Prison of course is a very oppressive place, it is meant to keep a person down with the oppressors boot on the side of their neck. At the same time though, reality shows that there is plenty of oppurtunity for a person who wants to open their mind, to work on self-betterment & self-improvement. There is many oppurtunities to educate in prison, for someone that doens’t have outside help & limited money, the classes are free, & so is checking books out of the library. For one who has money to spend, they can order books from approved vendors such as Amazon, or they can sign up for correspondence courses with Colleges. Right now, the Washington Legislature is trying to get the Pell grants to be available for people in prison here. Some states have already won the battle. In 1994, there was a certain bill that took away that right, now people are realizing how draconian & oppressive that punishment is. Not only is education available, but there is religious programs & programs like AA & NA, even the law library for those who want to fight for their freedom & rights, others who just love to be educated in the law, & plenty of mentors who are willing to take someone aside one on one & teach them what they need to do in order to change their life around. My point being, yes prison sucks, it is a terrible way to have to live, yet that is no excuse for someone to just lay down & give up. The outside world is a hard place to survive, here everything dang near, is handed to people dang near on a silver platter, what I mean is, you don’t have to work to eat, you don’t have to pay for clothing, shelter, yada yada ect…besides the mimimum mandatory 35% this state taxes people in prison. Yes it is hard in some aspects, but in the real world, there is responsibility, there is obligations…ect. So the time to prepare to be successful is in here, right now, not tomorrow, not next week, but TODAY. This is a perfect training ground to get mentally conditioned to be the person that we can all be. I know people that are content with their faults, with getting out knowing they are gonna get high, commit crimes, hurt people & come right back. If that is how they choose to live, then that is their self destruction, they are going to have to endure the never ending punishments. I also know that, there is people in here, locked up for terrible, heinous crimes, that are no longer the men & women that they were at the time of arrest. I know that it is a reality that people’s who way of thinking, talking, acting & conduct can make a 350 degree turn. It is a long arduous, tough project to take on, some don’t have the grit to see it through, they think it’s easier to just give in & whatever it is, is whatever it is. Personally I have found it’s actually harder to face the consequences of bad actions, then it is to use restraint, discipline & logic, when making decisions. These are tools that can be taught, right here in prison, they are not necessarily easy or natural for some people, but they are learned traits, that are accomplished with practice & perseverance, repetetion & choosing not to let the self fall into negative thinking and act. It is a conscious decision, no situation, no circumstance, no person can cause another person to go outside of their making the right decisions. There is no excuse, excuses ar a cop out & the denial of responsibilty & accountability….

jonathankeenagordon.ipage.com

Jonathan Gordon
DOC #793350