Day 12
Today’s visit to Parchman was eye-wrenching. The chief question that I will think about for the rest of this trip is: Why I’m not in Parchman?
Another thing that bothers me is the fact that many people reduce incarceration to an individual issue instead of a social problem. They fail to see how prisoners are not born but created. And, there are several institutions that lead to their creation. One of the major contributors is poverty. After all, why do people sell drugs… to make money? I’m aware that there are cases where the individual clearly was negligible; but I still hold that institutions within society work together to create criminals. I remember, watching children matriculate into group homes with minor behavioral problems and exiting with a multitude of problems and new criminal methods. After all, prisons are often a classroom that teaches prisoners how to commit a crime without getting caught.
Before I close, I must comment once more on the power of antagonistic relationships and highlight some that were made clear today at Parchman. First, antagonistic relationships work to oppress people by setting two groups against each other that have similar interest if one were to explore beneath the surface. For example, at Parchman the guards in the camera room told how they have to keep their identity hidden from the other guards because if they knew that they were the ones watching the camera they would be at risk. This antagonistic relationship will prevent these guards from ever coming together to fight for their rights and prevent further exploitation. This type of relationship was also clear in hearing the prisoners talk about how the guards also function to keep tension between the inmates.
Tomorrow - we will visit Clarksdale, MS + Tunica, MS + Memphis, TN
To be continued ……..