The prison system seems to be a wide debate these days from the newest documentaries including “Prison Nation” to the minds of senators, and us bloggers. Why is it that we can’t seem to rehabilitate the mass populations in the system?
I could go on and on about how I believe for a long while, but to get to the point really quickly I will save you my opinion.
Recently I invited over some friends of my daughter for her beautiful 7th birthday. With the children came two of the most ghetto queens I have ever seen or listened to. However, these two queens made some very valid points about the prison system that could not be ignored, and so I was forced to put aside my judgements for two hours so I could really listen.
When I tried to argue that the recidivism rate was high due to lack of programs, housing, and jobs for the recovering criminals I was told “Put that shit away right now, GURL! Let me tell you something. I was in prison and I had all 6 of my kids about to be taken away from me, and the judge gave me 60 days to enter a rehab center. I waited till the 59th day to do shit about it, and you know what I learned. Ain’t no one out there gonna just hand it to you. You have to work for it, get your record sponged (her words) and ask people for help. There is shit out there for you, but no one gonna come lookin for your ass you gotta go out and get em, help yourself.”
So, now while I do still think there could be more funding for those “go get em” programs, I cannot argue with someone who has been in the system and try to place my theories on her circumstance. Perhaps it is the prison system that is wrong, perhaps her personality strong, or perhaps her persistence that led her along. Whatever it was this is a story of a woman, a mother, a prisoner, a survivor, and now a grandmother.
Nicely written Honey