Wanted: A little bit of respect

On the tier, there are two areas that always cause problems: the TV area ( 1 TV for 38 men), and the bathroom. I really haven't watched TV in 8 months, except for the World Cup. I rarely go into the TV area, but I have seen fights over someone changing the channel. One such inmate got several years added to his sentence because of a dispute over changing a channel that resulted in someone getting seriously hurt.

The bathroom, on the other hand, is something that is in constant use throughout the day and night. It can sometimes resemble a nasty, unkept rest stop bathroom. It's cleaned once in the morning and once in the night by the tier sanitation, so anything in between, is based on the respect of the individuals using it.

Well here is the piece of prison mentality that shows how respect is not a common attitude in prison. The bathroom was just finished being cleaned and before the cleaning supplies were even out of the way, one fellow inmate started cleaning his bowl all over the previously mopped up floor. The tier sanitation guy is too shy to say anything, so I decided to speak up. I asked the fellow inmate if he really was gonna make a mess like that and not even clean it up. He looked at me and said, "What do you care, you didn't clean it." I told him what difference does it make who cleaned it? Show some respect! His response --a hearty laugh. So I said, "Figures, since you didn't clean it, you have zero respect for it. Yea, that's a good way to live." He didn't respond and walked out. Zero respect and we all live here. That bathroom doesn't clean itself. It's impossible to win these battles in here, and it's sad to see such disrespect for others and "our own common environment." I can't control others behaviors, but my peace of prison mentality is: "Treat others the way I would like to be treated."

The shy tier sanitation inmate came up to me after and said, "What can you do?" Some of these guys never learn if they don't know by now."

What can you do in an environment where respect is wanted but not given? The answer: Continue to give it.

It doesn't matter where you are, who you are, or what your background is, what matters is that you can make a difference no matter your surroundings, for a light is best seen in the dark!!