"Negativity Family"

So here’s a piece of prison mentality for you: A lot of inmates are repeat offenders and several of them have been to this institution two sometimes, maybe three times before. A new guy came into our unit today and hearing him talk about being here in 2006 sparked some thoughts. Anywhere you go in the prison, you can be sure to hear somebody constantly complaining about something or someone and a majority of the dissatisfaction or resentment is about the prison life. Now, I can see how first time offenders, experiencing prison for the first time, can complain because it’s an experience that brings you outside of your comfort zone and takes a while to get used to. (Some never get used to it!). Now, here’s the catch, a lot of repeat offenders know the “ins” and “outs” of prison life; they know exactly what to expect. They know the feelings that are aroused because of being incarcerated, yet these are the inmates who I constantly hear complaining about prison.
Personally, if I don’t like something or someone, I have a choice not to be around that something or someone. That is an easy choice to make. Making a decision that causes you to come back to a place that you know you have ill-will towards is like going to a restaurant, not liking spinach, and continuing to order spinach—like the experience is going to be any different than the first time. Regardless, complaining gets you nowhere and is related to the Negativity Family. In prison, these two will make you bitter. A bitter man is a defeated man.
“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” Phil. 2: 14-15