lazada

Lazada Malaysia

Sunday, April 11, 2010

prisoners and prison terms1

Programs for the displaced and misfits and the self perceived rejects of society..reformed drug users or even hard core ex convicts released back into a society after having spent a huge chunk of their lives in relative security and comfort in prison,everything provided for,.to be plunked back into a realistic and materialistic society where the ability to  earn or eke out a living takes priority over all else , that is a daunting challenge to mindsets that have been isolated away from normal society for a while..

  .Imagine a person who has spent a better part of say 20 years of his life in prison,for whatever reason ,where routine has become  instinctively normal and things are taken for granted ,no need to think about whats ahead since everyday living is a same monotonous routine , simple daily necessities like breakfast,lunch and dinner always at precisely the same timing , mindsets denied the luxury  of thinking or planning ahead of what to do next , conditioned to accept and follow -  this particular way of life and resigned to their state of mind fully aware of their circumstance,their mindsets, probably still maintains a vision of their world to the time of their arrest and incarceration,20 years ago,and since then the only world they have been living in  is a highly volatile one ,fraught with undertones of danger, violence ,mistrust and perversions where normalcy is to develop a mindset of  survival of the fittest instincts ,conditioning oneself never to show weaknesses or risk being labelled weak and hence trampled upon without mercy and to train own mind to do the trampling of the frail and violently intimidate for own gain ,a society with a scant regard or respect for human lives, and the atmosphere is akin to living on the edge of a sharp blade, easily exploding  into murderous rages or sprees of violence which bloodshed is like just another day at the office.

   And this little society of violence, confined in a tiny remote corner somewhere with high  walls to contain the tense and  explosively violent and dangerous environment where individuals immersed in this atmosphere  cannot choose to walk away or ignore and hope to be  psychologically unscathed by it all.
  
 Likely ,that a person who has undergone a 20 year sentence exposed constantly to this environment will definitely have absorbed in some of the the tense razor sharp vicious  energy into their mindsets and the behaviour  conditioning environment where the mind has been trained to be  constantly  suspicious and alert , because of the in most cases,a perceived absence of morals and loyalty,or principles,meaningless values in a dog eat dog world.

 Many ex cons retain that air of mistrust and natural defensive posturing , unable to trust but always ready to pounce with  predatorial instincts honed by years of practice in an environment where weakness is an invitation to be victimised by brutality , minds conditioned from years of developing survival  instincts to bear the harshness and repel or  thwart efforts to be trod on, upon their eventual release from the walls of intensely tight and charged  atmosphere ,the freedom granted and gained is more only  the physical sense,their physical bodies may be free of routines imposed on them,which they must conform to no longer.

And they may have gained freedom of movement and free choice to decide on their next actions but .Mentally they are still trapped  in the confines of their minds,prison mentality , It will take a longer time for the released ex con to be really free in the true sense of the word,from the mental constraints that lingers in their minds,tougher ones able to shake it off eventually but the weaker ones will still be imprisoned by their conditioning and mindsets.!.

Which probably explains the high percentage of ex cons intentionally comitting crimes so as to return to that environment which they are more familiar with and actually feel safer in.Because they know the system well enough to know how to deal with it and live in it free of the system they dont know how to survive in, not having to deal with the stresses of the ordinary world and worries of living.
  These are individuals that no longer know how to get along with other people,considering themselves rejects unable to find their niche and joy of merely existing in a free world.


IN these alternate realms, located in hundreds of pockets of tiny remote corners around the world, all having the common feature of having high walls and fencing that invariably locks in and retains the atmospheres of fear and intimidation,separating from common people,the misfits , rejects,perverts, the murderously violent,the violently aggresive ,the criminally insane and all in between.! If there is a thing in common among prison populations around the world, it is the often violent and brutal quests to get respect.!

    Respect is a precious currency earned from viciousness in dealings with fellow mates of same imprisoned world.Reputation  has as much clout as cold hard cash. Fear and an  ability to instill or inflict it on another lesser mortal in the restricted environment,with the  reminder of just how fragile and worthless life is and how easy it is to snatch it away from another,threatening  one with bodily harm or even a hint as to suggested pain can manipulate many lesser  persons of weaker dispositions to a horrified state,literally wetting their pants fearful of perceived pain or lost of limb or life .

  Situations which is time and again used or abused to get what is demanded! Forceful coercion and  persuasions from threats or intimidations are commonplace, whether to get intoxicating liquids  or mind altering substances or forcibly satisfy perverted lusts..
 
Basest of human instincts can manifest itself if power is acknowledged or fearfully given.Strangely many of these powerful individuals in the confined environment turns out that their alternate personality whilst they were free men were nothing like the insanely sadistic men they have becomed.Themselves mostly low profile criminals.Its like there are people with an ability to change their personalities easily,for when they are eventually released back into mainstream society,they just snap back to their old selves,losing the sadistic nature and having the gentlest of personalities albeit with a criminal element ever present.! Short timers,sentences ranging from 2 to 5 year terms.

 Its those individuals that have spent a big chunk of their adult lives inside prison, 20 years and plus that have more problems.
   Iindividuals separated from the mainstream consciousness of society and the norms to be thrown back into the mix can be traumatic and unsettling to any person no matter how tough they may seem to be mentally.

 Changes of the environment in 20 years to a person whose perceptions of whats normal and ordinary, dates back ten years in which during that time ,life has moved on, changes seeped in unnoticeably , ordinary folk easily adapting to the changes progressively as the events occur., blending in and learning to cope or take advantage of the changes as they come, improving their own circumstance and many will have settled down to another lifestyle.

 But  to the people whose ordinary lives was completely uprooted and transformed into a strict regime , they  could very well find themselves trapped in a time bubble dating back 20 years when society as they remember it, has become as alien as a foreign country, which can be tremendously drastic, and triggers off high angst in that particular individual,so much so that ,they may fail to assimilate back to what would be perceived as normal after a vacuum of the years spent in prison.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers