Prison Place

 

Heros in Prison

There is a show coming on that I am watching, called "Heros". As a guy that love comic books and stuff like that, I thought about that as far as the prison scene.

Even several years removed from prison, my journals can take me back to the very moment I was in there, and allow me to recall every emotion that I had while in that hell hole.

But were there positive people in prison; were there...heros?

Well, one definition of "hero" is a person who does brave or noble deeds. That by the definition can be anyone, because as human beings we ar all capable of brave or noble deeds.

But society does not take that definition. It is easy to say that heros are those who put their lives on the line daily...like policemen, soldiers, and firefighters. This was show so clearly during 911, and for that I will bring no argument.

But heroism goes a little deeper than that, after all, the definition says those who do brave and noble deeds. Bravery can mean sacraficing life to help another. But noble deeds can mean a number of things.

After all, can't your teacher be a hero? How about your mom? How about a pastor? The everyday person can be a hero. If so, why not an inmate?

"Because they broke law"

And who made YOU God?

The worst part of mankind is our stupidity to think that a fallen person is pure evil, and incabable of doing good. That gets me upset when I see and read this on sites and on tv.

But the fact is that inmates CAN be heros, if nowhere else but in that pit of hell. I think even God has to acknowledge that, because supposedly He is supposed to love everyone, and wishes to leave anyone without hope.

If God is supposed to hear all prayers, I am sure his email messeges are overflowing with prayer requests from inmates...heck, I know I FLOODED HIS BOX WITH MANY!

Prison itself is a form of hell, no doubt about it, but it is not THE hell. It is still part of humanity, and as such has to have people there who are trying to do right. Yes Virginia, there ARE heros in prison.

Then who are they?

If you ask me, then you are asking me for guys that made prison not so bad, guys that gave me a little bit of hope. One of the first may have been my cell mate while at Pasquotank Correctional, who happened to live in the very town I lived in.

Why do I consider him a hero? Well, I am basing this on the definition, noble deeds. This guy was no angel, but he talked me around prison itself, letting me know the ins and outs of it. He looked out for me with a snack or two, when I had no money coming in. That might not mean a hill of beans to you, but it meant everything to me.

There was another guy at another camp, who was a good friend to talk to, not a guy that you'd think would be in prison...but I heard that 1000000000 times myself about me.

Noble deeds to me can mean instilling hope and faith. Not so much the religious faith, just the belief that things can get better, or today doesn't have to be so bad if you find things to look forward to. Those kinda of guys were my unoffical heros; they kept me going on.

But I say that because I have been given warm compliments myself while in prison. It's like one guy said about me, "it's hard to be upset around you". But it can only be given if you have it. If I felt absolutely miserable all the time, I would have no energy to encourage others. Trust me, if you read "Grades of Honor", you would know how I felt then.

But then, we can't fool ourselves to think that heros don't have problems. Superman has his problems, Batman has his problems, Spiderman has his problems, every hero has problems. If so for SUPERheros, why not for normal men and women.

Are there heros in prison...there better be, or society is doomed with what is coming out of prison today. That is not to say that every person coming out of prison is a "good guy" (but that can't be applied to society either). But you get out of prison what is put in. Since society has turned a deaf ear to inmates, the help must come from inside. I think that is what God has done, finding souls that will be there to help others, and sometimes it takes a like mind to help someone.

Funny, it's the last place you'd expect to see hero.

You ask the question: “Why can’t an inmate be considered a hero by society?” and I will attempt to give some answers. First my opinion: I know that an inmate can be a hero! There are good guys who have gone into and will come out of prison.

 I just left an online discussion on the stereotypes of Bad Boy vs. Good Boy and a lot of what people think seemed so superficial and media- driven at first glance. One woman’s opinion was that the qualities that make men independent thinkers, trendsetters, risk takers, natural leaders are usually possessed by bad boys and that "good guys" are usually trying to maintain the status quo while she says f*ck the system! [Sorry, all my Wall Street Traders, entrepreneurs, inventors and generally good, smart, and innovative guys this includes you I guess. ;)] Another stated “To me a good boy is always nice, backs down from conflict, and in general is weak.”  Yet, it is my opinion that these women are speaking from the mating standpoint. No woman wants a wimp, yet the methodology of handling problems was what landed our men in prison. So I’m going to defend my answer on the societal view. A Bad Boy tries to get double the return but quicker results using shortcuts on the other side of the law, because he tricks himself into thinking he can deal with the repercussions and consequences.
 So I am going to say that: A Good Boy has and does what needs to be done on the good side of the law for himself, his family and society. So a bad boy must learn to take all his skills and apply them on the good side of the law and take his time and become a GOOD MAN. He can’t do this by listening to want society says about ex-criminals or inmates or allowing society to define him and confine him to a stereotype. So you AH, have hit the nail on the head. This society would be doomed if we didn't have inmates who were heroes.When we mature and go through things inside and outside of confinement, we should become humble and false pride should be broken. Some prisoners will not get it but for those who do like you, there is the hope for society because too many of our men are incarcerated, labeled and disenfranchised by society’s laws and opinions. It’s going to take one to help one because political leaders have proven to advocate the building of more prisons than more schools. If you are a felon, then you don’t even have the right to vote to change your world but your money is demanded for taxes or you go back to jail. Those who benefit from the unfairness of the system are not going to fight it for you, it is called the principle of the least interested. Many of them are Bad Men with power, prestige, and hard hearts. . They are the ones who keep the status quo; it is in their best interest. They also cover the fact that many of them commit white collar crimes to do this. ENRON, WATERGATE, etc, etc… I know we can name hundreds of those men who when they go to prison, they still live in the manner in which they are accustomed at our expense. So men who go in and allow God to truly rehabilitate them are my heroes! Most come out and  reach out to help others when he sees them struggling with some of the same issues that he struggled with. Mentors can’t and don’t always have clean records. If they did, we wouldn’t have you JP, or others who are going to come to do their part to overhaul this corrupt system.