Entering into Lebanon Correctional last Wednesday, I had expectations and prejudgments of the inmates that I prepared for myself mentally. With Lebanon Correctional being a third level prison, the exterior of the facility has barbed fencing and security, housing various criminals who have committed felonies. Before meeting the inmates, I expected them to be of the stereotypical dramatization that is portrayed in the media: intimidating, cold, threatening, possibly even sociopathic. With the list of adjectives that the outside students made about the prisoners, mostly negative traits, trying to conjure a positive image of the inmates were a bit difficult. On the first official day of class, needless to say, I was very nervous. When entering
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Many prisoners experience discrimination and abuse from prison guards and other inmates. Due to this fear of being imprisoned, “outside” citizens often disconnect the prisons from our everyday lives. We believe that prisons are for the wrongdoers and those who are “evil”, and as a “protection” from further harm. Thusly, the prison facility “functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables are deposited, reliving us of the responsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting those communities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers.” (p.16) Personally, I find this type of ideology as a concerning issue because American society is using prisons as a crutch to temporarily to elevate responsibility of actually support and help low income communities that have high crime rates, drug rates, making a undesirable environment for any child to grow up in. To be honest, it’s actually quite disturbing how American society bluntly ignores the issues of the prison industrial complex and that not many rehabilitation programs are being established in maximum security prisons. With so much complications associated with the prison system, why can’t there be reformation? Well, according to Davis, there have been discussion of prison reform in politics and “while public discourse has become more flexible, the emphasis is almost inevitably on generating the changes that will produce a better prison system.” (p.20) Basically, due to the discussion of prison expansion, it is difficult to discuss prison reform. From reading Davis’ explanations of the American prison system, I understand Dostoyevsky’s point in his quote. A critique of one’s society and civilization depends on how humanely the downtrodden are treated and supported by those who are “better off” in life. For prisoners, I assume that almost 99.9%
Many prisoners experience discrimination and abuse from prison guards and other inmates. Due to this fear of being imprisoned, “outside” citizens often disconnect the prisons from our everyday lives. We believe that prisons are for the wrongdoers and those who are “evil”, and as a “protection” from further harm. Thusly, the prison facility “functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables are deposited, reliving us of the responsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting those communities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers.” (p.16) Personally, I find this type of ideology as a concerning issue because American society is using prisons as a crutch to temporarily to elevate responsibility of actually support and help low income communities that have high crime rates, drug rates, making a undesirable environment for any child to grow up in. To be honest, it’s actually quite disturbing how American society bluntly ignores the issues of the prison industrial complex and that not many rehabilitation programs are being established in maximum security prisons. With so much complications associated with the prison system, why can’t there be reformation? Well, according to Davis, there have been discussion of prison reform in politics and “while public discourse has become more flexible, the emphasis is almost inevitably on generating the changes that will produce a better prison system.” (p.20) Basically, due to the discussion of prison expansion, it is difficult to discuss prison reform. From reading Davis’ explanations of the American prison system, I understand Dostoyevsky’s point in his quote. A critique of one’s society and civilization depends on how humanely the downtrodden are treated and supported by those who are “better off” in life. For prisoners, I assume that almost 99.9%