message from kenneth pt 1 - 13/07/2011

Pt 1

I rarely talk about life in prison. I rarely talk about the things I see on a daily basis, not just on a political platform, but on a personal basis to my family. I guess you can say it's my personal belief that you all (family and friends) have enough to deal with in "that" world and then have to deal with the madness of "this" world. You surely couldn't handle both. So I silently endure what I face, because after all why should others have to bear my mistake.

 

But, more and more I am coming to see the need to talk about certain things here, if not to invoke action but to enlighten. You can't expect people to act on what they don't know nor understand, right? So, little by little I want to begin to touch on some things that I face from day to day. It would be impossible in a blog to give a person a true vision of prison in Amerika today. In fact, not even a fleet of books could, because prisons differ from State to State, facility to facility, State and Federal and even regions within a state. Some go from the most extreme to the most juvenile. Each have ties that bind them regardless of the worlds that separate them. I can only give my little corner of the world and plant a seed of a broader link in common adversities and obstacles.

 

I'll tell you right now, Texas is at the bottom of the barrel in every category: conditions, economy, rehabilitation. And as I watch the prison conditions decay, I fret not only for those here, but those that return to society malnourished (mentally, physically, and spiritually) and the families that must sit by and observe this. Maybe something I write will be a spark in someone's mind and spirit. It's not about pampering a person in prison, some people deserve to be here, it's about what's fair and humane, because at the flip of a switch it could be your people. It's about being aware that what we inflict always comes back.

 

So from time to time I'll share a story or two, or problem and we'll see what we can stir up.

 

"Truth is only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence". (Henri Frederic Amiel, swiss philosopher 1883).

 

Posted on: 13 JUL 2011, Category Other Entries