of thieves. I had an expensive electronic device that they wanted. I gave chase but the guard just stood and watched them blur past him. He did, however, inform the "supervisors" who it was and I got called in once the two thieves were called in and locked up. I indicated that, should I get my device back, I would not insist on charges.

The leader approached me and offered to return it to me. I played my hand: "I will give you $100 if it still is in working order."

His eyes lit up and left. The next day, he stood in the hallway with my property. He gave it to me, I checked to see if it worked, which it did. I turned and walked away.

"Hey, [expletive], where's my money?"

I turned to look at him, looked at the "guard" about 50 feet away, and smiled. I walked slowly away.

That afternoon, both him and his buddy, together, were in a confrontation with sharp objects by some bad dudes. Both went to the civilian hospital. I was told by a friendly "guard" that I trusted, they both survived. The leader, he said, was going to the supermax.

Why? Was it me? No. My Play: I knew, from my questioning of people "in the know", that the leader was a drug user (which was probably why my property got tagged.) Offering him my $100 for free was my way of allowing him to go to his "sources" and get some fun chemicals on credit. I had also made it very public what I was doing. When he could not pay his "tab", it was too late to get anything from me so the "big guys" took their frustration out on him and his partner.

The "guard supervisors" knew what I was doing; why didn't the dynamic duo?

*****************

Rape in there? I only heard of one. I knew the guy who was raped. He was a little fellow, boyish, and acted it, yet he was as old as I. I had told him, repetitively, that his demeanor was going to get him a volunteer lover one day. Well, he surprised me and took one for himself, asking the administration for him to be his cellmate. (He was gay? I don't know. But he wanted someone to share sex with, I am guessing.) Anyway, about a year later, everyone had a good idea what was going on behind the curtained off doorway. Then, suddenly, Mr. Lover got transferred and, as the administration was smart enough to figure it all out, had the little boyish fellow moved to a single cell. (A luxury. I'm sure there had been lots of prospective cellmates asking for a two-man cell with him.) But, for a couple years, the fellow was quiet, by himself, yet often visited people in other blocks. One day he did not come out for lunch so I went to check on him to see if he was sick. He was emotionally distraught. I called some of my buddies and we all went in to help calm him a bit. Yes, someone had "taken" advantage of him. For me, I had known it would eventually have happened. But, still, it had to be traumatic for him even though he... went that way.

One riot: One fellow got shot and killed, one fellow got rock splinters in his eye. Lots of idiots getting snot-slinging drunk and fighting anything that moved. Lots of sharp-object encounters for various reasons, almost on a weekly basis. But usually it was because someone couldn't pay a credit bill or were moving in on a love-relationship. Sometimes it was because a cellmate had bad habits and the administration couldn't or wouldn't make a change fast enough.

My military past was common knowledge and I was often ... in discussions ... about prison security. Oh, and there were two successful escapes. I can't tell you what happened because it was in the news but the second fellow was so successful in leaving but so stupid in how he came back in. The first guy was out for only a day before he got caught.

One day, a physical dance between two big guys and one fellow began right at count time. One big guy had a wooden stick (an old, old broken broom) and had sharpened one end of it and was beating the hell out of the fellow bleeding on the floor. A "guard" came rushing in, yelling into his radio, tossed it on the floor and pushed the stick wielding attacker away from the proned and bloody fellow in the floor. The stick-attacker stepped around the "guard" and renewed his attack. The "guard" threw his own body over the unconscious guy one the floor, taking a couple stabs. I was locked in so I could not help the "guard", something that would be a very big faux pas, but I would have anyway. The "guard" was wrong because it was against institution policy to do what he did, but I admired that compassionate man and, even as I recount this story, I admire him and what he did.

Of course there is violence in prisons. But certainly nothing like what you see on TV. Usually, it is like a well mannered college campus, people walking about, jogging, playing basketball, tennis, music, or just watching TV or sleeping. About once a month, something interesting happened. All the maximum security prisons I was at had populations around one thousand. People waiting on death row (I spent a couple weeks there... another story) were probably the safest inmates, never exposed to any other human contact unless there were steel doors, bars, or hand and leg restraints involved.

We had several "nut cases" that were remarkable. One fellow smashed his own head into his toilet (survived), one fellow ate Comet (a scouring powder for cleaning, hardly lethal but certainly weird), one fellow was in a deep conversation with the wall (a 12 man open dorm), got into an argument with it, then into an actual fist fight with it.... the wall. And, one fellow painted his cell with his own excrement.

Most "guards" were nice people to us. There were the occasional "state-struck" ones. and there were the occasional bumbling idiots. Many "guards" were female, only one of which had gotten herself "tossed to the floor" but not hurt.

I've written way too much.... got to go get supper!