Culture Shock

IN PRISON: Survival in prison requires a tough appearance.  Gentle and kind people are often perceived to be weak and can be taken advantage of mentally, physically, or both.  Suspicion, toughness, and keeping your thoughts to yourself are crucial tools for success in prison

IN SOCIETY:  Friendliness, smiles, and engaging conversations show others we are open to interaction.  These sociable attributes are crucial for success.

IN PRISON:  Inmates often witness the most shocking and atrocious acts against human beings imaginable.  Our basic urge is to help a victim by physically protecting them or finding someone who can improve the situation.  Inmates who ‘snitch’ or help out, however, can find themselves in the same situations they were horrified to witness.  Caring souls can even be targeted for helping a victim after the assault. 

IN SOCIETY:  We watch out for each other and act on injustices.  We understand that we must participate in the protection of each other to maintain our own safety and ensure safety for all.

IN PRISON: Long-term relationships are very difficult in prison; in fact, inmates are often transferred without notice and correspondence between inmates is forbidden.

IN SOCIETY:  Long-term relationships are very important and require time and effort to maintain. 
We often find our best connections to employment, new friends, interests, and opportunities through the relationships we have built.  When we lose a trust-worthy reference, it is exponentially more difficult to achieve these valuable benefits.

IN PRISON:  In addition to having an established schedule in prison, inmates do not have a choice of where to go, what to wear, what colors they would like to see on the walls, or what they want to eat for breakfast. Daily life inside prison is often much like the previous day.

IN SOCIETY:  We must constantly make decisions. Our life moves at a brisk pace with frequent changes. Sometimes friends and family ask us to change our plans to join them or help them.  We must decide how to prioritize our schedule to accommodate others and still keep time for ourselves.

IN PRISON: Chores are optional.  Food is purchased and prepared, the kitchen is cleaned, and the dishes are washed, dried, and put away.….all an inmate has to do is show up to eat.  In addition, clothes are washed, dried, and folded.  Yard maintenance is taken care of and the only cleaning responsibilities revolve around a small cell. Prison is often considered a tremendous waste of time and many prisoners suffer from boredom. 

IN SOCIETY:  Chores take up a significant portion of our day. We must prioritize our tasks to get everything done.  We want to make sure we have enough time to work, get our chores done, exercise, and enjoy relaxing time alone or with friends and family.  We often find there are not enough hours in the day!  

IN PRISON:  Prisons are noisy places.  They offer few quiet places or opportunities for time alone.  The buildings are made of concrete and rarely use carpet or other noise reducers.  When people get upset they are often loud, affecting everyone.  Many inmates keep earplugs with them at all times. 

IN SOCIETY:  Life is very busy and we are constantly interacting.  We need time alone to reflect on our day, our life, or our perspective, or simply to think things through.  Quiet time alone is rejuvenating and reaffirming.

IN PRISON:  Because it is difficult to get close to other inmates, reflecting and soul searching can be challenging and often must take place alone or with books.

IN SOCIETY:  We often turn to family and friends to support us through difficult times.  We can tell them everything, which helps us hear our process and our progress. These steps enable us to move through change.

IN PRISON:  Inmates are referred to as ‘offender’ or by their ID number.  They often suffer from a loss of self respect, respect for others, and respect from others.  They sometimes feel they are no longer a valuable person to anyone. 

IN SOCIETY:  We want to be treated with respect!  You need to respect yourself in order for others to respect you.  Just as we want people to see the things in us that deserve respect, we must see the things in others that we respect.  This is one way we can find common ground.

IN PRISON: As with many sub-cultures of Americana, prison culture has a language of its own.  Not only do many words that we use every day have completely different meanings, alternate pronunciation and slang are frequently used as well.

IN SOCIETY: Most of us have a familial or peer-group lingo that we use when we are at ease.  In our work-life, however, we strive to create a uniform language with established rules that facilitate understanding since verbal communication is tough enough, even when we use the same words with roughly the same definitions.

IN PRISON: Close quarters, brick walls, tiny windows, fencing, and razor-wire are constant reminders of a very small world in which to circulate.  There is very little free roaming; prisoners are accounted for wherever they go.

IN SOCIETY:  We are free to decide where to go, and we have large range of options.  We can decide how much fresh air or sunlight we want to let in, we can paint our rooms in comforting colors and enjoy a visual and tactile variety of surfaces from wood floors to brick patios to soft, grassy lawns.

IN PRISON: Inmates have no opportunity to provide daily physical or emotional care for children, partners, parents, or pets.  

IN SOCIETY:  Caring for others is constant, taxing, challenging, and invigorating! We need to be needed, and we feel good supporting those we care about.

IN PRISON: Affectionate touch is limited to family visits and close friends (of which there are few, if any).

IN SOCIETY:  Hand shakes, hugs, friendly kisses, and other signs of affection are welcome and encouraged among relatives and friends. 

IN PRISON: Inmates can access a limited amount of information through magazines, newspapers, television, radio. and letters.

IN SOCIETY:  We have a diverse array of opportunities to obtain information.  We have the media, certainly, but with a much wider scope of options.  We also have the internet with fairly limitless boundaries of information and misinformation to choose from. We share a greater variety of current event experiences and participate in creative spirited conversation and debate.

IN PRISON: Inmates are cared for (granted, it is not always the most comforting care) when they are ill.  Doctors are summoned, food is prepared, and linens and clothing continue to get washed and delivered. When necessary, teeth are repaired, glasses are procured, and antibiotics are prescribed. 

IN SOCIETY:  At home, we have to take care of ourselves when we are sick or wounded.  We must get ourselves to the doctor or dentist and have a way to pay for the services.  We must also maintain our home and our health while we heal, which is sometimes very difficult. 

IN PRISON:  Prisoners must learn to wait for assistance, services, and professional help including doctor visits, rides to see specialists, meetings with administrators, phone calls, and daily meals.

IN SOCIETY:  We can get medical help immediately if necessary, we arrange meetings according to our schedule and we can spontaneously do things at will. 

IN PRISON: Possessions, money and the value of objects of desire are greatly distorted in prison.  Retirement savings and investments are rare and most money is acquired and spent quickly.  Money is not even necessary, often goods are traded.  Inmates do not need to worry about the cost of food, a roof over their heads, or transportation.

IN SOCIETY:  Money is our only currency for trade.  It is very difficult to live ‘hand to mouth’ as quite often unexpected expenses arise.  The cost of food and shelter fluctuates and must be considered in budgeting, and all cars, old and new, break down and hit us with surprise bills.