Friday, July 16, 2010

July 12, 2010

this week two seperate squabbles (fights) broke out. this is a stark reminder that at any given time u can b in danger. the first incident happened over a basketball game. ten people on the basketball court, someone attempts a lay-up, he's fouled a lil too hard for his liking, words are exchanged and the punches start to fly. thse guys fought out in the open. the second incident happened at food service.an inmate was seated at a table, there was a banana on the table, an inmate in line grabs the banana off the table. the seated inmate says "thats my banana", inmate in line says, " it was on the table" ( unwanted fruit and milks are always left on the tables) name calling and threats ensued. these two guys stopped the talking and finished their breakfast. minutes later they squared off in a vacant cell, two men in, one man out. two men enter a vacant cell and only the victor exits. the loser usually requires medical attention. some prisons are called "gladiator school".

thats the way things can start here. just a banana, or just a basketball game. look out on this campus and u see manicured lawns, orange, apple, and peach trees. there are peacan and walnut trees. tennis courts and handball courts, but on any given sunday a banana can be the fruit that reminds us all that we are in a dangerous place.

i had my on lil adventure this week. i was walking the exercise track with a white inmate. we both arrived here the same day a year or so ago. we were talking about home and family. the next day he came to me and said that several guys from a group that i wont name said, that "whites dont walk the track with blacks" and "that he had better respect their rules". this guy is 6' 7" and weighs 320. he said that he told them that he is from the south and that all his freinds on his college football team were black and that he will walk with who he wants. i went and talked to some of the black inmates and they said that they (the blacks) have no such rule, but that some of the white groups expect white inmates to follow there "politics" (prison rules set by inmates). so we decided to respect that groups politics and not exercise together. but the racial devide is evident when you look at the exercise yard. the spanish guys hang at the handball courts, the blacks do the basketball courts, and the whites sit on the softball field bleechers. but all the races share the weight-room.

i started my time by my self, i started my exercise regiment alone, so i can finish it alone. plus my parents didnt teach rasicm. we actually encouraged to seek out friends from all walks of life. my parents would have dinner parties and every color of the rainbow was represented. i thank my parents for not being so narrow. if u choose your friends by the color of their skin you will miss out on some of the best friendships on planet earth.

paul

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