Prison vs Straight

[Anonymous]

hey katie.. sorry not to respond to the thread itself, but i just HAD to get the attention on this one.  Seeing as how i have been in Straight, and i now WORK in a prison, i am here to tell you I'd pick state prison ANY day of the week.  The inmates I know (and i know many on a DAILY basis) have TV, they have smokes (and a bunch more they are not supposed to have but won't go into that LOL) um, they hav cable TV, they have phone calls, attorneys, we have to be VERY careful not to violate anyones rights, etc) they are offerd therapy groups but cannot by any means be "forced" to attend, they can go to the priosn store and purchase a variety of things from food to CD's...  Shit, in straight the only thing i ever saw was a plastic chair!!

Not to say prison is a picnic, it is depressing as hell, and it is stressful like i cannot explain.  BUT, if I had to pick equal amount of time in one or the other...well, ya'll get the idea  :wink:

thea

[bilabong69]

Been there done that, as stated before BOTH Straight and Prison, but I did not WORK there, and I feel bad for the folks who do work for the corrections system. My buddy up in Ocala, works as a CO and he brings home 450.00 a week, while I was on unemployment for 3 months last year I was making 495.00 per week sitting at home playing with my children. Now don't you think that you putting your life on the line on a daily basis for that little pay is ridiculous. He thought so.Yea your right I was able to smoke and go to the commissary, have visit's, I even got clothes and new tennis shoes from home once every 6 months. Maybe in the prison you work at the girls don't have to fight for the smokes they buy, or the candy they purchase or the new shoes that were sent from home, maybe they didn't have to chase other nationalities around with mop ringers and homemade knives so they can keep their perssonal items, maybe they did'nt have to, but I did and it was no picnic. Take a look at how the races are divided in your facility, it's NOT this lovely diverse meeting of the minds. Did you ever see a guy get stabbed in the eye with a fork because he took a piece of bread off another guys plate? Did you ever see a riot take place because one nationality wanted to watch a basketball game and the other wanted to watch a sitcom? Yea we had TV and 50 guys had to agree on one channel-try and accomplish that. Have you ever stabbed someone who was trying to take your soap you got sent from home? Well I did and at the time it felt damn good, you better believe the cat never stole another thing from my locker for the short time that I was left at that facility, they don't like trouble makers so they send you from facility to facility until you spend all your time in confinement, which was half of my time. Try spending some time in confinement, it's a lovely smell in the hallway of feces because the cat in the next cell is deranged and throwing feces all out in the hall, then you get told no food cause the guards won't come down and serve.
Sorry to rant on this, but all of you who have NOT been in both situations cannot say what it's like, you can assume and even make a judgement on which you'd prefer. But when you work there,YOU are on the other side of the fence and as you probably say to your inmates JUST like they did to me "at least I go home at night".
Been there done that. One good thing, at least I can go home at night too:)
Mark

[Froderik]

God, sometimes I just can't keep my goddamn mouth shut. But I feel a need to chime in here. Thank you for telling it like it is, Bilabong. I've always been skeptical of this "I'd take jail over straight any day" thing. Maybe if you're talking about some jail out in bumfuck, perhaps. But NOT if you're talking about doing time in Baltimore city jail. NO THANKS! Yes, the bottom line is that both situations SUCK. So ok, maybe we can say case closed now? Must we debate this further?

[ramprato]

bilabong69,

Sounds like you've been down a damned long road, but I'm glad to see you've survived not even knowing you.

I am curious about something. Do you think that being in Straight and the mindfuck you went through there escalated your chances of being incarcerated? I guess what I'm asking is how much do you think Straight contributed to the way you dealt with society after coming out that would put you in incarceration?

I am betting understandingly a lot at that, but of course I can't speak for you, and I wouldn't. It just tears me to pieces thinking that I know of 3 people, (now 4) two personally and two on the internet (including yourself) that went on to corrections after Straight. It tears me up thinking of all the ugly side effects Straight had on people when they got out, and I don't care if they were pulled, ran away, or "graduated", whatever, it all sucks.  

Ken

[bilabong69]

Froderik13, I agree the debating can stop, but the commenting should continue:) Freedom of speech, gotta love it:) We all must remember that both Straight and Prison suck, PERIOD. How you deal with life after each is the next step, and it's either a step up or a step down, it's our decision, and we all work at it everyday. I now live a great life and do whatever I want pretty much, got 2 great kids who I pick up and take home from school everyday, play with them, read books with them do homework together, and even make fun of the government together:)I vowed that I would not be the father my father was and shower my kids with love and am a part of EVERYTHING they do in life. They know I am their support.
Blah Blah Blah.............OK OK end of my post:)
Peace out.
Mark

[bilabong69]

Ramprato thanks much for the thoughts, yea it's been a long hard life. Most def, straight and the lifestyle took me "staright" to prison. After 7th stepping, I wanted to date, they found out, wanted to put me back on a refresher, I said no way and my family said ok, out of the house and give us the car back. I did, and lived on the streets of Sarasota for many months stealing doing everything I could at 16 to stay alive. Eventually it all caught up to me at age 18 and I did my first bit of time in prison-2 years, then got out, got no help while being inside of prison, and was even more fucked up, 6 months later got arrested again and got a 9 year sentence. Well I finally figured out that I had control of my life and took it when I got out the 2nd time. Of course much credit goes to my wife for helping me see the loving fun side of life, plus too a little bone now and then never hurts me either :smokin:  I just don't go to extremes anymore. That ole addictive personnality sucks.
Mark

[bilabong69]

I also have to give a thanks to my Mom and Brother. I pulled a lot of shit on them during those years of straight and after straight and today I wouldn't be where I am without them. Neither one of them even think of straight anymore, and my brother conned his way through the program so fast he was one of the record holders like 6 months.
Thanks Mom and Mike

[Froderik]

Froderik13, I agree the debating can stop, but the commenting should continue:) Freedom of speech, gotta love it:)

Nothing wrong with commenting..glad to hear that you've pulled things together after all that fucked-up shit. On a smaller scale, I went down a similar path after 7-stepping. It was either dating, or hanging out with old friends (not getting high with them, either) that pissed off my mom enough to throw me out. Luckily another old friend and my dad were there for me then, at least long enough for me to find a room. I used to steal petty things from the 7-11 just to eat. (Mmmmm...Snickers..lol.) I worked in a lot of kitchens and lived low. I can't tell you how many jobs I quit or was fired from. I got arrested once for shoplifting. Things didn't really turn around much until I was 30 and had my first kid. (Just a figure of speech ladies, don't get yr. panties in a bunch, lol) Now I'm not doing too bad..take it easy..

[ This Message was edited by: Froderik13 on 2003-10-08 07:26 ]

[ramprato]

Wow Mark,

I'm glad to know you have pulled it together as much as you have. You truly are a walking miracle DESPITE Straight. I say all that knowing that a good friend of mine who was in Straight with me at the time killed himself about 10 or so years ago. I got wind of that a while back and it hit like a ton of bricks. He met a girl, the love of his life and I don't know if they ever were able to tie the knot, but anyway she died tragically in a car wreck. My buddy didn't have a damned thing to fall back on because (in my opinion) of what Straight did to him. He killed himself over her loss.

I remember that while in Straight during the nearly two years we spent in there, a lot of his time was spent on the floor as if it had become his second home. I remember them damned cries coming from that floor as I was a lifer on first phase. Hell, both of us eventually "graduated" after they 'properly' cooked our minds of course.

I'm sorry to ramble on Mark, but it's just damned good to hear of a success story such as yours is. Keep up the good work and enjoy life.

Ken :smile:

[kaydeejaded]

I am the one who started this arguement on a thread like 2 topics down.

My friend and I were arguing because he really does not get what the big deal about Straight was so to try and break it down into something he could understand I said that I saw kids who were court ordered to Straight and if they did not comply were going to the county or if they had longer to serve were going to go to prision

these kids if they had been locked up before without fail left the Boston program and went to lockup, the others the fear of the unknown kept them in Straight hell

Clear time frame of release, civil rights much more easily accessable, I fought a lot in Striaght, and boy this 14yr old chick was not a fighter in the begining, that was all them.

Anyway my x-husband was in prison they let him do the NY area tour, they are complete fucking assholes too he went from Downstate Fishkill (max security all of them) to Sing sing to Nappanoch to Comstock all on a 1yr parole violation which he spent the first 4months of in the county.

My point that shit they were roaming the grounds behind big walls but they had TV phone could write letters. I would take it over Straight presonally. Honestly.

Trust me I am not trying to give anyone an opinion I think we all have had enough of that to last us a lifetime. This was just an arguement and I wanted to come to the only people who really knew to get the answers.

My friend will not even be reading this. I figure if he has never gone out of his way to look then he really does not care enough.

Damn rambler..... sorry ::heart:: love always cady

Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundation, and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813912652/circlofmiamithem' target='_new'> James Madison

[Anonymous]

Well, FIRST off i work at a maximum security ALL male prison.  I know the inmates well, I know exactly what kind of shit goes down in a rough prison daily, i WORK in the MENTAL HEALTH department for gods sake. STILL,  they have many more rights than I ever,  ever saw in Straight.

later,
thea

[`]

hope noone minds if i bump this

[linchpin]

I was in Straight and Prison..and 11 or so other "rehabs"
 I really think it depends on the state and unit..But I found prison to be better

[bilabong69]

Bump away FKA, great topic. It's theraputic talking about it.