Safety and More...

Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this time of year and getting ready for Christmas.

I wanted to set aside some time to explain a few things about “camp life” versus other federal and state institutions. I know many people out there have this ingrained certainty that where I am is the “big and scary” PRISON we’ve all seen on TV and in movies our entire lives. It’s not. Aside from the fact that there are massive differences in federal prisons, state-run prisons, county jails, there are multiple levels of federal institutions, including camps.

While there are many differences I hope to cover, I want to talk about safety. When people hear “prison” we immediately go to orange jumpsuits, handcuffs, shakels, fights, gangs, murders, rapes, beatings, jail cells, drugs, talking to a loved one through a transparent wall, etc… While I get the environment I’m in right now is still by definition a form of confinement, I have seen, heard about, experienced ZERO of these “big and scary” things. Sure, I’ve seen some heated verbal brawls during our frequent flag football games and participate in our weekly arguments over Jordan vs. Lebron (we all know Jordan is the GOAT), the Saturday "SEC" chants, and if Dak will ever win a Super Bowl…. but dudes will be dudes and competitive nature kicks in when it needs to kick in. You’d think that a place full of men from lots of different backgrounds would lend itself to frequent blood-thirsty fights. That doesn’t happen here. There aren’t guards watching us 24/7 like you’d think either, which is likely why a group of men in camp are able to have normal disagreements and resolve them quickly and respectively. I’ll talk more about the guards in a separate post…

As for gangs, the federal system doesn’t allow anyone known to have any gang affiliation to be housed in a camp. While there aren't any active gang members at the camp I’m in, there is one former Hell's Angels member here. He has lived a wild 70+ years on this planet and has an insane life story. He has a bad past, no doubt, but nowadays he wouldn't hurt a fly and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

Drugs – they show up everywhere it seems, regardless of where you are. Somehow, some men here figure out how to get these things in, they figure out how to maintain their status quo, and 99.99% of the time, they get caught. The stupidity! I’ll talk about “the shoe” in a separate post as well…

The point is that it’s very safe here. I don’t have to worry about closing my eyes at night, showering, eating, going to the gym, going to work, reading – nothing. This place feels very much like I would imagine an Army barrack to feel like. We’re basically in a huge basketball gymnasium and everyone has a 10X10ish room area with 5’5” walls furnished with a bed, desk, chairs and full-size lockers. Clearly, there is a lack of privacy overall, but we have independent bathrooms and showers, which basically feels like I’m back at my local gym.  

I think the biggest safety concern I have is trying to say healthy and injury-free. I’ve had a few bad colds (which I’ve overcome with buying my own medicine) and have thankfully been able to avoid any major physical injury, but my God the stories I’ve heard about the medical staff here are horrific. I've seen a few guys have relatively insignificant illnesses evolve into serious issues simply due to a lack of access to medical care or compassion from "leadership". Maybe I’ll write about that too separately…

So that’s it for this one. I hope I’ve helped clarify a few things and possible misconceptions. Please let me know if you have any questions or just want to say hello. Keep making the time matter.