Prisonerism

By Philip Daniel

Although racism is still a problem in our society there is another ism much more prevalent, prisonerism. This problem has been festering for years out of the sight of the public. Whether Black, White, Hispanic or Asian prisonerism is the idea that an incarcerated person is a second class citizen. From a security and control standpoint it is understandable that staff be somewhat suspicious, skeptical, and vigilante when it comes to prisoners.

What constitutes prisonerism is the mentality of staff that rationalizes: mistreatment, excessive force, substandard care (medical/food/counselors), verbal abuse, and poor work performance.

The perpetrators tell themselves that, “prison shouldn’t be a pleasant experience” or “these guys are convicted felons so why should I care”.

It’s that negative self talk and thought processes of certain staff that allows them to feel justified in giving a lackadaisical effort in anything prisoner related. These are a few signs of a prisonerist.

They can observe or engage in:

1) writing a false charge on a prisoner out of retaliation
2) using racial epithets or derogatory commentary about prisoners.
3) using their authority to pick on unsuspecting prisoners for petty reasons just to ” give them a hard time” or to give the staff member a feeling of power.
4) regularly speaking to prisoners in a dismissive or disdainful manner.
5) using more physical force than necessary to restrain or subdue a prisoner (i.e. punches, kicking, etc)

Then you have another group of staff that are generally nice, respectful people but they are fearful of doing the right thing because fellow staff members may ostracize them and/or label them as nigger lovers, prisoner lovers, etc.

Nurses are a great example of good people who oftentimes witness the physical injuries of prisoner abuse but choose to keep quiet or minimize the extent of the injury on the paperwork.

Fear of rejection is a very powerful motivator. These folks have to return to communities that may not be open-minded. These people will keep quiet if they witness abuse against prisoners.

I am thankful to God for all the civil rights activists’, black and white, who didn’t allow fear to keep them from standing up for what is right.

Some were hung, shot, bitten by dogs, spit on, sprayed with hoses, beat upon and thrown into jail all because equality, dignity, and respect are nonnegotiable.

There are some prisoners who are violent and dangerous but the vast majority are not. They do not seek to harm staff. They are not plotting escape. They may break rules but there are plenty of legitimate ways that prisons deal with that. I’m not making excuses for anyone, I’m just making it understood that a felony conviction does not make you inherently evil. The vast majority of prisoners will eventually be released. The way they are treated inside effects the way they operate outside. I believe the negative messages received by prisoners from staff and the structural security apparatus itself, penetrate the mind and rest in the subconscious, becoming a large factor in recidivism.

A second class citizen mindset doesn’t just wash off upon release.

After serving a extended period of time with negative mental conditioning it is easy to understand why some believe they don’t fit into a first class society.

Philip Daniel #1008019
Pocahontas St. Corr. Ctr