What is the process of adjusting to a prison lifestyle like?
Once you get over the initial shock of where you are and how much time you have to do you pretty much end up facing reality or living in denial. The process is simple, ask questions if you don’t know what to do and be extremely observant, then make the necessary adjustments to live with the prison lifestyle or live suicidal. The basic steps to adjusting are to be very observant to what’s acceptable and unacceptable. For example, when you go to any prison yard you can’t hangout anywhere on the yard you want to. Prison yards are racially or gang divided and if you get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, you can get in more trouble or seriously hurt. It’s the same thing in chow halls (dining area). You can’t sit any where you want to; you have to pay attention to where each race or gangs sitting before you get too comfortable because you can easily get more the dinner served to you by living in denial not paying attention. ASAP, you have to learn the Prison Administrative rules and inmate underground political rules, most people learn both the hard way. Violating, disrespecting, and ignoring officer or inmate rules makes you a target and can get more time added to your sentence, therefore you become an outcast because either guards or inmates will continue to create conflict with you to the point you end up getting hurt, disrespected, or violated. Here in San Quentin prison they have a whole call “The Adjustment Center”, “Ad-Seg” for short, the “Seg” is the Segregation Unit, and this is part of suicidal living. Making yourself a target leads to this place and they will “adjust” your attitude for you by keeping you confined with the rest of the touch guys until you decide you want to conform to the rules and regulations like the rest of the mainline population. All communications between inmates and external channels are facilitated by approved volunteers since inmates do not have access to the internet. This program with Quora is part of The Last Mile San Quentin. @tlm
What are some things you would put in a care package to send to someone in Iraq?
Well i just got back not to long ago and when i was over there some of the best things i got from people were from an elementry school. This class had signed up to be my "soldiers angel" they sent girl scout cookies, some soap, a brand new news week magazine, some pringles, one kid even sent me his toy car, (i still have it :) ) also the whole class sent me some home made cards. that was probably the best care package i got. Also some tips for sending things. If you send cookies send like chips a hoy or something that is in a long tube and empty a pringles can and put the cookies in there. It keeps them from getting crushed. also a lot of the bases in iraq have Post Exchanges now or someplace where soldiers can purchase things like soap and deodorant. A good website (well as a soldier i liked it) is http://www.soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php At that site the soldier can say wht he prefers and you can Adopt the soldier and send what he has requested or prefers. On another note thanks for the support to the soldiers :)
What do people do in jail?
I've been a Jail Chaplain and a Prison Chaplain. Jail is very different from Prison. In jail people sleep....and sleep...sleep some more. They read, go to Bible studies (if the Chaplain is doing his job), go to Church, and play games. Muslims form prayer lines five times a day and go to Jumah on Friday-midday. A lot of TV watching.Prison is dynamic with a host of things to do- its long term. Church, long term religious studies programs- including seminary classes in some places- choir practice, plus extensive recreational programs including leather craft, ceramics, sports teams, musical programming, large libraries, all provided virtually free of charge or a small cost keep many inmates busy. Get your GED or get your degree, its possible and keeps people busy. Of course I was a Federal Chaplain, so our programming may have been better than states. We also had work programs- inmates had to work. The lowest pay was .12 an hour. UNICOR paid up to about $2.00 an hour and provided skills to many that helped them upon discharge. At my prison we rebuilt hummers damaged in battle. On fellow was discharged with every certificate that Hummer could give. He went to work at a Hummer dealership for really good money.
If the laws of conservation of mass are taken into consideration, then where does the energy go when a human dies? And do our bones contain energy, too?
The chemical energy in a dead body remains as the chemical bonds in the flesh and in the other non edible compounds. This can be released or used by burning, by being eaten by say predators, or by being decomposedBones do contain some energy. They contain some organic material like collagen and the marrow is very nutritious. Ever hear of bone broth?Dried bone still contains some organic matter like collage which can be released by burning. The hydroxylapatite which forms most of the inorganic crystals in bone have some energy in the chemical bonds although I’m not sure if the energy state is such that you can get net positive energy from breaking those bonds
If you were being sent to prison for a long time would you act racist if necessary to fit in with your racial group? Or would you try going it alone or associating with other races?
Since I did work in Juvenile detention center as a correctional officer once and my ethnic group which is a part of the paradigm in your inquiry as a factor I would say that it is almost how people are on the outside. Black people are profiled by law enforcement disproportionately when obeying the law let alone when breaking it. Conversely, white people used “red lining” to keep African Americans from moving into better neighborhoods while allowing drugs, vices and prostitution into minority communities. I'm saying this: the facade of living among people who are really racist or supremacist groups in the closet is among us whether incarcerated or free. The only difference is institutions that are supposed to be fair and impartial are often as racist as the prisons. So, let me answer you this way: let's say you have a real animus to Melinated people due to your Calcified complexion and every time you walk out in the sun you get burned. You can either keep yourself some sun block or move to colder climates like your ancestors did from the time they lived in caves in the Caucasus mountains and wait until black Meers, Moors, Arabs and Africans come to try and civilze you once again. Conversely, you can remain there and become a cannibal as some Caucasian ancestors of yours did. Is by analogy this what youre getting at insofar as survival skills? I hope it is. Have a good day and or evening.