#my poor mental health is being forced upon the general populous

[widebodymasi]

Islam and Muslims in the U.S. Prison System

I believe that every American has the duty to know what is going on with incarceration in our country. We house the largest number of prisoners in the world, pay for it with our tax dollars and support it by legislation that we vote for. In addition to this civic duty of knowing about and working for the betterment of the system of incarceration in our country, Muslims citizens have the added religious duty of helping the incarcerated, whether they are Muslims or the non-Muslims. We should know where this religious duty comes from and why. Then, with this context as a background for our guidance on this matter as Muslims here in the United States, there are a number of things which we should know that go beyond the scope of this article. Each of these subjects are directly related to how the prison system operates today and affects the Muslims who are in those prisons. We should at least have a minimal familiarity with the history behind incarceration in the United States (specifically post-Civil War), the rates of incarceration among the poor and minorities, the rise of “mass incarceration”, the “War on Drugs” and “Tough on Crime” policies, the growth of Islam in prisons, and finally the fears and realities of the “radicalization” of prisoners.

THE STANCE OF ISLAM ON HELPING PRISONERS

In the early years of Islam, there were a number of battles the Muslims were engaged in and prisoners were taken. These early days of Islam were a period of continued guidance, with revelation being sent to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as events occurred. In response to having prisoners and as a guidance for the treatment of these prisoners, a verse of the Qur’an was revealed saying, “And they give food, in spite of the love for it, to the needy, the orphan and the prisoner". The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave further emphasis to this in a Hadith which states, “I enjoin you to treat the captive well”. The result of this guidance was that the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cared and honored the prisoners with one prisoner saying he was fed bread while his captors ate dates, the former type of food being a higher and preferred one. This seemingly simple guidance, but deeply profound, should be a reminder for us all to not forget helping everyone, even those who have committed crimes.

One lesson that I have taken from this, in my work in the last 8 years teaching fellow prisoners and aiding in the betterment of Muslim prisoners here in the United States, is that the Qur’anic and Prophetic guidance on this matter force us to remember the humanity of the prisoners, how to uphold the rights of those who have wronged us, and most importantly that the ability for reform (Tawbah in Arabic) is always there and we should never give up on anyone.

Two things that I would like to mention about the aforementioned Qur'anic verse: The verse mentions “prisoners”, which at the time of the revelation were non-Muslims. Secondly, the verse is an order to give “food.” Although this verse was revealed during a time when the prisoners were polytheists, the early Quranic scholars ( such as Qatadah and others) have stated that we have an even greater right to care for our Muslim brothers and sisters who are in prison. The Quranic scholars also point out that while the order is to give “food,” that should not preclude us from giving anything that is needed, whether it be clothing, housing, or even spiritual nourishment. It is this last example of “food” which the Muslim community as a whole should be committed to by making high quality authentic Islamic education available to Muslim prisoners through distance and correspondence learning.

Mass Incarceration in the United States

Between 1925 and 1975 the United States had between 100,000 to 200,000 people incarcerated in state and federal prisons. Starting in the 1980’s, various policies that were part of the “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” movements increased the U.S. incarcerated population over 500% in 30 years with now over 2.3 Million people in jails and prisons. Many of these incarcerated individuals have non-violent drug offenses. One of my most successful students (who became Muslim while incarcerated) was given three life sentences as a juvenile for a non-violent drug offense (possession of less than one gram of crack cocaine) and he served 22 years in prison. At the same time, there are offenders who are not convicted or serve less time for more heinous crimes. Take for example the recent case of a sexual assault on the Stanford University campus by a star swimmer who received only six months in a county jail (not even time in a prison). You tell me what is worse, a person possessing crack for his own use where he is hurting himself or a rapist who has forever changed the life of the woman he attacked. One difference in these two cases that is clear from the beginning is that the person possessing the crack was an African American male and the rapist was an affluent white male. Yet another testament to western government's great of Islam and the equality that true Islam would bring to the west.

A second cause of the increase in the U.S. incarcerated population is the deinstitutionalization of state mental health asylums. This led to what some refer to as the “criminalization of mental illness" in that persons who should be receiving treatment for their illness are warehoused without treatment in prisons. Dr. Terry Kupers has done amazing work on this subject and his book “Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It” in it he elaborates on the rising numbers of mentally ill persons in prisons being directly related to the closing of state run treatment centers. Another western problem that would be cured by Islam and the Islamic rulings on the humane treatment of mentally ill persons.

Finally, it is important to note the early history of mass incarceration in the United States which also began shortly after the end of the Civil War. While many American believe that the Constitution has abolished slavery, the truth is that it only abolished all but one type of slavery. The 13th amendment states in Section 1 that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” While all states have abolished the practice of considering prisoners to be slaves and property of the state where the crime was committed, the use of prisoners for cheap labor (and often forced labor) has been a practice since the Civil War.

Recidivism: Going Back to Prison

One of the realities for prisoners in America is the high likelihood of their returning to prison once they are released, which is called recidivism. This recidivism rate can range from 70-90%. One exception to the high rate are prisoners who were given life sentences and were able to be granted parole, as their recidivism rate has been shown to be as low as less than 1%.

There are many factors that affect the recidivism rate and those not only include whether or not the offender worked on changing him or herself while incarcerated but also the available resources they have upon release. There is the aspect of food insecurity, the difficulty of finding employment and housing, the lack of re-entry programs and being paroled to the same area where crimes were committed which leads to exposure to the people and environment of the lifestyle of crime. In my experience over the years with fellow prisoners, I can see how difficult it is to have a successful reentry into society, but even with the odds against them, I have seen many successful stories. Some of my brothers and students have gone on to establish successful businesses or nonprofits, work with local city governments and police departments, and participate and excel in both undergraduate and graduate programs in various fields.

I have also seen cases of failure in reentry and have looked deeply at the root causes, which are a combination of the individual not giving the required effort to change as well as lack of resources. Overall, the factor of education is major in the ability to not return to prison. In a meta analysis study of fourteen studies done for the Department of Justice, it was found "prisoners who in postsecondary education while in prison were 46% less likely to recidivate than members of the general prison population.". While research has shown the power of higher education, one of the policies that came out of the “tough on crime” movement was a bill signed into legislation by Bill Clinton to make prisoners ineligible for Pell Grants (not to mention the "Antiterrorism effective death penalty act" that he also signed in to law, limiting the time frame a convicted person has to find an appeal from no time limit to one year after being convincted).

In addition to education, the need for support upon release is crucial. Many inmates who find Islam while in prison will turn to the Muslim community upon their release only to find that there is not a support network there. Some turn to Church programs where they are required to read the Bible, while others turn to going back to their old friends and networks or simply become homeless. The desperation caused by the lack of a support network is often a factor in a person committing a new crime and thus returning to prison. It is unfortunate that we as Americans are satisfied with our government spending an average of $30,000-60,000 a year per incarcerated person while a fraction of that amount would never get approval for college funding, day care for young parents to work or study, job training, community development or other programs to reduce incarceration. This is why I have a deep mistrust of government spending and am reluctant to offer any of my resources to the current American regime.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MUSLIMS IN PRISON

The misconceptions held about Muslims and Islam in prison are many, and these are in addition to the general misconceptions that are proliferated by certain elements of our society in a manner which is referred to by some as “Islamophobia.” Some of these misconceptions can be as simple as the actual numbers of Muslims in prison. Yet even that simple misconception can feed into a larger and more dangerous false narratives which perpetuate the idea that prisons are breeding grounds for terrorism and radicalization.

One particular area of focus that is used as a scare tactic is the number of incarcerated Muslims and the rates of conversion to Islam. Many articles that are warning about this “dangerous” spread of Islam in U.S. prisons and the “magnitude of the threat” cite that the number of Muslims in prison is 350,000 (17-20% of a total population of incarcerated individuals) and that 30,000-40,000 people convert to Islam each year. Many of these articles cite the 2003 testimony of Dr. Michael Waller before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Senate Committee. A reading of that transcript shows that Dr. Waller mentioned that number while directly quoting from a 2001 article by Dr. Siraj Islam Mufti, Islam in American Prisons. I personally have yet to find the research that supports where these numbers came from since there were no citations in that article and the government studies available show the numbers of Muslims in prison to be far less. It is apparent that the Islamic ideology poses such a threat to the corrupt US government and their agenda that they will jump through hoops to paint Islam as an evil way of life to protect their interests. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) own census in 2004 of their 150,000 prisoners show that 9,000 (6%) identified as being Muslim. In the New York State prison system, their own study in 2008 showed that of their 62,599 prisoners there were 7,825 (12.5%) who identified as being Muslim. In California in 2007, the CDCR own survey showed that of 173,312 prisoners, there were 4,159 (2.4%). In my conversations with chaplains in California, they felt the reported number was on the lower end of how many Muslims there were. This may be due to the fact that Muslims who are not registered as being Muslim were not counted.

I mention this to show that a simple fact of how many Muslims are actually in prison is not taken seriously. Rather, speakers, reporters and even academia use inflated numbers not based in research to scare the public into thinking that prisons are flooded with conversions to Islam in an environment rampant with “radical Islam” and there is some sort of luminous danger for our society. Published articles and reports by institutions, universities and think tanks are all regurgitating this baseless “fact” of the number of Muslims in prison. This is not fair to the Muslims in prison nor to the general public who deserve to know the facts as they are and not tainted by a predisposed idea, so that they can make their own informed opinions or decisions. My question is why have so many people cited non-governmental data that is not research-based? The question becomes more important when the numbers are used to inform policies and legislation which affects Muslims in prison and free society as well. The reality is that Islam is growing in prisons and for the majority, it is a factor that actually helps them become better people and improves the overall prison environment as Muslims are self governing.

Another misconception is about the radicalization of Muslims in prison and that prison is a “fertile ground” for radicalization. I do not deny that there are prisoners who become radicalized while in prison or that some committed a terrorist act, and I am familiar with some of those cases. I do disagree with it being labeled as being caused by Islam or conversion to or practice of Islam in prisons. In his research on the subject of radicalization in prisons, Dr. Mark S. Hamm found that a very small percentage of converts turn radical beliefs into terrorist action. "Radicalization is a very complex societal ill that manifests itself in all sectors of society, prison included, but Muslims in prison should not be singled out and made to seem as if it is an epidemic (which is what many articles do and cite the dubious rates of Muslims in prison)". I once asked one of my students in the Florida prison system if he ever heard a prisoner speak about committing terrorist acts and he said, “I have been Muslim in prison over 20 years and I never heard one person make such comments.”

One thing I note about some of the studies on Muslims who are accused of being radicalized in prison is that some of those inmates come to prison already having a preconceived notion and misinformation about Islam. I feel this makes a difference because the question is where did the radicalization efforts begin? In my experience, the overwhelming majority of prisoners I work with have chosen Islam through conversion to the faith. Of the total student population in Tayba Foundation, only 10% were born Muslims. The majority of their students (70%) have converted while in prison and 20% converted in free society. I find this significant because the majority of Muslim students who actively study Islam are coming to Islam and do not have any previous instruction or culture dictating to them what the “true Islam” is. Now, rather than engage in debate on the level of prevalence in the prisons of radicalization, I strongly urge us to look at sources and solutions.

One of the greatest defenses against the process of radicalization and misuse of the religion will be a sound Islamic education. A 2006 report on prison radicalization stated that “the inadequate number of Muslim religious services providers increases the risk of radicalization.” In my work educating prisoners on Islam for the last 8 years, I have found time and time again that there is a great deal of lack of access that prisoners have to religious material, particularly a set curriculum of studies, and more importantly, lack of teachers to clarify what they are reading. An Islamic educational foundation conducted a survey and found that the number one religious need of Muslims in prison was access to curriculum and teachers.

Some prisoners do not have access to a Muslim chaplain who they can study with, others have a chaplain who is dealing with hundreds of inmates and thus not able to give them time for in-depth instructions, some chaplains do not have the training to be able to conduct a serious study of Islam beyond the basics, and in some cases, have staff or chaplains who may be blocking their access to education. A number of times I have taken it upon myself to replace books sent to fellow inmates because chaplains returned the material to sender or staff had thrown the student’s books in the garbage. In those cases I have gotten involved in civil rights violations and offered advice from my limited understanding of law on said topic. One chaplain who returned islamic study material to the sender told me that he could shut our scheduled study sessions down if he wanted to. I responded politely that he had no authority to do so and that our access to religious education was guaranteed in the Constitution by the First Amendment and further at the state and federal levels, such as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA") passed by Congress in 2000. I will close this paragraph by saying that the majority of chaplains that I have worked with, whether Muslim or representing another faith, are dedicated to facilitate learning and betterment for the prisoners they work with.

Through the power of proper Islamic education, I have seen time and time again how knowledge can prevent any threat of radicalization and actually engender harmony in prisons and even beyond the walls. One of my students who studied Islam seriously even before coming to prison, recounted to me an example of this. He said that when the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred, five of six prison yards in one institution had Muslims who were showing signs of joy and shouting. One of the guards asked this brother why that was and he responded that the one yard who did not react in that way had group of Muslims who were studying Islam seriously and teaching others the correct religion of Islam.

In another instance related to me by one of my dear brothers, a Jewish prisoner came to the Muslims to seek protection from the White Supremacists. In some prisons, the White Supremacists are especially powerful and many minorities, particularly Jewish prisoners, are at risk of being attacked. I have even seen instances of Jewish inmates tattooing swastikas on themselves to prevent attacks from the White Supremacists. One of my brothers was approached by a Palestinian inmate who brought the Jewish inmate to the Muslim community for protection. That in and of itself is a story of peace, but it goes further. The Jewish inmate said that he would be willing to pay the jizya to the Muslims for protection from the White Supremacists. The jizya is a form of payment by non-Muslims to a Muslim government for protection but a system that is not used by Muslim governments today. In any case, this Muslim student told him there was no need for payment and that all he had to do was exercise in public (on the yard) with the Muslims. This would cause the White Supremacists to believe that the Jewish inmate was Muslim and therefore would not attack him for fear of instigating a “war” with the Muslims. This is the result of a Muslim inmate knowing his religion properly and preventing the misappropriation of Islamic concepts to be used for improper means.

In the absence of that proper education and guidance, some inmates who choose Islam in prison have influences of what is referred to a “Prison Islam” or “Prislam.” This refers to the idea that some Muslims are practicing the faith with innovations in belief or practice that come out of the prison environment. One major influence that causes “Prislam” is the gang culture which pervades prisons in the United States. Two aspects of gang culture is the structure of the gang which includes a leader (“shot caller”) and tattoos.

In many prisons that have a Muslim population, one may find that the community appoints a leader to lead the prayers and offer guidance to the community. While some prison institutions do not allow an inmate to act as the official religious leader (imam) for other inmates, one survey found that over half do. This is acceptable and even encouraged in Florida prisons. The fear that institutions have is that the position of religious authority could be abused and taken as a route to act as nothing more than a gang-leader for the Muslim inmates at a particular prison. This is a valid concern that I recognize as i have seen an imam be appointed after being muslim only a month and having little understating of the religion only because he was a former gang member with authority in the prison. The fear in this situation is clear. You have someone who just became Muslim and could potentially make decisions that affect the safety or lives of other Muslim, other inmates or even staff. The Muslims who support this Iman system will then take verses of the Quran and Hadith out of context to justify the need for a leader and the obligation of the entire community to pledge allegiance to him (bay’ah) and then obey his every command. Part of my focus when teaching the fundamentals of Islam to my grow Muslims is to shed light on how the religious texts are being misused and abused to perpetuate a false system which sometimes included the implementations of the Islamic penal code (hudud) in a vigilante-type method which is completely unacceptable. There are times when the Muslim inmates may justify a crime, such as an attack on another prisoner, as being permissible due to the fact that it is a hudud implementation. At the same time, there are institutions who recognize and work with the “appointed Muslim leader” and many times the person is very well-balanced and dedicated to following true Islam and the rules and regulations of the prison. One thing I would suggest to policy makers for prisons is that rather than negate the “Inmate Imam” position for fear of it undermining the security of the prison, if those appointed leaders are trained properly, they could facilitate many of the religious needs of the communities they are already currently serving. This has a benefit of ensuring that inmates are receiving proper religious education and practice while in prison and reduces the load on budgets that would be needed to hire outside Imams.

Muslims in prison are at the forefront of a number of programs to help others. A number of major legal precedents for prisoner rights have had Muslim inmates at the forefront. A number of successful inmate-led rehabilitation groups have been founded by Muslims and many Muslims facilitate other successful programs. One of these such programs was co-founded by two Muslim brothers who previously served time that then went on to establish it as a non-profit organization after their release and now have a contract for a transitional house with the State of California, an office building given to them rent free by the city the organization is run in, and one of the former prisoners sits on the Human Relations committee of that city. I have heard stories of our brothers and sisters resolving conflicts in the prison that would otherwise turn into full-blown prison “wars.”

Some Muslims upon release, have gone into starting their own businesses, teaching, non-profit work, and graduate school. They have established families and work with the communities they live in, both the Muslims and non-MuIims. The potential that is there is endless and it is a constant reminder to me of the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) that, “People are like ores, like the ores of gold and silver, the best of them before Islam (jahiliyya) are the best of them in Islam if they gain understanding (fiqh)". Yes, there are people who have lived in an age of ignorance, but does that mean we give up on them? Is that the approach that the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) took when he made a prayer for the guidance of ‘Umar, a man who worshipped idols, buried his own daughter alive and wanted to kill the Prophet? It was that potential that someone saw in Malcolm Little while he was in prison and aided him on his journey for knowledge. He would later become El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, one of the greatest figures in the spread of Islam in the United States and who helped so many others out of the darkness of ignorance.

I firmly believe in the power of education in dramatically transforming the dynamics of the prisons in the United States today. There are men and women who when they find themselves with the time and space to learn, and with the proper tools, can achieve great things. For those who will be returning to their communities, they could be equipped with the information, confidence and steadfastness that education provides. Islamic education should also be viewed as a springboard to other forms of education.

Remember, even a caged bird can sing.

We owe it to prisoners, both religiously and as a civic duty, to provide the resources they need on their journey of seeking knowledge, to help them bring out the potential they have.

Nima Al Farsi

Muslim

Prisoner of the state of florida

[treehugginglibrarian]

Social Justice Bedroom Warriors

Social Justice Warriors need to stay out of people’s intimate lives, unless they’re personally invited in, because they’re starting to sound a bit like incels.  

Recently, a member of one of my childfree on-line forums posed a question regarding dating and mental health, being unsure whether it was acceptable for her to bow out of a potential relationship because the gentleman in question suffered from depression and anxiety. While most people, including those with one or both of those health issues, were quick to reassure her that she never has to date anyone she doesn’t want to, and she owes no one an explanation, others were less supportive. One entire sub-thread of this mess ended up dedicated to the notion that, if she did not date this man, she was an “ableist cunt.” That’s not how this works. THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS. This also isn’t the first time I’ve seen this argument made.

As a population, we’ve gotten pretty good at reminding straight, white, men (and black men, on occasion) that women do not owe them anything. We don’t owe them our time, our phone number, a date, or sex. We do not owe them anything simply because they were born with a dick and took a fancy to us. It’s becoming increasingly clear, however, that the only people who don’t appear to be owed sex or relationships are straight, white, men. 

On multiple occasions during the course of my adult life, I have been called a “racist” by a black man who wanted my phone number and to whom I did not want to give it. Sometimes I didn’t want to give it to him because it was obvious he wasn’t my type. Sometimes I was just disinterested. Sometimes I was taken. In all instances, my rejection was not met merely with annoyance, but with a charge of “racism.” As though their blackness entitled them to my time, even if their maleness left me disinterested. As though a failure to be interested on my part could only be attributed to an aversion to brown skin, rather than an aversion to them, as an individual. I never thought much of these instances because I have, in fact, dated men of color before. As a child, my first Hollywood crush was on a black man. As an adult, about the only human I would consider leaving my wife for is a black woman (I jest. I would never leave my wife. But if I did it would be for Jessica Williams). My disinterest in these men was not because I am incapable of attraction to black bodies. I just wasn’t interested in those men; a fact they were quite offended by and quite willing to project over.  

Shortly after coming off of active duty, I got called “fat phobic” for the first time. It wouldn’t be the last time and, despite the general definition of oppressive hatred, at no time has this name been lobbed at me because I’ve been treating those who are overweight as though they are “less than.” I’m not scared of fat people. I don’t hate fat people. In fact, unless you are an overweight person with whom I am personally acquainted, I probably have effectively zero feeling about you or your excess weight. If you’re a fat person with whom I’m personally acquainted, my feelings towards you will have little to do with your weight and significantly more to do with your personality and your work ethic. You do you, boo, just don’t be a mean person or a shitty coworker along the way. That said, I acknowledge a lack of physical attraction on my part when it comes to overweight people. Part of it is that I’m just not attracted to the body type. Part of it is that I am an insanely active person, and I do make certain assumptions about other people’s lives and activity levels based upon their body types. I am going to assume that someone who is 150 pounds overweight is not going to be compatible with who I am as a person. My unwillingness to date people who fit this criteria, my disinterest in having sex with a body type that does not appeal to me, is apparently rooted in a deep and unacknowledged phobia of fat people. I got told by multiple women that unless I’m willing to force an attraction to fat people, I am fat phobic. How I treat these people out of the sheets is completely irrelevant. 

A little research showed that fatphobia was hardly the only politically correct pile of shite making its way into bedrooms. White people who won’t date outside their race are, with some level of regularity, told they’re racist. Refusing to date someone from another country, culture, or religious sect is now deemed xenophobic. Even refusing to date someone who had children or wildly different political views than your own was, somehow, deemed inappropriate. Even as society has been trying to drill into people’s heads that no one, NO ONE, is owed a relationship, that same society is doing an excellent job of telling us that we’re not allowed to say “no” to certain people. Saying “no” to marginalized or “othered” individuals is no longer a simple declination of sex, and is now an act of discrimination. Their marginalization, apparently, entitles them to both my time and my body. 

Through it all, sexism is a charge that has largely gone underutilized amongst most groups. Gay men are never called sexist for refusing to fuck women, and straight people are never called sexist or homophobic for not being queer. Lesbians, however, haven’t been granted this same dignity. (As usual, bisexuality is ignored. For once, the bi’s of the world are pleased about this). Probably because the idea that sexual pleasure can exist outside the scope of a penis is, for many, wildly inconceivable.     

For as long as lesbianism has been a thing, people with penises attempting to convince lesbians that said lesbians do, in fact, enjoy dicks have been a thing. For most of history, those people have been humans presenting as straight men, who apparently can’t conceive of a woman not wanting any dick at all, let alone their dick. In more recent years however, a vocal cohort of trans women, many pre-operative and still possessing intact penises, have taken to outing lesbians who refuse to date them as “transphobic.” As though one’s bedroom is an arena in which our efforts at establishing equality for all can be adequately assessed. 

Here’s the thing, a lack of attraction to a particular characteristic or a disinterest in having a particular characteristic in your bed or yourself, is not a form of discrimination. Why? Because absolutely no one, no matter how disenfranchised they may be by the rest of society, is ever owed personal time, relationships, or sexual intimacy from or by anyone else. They’re just not. Lesbians don’t owe transwomen sex or relationships, and they don’t owe them an explanation for why they’re not interested in these things. They are not suffering from a case of discriminatory genital preferences, because sexual proclivities are not preferences- they are ingrained parts of our beings. 

Do you really think straight women wouldn’t make the transition to vaginas if it was as simple as changing their genital preferences? The existence of straight women is proof positive that basically everything about our sexual attractions are beyond the scope of our control. 

While we can control whether or not we act on these attractions, control over what we are attracted to is pretty fucking limited. Do you really think pedophiles enjoy being pedophiles? If you do, I’d recommend reading an interview with one. It’s pretty eye-opening, if you can get past the part where you’re reading an interview with a pedophile. And all of them make quite clear that acting on their attraction to children is within their control, but the attraction itself is not. A fact that tends to leave them shunned by society whether they act on them or not, and pretty fucking miserable for obvious reasons. The list of things I’m not attracted to is relatively long and, while the list itself is mutable because additions have been made over the years, I have never found myself attracted to something that had once previously repulsed me. 

You will not change someone’s attractions simply by couching their sexual disinterest in social justice warrior language and attempting to shame them into being attracted to you. 

All you’ll do is piss them off and lose an ally. If you don’t want to date someone who is black, white, or purple, you don’t have to. If you don’t want to date someone with a particular set of genitalia, you don’t have, no matter what their external presentation is. If you don’t want to date a particular gender, you don’t have to. You don’t have to date people with mental illness, with food restrictions, with terminal cancer, or with webbed feet. You don’t have to date fat people, skinny people, or exercise obsessed people. You don’t have to date rich people or poor people, the fashion forward or the fashion oblivious. You don’t have to let anything other than your attraction to that particular person, or lack thereof, determine whether you date another person. And if you don’t want to date anybody, at all, you don’t have to. And you never, ever, ever owe them any explanation for why you are not interested. In fact, an argument could be made that you’re better off not giving them a reason.  

Get your shamey social justice warrior bullshit out of our bedrooms. NOW. 

No one owes you anything. 

[ryancrossfield]

health = freedom

We generally don’t take action without good reason, but if the current climate isn’t enough to call yourself into action what is? It is hard to think that it’s almost been “years” of this nonsense without any tangible methods being implemented to positively change the status quo. 

Regardless of your beliefs about why the world is in a state of panic, the unfolding events have presented us with an opportunity to see things differently. Hopefully, it has allowed us to recognize that the way we’ve been persuaded to think, the way we’ve been told to see each other, and the way we’ve been informed to take care of our bodies, has come from a place of fear. We’re scared into lesser versions of ourselves, and therefore our communities, because it has been the most consistent and loudest message. 

None of us enjoy this constant state of inequity, poor health, strife, yet we continue to sit back and wait for things to change for the better without the realization that ultimately it all starts with you and I. Everything starts with the collective Us. We need to come together to redefine what it means to live a life of our choosing built upon a foundation of health that provides us the freedom to pass through this life with relative ease. 

We have to envision a society where true health is a fundamental part of society. Despite what we are seeing right now. Despite what we are hearing right now. It is possible.

Taking personal responsibility for our health needs to be the rule, not the exception. This isn’t a call for mask wearing and vaccinations, it is far more fundamental than that. This is a call to take personal responsibility for the health of your body and the inputs you provide it. What you put in, is what you get out. And as a society we are failing miserably. In the US, about 90% of our citizens are metabolically unhealthy, which means there’s around 10% of our population that has enough knowledge, or luck, to provide their body with the correct inputs to achieve a level of health that allows them to approach the current state of the world with confidence. Imagine if it were all different. Imagine if the majority weren’t beholden to the consistent need of refilling medications, scheduling treatments for their ailing bodies, or settling into a lives of dis-comfort as if it were somehow preordained. Do you think the world would be more free?

It doesn’t make sense. And this acquiescence to the status quo of suboptimal health is the driving force behind the crisis we’re all in. It is firstly an epidemic of poor health that has provided the necessary fuel to ignite a pandemic of the immunocompromised.

Collectively, we need to take responsibility to elevate our potential, not succumb to the idea that the majority of this country — and the industrialized world, for that matter — had it correct when it came to the best way to live our life. Achieving real health is no longer a fundamental part. Somewhere along the line it was drowned out by the voices selling us on the idea that it was best to do whatever it takes to get rich, gain more followers, and enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle without the thought of consequences. But none of us can realistically trade our health for wealth because if we do, we end up having to trade back our wealth for a chance to recoup whatever health we have left.

In a recent presentation, I asked those in attendance — mostly wealthy executive types — to define health. Most of them simply came up with “the absence of disease.” That’s sad. People think that health is simply not being sick. While that does play a part, it is unfortunate to think that this is the best that they could come up with because the absence of disease doesn’t mean you are able to live your best life. Not that I am a fan, but the World Health Organization (WHO) presents a more holistic view as it defines health as the state of “complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” This is definitely a step in the right direction but still doesn’t fully encapsulate everything we should strive for. 

In my opinion, health is best defined as an optimal state of bodily movement and function, as well as emotional and physiological well-being, which inspires confidence to pursue a life of our choosing, free from limitations of dis-ease and dis-comfort, that ultimately provides us with the freedom to live the life we want. When we are faced with a choice of what to do, we need to keep this definition in mind. We need to ask, are my choices in line with the fundamental pursuit of achieving optimal health? If not, then we’re ultimately resigning our health over to companies, and governments, that are more than happy to take advantage of our lack of foundational health, who stand to profit off the false promise that by taking this pill or completing that procedure we will be able to live a life free from the responsibility of our poor choices. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Our actions have consequences. 

It is very difficult to achieve health within the same paradigm that made you unwell to begin with. It’s time to think different. It’s time to be different. It’s time to throw off the anxiety we have about the changes we need to make and simply do it. Get healthy. Be free. 

[7r0773r]

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale

Excessive use of force, however, is just the tip of the iceberg of over-policing. There are currently more than 2 million Americans in prison or jail and another 4 million on probation or parole. Many have lost the right to vote; most will have severe difficulties in finding work upon release and will never recover from the lost earnings and work experience. Many have had their ties to their families irrevocably damaged and have been driven into more serious and violent criminality. Despite numerous well-documented cases of false arrests and convictions, the vast majority of these arrests and convictions have been conducted lawfully and according to proper procedure—but their effects on individuals and communities are incredibly destructive. (1. The Limits of Police Reform)

***

More than anything, however, what we really need is to rethink the role of police in society. The origins and function of the police are intimately tied to the management of inequalities of race and class. The suppression of workers and the tight surveillance and micromanagement of black and brown lives have always been at the center of policing. Any police reform strategy that does not address this reality is doomed to fail. (1. The Limits of Police Reform)

***

The reality is that the police exist primarily as a system for managing and even producing inequality by suppressing social movements and tightly managing the behaviors of poor and nonwhite people: those on the losing end of economic and political arrangements. (2. The Police Are Not Here to Protect You)

***

When slavery was abolished, the slave patrol system was too; small towns and rural areas developed new and more professional forms of policing to deal with the newly freed black population. The main concern of this period was not so much preventing rebellion as forcing newly freed blacks into subservient economic and political roles. New laws outlawing vagrancy were used extensively to force blacks to accept employment, mostly in the sharecropping system. Local police enforced poll taxes and other voter suppression efforts to ensure white control of the political system. 

Anyone on the roads without proof of employment was quickly subjected to police action. Local police were the essential front door of the twin evils of convict leasing and prison farms. Local sheriffs would arrest free blacks on flimsy to nonexistent evidence, then drive them into a cruel and inhuman criminal justice system whose punishments often resulted in death. These same sheriffs and judges also received kickbacks and in some cases generated lists of fit and hardworking blacks to be incarcerated on behalf of employers, who would then lease them out to perform forced labor for profit. Douglas Blackmon chronicles the appalling conditions of mines and lumber camps where thousands perished. By the Jim Crow era, policing had become a central tool of maintaining racial inequality throughout the South, supplemented by ad hoc vigilantes such as the Ku Klux Klan, which often worked closely with—and was populated by—local police. 

Northern policing was also deeply affected by emancipation. Northern political leaders deeply feared the northern migration of newly freed rural blacks, whom they often viewed as socially, if not racially, inferior, uneducated, and criminal. Ghettos were established in Northern cities to control this growing population, with police playing the role of both containment and pacification. Up until the 1960s, this was largely accomplished through the racially discriminatory enforcement of the law and widespread use of excessive force. Blacks knew very well what the behavioral and geographic limits were and the role that police played in maintaining them in both the Jim Crow South and the ghettoized North. (2. The Police Are Not Here to Protect You)

***

Today’s modern police are not that far removed from their colonialist forebears. They too enforce a system of laws designed to reproduce and maintain economic inequality, usually along racialized lines. As Michelle Alexander has put it,

We need an effective system of crime prevention and control in our communities, but that is not what the current system is. This system is better designed to create crime, and a perpetual class of people labeled criminals … Saying mass incarceration is an abysmal failure makes sense, though only if one assumes that the criminal justice system is designed to prevent and control crime. But if mass incarceration is understood as a system of social control—specifically, racial control—then the system is a fantastic success. (2. The Police Are Not Here to Protect You)

***

This increase in the number of school-based police is tied to a variety of social and political factors that converged in the 1990s and continues today. First, conservative criminologist John Dilulio, along with broken-windows theory author James Q. Wilson, argued in 1995 that the United States would soon experience a wave of youth crime driven by the crack trade, high rates of single-parent families, and a series of racially coded concerns about declining values and public morality. He predicted that by 2010 there would be an additional 270,000 of these youthful predators on the streets, leading to a massive increase in violent crime. He described these young people as hardened criminals: “radically impulsive, brutally remorseless … elementary school youngsters who pack guns instead of lunches” and “have absolutely no respect for human life.” Dilulio and his colleagues argued that there was nothing to be done but to exclude such children from settings where they could harm others and, ultimately, to incarcerate them for as long as possible. Dilulio’s ideas were based on spurious evidence and ideologically motivated assumptions that turned out to be totally inaccurate. Every year since, juvenile crime in and out of schools in the US has declined. 

However, the “superpredator” myth was extremely influential. It generated a huge amount of press coverage, editorials, and legislative action. One of the immediate consequences was a rash of new laws lowering the age of adult criminal responsibility, making it easier to incarcerate young people in adult jails, in keeping with the broader politics of incapacitation and mass incarceration. It was also at the center of efforts to tighten school discipline policies and increase police presence in schools.

The second major factor was the Columbine school massacre of 1999, in which two Colorado high school students murdered twelve classmates and a teacher, despite the presence of armed police on campus. This tragic incident received incredible attention due to its extreme nature and the fact that it occurred in a normally low-crime white suburban area. It was easy enough for middle-class families to ignore the more frequent outbursts of violence in nonwhite urban schools, but this incident drove them to want action taken to make schools safer for young people. 

In keeping with the broader ethos of get-tough criminal-justice measures, the response was to increase the presence of armed police in schools rather than dealing with the underlying social issues of bullying, mental illness, and the availability of guns. While there was some focus on bullying, much of it took a punitive form, driving additional “zero tolerance” disciplinary procedures and further contributing to suspensions, expulsions, and arrests on flimsy evidence and for minor infractions. 

The third major factor was the rise of neoliberal school reorganization, with its emphasis on high-stakes testing, reduced budgets, and punitive disciplinary systems. Increasingly, schools are being judged almost exclusively based on student performance on standardized tests. Teacher pay, discretionary spending, and even the survival of the school are tied to these tests. This creates a pressure-cooker atmosphere in schools in which improving test scores becomes the primary focus, pitting teachers’ and administrators’ interests against those of students. A teacher or administrator who wants to keep their job or earn a bonus has an incentive to get rid of students who are dragging down test scores through low performance or behaviors that disrupt the performances of other students. This gives those schools a strong incentive to drive those students out, either temporarily through suspensions or permanently through expulsions or dropping out. (3. The School-To-Prison Pipeline) ***

What we are witnessing is, in essence, the criminalization of mental illness, with police on the front lines of this process. This is especially true for those who are homeless and/or lack access to quality mental health services. Both groups of people have grown significantly in recent decades. While the Affordable Care Act holds the promise of some improvement, as recently as 2011, over 60 percent of people experiencing a mental health problem reported that they had no access to mental health services. Even when mental health services are available, they are often inadequate. A lack of stable housing and income exacerbates mental health problems, makes treatment more difficult, and contributes to the public display of disability-related behaviors, all of which make it more likely that the police will be called. (4 “We Called for Help, and They Killed My Son”)

***

One of the lessons learned in the last twenty years is that the best way to get people off the streets and out of the shelters is to make immediate permanent housing available to them at very low or no cost, and to provide a range of optional support services to help them stay there. This is known as the housing-first approach, and it is growing in prominence. In the past, homeless programs focused on proving emergency and transitional shelter, in the belief that if you stabilized someone and got them a job or necessary benefits, they could then enter the housing market and obtain stable long-term housing. This is not the case. This mismatch between low-wage work or government benefits and increasingly expensive housing makes the process untenable. Governments are going to have to intervene in housing markets by building large numbers of heavily subsidized units. The federal government could help by bringing back Section 8 subsidies on a large scale that could be pooled together to provide financing. But local and state governments have to want to build the housing, and right now many do not. (5. Criminalizing Homelessness)

*** The use of police to wage a war on drugs has been a total nightmare. Not only have they failed to reduce drug use and the harm it produces, they have actually worsened those harms and destroyed the lives of millions of Americans through pointless criminalization. Ultimately, we must create robust public health programs and economic development strategies to reduce demand and help people manage their drug problems in ways that reduce harm—while keeping in mind that most drug users are not addicts. We also need to look at the economic dynamics that drive the black market and the economic and social misery that drive the most harmful patterns of drug use. Harm-reduction, public-health, and legalization strategies, combined with robust economic development of poor communities could dramatically reduce the negative impact of drugs on society without relying on police, courts, and prisons. (7. War on Drugs)

***

Researchers like William Garriott have shown that use and dealing are concentrated among the under- and unemployed and those working in dirty, dangerous, and repetitious jobs with low pay and poor working conditions. Strict enforcement, forced treatment, and police-driven public education campaigns have been a total failure, because people’s underlying economic circumstances remain unaddressed. Until we do something about entrenched rural poverty, this trend will continue. Unemployment and bleak prospects drive people into black markets, which become the employers of last resort. (7. War on Drugs)

***

Nevada and California have developed sentencing enhancements that add many additional years to sentences based on loose definitions of gang membership. Anyone the police want to assert is affiliated with a gang can find an extra decade added to their sentence. Neither state has seen a reduction in gang activity; the enhancements have further overpopulated state prisons without providing meaningful relief to youth or their communities. 

Gang databases are another problematic area of intervention. California has a statewide database populated with the names of hundreds of thousands of young people, the vast majority of whom are black or Latino. Officers can enter names at will, based on associations, clothing, or just a hunch. There are very few ways of getting your name removed from the list; many people do not even know whether or not they are on it. In some neighborhoods, inclusion on the list is almost the norm for young men. Police and courts use the list to give people enhanced sentences, target them for parole violations, or even target entire neighborhoods for expanded and intensified policing. The Youth Justice Coalition in Los Angeles has documented cases where information in the database has been shared with employers and landlords, despite legal requirements that the database not be publicly accessible. (8. Gang Suppression)

***

Today there are seventy-five thousand noncitizens in US prisons, about half of whom are there for immigration violations. Many are held in for-profit private prisons. ICE uses forty-six such facilities to hold 70 percent of all immigration detainees, despite repeated reports of abuse, overcrowding, and inadequate medical services. In addition, ICE subcontracting opportunities have encouraged a boom in jail and prison construction across the Southwest. Both local jurisdictions and these corporations have a financial stake in maintaining high rates of detention, further perverting the politics of immigration. In addition, large numbers of migrants are held in local jails on immigration detainers or awaiting transport. Conditions in these facilities, whether public or private, are inadequate. In 2010, the New York Times documented widespread problems with the delivery of health care services; according to a 2016 report, eight people have died in recent years of preventable causes such as diabetes, because of inadequate health care. (9. Border Policing)

***

If we want immigrants, documented or not, to be more integrated into society, more likely to report crime, and better able to defend themselves from predators, we should instead look to end all federal immigration policing, remove social barriers in housing and employment, and acknowledge their important role in revitalizing communities and stimulating economic activity. (9. Border Policing)

***

Border policing is hugely expensive and largely ineffective, and produces substantial collateral harms including mass criminalization, violations of human rights, unnecessary deaths, the breakup of families, and racism and xenophobia. Unfortunately, both dominant political parties have embraced its expansion, whether as part of a system of restricted and managed legalization or as part of a fantasy of closing the border. Rather than debating how many additional Border Patrol agents to employ, we should instead move to largely de-police the border. Borders are inherently unjust and as Reece Jones points out in his book Violent Borders, they reproduce inequality, which is backed up by the violence of state actors and the indignity and danger of being forced to cross borders illegally. 

Until the Clinton administration, unauthorized cross-border migration was widespread, yet it did not lead to the collapse of the American economy or culture. In fact, in many ways it strengthened it, giving rise to new economic sectors, revitalizing long-abandoned urban neighborhoods, and better integrating the US into the global economy. When the EU lowered its internal borders, there were fears that organized crime would benefit, local cultures would be undermined, that mass migration would create economic chaos as poorer southern Europeans moved north. None of this happened. In fact, migration decreased as the EU began developing poorer areas within Europe as a way of producing greater economic and social stability. (9. Border Policing)

***

Despite our concerns about political liberty, the US police have a long history of similarly abusive practices. The myth of policing in a liberal democracy is that the police exist to prevent political activity that crosses the line into criminal activity, such as property destruction and violence. But they have always focused on detecting and disrupting movements that threaten the economic and political status quo, regardless of the presence of criminality. While on a few occasions this has included actions against the far right, it has overwhelmingly focused on the left, especially those movements tied to workers and racial minorities and those challenging American foreign policy. More recently, focus has shifted to surveillance of Muslims as part of the War on Terror. (10. Political Policing)

***

There really is almost no legitimate reason to deploy armored vehicles and snipers to manage protests—even those where some violence has occurred. Officer protection is an issue, but so are police legitimacy and constitutional rights. (10. Political Policing)

[nebris]

Gun Violence Isn’t a Problem—it’s actually 5 Problems, with Different Solutions

Thom Dunn Nov 8, 2018 

Naming something gives you power over it.

That’s the basic idea behind all the magic in every folktale dating back for centuries, from “Rumpelstiltskin” to the Rolling Stones’ “Hope you guessed my name.” Ancient shamans didn’t practice “magic”; they just had knowledge, and names for things like “eye of newt” that no one else could understand. To name something is to know it, and knowledge is power. Think about the relationship between “spelling” and “spells” and you won’t be so surprised that Harry Potter has been all over the gun violence conversations lately, on both the Left and the Right—which makes sense, considering that they have a word you memorize and practice reciting in order to kill people.

But when we talk about gun violence—or gun control, or gun reform, et cetera et cetera ad nauseam—we’re all too busy tripping over words to see the problems that we’re trying to address. And no, I’m not talking about “gunsplaining,” or even about the eye-roll-inducing “assault weapon” terminology (which is a distinction that I have come to understand and appreciate, and also a debate that is nothing but distracting on every single side of it). It’s hard to deny that gun violence is a problem in the United States of America, but it’s in our attempts to name that problem where we start to lose our footing, and thus, our focus (and I know a thing or two about focus). Perhaps if we learned to name the individual issues of gun violence that need to change, then we can start to identify specific solutions — one at a time, without infringing on civil rights or liberties. Then maybe then we could have some real conversations about how to make our society safer.

Instead of seeing at gun violence at One Big All-Encompassing Monolithic Problem, let’s look at the isolated areas where gun violence needs to be addressed: Domestic Violence, Suicides, Mass Shootings, Gang Violence, and State Violence.

1. Domestic Violence

An existing history of violence against family or loved ones is the greatest indicator of a person’s penchant for gun violence. An American woman is shot and killed by her partner every 16 hours, according to the Trace, and more male shooters attack their own families than schools or public places. In terms of the sheer number of deaths, the money we spend on terrorism would be better focused on the threat of husbands.

Perhaps none of this is surprising—but for some reason, we still don’t do anything about it. While the NRA loves to whinge on about self-defense, they ignore the fact that abused women are five times more likely to be killed by partners who own firearms, and 90% of women imprisoned for killing men had previously been abused by those same men.

That’s what I mean when I say “We have a problem.”

Felony offenses for domestic violence are supposed to mean that an American loses their right to gun ownership. But this requires the person to willingly turn their private property over to the government, or for the ATF to actively pursue civil asset forfeiture on those guns—neither of which is a very practical solution.

So what can we do? Legally, it’s complicated. But states like Rhode Island, California, Washington, and New York have recently enacted laws to prevent guns from even failing into the hands of misdemeanor* domestic abusers, and quite frankly, I don’t see a reason why that can’t be enacted everywhere. It’ll save lives, and it won’t infringe on the rights and freedoms of law-abiding gun-owners, or people at greater risk of being victims of violence. We can also improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (which even the NRA has mockingly acknowledged to be flawed) by standardizing the information that states and military are required to submit, under threat of financial penalty.

(*The one caveat I will acknowledge: this requires people to actually press charges. And that’s easier said than done, for a number of social reasons that are difficult to legislate.)

2. Suicides

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths are suicides, and almost half of all suicides are gun deaths. The majority of those victims are men, often with military backgrounds, and mostly over the age of 45.

This is the one place where mental health really enters the gun reform debate, and it has nothing to do with a risk of physical harm to others.

Suicides of all kinds are unfortunately difficult to prevent. But most attempts are impulsive, and 70% of people who survive an attempt won’t try again. Unfortunately, only about 10% of people survive a suicide attempt by gun — which means the trick is in screening those deadly impulse buys.

Some gun sellers in America have already started taking the initiative to spot suicide warning signs in customers, using grassroots activism to empower more community intervention. And in fact, when Australia enacted its gun ban, the country saw a drastic drop in suicides as well. If we want to focus our energies on saving lives, that might be a place to start. (Of course, this will also require investing more money in community resources and social work, too — but I think the return on investment is worth it, ya know?)

3. Mass Shootings

Mass shootings get the most attention, because they’re massive and tragic. More often than not, the circumstances around them are almost too absurd to wrap out heads around, so we search for scapegoats such as “mental illness.” But mass shootings account for less than 1% of firearm deaths—which unfortunately makes them kind of hard to plan for and around to base legislation upon.

Now, to be fair: mental illnesses do figure out one-quarter to one-half of mass shootings. But anyone who knows anything about data will tell you 1/2 of 1% is not really a good indicator of anything, especially when about 20% of the population has a mental disorder, and those people are still significantly more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators of violence. It’s also important to point out that, while gun violence in general is on the decline, mass shootings are becoming deadly—but not necessarily more frequent.

Now that all that data is out of the way, we still need to talk about the fact that mass shootings—especially in schools—are a problem. Given that small statistical sample, however, it’s harder to find solutions that will be applicable in enough situations to make a difference. This is about more than “walking up” and bullying initiatives. Because the most bullied people are LGBTQ+, or Muslim, or poor, or physically unattractive, while most school shooters are white men. But you know where we can start? Increase funding and training for social work, especially at schools, and give people the tools they need to express their frustrations.

See that? None of it will infringe on civil rights and civil liberties. It will infringe upon the people who don’t want to pay taxes and/or want to harm social services and public education. Poverty, opportunity, and violence go hand-in-hand, and they all require some financial investment to upend.

4. So-called “Gang-Related” Violence

This one is particularly frustrating, because it’s often racially charged — and thus, often used as a racist deflection (STOP👏BRINGING👏UP👏CHICAGO👏 ). Even without the racialized aspect, it’s still quite complicated.

Unfortunately, it’s also true that 80 percent of gun homicides (but not all gun deaths) are gang-related killings, which affect mostly young men. And while there is a racial element, it has more to do with the survival tactics that people are forced to go through in order to survive in a racist society.

If you ask me, much of this connects back to the same problems of toxic masculinity that lead to domestic violence. Even financial struggles or other markers of “manliness” can drive men to violence, lashing out at the world for their own perceived failures. Simply put, violence is a byproduct of anger, not of general mental health. That alone is not a legislative solution, but perhaps it can serve as a guide for the ways in which we cultivate our culture with compassion, empathy, and understanding—oh, and not automatically treating teens who misbehave like they’re already criminals, damned for life, as often happens in our racist education and justice systems.

Luckily, there are already educators and social workers trying to address these problems. Perhaps we should consider increasing their support and resources; after all, it’s better to address a problem before it starts than to spend all your money trying to clean-up the mess after the fact. But it has to start within the communities first. They know what’s best for them more than any government or police interference could help—they just need allies and support to make it happen.

[My one comment here: the vast majority of this violence can also be laid at the door of the failed War on Drugs. End that and much of this particular form of gun violence will abate. Nebris]

5. State Violence

Neither the military nor the police should be excused from unnecessary acts of violence. History has shown time and time again that the use of violence as a tool of persuasion only engenders more fear and anger among the general public, and that in turn leads to more violence every time. The state should not have a monopoly on violence, and violence committed at the hands of the government is just as bad or worse than violence between civilians. This harkens back to the original intentions of the 2nd Amendment, too—to defend against a tyrannical government, a.k.a., state-sponsored violence.

Militarized policing, for example, is known to harm both police reputations, and community stability, without actually make anyone safer. The FBI has been watching and warning of an increase in violent white supremacists infiltrating police departments for years, and nothing’s happened to stop it.

Or consider the fact that 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, according to the National Center for Women and Policing. And yet, the Blue Fraternity all but ensures that charges are never brought against the officers involved, even though it’s been established that patterns of violent behavior almost always lead to more violent behavior. The same goes for the rising problem of police brutality (or as the passive-voiced PR prefers, “officer-involved shootings,” a phrasing that’s intentionally designed to absolve the officers of any responsibility). Thanks to police union laws, officers who do commit excessive and unnecessary acts of violence are often transferred to or hired by another nearby department, with little to no consequences for their actions—despite the fact that they are likely to repeat them.

We should not excuse these acts of violence simply because they are committed by police officers. By doing so, we just enable more violence—which empowers more cops to act with extreme prejudice, which leads to more violence, which is met by more violence.

Much of this goes back to mental health as well, and the way we treat our veterans after subjecting them to the horrors of war. If a history of violence is the best indicator of future acts of violence, then training our soldiers to commit acts of violence—with little support for the PTSD they endure when they come home—is simply setting them up for more violence. That’s why veterans tend to be more susceptible to joining the ranks of white supremacists, or committing acts of domestic violence: it’s an outlet for the violence that we inflicted upon them by sending them to war in the first place.

(This especially true of men who receive other than honorable or bad conduct discharges. The military has their reasoning for their categories, which don’t impact a discharged veterans ability to purchase a gun in the future, even if the reason for their discharge had to do with violence. An improved FBI background check system would find a way to address this loophole, too.)

Unfortunately, this makes it easier for those same veterans to seek out the camaraderie and power of the military by joining extremist militias, or to seek solace in suicide, as mentioned above. Our society (rightly) likes to talk big of honoring our veterans, but there’s nothing honorable about subjecting them to these horrible fates.

We can’t find common ground unless we can actually identify the problem to solve—and we can’t see the problem if we don’t share the same words to describe it. That’s the source of our gun debate.

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I hope that we can all agree that reducing death and violence is a good thing for everyone. But we can’t just throw our arms and shrug after every awful shooting tragedy; nor can we throw our arms up and scream about every single death like they’re all the same.

Sometimes, the best way to tackle a larger problem is to break it down into smaller ones, and to make sure that everyone’s using the same words to refer to all the same things. If we’re ever going to deal with our gun violence epidemic, then I think this could be a good place to start.

I’ve written extensively on gun violence, spoken on international TV and radio on the subject, and even pursued a gun license in the strictest city of one of the strictest states in the country. Despite my first-hand experience, the most ardent defenders of the Second Amendment will still tell me things like, “We don’t need more laws! We need to enforce the laws on the books!” or “We can’t stop every shooting because that’s just the price of freedom.” However, those #2A Avengers will still acknowledge that yeah, okay, maybe NICS has some problems, or maybe those Parkland cops should have done something earlier — that is, until they swiftly retreat back into the same tribalistic mindsets that always prevent human progress. But I wrote this, because I truly think that maybe—just maybe—we can find more common ground.

https://medium.com/@thomdunn/gun-violence-isnt-a-problem-it-s-actually-five-problems-with-different-solutions-63f58e93da08

[residentevilconfessions]

Thoughts regarding RE7's Evelene

According to R &D Report 1 of  2 (Resident evil 7)

“This project was instigated in 2000 as one of several concepts for the company’s NEXBAS (next-generation experimental battlefield superiority) initiative, working with technical assistance from H.C.F, to develop a bioweapon for neutralizing combatants en masse with minimal direct contact. NEXBAS was later folded, and all its assets diverted to this project. What makes this project markedly different from conventional weapons is its ability to turn enemy combatants into allies; converting hostile elements into willing servants. Since this effectively eliminates the costs of not only POW handling but also combat itself, it’s no wonder we had the □□□ and even □□□□’s □□□ organization chomping at the bit to get on board. The project would never have existed were it not for the discovery in □□□□□□ of □□□□□□□□□, the remarkably progressed "vicariant evolution” fungus that we commonly term the “mutamycete”. The fabrication method for each bioweapon was to introduce the mutamycete genome to a pre-Stage 4 human embryo and perform cultivation in a controlled environment over a period of 38-40 weeks. The resultant organisms were referred to as “candidate specimens” and graded based on usability, from the impractical and faulty Series A through D, to the perfected E-Series. A common appearance was selected for the bioweapons; that of a roughly ten-year-old girl, to ensure ease of blending in with urban/refugee populations. The first E-Series specimen, named Eveline, has proven capable of secreting the mutamycete □□□□□□□□□ from her tissue at will. It is also of note that Eveline’s mutamycete imposes a profound control over body and mind when introduced into a host organism. We still have a lot to learn about the mechanism by which Eveline achieves and maintains this control, but the working theory is that the vector is similar to the autoinducer pheromones used for quorum sensing in pseudomonas bacteria. Eveline’s control is exerted in a series of discrete stages, the first of which is hallucination. Almost immediately after infection, the subject begins to see images of Eveline (though she is not in fact there) and hear her voice (which is inaudible to anyone else). Auditions with infected subjects throughout the stages of infection reveal that at first, the phantom Eveline appears to be a normal young girl, sometimes desiring companionship or assistance. As time progresses, she begins making more and more extreme demands, including self-mutilation and attacks on other people. The psychological shock this induces helps to break down the mind’s natural barriers to Eveline’s brainwashing effect, and by the time mental control is achieved, the mutamycete infection has progressed throughout the body’s cells, so the body"

This leads me to consider a variety of questions. What happened to series A-D? How many of each were produced? How successful were they?

Perhaps A-D does not refer to a series of progression but more or less the functions they are ‘bred’ for?

Certainly the accelerated ageing thing suggests a demand for mass production or a fixed deadline for production. 

In the former instance- consider the clone troopers from Star Wars as the possible next phase of this company. If this is true, then this 'Redfield’- do not believe it is Chris but a descendent - of Neo-Umbrella may have been tasked with the primary goal of getting experimental data from the 'competition’ while cleaning up the evidence.

After all, if Neo-Umbrella finds a way to produce an army of similar beings in a comparatively short amount of time, they would not want people to be prepared.

Which brings me to the next question- who is this unidentified bio weapons producer? On some of the cases in the game, such as the one containing the d series head, there is a name- Tentsu. 

I know from my rudimentary understanding that this may be derived from tetsu- iron in Kanji. I know this is just a word, but let us postulate further and say this is the name of a group that wants to 'overcome’ biological limitations.  Certainly transhumanism is something of a running theme in this series. 

This leads me to consider whether she is the precursor/prototype to this company’s equivalent of Project W- Spencer’s attempt at creating an ubermensch- and whether there are any others in the 'product line’.

Resident Evil 5- Test Subjects: 

“001: Hans

002: Felicia 003: Marco 004: Jonah 005: Irma 006: Ken 007: Laura

008: William 009: Hiro 010: Derek 011: Miles 012: Alex 013: Albert

The number of candidates has been limited to the 13 individuals listed above.”

Certainly she has the feel of Alma of the  FEAR franchise. With this in mind, I would love to play as one of her 'siblings’- especially if they are anything like Fettel. 

Now, surrounding her 'gift’- how is this transmitted? From the influence it has on appetite, I would say it it is some kind of gastro-intestinal parasite. 

“Intestinal worms, or soil-transmitted helminths (STH), are the most common NTDs worldwide. STHs are caused by a group of parasitic worms, most commonly hookworm, roundworm (ascariasis) and whipworm (trichuriasis) that are either transmitted through contaminated soil or by ingesting parasite eggs.

Globally, there are 700 million people infected with hookworm (including 44 million pregnant women), 807 million people infected with ascariasis, and 604 million people infected with trichuriasis. Transmission mainly occurs in tropical climates and where sanitation and hygiene are poor”

Source:http://www.end.org/whatwedo/ntdoverview/intestinalworms

Perhaps it is like Strongyloidiasis which is found in contaminated soil and enters the body through the skin and works its way to the intestine. In the case of Evelene, it could be through something like a brush  to spread the eggs. 

However, this one is unlikely. 

Perhaps it is like Trichinosis which is spread through eating flesh with cysts containing the parasite. Perhaps Evelene cut off portions of her flesh and force-fed it to her 'family’. 

Source: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/roundworms

It may be that she is like the Jewel Wasp which temporarily paralyses the host before injecting the brain with a neurotoxin which makes the host more compliant by disrupting the production of dopamine before laying the eggs on the host. 

Certainly, this would explain why Lucas is found unconscious in the living room (Daughters DLC) and why resistance was so minimal. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN2XMyxAs5o

Question- how did she get this gift? Was she modified to be compatible with the parasite or is the parasite a part of her? 

R&D Report [2 of 2]

“Eveline’s functions also include the ability to form organisms from mycelia, the fungal filaments. The term "organism” is used loosely here; strictly speaking, they are superorganisms formed of countless mycelia. What’s important, though, is that they exhibit a strong survival instinct and will defend themselves ferociously with the slightest provocation. Their fungal toughness and remarkable strength give them significant battlefield potential. The researches have been calling these super-organisms the “Molded”; made of mold, and also molded as in “shaped”. The name has a certain elegance to it. For the treatment of accidental infections, performing □□□□□ on samples of Eveline’s body tissue produces a unique fungicidal serum. Administering the serum to an infected subject will cause the mycelia to calcify, but if the subject’s cells are already largely invaded, the serum will be fatal. Since the treatment window is so small, the serum’s primary use is therefore disposal of infected subjected, rather than a cure. In exploring the serum’s potential, we found that subjecting it to □□□□□ would enchance its effects to extreme potency, becoming a compound we now call E-Necrotoxin, which □□□□□□□□□□□□□ in even tiny amounts. What’s been interesting to observe in Eveline’s behavior is her obsession with the concept of family. In experiments, we found multiple occasions that infected subjects were compelled to act as her “mother” or “father”, treating her as if she were really their daughter. Why did she settle upon family as the theme for her mental control? This is just speculation, but it could be that she instinctively understand that a family unit is better suited to blending into social groups than a lone girl. On the other hand…well, a sentimental sort might suggest she’s making up for a perceived lack of “love” in her quarentined upbringing. A parent’s love.“

Certainly, the parasites seen in Margurite’s mouth resemble more or less an arthropod rather than the mold. Could it be that this is a separate organism or a construct? If it is a construct, what else can she make?

[timclymer]

Cure High Blood Pressure – Try Rebooting Your Brain

Recent research indicates that nearly 80 million adults in the U.S.A. suffer from high blood pressure. That’s nearly 1/3 of our population. And when you ask most general medical practitioners what causes high blood pressure-

Here are some of the responses you may expect:

· Smoking tobacco

· Consuming excess caffeine

· Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol

· Excessive weight or being obese

· Limited physical activity (couch potato)

· Excessive salt in your diet

· Living a stressful lifestyle

· High cholesterol levels

· Old age

· Heredity factors

· Kidney disease or adrenal and thyroid problems

In other words high blood pressure or hypertension can be caused by all of the above-or none of the above. If your doctor is being completely honest with you he/she may even say, “I don’t know.”

What is Hypertension?

Briefly described, hypertension is described as the pressure exerted against the walls of your arteries. The force that takes place when blood is pumped forward is known as systolic pressure, and diastolic is the lower, relaxed pressure. When measured with an instrument known as a sphygmomanometer, the higher pressure (systolic) should be about 120 or lower, and the lower pressure (diastolic) should be around 80 or lower (these readings represent millimeters of mercury). So 120/80 (120 over 80) is considered normal.

Don, You Have Hypertension

My introduction came about some 46 years ago. It was during an insurance physical that Dr. Rod said, “Don, you have hypertension-high blood pressure.”

“Say what?” I replied. “I’m only 30 years old!”

Thus began an odyssey or experiments to discover what regimen of prescription drugs would control what has become known as “The Silent Killer.” I have lost track of how many different drugs that different doctors prescribed for me. My drug cocktails included over time: Diuretics. Calcium channel blockers and ace inhibitors. Not once during more than 4 decades of “treatment” did a physician mention any other means of controlling this condition using natural methods.

Follow the Money

So why don’t medical doctors suggest treatment other than prescription drugs? Well follow the money folks. Treatment of high blood pressure is a multi-billion dollar business for doctors and pharmaceutical companies.

And in reality, the root cause of hypertension (whatever it is) isn’t being treated-drugs merely treat the symptoms and do not grant you a cure.

What About Natural Cures

Yes… research is ongoing, but the overwhelming thrust of this research is directed at finding new, more effective drugs. Very few health care professionals are directing their energies toward natural cures.

So why am I not content to accept the inevitable? Why not just shut up and take my drugs. Well folks, I too have been involved in some specific research and what I have discovered so far has been very enlightening.

Is it a Lack of Training?

First off, most of today’s physicians were never given any real training in natural methods for curing conditions and diseases while in med school. Drugs are the only way to achieve freedom from what ails us. But only a fool would accept that reasoning. I was on drugs for nearly half a century-so where is my cure? I assure you it was not from drugs.

I began my research because I heard rumblings from highly educated researchers that the side-effects of many prescription drugs were simply causing me to handle other problems. In brief-ny blood pressure meds were making me sick. On top of this I was diagnosed with high cholesterol about 19 years ago and up until a few months ago I was taking a statin drug. From my own research I learned that statins are causing even more health problems than by high blood pressure meds.

Here’s a brief summary of drug side effects:

Blood Pressure Medications-

Diuretics: Used for the elimination of water and Salt in the body-frequent urination, erectile dysfunction, a marked decrease of potassium (a very necessary mineral for good health), foot and leg cramps, overall weakness or you are easily fatigued.

Beta Blockers: These drugs slow the heart rate and lower the pressure exerted on the arteries-poor circulation resulting in cold hands and feet, depression, erectile dysfunction, asthma-like symptoms, poor sleep habits.

ACE Inhibitors (Angiotensin Converting Enzymes): skin rashes, loss of the ability to taste most foods, persist hacking cough.

Cholesterol Medications-

Statin Drugs: Prescribed for reducing cholesterol levels in the blood-Headaches, sleep disorders, frequent cramps, muscle aches, flushing of the skin, bouts of nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, constipation, memory loss, elevated blood sugar (a threat of pre-diabetes), mental confusion.

Now imagine if you will, what sort of lifestyle an individual will have if he is taking all of the above? That was me a short time ago.

Now don’t get me wrong-I am not suggesting you flush all of your blood pressure and anti-cholesterol drugs down the drain. Do not stop taking these drugs until you discuss this with your health care provider.

Is The Treatment Worse Than the Condition?

The point I’m trying to make here is that there are better and safer ways to lower your blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol using natural methods.

I subscribe to a couple of health-related newsletters and little by little I have grown in my knowledge of what natural methods have helped countless suffers around the world. I really had to dig deeply for this information because most health care organizations do not want to take on the big drug manufacturers. Current literature tells me that many folks are simply misdiagnosed with high blood pressure. This is often due to the health care staff are taking your blood pressure improperly and/or you may be suffering from white coat syndrome.

Reboot Your Brain Using a Focused Break

One newsletter suggests that through diet and simple exercises, your high blood pressure can be kept under control. The theory here is to “reboot” your brain so that it will not be fooled into thinking that more blood pressure is needed to overcome the messages it is receiving from you internal organs. This technique is based on the discovery that shows how to reverse the brains up and down regulation of blood pressure. This involves giving your brain what is known as a “Focused Break.” This action is based upon meditation, conscious thought plus some simple exercises, and it brings the blood-pressure reading down to a more healthy level. There are several ways to do this, but the best practice is to use specific mind/body exercises that were outlined in a special report. I’ll show you how to access this information below.

What is “White Coat” Hypertension

Duke University Study Confirms “White Coat Effect;” Value of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

“People with hypertension often experience a spike in blood pressure when the reading is taken in a doctor’s office, leaving doctors with inaccurate information to determine the course of treatment, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.”

Researchers at Duke are now recommending that a regular blood pressure check may be far more accurate when done at home. Here are a few tips for getting more accurate blood pressure numbers:

· Remain at rest for 5-10 minutes before taking your own readings

· The blood pressure cuff must be properly placed, preferably on the left arm

· The arm should be comfortably supported-as on an arm of a chair.

Some researchers suggest taking your pressure readings 3 times per day. I believe this is overkill, My wife and I take our readings once or twice a week. We have a digital sphygmomanometer that is battery operated. Push one button to turn it on, and then push another button to automatically inflate the cuff and take the reading. Our device also has a memory feature to show previous readings.

Source by Don Penven

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/cure-high-blood-pressure-try-rebooting-your-brain/ via Home Solutions on WordPress from Home Solutions FOREV https://homesolutionsforev.tumblr.com/post/188464493760 via Tim Clymer on Wordpress

[homesolutionsforev]

Cure High Blood Pressure – Try Rebooting Your Brain

Recent research indicates that nearly 80 million adults in the U.S.A. suffer from high blood pressure. That’s nearly 1/3 of our population. And when you ask most general medical practitioners what causes high blood pressure-

Here are some of the responses you may expect:

· Smoking tobacco

· Consuming excess caffeine

· Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol

· Excessive weight or being obese

· Limited physical activity (couch potato)

· Excessive salt in your diet

· Living a stressful lifestyle

· High cholesterol levels

· Old age

· Heredity factors

· Kidney disease or adrenal and thyroid problems

In other words high blood pressure or hypertension can be caused by all of the above-or none of the above. If your doctor is being completely honest with you he/she may even say, “I don’t know.”

What is Hypertension?

Briefly described, hypertension is described as the pressure exerted against the walls of your arteries. The force that takes place when blood is pumped forward is known as systolic pressure, and diastolic is the lower, relaxed pressure. When measured with an instrument known as a sphygmomanometer, the higher pressure (systolic) should be about 120 or lower, and the lower pressure (diastolic) should be around 80 or lower (these readings represent millimeters of mercury). So 120/80 (120 over 80) is considered normal.

Don, You Have Hypertension

My introduction came about some 46 years ago. It was during an insurance physical that Dr. Rod said, “Don, you have hypertension-high blood pressure.”

“Say what?” I replied. “I’m only 30 years old!”

Thus began an odyssey or experiments to discover what regimen of prescription drugs would control what has become known as “The Silent Killer.” I have lost track of how many different drugs that different doctors prescribed for me. My drug cocktails included over time: Diuretics. Calcium channel blockers and ace inhibitors. Not once during more than 4 decades of “treatment” did a physician mention any other means of controlling this condition using natural methods.

Follow the Money

So why don’t medical doctors suggest treatment other than prescription drugs? Well follow the money folks. Treatment of high blood pressure is a multi-billion dollar business for doctors and pharmaceutical companies.

And in reality, the root cause of hypertension (whatever it is) isn’t being treated-drugs merely treat the symptoms and do not grant you a cure.

What About Natural Cures

Yes… research is ongoing, but the overwhelming thrust of this research is directed at finding new, more effective drugs. Very few health care professionals are directing their energies toward natural cures.

So why am I not content to accept the inevitable? Why not just shut up and take my drugs. Well folks, I too have been involved in some specific research and what I have discovered so far has been very enlightening.

Is it a Lack of Training?

First off, most of today’s physicians were never given any real training in natural methods for curing conditions and diseases while in med school. Drugs are the only way to achieve freedom from what ails us. But only a fool would accept that reasoning. I was on drugs for nearly half a century-so where is my cure? I assure you it was not from drugs.

I began my research because I heard rumblings from highly educated researchers that the side-effects of many prescription drugs were simply causing me to handle other problems. In brief-ny blood pressure meds were making me sick. On top of this I was diagnosed with high cholesterol about 19 years ago and up until a few months ago I was taking a statin drug. From my own research I learned that statins are causing even more health problems than by high blood pressure meds.

Here’s a brief summary of drug side effects:

Blood Pressure Medications-

Diuretics: Used for the elimination of water and Salt in the body-frequent urination, erectile dysfunction, a marked decrease of potassium (a very necessary mineral for good health), foot and leg cramps, overall weakness or you are easily fatigued.

Beta Blockers: These drugs slow the heart rate and lower the pressure exerted on the arteries-poor circulation resulting in cold hands and feet, depression, erectile dysfunction, asthma-like symptoms, poor sleep habits.

ACE Inhibitors (Angiotensin Converting Enzymes): skin rashes, loss of the ability to taste most foods, persist hacking cough.

Cholesterol Medications-

Statin Drugs: Prescribed for reducing cholesterol levels in the blood-Headaches, sleep disorders, frequent cramps, muscle aches, flushing of the skin, bouts of nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, constipation, memory loss, elevated blood sugar (a threat of pre-diabetes), mental confusion.

Now imagine if you will, what sort of lifestyle an individual will have if he is taking all of the above? That was me a short time ago.

Now don’t get me wrong-I am not suggesting you flush all of your blood pressure and anti-cholesterol drugs down the drain. Do not stop taking these drugs until you discuss this with your health care provider.

Is The Treatment Worse Than the Condition?

The point I’m trying to make here is that there are better and safer ways to lower your blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol using natural methods.

I subscribe to a couple of health-related newsletters and little by little I have grown in my knowledge of what natural methods have helped countless suffers around the world. I really had to dig deeply for this information because most health care organizations do not want to take on the big drug manufacturers. Current literature tells me that many folks are simply misdiagnosed with high blood pressure. This is often due to the health care staff are taking your blood pressure improperly and/or you may be suffering from white coat syndrome.

Reboot Your Brain Using a Focused Break

One newsletter suggests that through diet and simple exercises, your high blood pressure can be kept under control. The theory here is to “reboot” your brain so that it will not be fooled into thinking that more blood pressure is needed to overcome the messages it is receiving from you internal organs. This technique is based on the discovery that shows how to reverse the brains up and down regulation of blood pressure. This involves giving your brain what is known as a “Focused Break.” This action is based upon meditation, conscious thought plus some simple exercises, and it brings the blood-pressure reading down to a more healthy level. There are several ways to do this, but the best practice is to use specific mind/body exercises that were outlined in a special report. I’ll show you how to access this information below.

What is “White Coat” Hypertension

Duke University Study Confirms “White Coat Effect;” Value of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

“People with hypertension often experience a spike in blood pressure when the reading is taken in a doctor’s office, leaving doctors with inaccurate information to determine the course of treatment, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.”

Researchers at Duke are now recommending that a regular blood pressure check may be far more accurate when done at home. Here are a few tips for getting more accurate blood pressure numbers:

· Remain at rest for 5-10 minutes before taking your own readings

· The blood pressure cuff must be properly placed, preferably on the left arm

· The arm should be comfortably supported-as on an arm of a chair.

Some researchers suggest taking your pressure readings 3 times per day. I believe this is overkill, My wife and I take our readings once or twice a week. We have a digital sphygmomanometer that is battery operated. Push one button to turn it on, and then push another button to automatically inflate the cuff and take the reading. Our device also has a memory feature to show previous readings.

Source by Don Penven

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/cure-high-blood-pressure-try-rebooting-your-brain/ via Home Solutions on WordPress

[notesfromthepen]

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE COMING TO PRISON... or any other place you'd rather not be for an extended period of time

This is the first few chapters of a nonfiction book I've been working on. Rough Draft. I wanted to share it with you. Feel free to comment, critique, or rave about the words to follow. Again, ROUGH draft. So, without further adieu:

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE COMING TO PRISON... or any other place you'd rather not be for an extended period of time...(working title)

(intro)

I never thought I'd be here, in a cell, writing a book about prison that I hope no one ever has to read. But since this is the country responsible for this here book's largest group of potential buyers anywhere in the world—inmates—it does make a bit of sense. I guess it's only right that the hard-earned knowledge between these covers is laid down where it was picked up, born in the place it's most likely to come in handy: America, land of the free, home of the slaves...

So you're headed to prison.

DON'T PANIC.

Take a deep breath. Contrary to popular belief, and every instinct you possess, this is not the end of the world. If it makes you feel any better, I know what you're going through—millions know what you're going through. You're not the first to walk through those gates, and you won't be the last. You're just the most recent member to be inducted into the storied fraternity of America's Prison Industrial Complex; a fraternity in which your humble author is a fellow a card-carrying member.

Our current national charter of incarcerated brethren boasts upwards of 2.3 million members. From coast to coast, brothers and sisters, as varied as the colors of the rainbow, call this place home. In running for the saddest statement ever put to words, America's inmates are, quite possibly, the most eclectic and non-discriminating society in the history of this great nation. Send us your poor, your weak, your huddled masses. It doesn't matter your gender, your nationality, your race, creed, color, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs, you will always have a place in America's prisons.

I'm not here to judge you. It's not my job. I don't care what you did that lead you to the point in your life where you're thumbing through this book. I stopped asking those questions a while ago. Which brings me to the first of many rules.

Rule number 476: don't ask questions you don't need the answer to.

I'm here to help smooth the transition, to save you some time and, hopefully, the blood, sweat, and tears it often takes to gain the hard-fought knowledge kept between these pages.

Think of me as your cultural liaison for the prison industrial complex that has claimed you as property for the foreseeable future.

Being new to rule # 476, you might want to ask, who the fuck am I to be giving you advice? It's a good question. I mean you don't know shit about me.

If you want to blend in you need to know the locals and speak the language. So feel free, at anytime, to access this database.

Chapter 1 Perspective

Before we get into the dirty details of your newly minted prison life we need to build a foundation, something to support the rest of the shit you'll need to know about incarnation.

Ironically, the first thing you need to know about surviving prison has nothing to do with the actual intricacies of prison life; it has to do with mental fortitude, and it's something you must develop on your own—if at all possible—before ever setting foot on a prison compound.

The secret to life in general and especially surviving a serious prison sentence is to develop a deep understanding of these four words:

It's all about PERSPECTIVE.

There is nothing more important to surviving, and even thriving, in prison than your perspective. In a place that renders you this helpless, with so little personal control, nothing will protect you longer, or kill you faster, than your personal outlook. Once your freedom has been stripped away, your ability to develop a healthy and unshakable perspective will be your safety net throughout your sentence, and you're truest act of freewill. 

The first step in affixing your perspective is finding your core; the gravity that will hold you in orbit through the emotional rollercoaster of prison life.

Prison, and life in general, is full of reasons to either feel sorry for yourself or to feel blessed. Look to your left and you'll find someone, usually a real undeserving asshole, with an account full of money who's just a week away from an unconditional release. Look to your right and you'll find someone, often a good person, who has truly changed their life, someone who genuinely understands the tragedy and magnitude of their crime, who's serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Just a few inches to either side is someone who's got it better and someone who's got it worse. It's up to YOU to choose which direction you will train your attention.

The point is universal. EVERYONE, even the person to your right, with the life sentence, has something to be grateful for. It's up to you to pick yourself up, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and find your core. Maybe it's as simple as LOVE, knowing that you have someone in the world who cares, someone who puts money on your books, maybe it's that you have your health, your kids have theirs, or just the fact that you have an out date and will again have a chance at freedom when many will not. Whatever it is, only a whiny coward will sink into despair and self pity when faced with struggle. A real man, a real woman, will stick their chest out and meet whatever challenge is around the corner, with fortitude and determination.

Look deep enough and you will find this hidden strength within.

As crazy as it sounds, the best form of perspective control is the glass half-full perspective, even in prison...especially in prison. If you can mine every situation for the gold within, rather than the piles of shit you will undoubtedly have heaped upon you in here, you will be able to make it through anything.

ANYTHING!

I'm not suggesting this will always be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.

For the sake of your sanity, you must also learn to differentiate between the controllable and uncontrollable circumstances you find yourself in. In prison, the scales will lean heavily in favor of a seemingly endless series of uncontrollable situations with rare, but brief moments, of actual control. In most cases, our perspective may be the only true form of control we actually possess; a realization that's simply easier to come to behind bars than in the real world.

Once you gain the ability to see a situation as beyond your control, you must let it go. I mean really let it go. There's a Buddhist saying that if there's a problem that you can fix, there's no need to worry because it is fixable, and if there is a problem with no solution, something that you can do nothing about, then there's no need to worry because, after all, there is nothing you can do. The point is that anxiety is at best a wasted emotion and, at worst, a destructive force all together. If you have to meditate and be a Zen master then so be it; if you have to look at it as a pragmatic and logical approach to remove pointless emotional distress, then do that. There is no one-answer-fits-all approach. Do what works for you.

"It could always be worse."

Make these words your unending mantra. "It could always be worse." Words that may initially seem hollow, considering your circumstance, but believe me, they are anything but.

Are you blind? Are you deaf? Are you in constant agonizing pain? Are you in the midst of a never-ending cluster migraines, or on the verge of death at the hands of an incurable disease with no friends or family to put flowers on your grave after you've gone to dust? If not, then things could undoubtedly be worse. And if you are the ONE inmate, blind, deaf, alone in the world, with a terminal case of unending migraines, well this book alone may not be able to save you, and for this I am sorry.

For the rest of you: "Things could always be worse."

Chapter 2 Quarantine

So the gavel has fallen. You've been stripped, shackled, and stuffed into a transport van headed to prison. Your first stop in the prison industrial complex: quarantine.

Quarantine is the cocoon you enter as a free member of society only to emerge a short time later as a ward of the state, another chrysalis or monarch butterfly of the prison industrial complex. Quarantine is where masses of inmates from the varying counties, or jurisdictions, of your state are housed to be examined, sorted, poked, and prodded before being shipped to their corresponding prisons.

The time spent in this weigh station is meant to be temporary but institutional overcrowding and lack of available bed space has lead to much longer and, often, miserable stays. What was designed to be no more than a week or two can stretch into several months. Like many transformative experiences, it will be one of the more uncomfortable phases of your incarceration; it's an abrupt exposure to a strange, alien, place, completely unwelcoming with absolutely no frills, harsh C.O.s, and a population of temperamental and newly incarcerated inmates. I spent just over a month in this state of convicted limbo.

But remember—it could always be worse.

Think of it as a month long, chaotic and rather violent, waiting room. Most of your time in quarantine will indeed be spent waiting; waiting to see the doctor, the dentist, the psych, the counselor, the orientation presentation, the quartermaster, and on and on until they have built you up and dressed you out as they see fit for your incarceration. In fact it's great preparation for the rest of your sentence; a master's class in waiting, with a minor in lack of control.

Fortunately, like every situation, quarantine is a blank slate. While they poke and prod you looking for reactions, as they run you through the mill and jot down the results into their little clipboards, you should be doing your own experiments in information gathering; you should be taking your OWN notes.

Life, and the Universe for that matter, is fractal in nature. Look close enough at anything, no matter how seemingly unrelated, and you will see the same systems, mechanisms, and lessons at work; mechanisms and lessons that can be applied across the board. Myamoto Musahsi once said, "Find the way in ONE and you will find it in ALL," or something like that. The point is, if you can master one thing—truly master it—you can master anything, because the qualities it takes: the traits, the insight, the self awareness, the discipline, and the commitment it takes to master one thing—no matter what it is—can be applied to the mastery of anything.

This perspective is the alchemy that will allow you to turn any circumstance into opportunity.

The good thing about quarantine is that it's as close as you can get to a practice run in prison. It's a month long chance to calibrate, to test the water and yourself around other inmates who are doing the same—most of which you'll have the comfort of never seeing again.

You will start with intake. If you're being transported from a large county you'll be with other inmates, which is a good thing if you want company; a bad thing if your past—specifically your case—is something you'd rather leave behind.

This is a good time to talk about the consequences your case can have on your comfort level while incarcerated. Even civilians know that the nature of your crime can determine your level on the prison hierarchy. When it comes to categories of crimes, the social structure is less like a pyramid, or a ladder, and more like a raised platform in a lake of shit.

Pretty much everyone is on the platform: the killers, the thief's, the drug dealers, the drug addicts, the extortionists, the con artists, the arsonists, the assaulters, the involuntary killers, the drunk drivers; they're all commingling in a nice big felonious-platform mixer.

Sure there are certain crimes that are more, or less, admired. Beating a child rapist to death, for instance, will get you more cool points than passing out in a pile of your own shit behind a police substation with a half ounce of heroin dangling from your shirt pocket with a needle in your arm. But other than having a hilarious shit story, the junkie will still be on the platform. There are only two things that will certainly keep you from the platform: a CSC case (criminal sexual conduct) and snitchin'. Either one is nearly guaranteed to keep you knee deep in shit. Though, as you'll find out, nothing in life—and especially in prison—is entirely black and white. 

So arriving at quarantine alone may be preferred if your goal is to hide. Though keeping a secret in prison is more difficult than you might expect—come to think of it, it's nearly impossible.

Rule #932 Keep quiet.

The only group of people more concerned with gossip than a squad of high-school cheerleaders from the Valley, are prison inmates.

I, arrived at quarantine with company. His name was Tate and it was his second bid. Tate was an easy going, slightly goofy, guy. You'd never mistake Tate for an alpha male—in appearance or demeanor—which gave me a little extra confidence knowing that he'd survived his first prison sentence relatively unscathed, but more than anything it was someone to talk to; someone who wasn't a complete stranger. Plus, having Tate there made the cramped, three hour, ride to quarantine infinitely more bearable. At least I had someone to share this experience with.

Whether you arrive by yourself, or in a group, the path ahead is whatever you make it. But remember this, no matter who you’re surrounded by—in prison—you’re always ALONE; it's just the nature of the beast. It doesn't mean you can't build real and meaningful relationships. On the contrary, the "foxhole friendships" forged in extreme circumstances can be some of the realest friendships of your entire life but, when the lights go out, you'll still be alone. We are all doing our own sentences, battling our own demons, and walking our own paths. 

Rule # 658 You are alone.

An inmate's path is not wide enough for two people to walk at the same time. You can SEE each other, you can TALK to each other, you can even bond with each other but you can't walk on someone else's path.

Upon arrival at intake, you'll shuffle your shackled ass into a room where the transport officer from your county will un-cuff you and strip you naked so he, or she, can take the shackles and clothes back for the next unlucky bastard to make the one way trip.

This is a good first lesson.

Rule # 88 Nothing in prison is ever really yours.

You may have bought it, stole it, or had it issued to you. It may have been in your possession for a few days or for twenty years. It may have your name and number engraved on it but, make no mistake, it is not yours. Do not confuse possession with actual ownership. The minute a corrupt CO takes it, breaks it, or the institution decides that it is no longer an approved item, it becomes contraband and is either destroyed, discarded, or absorbed back into the system for reuse.

After being stripped searched again, this time by a department of corrections officer, you'll be issued a state jumpsuit, usually still warm from the poor bastard that filled it last. And that's it, standing there in newly-used duds and a pair of dirty socks, you are no longer an inmate of county jail; you are now—officially—a ward of the department of corrections; a prison inmate.

Quarantine starts with a series of stations and checkpoints waiting to strip you of every last bit of freedom and personal identity that might've survived your county bid.

You'll see a nurse who'll make sure you're not currently dying of any infectious diseases; apparently they want you healthy before draining you of vitality, probably so they can check your deterioration, and their success, against a base line of health. Sick bastards! You'll see a shrink to make sure you don't plan on doing immediate harm to yourself or others. They can't take credit for driving you mad without first proving that you were sane. Though they have trouble proving sanity when over a quarter of all inmates suffer from mental health issues. You'll see an STG (Security Threat Group) coordinator who'll take pictures of your tattoos and determine any gang affiliation. You'll be weighed, measured, branded and pushed on to the next line.

Somewhere in the hours of waiting to be ushered into the next station, long after the hunger pangs have made your need of sustenance impossible to ignore, you'll be tossed a soggy sack lunch and a cardboard carton of flavored drink.

You'll eat your first meal as a prison inmate with no shoes, standing in a line, or huddled over a concrete bench. You'll find an apple, four duplex cookies in a sandwich bag, and the makings of a sandwich, which you'll attempt to construct out of two smashed pieces of white bread, a slice of American cheese product, and a meat-like sheet of skin pealed directly from the face ‘Freddy Krueger'. Oh, and a single packet of what's, supposed to be, mayonnaise but is labeled salad dressing. You'll search the paper sack, convinced that there has to be more—that there's no way they could expect you to survive off of such minuscule amounts of food. But try as you might, you will find nothing else inside but the bottom of an empty bag.

Rule # 52 You've got nothing coming.

You can forget about what is fair, what is right, and what SHOULD happen. If this expectation is your barometer for what will happen, you will be consistently wrong and, in no time, entirely defeated.

I, arrived at quarantine with company. His name was Tate and it was his second bid. Tate was an easy going, slightly goofy, guy. You'd never mistake Tate for an alpha male—in appearance or demeanor—which gave me a little extra confidence knowing that he'd survived his first prison sentence relatively unscathed, but more than anything it was someone to talk to; someone who wasn't a complete stranger. Plus, having Tate there made the cramped, three hour, ride to quarantine infinitely more bearable. At least I had someone to share this experience with.

Whether you arrive by yourself, or in a group, the path ahead is whatever you make it. But remember this, no matter who your surrounded by—in prison—you’re always ALONE; it's just the nature of the beast. It doesn't mean you can't build real and meaningful relationships. On the contrary, the "foxhole friendships" forged in extreme circumstances can be some of the realest friendships of your entire life but, when the lights go out, you'll still be alone. We are all doing our own sentences, battling our own demons, and walking our own paths. 

Sometime after eating your five-star sack lunch, in the prison eatery of a cramped room with a toilet, you will be called out to one more line. A small room where a disinterested, and perpetually annoyed, CO (the go-to demeanor of nearly every employee in the Department of Corrections) sits behind a digital camera with a log book by his side. With the speed and care of someone with better places to be, without warning or instruction, the C.O. will snap your photo as you try to flash your quickest tough-guy look for the camera. Without time to prepare, most of the pics end up looking more like constipation than intimidation.

With a speed, uncharacteristic of the Department of Corrections, you'll be issued your prison ID.

On the front: your picture, barcode, and prison number.

On the back: name, DOB, height, weight, scars, piercings, tattoos, and STG status.

This is your first piece of state-issued property. This little piece of plastic will prove to be a useful accessory in the hands of the innovative prisoners. The convict's version of a Swiss army knife of sorts: something to scrape water off a steel table to play dominoes, or to clean the dirt off of a place to sit, to wedge a towel or sheet in the crack above your cell door so it hangs down and covers the window when you need privacy, but most frequently, the prison ID is used as cutlery. With enough practice you'll soon master the plastic of dicing and slicing meat sticks, cheese, and onions...It's gotten to the point where I can cut up a meat-stick faster with my ID than an actual serrated plastic knife.

Whatever you do, make sure not to lose this versatile piece of property. The first one's free. After that—if you break it, deface it, or lose it—expect to be charged. The current rate to replace a Michigan State ID is 5$. And you're required to keep it on you at all times. A single moment of forgetfulness and you run the risk of catching a major-out-of-place ticket.

Every three years they'll call you in to take a new, updated photo. You can count the years of your sentence by the pictures behind you and the ones still ahead. I'm three constipated pics in with two to go.

After getting your identification you'll be given a mixture of hygiene products. A clear plastic grab bag filled with the shit you'd find in the bathroom at a cut-rate motel in the shittiest part of town: a little disposable toothbrush, three bars of small soap, a tiny tube of clear toothpaste, tiny stick of clear deodorant. The only thing of actual monetary value is a single stamped envelope. Whether you plan on writing anyone or not; hold on to this envelope.

Rule # 15 waste not want not. 

A quick stop at bank teller style window to declare any and all income or assets, to be claimed by the State's treasury and you're on you way.

The last stop of the initial intake process is the quarter master. It's where you get your state-issued clothes. Ours was in a reconstituted gym.

Roughly thirty of us planted ourselves randomly on three long benches, each man making sure to keep as much distance between himself and the next man as possible. Random inmates scuttled around behind a massive cluttered in the middle of the gym. One of the inmates wound himself through the benches checking our IDs against a list on his clipboard. Making sure to keep his voice low and avoiding eye contact as he went, he said, "If you want anything extra in your bag put your stamp (envelope) on the bench and I'll pick it up. We looked around at each other like lemmings waiting for someone to make the first move.

A CO stood up from behind a desk in the corner. The convict repeated his offer. Again no one moved, everyone afraid to be the first one to look stupid. I pulled out the single envelope and put it on the bench beside me. He verified my number and circled something on his paper. Before the C.O. could make it over to us the convict had slipped the envelope behind the list on his clip board.

One by one we were called to a little window in the cage. The convict with the clipboard eyeballed the sizes for each inmate and yelled out his estimates for each article of clothing. The minions behind him scuttled around the cage filling green duffle bags with the orders. Everybody was to get the same:

2 pairs of blue pants with elastic waste bands and a single pocket in the back.

2 blue canvas v-neck shirts

2 white t-shirts

3 pairs of white socks

7 pairs of whitey tighty underwear 

2 thermal tops

2 thermal bottoms

1 pair of orange basketball shorts

1 blue coat slightly thicker than a windbreaker

1 orange winter hat

1 pair of gloves

1 pair of cardboard like shoes

When it was my turn at the window the clipboard guy asked me what size pants I wore.

I told him, "large." 

He said that they run small and waited for my response.

"Extra large?" I said.

He yelled back, "Three Pants, extra large! See if we still got some of the pocket pants back there! Oh, and a belt." 

One of the minions brought a stack of pants up to the window. He handed me the first pair. "See if these are too big." I unfolded the pants and held them up to my waist. Unlike the all-blue stretchy waistband pants that my fellow newbies had received, these pants had an orange stripe running down each leg. Plus they had four pockets, a zipper with a button, and instead of an elastic waste band there were belt loops.

“These will work," I said, and handed him the pants.

He went down the rest of the list giving me almost double of every item; the best of what they had in that cage of their's.

A part of me thinks that they went overboard in hooking me up just to show the other inmates, in my group, just how much they'd missed out on.

Which brings me to Rule # 411 Take what you can get, when you can get it.

Fortune favors the bold and abhors the indecisive.

Either way, it was the best stamp I'd ever spent in my life.

Rule # 312 Nothing is free; you have to be willing to pay for what you want.

The extra clothes cost the quartermaster guys nothing; they're convicts, they're not exactly loyal to the system that incarcerated them, and this little scam just provided them the chance to even the scales—one pair of pants at a time—not to mention to make a few bucks in the process. Each stamp is worth roughly two ramen soups, a soap, or a honey bun—about 60¢.

Of course, it was a risk; that's why no one else dropped the envelope. I could've lost my only stamp and had to fight this guy in the middle of the gym, on my first day in the joint, but nearly everything with a potential come-up comes at a risk.

It's simple risk vs reward. I couldn't see these guys playing this as a scam. If clipboard had approached just one or two of us, I would have been more suspicious. I would've thought he could be singling out the inmates he saw as easy marks; the ones least likely to retaliate. But the fact that he asked all thirty of us, gave the deal a little more validity. No way could he assume that he would be able to get down on all of us without any retaliation. Plus if this was a scam it would be short lived; how long would it have lasted before someone either fucked this guy up or one of these fish simply ratted him out?

Determining things should become second nature, but until they do, use your intuition and a little critical thinking to help you make your decisions. Or, you can just play it safe until your Spidey senses have fully developed.

After getting our new duds we were ushered into the shower area of the gym. We stripped, changed, and returned yet another borrowed jumpsuit. Next we were separated into groups. The CO behind the desk said "One North, stand over here." He read out a list of inmate numbers and pointed to his left. Though I didn't know what it was for, a part of me hoped that me and Tate would end up in the same group

"One South," yelled the CO. He pointed to his right. Tate's number was the first one he called in this group. Mine was the last. He did this until we were in four separate groups.

We were led out of the building and directed to our cellblocks. Overwhelmed and slightly disoriented, we dragged our new duffle bags, full of our new clothes, across the yard to our new homes.

Walking into the cell block is the moment prison nightmares are made of; the infamous scene in every prison movie. In Michigan, the quarantine cellblocks are long rows of cells stacked on top of each other in the oldest prison in the state. The noise is the first thing you notice. A thousand voices, all competing for clarity, hum. How could that much sound be so constant? A five tiered wall of prison cells reach towards the distant ceiling. Necks bend skyward like baby birds trying to find where the tiers end.

A little desk sits off to the right under an awning of sheet metal; a barrier to protect the officers from the gravity assisted assault of batteries, flaming toilet paper, and any other objects that can be squeezed through the bars overhead. It's a lot to take in but stay calm. Fans buzz from every direction. Electrical cords crisscross the floor briefly disappearing under mop buckets full of dirty water. An inmate drags dark streaks across the exposed concrete with his mop. Signs and orders with exclamation points are painted along the walls near the desk.

The seven of us try our best not to look overwhelmed; nearly all of us are.

A short grizzled brown-skinned CO, with tufts of curly grey hair rebelling under his black—state issued—ball cap, comes around the desk. Clipboard in hand, he reads off prison numbers followed by, I'm assuming, a cell number. It's hard to make out anything but snippets of what he's saying. I'm glad I wasn't the first number on his list.

Rule # 58: Mistakes or mishaps don't have to happen to you to learn from them.

The guy to my left steps forward. The diminutive CO points to a table with seven bed rolls and fourteen rolls of toilet paper. The guy to my left grabs a bedroll and two rolls of toilet paper. He looks around, unsure what to do next. The CO yells over the buzzing of the fans, the river of voices, and the banging of cell doors, "What are you waiting for?!" 

Struggling to hold onto his duffle bag and bedroll without dropping the rolls of toilet paper, the guy to my left says nothing, but the look on his face says, "Tell me what the fuck to do old man, I'm lost."

"Three forty two!.." The hook points up at the wall of cells. "Third tier, cell forty two!" The guy to my left drags his duffle bag towards the first set of stairs, dropping a roll of toilet paper. He didn't bother to pick it up. I grabbed it on the way to my cell; waste not want not.

My temporary living quarter was on the fourth tier right in the middle. Jackson has the movie style prison cells, rows and rows of bars with arms and angled mirrors protruding from the cells into the catwalk. Forty some feet in the air, on a narrow walkway with nothing but a waist high handrail to keep you from plummeting to an uncertain death, possibly paralysis, is a disorienting path to your very first cell.

I dragged my duffle bag down the rock until I found the cell with the corresponding number above the door. Hundreds of eyes. There's no way around it; everyone watches everything. Prison is an introvert's hell. I couldn't wait to get into the anonymity of the dark cell. I pulled on the bars. The door was locked. I had to stand there until an officer came to let me in. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes but it felt like an eternity.

Eye contact is a tricky thing in prison. A little too much can come off as a challenge; too little can be perceived as weakness.

Rule # 41 Trust your instincts

Animalistic instincts—allegedly—long ago abandoned by modern society, are alive and well in prison. Intuition, fear, confidence, strength, and weakness are all indispensable aspects of the social interactions behind bars.

Standing there, with all of my recently acquired earthly possessions, I waited. The cell next to me had a pair of arms protruding from the door. In cells that small there is really no other place to stand. It's either stand at the door or lay down on your rack. My neighbor was standing. I made just enough eye contact to illicit a head nod. The CO bent the corner onto the catwalk. I nodded back.

The door rattled. I pulled it open. I dropped my bag onto floor and the bedroll on the bed.

First you should know how cramped this tiny cell actually was. Closing the cell door behind you leaves about 6-8 inches from foot of the bed, on your left, and even less to the desk on your right. It was so small that the left side and right side designations are merely symbolic. In actuality both bed and desk are pretty much in front of you, just slightly oriented to either side. Spreading my arms I could just about touch both walls at the same time. Between the bed and the desk was a gap just wide enough to squeeze through. The cell itself is slightly longer than the bed. On the left, above the bed, was a decrepit, asbestos-ridden, cork board—or what was left of a cork board; a place for inmates to hang Playboy centerfolds or their doctorate degrees from Harvard. On the right, past the desk—though still touching it—was a high school style locker, about 6'0ft tall. In the corner, past the locker, was a stainless steel toilet. The positioning of the locker was fortuitous; sitting on the toilet, you could open the locker and be partially shielded by the door. I eventually discovered that if I hung my coat on the open locker door I could get full coverage. Next to the toilet, sticking out of the back wall, was a tiny waist-high sink. And that's about it. Oh, and there was a single light bulb above the sink. There wasn't enough room to fit a chair at the desk. Fortunately, the bed was close enough to serve double duty. Cramped and claustrophobic does little to convey how small this place will feel.

I sat down on my rack and exhaled half of my spirit. Though technically my time started the day the gavel dropped at my sentencing, this is when your bid is officially underway. I took a few minutes there, staring at the pockmarked concrete floor beneath my feet; a few short, but pivotal, minutes to close the door on the life I was leaving behind and to open the reinforced steel door in front of me.

Rule #32 In prison, reality is something you must not allow yourself the comfort of ignoring; you are where you are and it is what it is, act accordingly.

I remember taking a deep breath and shaking my head free of anything other than resolute determination for the path ahead. Letting a mixture of pride and anger fuel me through a tough situation wasn't new to me, but this was different, this would prove to be the longest and

most difficult struggle of my life. I exhaled my last breath of uncertainty and stood up.

There was work to do!

The first thing you should do in any new cell, before unpacking your clothes, kicking off your shoes, or taking a shit (unless it's burrito day in the chow hall), is CLEAN your area of control. 

Rule #19 Cleanliness is next to godliness.

I'd say roughly 50% of physical altercations are over hygiene. When you are forced to live in close proximity with other people, you should always go the extra hygienic mile.

I fished around in my duffle bag and pulled out one of the two mesh laundry bags I'd got from the quartermaster. Each inmate is issued two large towels and two washcloths.

I had four of each; the best stamp I'd ever spent.

Inside my hygiene bag were four small rectangles of green antibacterial soap. Two identical half-used bars were stuck to the edge of the sink. Since I was cleaning the room, and not myself, I figured the ones on the sink would do.

I lathered a washcloth and cleaned every surface in the cramped space: the sink, the nylon sleeping mat on the bed, the industrial green railing of the bed itself, the chipped wood surface of the metal desk and all of its shelves, the thin high school style, graffiti-laden, locker, the walls, the steel bars of the cell, the floor, and finally the toilet, inside and out.

Rule #91 Think about what your doing before you do it. Measure twice, cut once.

Always start with the cleanest surfaces and finish with the dirtiest. What sense would it make to start with the toilet and cross contaminate every other surface with shit water. This might seem like common knowledge but you'd be surprised.

After working up a sweat, cleaning every reachable inch of the cell, I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed out the washcloth until it was reasonably clean and hung it on the little knob on the side of the stainless steel toilet, specifically designed to hold dirty washcloths (or so I've always assumed). This would now be my floor and toilet rag.

With the cell no longer a petri-dish of disease and filth I felt comfortable enough to start making my bed. Unrolling the bedroll I found four sheets, two pillow cases, and a blanket that had, apparently, been constructed by somehow fusing a series of brillo pads together—at least that's how it felt. The county jails I'd been to always had "bed socks" that simply slid over the mats. Now I had actual sheets. It took me a few nights of sliding around like an oiled-up seal, inevitably waking up on a bare mat, to finally ask my neighbor for some advice.

I'll save you the hassle;

Take your sheet and stretch it out. Take the top corners and tie them together into a knot, making a sort of hood. Loop this hood over the top of your mat, where your head goes. Move down to the bottom and tie the corners of the sheet in the same manner. It should be a tight fit, so you may have to fold the mat up towards you to fit the sheet over the bottom of the mat. Once you secure the sheet, flatten the mat back out an you have a fitted sheet. You should never have to actually touch that disgusting piece of biohazard plastic again. The rest of the bed is made up as normal.

After sliding the crisp white pillow case over the dilapidated pillow and laying back onto the cool new sheets, I felt a genuine sense of relief.

Rule # 17 Take the time to appreciate the small things.

As I laid there, in MY bed, in MY cell, I feel like an actual smile spread across my face as I stared up at the ceiling.

A though floated across my mind. When did I become such a germ-a-phobe. It's not that prison turns you into a totally different person as much as it messes with your dials. Prison will force you to turn your cleanliness factor up a few clicks. Unless you want to be stepped on and looked over, your level of introversion will move a few clicks towards the extroverted end of the spectrum as well.

It's interesting to watch the way this place changes you. Prison is where your habits and quirks meet the Darwinism of practicality.

For example, I'd been a nail biter my entire life. Since I was a kid, I'd chew at my nails until I had bloody stumps for fingers. I'd tried numerous times to quit, only to realize the futility after I'd gone back to devouring any nail growth as soon as it'd appear. Since coming to prison, I no longer bite my nails. It's just too dirty. Cleanliness takes on a whole new meaning when you have nearly 200 roommates, all with varying degrees of hygiene, all touching the same surfaces. My whole life I was a nail biter and all it took was a twelve year prison sentence for me to kick the habit.

It wasn't long before I was roused from my contemplative day dream by the scuttle of movement somewhere outside of my cell.

Maybe I'd dozed off.

"CHOW TIME!! DON'T MISS YOUR DOOR. MISS YOUR DOOR, YOU DON’T EAT!!"

"Ehh, ya goin' ta chow?"

I leaned my head against the bars.

"Ya goin' to chow?.." 

A hand reached out and tapped my bars. It was the neighbor.

"Yeah, I'm goin,'" I said.

"When they get to our tier," he said, "they brake all the doors at once, for like five seconds, if you don't pull your door open your stuck in here. Won't be able ta eat."

I'd already heard about this. It was a cornerstone of the gossip as we were processing in. "Don't miss your door," the inmates on their second or third bids would say.

I asked how to tell when the doors are broke.

"By the sound," he said. "They use a big ass metal bar to unlock the cells on the rock. When they get ready to break the doors they tap the bar against the railing."

I could hear metal clanging on one of the tiers below us.

"I'll let you know. If you lean on your door it'll slide open when they break it."

"Bet. Good look bro."

"No doubt."

I got ready for chow, which didn't consist of much other than putting shoes and coat on.

I walked to chow with the neighbor where he offered up all kinds of unsolicited information about prison. This was his second bid. A "P.V. new bid" (parole violation with a new case)

Rule #56 Everyone knows EVERYTHING. 

Seasoned inmates love to tell you what to expect and how to jail. It makes them feel important. And yes, I can see the hypocrisy of pointing this out while I'm literally writing a book on the subject. 

Don't be an asshole.

It's up to you to disseminate the usable information from the bullshit. So much of the fabricated info offered up will be unnecessary and, seemingly, un-beneficial for the one spewing it. This can make it difficult to sift through the bullshit. "Why would he lie," has been the Trojan horse that allowed entrance to many a skeptical mind.

If knowledge is power, and pretending is easier than actually gaining knowledge, then the liar, armed with confidence and a practiced delivery, is king of the naive. Which, in prison, is a formidable percentage of the population.

This brings me to one of the ACTUAL 10 things you should know about prison.

Rule #5: Don't listen to what someone says, watch what they do.

Your rudder, to steer thorough the river of bullshit you will undoubtedly encounter in prison, will be your ability to accurately judge character. And the only reliable way to do this is to observe a persons qualities, traits, and habits, not their words. Base your character assessment on a person's presentation of themselves and you will be consistently disappointed and frequently victimized.

There was a guy in my unit, I'll call him "Frankie," who'd been down for twenty some years. Frankie, was a hell of a talker. According to him, he was a published author, he had his own publishing company, he'd written a series of children's books for which one publisher called him the "Dr Seuss of the 21st century." I know because he told me this three different times, as if it was the first. He said he had numerous businesses and had grossed over a million dollars while in prison.

Eventually Frankie talked himself into one of only three laundry-porter positions in the unit. It's a good gig. As a laundry man you suddenly have access to all kinds of fringe benefits. You're allowed out of your cell all day, you have access to bleach, real soap, favoritism by the CO's, but most importantly, it's the best "legal" money hustle in the joint. 

In addition to their regular job duties, the laundry guys provide a PREMIERE laundry service. For a monthly fee—usually a bag of coffee—they will wash your laundry separately with the proper amount of detergent, bleach your whites, and fold your clothes on any day of the week, regardless of the schedule. They will do whites on color days, colors on white days (laundry, not races), and linens whenever you want.

Being a laundry porter is good, consistent, money. And other than being time consuming, it's simple work. Each laundry man comes up with their own system. The days are on an alternating schedule; whites, blues, whites, blues, whites, blues, linen, rinse and repeat. Pun completely intended. Our cell, or bunk, numbers are written on a tag on the side of our laundry bags and our corresponding cell, or bunk, numbers are written in large bold print above our cells, or bunks. Our bags are turned in, washed, and passed back out. It's the simplest of all systems. Straight forward, black and white, no room for interpretation. Numbers! 

For months, people would tell me about Frankie's accomplishments, they'd send me to him after I'd finished my first novel, to see if he wanted to publish it; when I was working on my query letters, for advice; and when I was having a lawyer draw up intellectual property rights for my work, for a second opinion. But I'd seen the writing on the wall. 

This isn't an after-the-fact "I told you so," way to demonstrate my superiority. It's only due to my neurotic need to look for systems in everything that I noticed the tell-tale signs of a con. Ask me about ANYTHING and I have theory on it; our inherent addiction to novelty and how it affects fashion, freewill vs determinism, the sociological factors involved in prison gang recruitment. This was just another example of my neuroses.

Liars, or people who have a penchant for habitually exaggerating the truth, have trouble keeping things straight. The few conversations I'd had with Frankie were enough to pick up on the idea that he might just be a bullshitter of the highest degree. There were things he'd repeat, word for word, bullet points of bullshit that he'd whittled into effective propaganda—like the Dr Seuss line. Plus by the time I'd met him I had been down long enough to know that most, not all, but a huge majority of seemingly impressive people who are insistent on consistently telling you how impressive they are, are consistently...impressively...full of shit.

It wasn't long after Frankie got the porter job, that laundry related problems began to occur. Bags were left unwashed, delivered to the wrong cells, or came up missing all together. Time and time again, inmates came to find that it was during Frankie's shift that their bags were being delivered to the wrong cube, when their bags disappeared.

At first, most were surprised by these laundering discrepancies and quick to believe Frankie's excuses for the constant mishaps. Over the span of a week he told my cubie that it was his coworker's fault, that he wasn't the one who passed the bags out, that the bag wasn't tied enough times so it had opened, mixing his items with others, that the number on his bag wasn't legible, and finally, after all reasonable excuses were exhausted, that he does such a shitty job because he really doesn't care about doing a good job. But no excuse can change the fact that this self proclaimed genius couldn't figure out how to pass out, clearly numbered bags, to clearly numbered cubes, when the other laundry porters, far from being geniuses, were flawless in comparison.

Just as Myamoto musashi said, find the way in one and you will find it in all. I believe the inverse is also true; do a shitty job at one thing, no matter how minuscule or unimportant and, odds are, that you'll do a shitty job at most other things you do.

If the inmates who'd, essentially, paid Frankie to lose their clothes for them, had watched what he DID rather than listening to what he was SAID, they wouldn't have been so blindsided by his failures.

Which brings me to another point.

Rule # 49 Don't put people in the position to let you down. 

In prison, you don't get to choose who you interact with, or live with for that matter. In this environment, if you don't want to spend you entire bid in the hole, you have to learn to deal with people and to accept them for who they are. As long as you know WHO you're dealing with, they should never be in a position to disappoint you. You can be friends with the guy who never pays anyone back, just don't ever loan him money if it will bother you when he doesn't pay you back. You can kick it with the guy that talks shit about EVERYONE, just don't be surprised when you find out he was talking shit about you.

In a place where you're essentially powerless over your surroundings, knowing WHO it is that's around you is an important tool to exercise SOME control.

Fortunately for me, in my vulnerable state of prison infancy, my neighbor Beto wasn't a bullshitter.

At least I don't think he was. 

In any case I wouldn't allow him into a position to disappoint me. I took the practical, and verifiable, advice that Beto had to offer and took the rest with a grain of salt; like the fact that, though he looked Irish and his real name was Eric, he claimed to be a Mexican named Beto. He could speak fluent Spanish though.

In any case, I liked him.

A pleasant surprise about prison—a phrase you rarely hear—is that there are genuine, helpful, selfless people who just happen to also be incarcerated. And the more you live up to these qualities and attributes, the more you invest into the positive things, the more you will run into these like minded people.

Beto was my prison SIRI. All I had to do was beat on the wall and ask him a question and I'd soon have a detailed and well explained answer. Come to think of it he was better than SIRI, in the sense that he'd offer up helpful info without me even asking.

In civilian lingo, prisons are designated as minimum, medium, maximum, and super maximum security facilities. In the state system, prison levels are number based, 1-5. This he explained unprompted.

It's easiest to think of level 1 as minimum, 2 & 3 as medium, 4 as maximum, and 5 as super max.

Each increasing security level has more limitations. Your placement is determined by an often irrational scoring system. Points are accumulated by disciplinary infractions—which makes sense—but also, when you first come down, points are doled out by the amount of time you're sentenced to—which is definitely a refined type of bullshit that has nothing to do with temperament or behavior. If you're sentenced to more than seven years you automatically go to a level 4 (maximum security) prison, no matter your crime or how well behaved you are.

Quarantine was run as a level four with just one, hour long, yard a day. Other than yard, chow time and administrative-related call outs, you're locked in your cell. Which was good preparation for me because, as Beto explained, that's where I was headed. My first three years in prison would pass in level 4 facilities.

Fuck!

Since quarantine is a temporary stop you can't acquire any real property. You can't order things like TV'S, radios, or tablets until you make it to your first real joint, and because there's really nothing else to do in quarantine, and everyone is new and equally alone, we tend to talk a lot.

It almost always starts the same: "Where you from?" It's asked in the hope that you might know some of the same people, or been to the same places; it's all an attempt to not feel so alone.

Since I was raised out of state, I had given up any hope of such menial comforts.

I got to see Tate at chow but it was becoming obvious that prison would be a one man path. On the ride out, Tate had asked me about Buddhism—specifically, meditation. It was a great excuse to start writing. That first day I wrote a few pages to pass to him at chow. I also started a journal. Before coming to prison I had been dabbling on the border of what I considered to be serious writing at the time (something I knew nothing about). Now, I finally had the time I'd needed to really figure out what "serious writing" was all about.

Rule #3 find something productive to do with your time.

I cannot overstate the importance of this rule. This is the only way to reclaim the TIME the system(or life in general) is actively trying to take from you. TIME; the most valuable, least renewable, resource in the universe. Don't let it be stolen from you without a fight.

Whether it's fitness, getting Arnold huge, writing a novel, learning a second, third, or fourth language, painting a master piece or reaching spiritual enlightenment, you have to find something to do. Your life isn't on pause when you're locked up. Unless you let it be.

Chow was a chaotic, bustling, feeding trough. The food was terrible and the portions meager, but I was starving. Our IDs were scanned and we followed the metal partitions through the cafeteria line. Think Subway, except the glass that allows you to see the fresh vegetables is metal and conceals God only knows what.

"Cake or Apple?"

The guy a few spaces ahead of me looked confused.

"Cake or apple?!" repeated the kitchen worker.

The same unflappable confusion, this time accented with a smattering of anxiety.

Again he said nothing.

He got an apple dropped on his tray

I got a cookie.

The apple guy grabbed a milk and a cup of orange liquid. He balanced the drinks on his tray.

"One or the other," said a C.O. stationed at the end of the line to check our trays.

He had to go back to return the milk.

Poor guy.

Others mistakes.

We ate our trays of rice and chicken broth with semi-cooked peas and bread. A C.O. stood over us repeating a few select phrases.

"Let's go, we need the seats!"

"Let's go gentlemen. Eat and go!"

We ate what we could and dropped our trays off where an inmate slapped them clean-ish on the inside of a dirty trashcan.

We stretched our walk back to our cell block sucking up all the fresh air we could. This zombie-like trek, to gain a few more minutes of precious fresh air, is referred to as the Level 4 shuffle.

An inmate's relationship with their cell is a complicated matter—at least it is for me. We want to be outside, to have some freedom and fresh air, but chaos and unpredictability lie beyond that steel door. Your cell is your sanctuary, as well as your... CELL.

It doesn't matter who you are; the first days of actual incarceration will have your head spinning. This is the culture shock phase of prison. Past present and future swirl together in a complex storm of emotions. Alone in this place, completely alone, your mind reels, darting in unforeseen directions.

Rule #79 Find your anchor.

In a place with such little certainty and control, breathing becomes vitally important. It's always there, ever reliable, completely anchored in the present moment. Our emotional state, as well as physiology, is tied to the breath. Deep calming breaths always help. Become a master of the breath.

With the heavy steel door secured behind me I changed into my orange shorts and laid back onto my crisp new sheets, somewhat satisfied from the hurried lunch. Laying there, I realized how noisy prison is.

Staring at the ceiling, an activity I'd grow increasingly familiar with, I thought about the life that had, so recently, crumbled to ashes around me. I felt the bottom. I was secure in the fact that I could go no lower, that I had nothing left to lose. It was crushing, but knowing what I know now, I would have understood that, sometimes, losing EVERYTHING is what it takes to appreciate ANYTHING. And, as hard as it is to survive, walking through the fire is often the only way out of a burning house.

Rule #67 Every situation is full of potential.

It's up to you to work the alchemy necessary to mine the gold of in your circumstance.

Quarantine is a limbo we're all anxious to escape. There is nothing to do; It's run as a maximum security joint; there's just one yard a day; we have no personal property; and phone access is extremely limited. We didn't have much to compare it to but the inmates who'd been here before told us we should be miserable—so we were.

I lay there wondering how long it would take before I'd ride out of this place. Everyone claimed to know the pattern behind the madness of who left and when. Some said if you were headed to a level 4 you'd be here for at least sixty days. Others said level 2s would take a month, and level 1s, just a few weeks. None were reliable predictors. From what I could surmise, we were stuck there until a space opened up at a facility that could take us.

Akhems razor is a tool rarely sharpened behind prison walls.

That night I went to sleep to the symphony of voices and conversations, so numerous that they'd become an increasingly familiar hum. I drifted away wondering what my kids were doing, hoping my family was OK.

Every twenty minutes or so I'd roll over, in an attempt to find a position comfortable enough to squeeze out a few more minutes of slumber. I tossed and turned but couldn't hold on to any meaningful sleep. I thought it was the noise, the new surroundings, the stress, the stiff plastic covered pillow, the thin brittle mat, the scratchy blanket. After years and years of sleepless nights I've come to realize that it's not one of these culprits alone that keeps you from REM sleep, it's a concert of all these factors...but mostly the mat and the pillow.

I was awake long before I opened my eyes. I sat up to the sound of crashing metal and booming voices. A loose sheet of paper was wedged between the bars. It was my first "call out" or daily itinerary.

Anything you have to do will be printed on your call out: doctors and dentists appointments, work detail, library, barbershop, church, classes..etc, all set to military time, all passed out the night before...

TO BE CONTINUED…

Prison Dictionary.

All day: (noun; slang) life without parole.

Area of control: (noun) the area, most often in your cell, you are responsible for. Any contraband found in your area of control will be considered yours, regardless of actual ownership.

Back forty: (noun) the large area of the yard with a track.

Banger: (noun; slang) a prison knife.

Bird bath: (verb; slang) to wash up in the sink.

Blues: (noun) your official prison uniform that is blue in color.

Bottles: (noun; slang) alcoholic beverage.

Box: (noun; slang) administrative segregation, aka: the hole.

Break: (verb; slang) when a door is opened/unlocked "break my door" means "open my door”.

Call-out: (noun) daily itinerary.

Chow hall: (noun) cafeteria.

Day room: (noun) the common area in every unit with television, phone, and microwave access.

E.R.D: (noun; abrv) Earliest release date, or you first parole eligibility.

Flix: (noun; slang) photographs or pictures.

Health care: (noun) medical unit.

Hook: (noun; slang)a prison corrections officer.

Jack: (noun; slang) telephone.

Jail:  (verb; slang) the act of living, and all that it encompasses, while incarcerated.

Jpay: (noun)company that provides email services, some states have jpay tablets with music, games, photo album…etc

Kite: (noun) an inner-institutional a message, letter, or form.

Laundry bag: (noun) a mesh bag you will hand in to be washed and dried by a laundry porter. Make sure to tie as many knots as possible when you tie it closed. Also make sure to have you cell number clearly marked on the bag.

Lock down: (noun; slang) to go to a secluded area, most commonly a cell, to fight.

Lock up: (verb; slang) to willfully refuse to return to cell in order to be relocated to another facility, most commonly to avoid a debt or violence.

Quarter master: (noun) clothing dispensary and repair.

Rack: (noun; slang) your bed.

Rec: (noun; slang) recreational activity. Occasionally used as slang for fighting.

Rock: (noun; slang) wing or tier of a unit.

Rotate: (verb; slang) to actively participate in gang activity with a specific set.

Service: (noun) religious meeting.

Stamp: (noun) a pre-stamped envelope.

Stinger: (noun) a homemade electrical device designed to boil water when plugged into an outlet.

Tube: (noun; slang) television.

[marclefrancois1]

Why People with Narcolepsy Can Have Short-term Memory Problems

The following blog post e0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22eee0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22eepostlinke0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22eee0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22ee was initially published on The Marc Le Francois Sleep Health Blog

A science writer with narcolepsy explains the impacts of sleep deprivation on brain performance.

By Henry Nicholls

The below is an adapted excerpt from Nicholls’s new book SLEEPYHEAD: The Neuroscience of a Good Night’s Rest and is reprinted with permission.

The most immediate, most obvious impact of sleep deprivation is on brain performance. ‘If a man is denied sleep so that the drain upon nerve cells continues beyond a certain point, he will, of course, be thrown into a condition of fatigue, when intellect and emotions must suffer,’ wrote Michael O’Shea in Aspects of Mental Economy in 1900.

In order to gauge the extent of this damage, psychologists will often deploy the psychomotor vigilance task. This requires a subject to strike a button every time they experience a stimulus, like the flash of light on a screen or a beep from a loudspeaker. The stimuli occur over and over but at random intervals over the course of a ten-minute test. Sleep deprivation seriously messes with the ability to carry out this task, slowing the reaction time and increasing the number of lapses. When someone doesn’t even respond to one of the flashes or beeps, it’s probably because they were so tired they lapsed into one of those microsleeps that are common for many people with narcolepsy.

Sleep deprivation and the frequent failures of consciousness that result are like taking a wrecking ball to memory. ‘One of the cruellest things about having narcolepsy since very early childhood is that I have few memories and the ones I have are actually “false memories”,’ says Lily Clarke. When she turned 40, her best friend gave her an album of photos from their youth. ‘I burst out crying and everyone thought I was being sentimental but I was inconsolable because I didn’t recognize any of the events.’

Most people with narcolepsy report something similar. ‘I have holes in my memory,’ says Pen Pearson. ‘It’s like going to open a drawer for something and when I open it the drawer is empty.’ For Trish Wood, her short-term memory is definitely affected. ‘Dates and names are a particular problem,’ she says. ‘I am constantly late for work because I have lost or forgotten things like keys, medication, handbag, purse and lunch. I lay everything out the night before but can still manage to lose my car keys in the short distance between my kitchen table and the front door.’

Although I am fortunate that I do not suffer from narcolepsy anywhere like as badly as this, I have still become acutely aware that my short-term memory isn’t as good as it should be. I have a pretty good recollection of my youth; the memories that were laid down in my pre-narcoleptic days are virtually untouched and readily accessible. I do remember lots of things from my life with narcolepsy but I have a nasty feeling that they are not nearly as sharp as they should be. In fact, it’s almost as if I am living in a spotlight focused on the present, my immediate past and future out there in the darkness. It takes a lot of effort to recall what I did last weekend or what I’ll be doing next weekend. In conversation, I will often struggle to find the right word, halting mid-sentence for too long. Occasionally, I will have absolutely no recollection of a conversation, an experience that is as alarming as it is embarrassing, and one I did not imagine I would have until I was considerably older than I am now. In my early 40s, I began to contemplate that these memory deficits might be a sign of early-onset dementia. The reality is they are much more likely to be down to deprivation of proper sleep.

Sleepiness affects working memory, the memory needed to process in real time, like when holding several numbers in your head. It is also important for the formation of more long-lasting memories. In simple terms, the brain transforms an experience into a memory in two discrete steps, encoding an event as a temporary memory and then consolidating it into long-term storage. In order to do this well, it is important to have good sleep both before and after an experience.

I go to a lunch party. If I have not slept well the night before, my brain will not be in optimal shape to encode the names and faces of the guests into my short-term memory. If things are really bad, I might slip into microsleeps too, failing to register meeting one or two people at all. Even if I have slept well the night before and bank plenty of information into my short-term memory, I can only store it away for the long term if the night after the event is also good.  

The lapses in cognitive function and the microsleeps that result from poor sleep can obviously cause accidents. ‘You’ve got a cup of tea and it falls out of your hands and burns your legs,’ says Martin, recounting an everyday hazard of being permanently shattered. He’s honed a technique for drinking his tea safely when he’s tired, leaning on the kitchen table with his elbows, his hands around the cup. Then, if he falls asleep before he’s finished the mug, he won’t drop it.

When sleep-disordered or sleep-deprived people find themselves in positions of responsibility, the consequences can extend to others. Surgeons, for example, are likely to struggle more with an operation when they are sleep deprived. In one study, researchers used a virtual reality set-up to test the dexterity of trainee surgeons in different stages of sleep deprivation. Those who’d been awake all night made 20 per cent more errors and took 15 per cent longer to complete the screen-based operation than those who’d had a full night’s sleep.

The meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in 1979 and the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union in 1986 are always cited as accidents where sleep deprivation resulted in human error, though the evidence is circumstantial. In the case of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986, however, the presidential commission ruled that sleep loss and shift-working played a part.

As horrific as these large-scale tragedies might be, the devastation they cause is nothing compared to the far more mundane problem of drifting off at the wheel. It’s been estimated that staying awake for 24 hours results in an impaired cognitive state roughly equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.1 per cent. In most countries, this exceeds the legal limit for driving.

Though it’s obvious that sleepy driving should increase the risk of an accident, it is far from easy to figure out just how common such events might actually be. Jim Horne, who until his retirement was head of the Loughborough Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University in the UK, has spent more time than most thinking about the dangers of sleeping at the wheel. Some 20 years ago, he was approached by the Devon and Cornwall constabulary, then by other police forces around the United Kingdom, each of them giving him access to their records. His mission was to report back on just how common sleep-related accidents might be and whether there were any interesting patterns lurking in the data.

Working with his colleague Louise Reyner, Horne devised a way of homing in on crashes where sleep was the probable cause. As the dataset only involves those accidents reported to police, it can only give us a partial picture of the severity of this problem. But it does reveal some key, take-home messages about sleep-related road accidents.

Most strikingly perhaps is the straight-forward observation that these accidents are more likely to be fatal than other kinds of prang. ‘One of the cardinal signs of these collisions is there’s no sign of braking beforehand,’ says Horne. ‘We think there are more fatal accidents associated with falling asleep at the wheel than with alcohol.’

Over the course of a 24-hour period there are two clear spikes to the incidence of accidents where sleep was involved, one in the early morning and a second mid-afternoon. Horne puts the early-morning spike down to ‘a triple whammy’. If you are on the road before 6 a.m., it’s possible, even likely, that you haven’t had enough sleep. This is also the time of day when the body is at its circadian nadir, and all-round alertness is likely to be compromised. To make matters worse, the roads are dark and usually empty, so don’t have much to offer in the way of stimulation. ‘That’s why half the collisions on our motorways between 2 and 6 o’clock in the morning are sleep related,’ says Horne.

The second peak in sleep-related accidents is down to the circadian slump in the middle of the afternoon, but the roads are busy so it’s not as obvious as the first. ‘There’s a lot of stimulation going on and stimulation helps offset sleepiness.’

In terms of who is behind the wheel when these accidents occur, Horne identifies three groups that are at particular risk: men under the age of 30. ‘They drive faster, cut corners, show off a bit, seem to think they are invulnerable and are more likely to be driving in the early hours of the morning,’ he says; shift workers, particularly after the first night shift before their body clocks have adjusted to being awake at night; and those with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea.

There’s good evidence, for instance, that treatment with CPAP significantly reduces motor accidents. In a study that took place in Ontario, Canada, researchers found that before treatment, the rate of accidents for the obstructive sleep apnea patients was three times that of the general population. After treatment, the accident rate dropped to normal levels. Motorways are particularly dangerous. The unwavering, high-rev thrum of an engine and the sheer monotony of pummeling along in a straight line making sleep that much more likely. Owing to the fact that the opportunities to get off a motorway are limited, there will often be a period where a sleepy driver will have to push on for many miles in a suboptimal state, rolling down the windows, switching the air conditioning to freeze, shouting or singing along to a maxed-up radio.

Horne has looked into whether these countermeasures work, specifically cold air and the radio. ‘Cold air in your face can have an effect for a short while, maybe 15 minutes,’ says Horne. ‘It depends how sleepy you are.’ The radio, however, is ‘basically useless’.

‘As soon as you start doing things to keep yourself awake you know you are a danger to yourself and other people,’ he says. ‘You shouldn’t start thinking I’ll turn up the air conditioning and I can carry on driving for an hour or so.’ It’s time to get off the road at the next stop.

Horne’s work led the UK government to introduce signs on motorways around the country, stating the obvious but easily ignored mantra: ‘Tiredness kills. Take a break’. He has also carried out research on the most effective way to take that break, giving a group of graduate students either a strong coffee or a caffeine-free control and a nap of up to 15 minutes before testing their driving performance in a virtual test.

Buy a coffee, one containing a hefty amount of caffeine. ‘Drink the coffee and go straight back to your vehicle,’ he says. ‘As the caffeine takes around 20 minutes to kick in, here’s that window of opportunity to get your head down for a quick zizz. Even if it’s dozing it can be quite refreshing.’ The caffeine buzz and a short doze combine to provide a powerful pick-me-up.

Most people with a sleep disorder understand the dangers that sleeping at the wheel could pose to themselves, their passengers and other road users, and take it seriously. Some will not drive at all, but many – with the proper medication and management – can continue to do so safely. ‘I have never come across a case of someone with narcolepsy, diagnosed and treated, ever having a serious collision on the roads as a result of falling asleep at the wheel,’ says Horne. In fact, given the self-imposed rules that many people with sleep disorders have to safeguard against sleep while driving, it’s even possible that they are safer than many other road users, he says.

* * * In the longer term, sleep deprivation can have serious consequences for the body. For over 20 years Francesco Cappuccio has worked as a consultant in cardiovascular medicine, flipping between academic research and clinical practice at the University of Warwick. Around 15 years ago, he began to ask questions about the long-term health consequences of insufficient sleep. He was specifically interested in those who huddle beneath the lower lip of the sleep duration bell curve, the one in eight people who get less than six hours sleep a night. Could routine short sleep be contributing to the obesity epidemic unfolding across the developed world? What about cardiovascular disease? Type 2 diabetes? Are those with short sleep more likely to experience an early death?

Henry Nicholls

Cappuccio and his colleagues pooled data from 30 research papers linking sleep duration with obesity. ‘All the studies published at the time indicated a very significant association between the proportion of people that are obese and sleep duration,’ he says. But an association between these two variables falls well short of demonstrating a causal link. It is relatively easy to see how obesity, by increasing the fat laid down in the throat, could cause sleep apnea. Is it possible that it could also work the other way round, with short sleep somehow causing obesity? Cappuccio resolved to data mine his way to a conclusion.

The longitudinal study is of crucial importance, one in which data are repeatedly collected from the same individuals over the course of many years. This can help address the question of which came first, the short sleep or the obesity. A longitudinal study of young children in New Zealand was the first to indicate that it’s the short sleep that kicks things off. Cappuccio’s own data, as yet unpublished, shows much the same. ‘We are convinced that the exposure to short sleep precedes obesity,’ he says.

In the context of sleep apnea and narcolepsy, we have already seen how disrupting sleep can have unhealthy consequences for metabolism. Getting too little sleep does much the same, and possibly more. There is now compelling evidence that chronic sleep deprivation doesn’t just lead to obesity, it is also associated with a long list of other health complications, including an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, structural damage to the blood vessels, stroke and coronary heart disease, to name just a few. People with habitually short sleep are also more likely to die early.

Adapted excerpt from Sleepyhead: The Neuroscience of a Good Night’s Rest by Henry Nicholls. Copyright 2018. Available from Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

from Sleep Review http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2018/09/narcolepsy-short-term-memory-problems/

from https://www.marclefrancois.net/2018/09/25/why-people-with-narcolepsy-can-have-short-term-memory-problems/

[andrewdburton]

The plight of the poor: Thoughts on systemic poverty, fault, and responsibility

I write a lot at Get Rich Slowly about habits that foster wealth and success.

Like it or not, there are very real differences between the behaviors and attitudes of those who have money and those who don’t. This isn’t me being classist or racist. It’s a fact. And I think that if we want ourselves and others to be able to enjoy economic mobility, to escape poverty and dire circumstances, we have to have an understanding of the necessary mental shifts.

The problem, of course, is that it’s one thing to understand intellectually that wealthy people and poor people have different mindsets, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to adopt more productive attitudes in your own life.

In fact, sometimes it’s downright impossible. If you’re poor, you’re often too busy struggling to survive.

The Plight of the Poor

There’s a seductive myth that poor people deserve what they get. If poor people are poor, it’s their own fault. If they wanted to be middle class (or wealthy), if they wanted to be successful, then they’d do the things that lead to wealth and success.

Look, let’s get real. Nobody wants to be poor. Nobody wants to struggle from day to day wondering where they’re going to get money for food, for clothing, for medicine. And studies show that if you give poor people cash, they really do tend to use the money to improve their lives instead of squandering it on alcohol and cigarettes.

Yes, there are absolutely people who do dumb things that keep them mired in debt and despair. No question. Some people are poor because they’ve made poor choices.

But far more people live in poverty due to systemic issues and/or historical legacy than due to a pattern of financial misbehavior. Most poor people were born into poverty and don’t have the knowledge or resources to escape it.

What’s more, poverty actually alters the way people think and behave. It’s great for us to have discussions about the mindsets of millionaires, but the truth is it can be difficult (if not impossible) for poor people to make sense of some of the things we talk about. Here’s a quote from a 2015 article about the psychological effects of poverty (from the magazine for the Association for Psychological Science):

Decades of research have already documented that people who deal with stressors such as low family income, discrimination, limited access to health care, exposure to crime, and other conditions of low [socio-economic status] are highly susceptible to physical and mental disorders, low educational attainment, and low IQ scores…

[…]

Studies also show that poverty in the earliest years of childhood may be more harmful than poverty later in childhood.

Poverty breeds poverty. Economic mobility does exist and people do manage to make it to the middle class, but it’s not easy. On an individual level, people become trapped by a “poverty mindset”. On a societal level, there are systemic and historical issues that exacerbate poverty and make it difficult to escape.

This morning, Kris (my ex-wife) sent me a long Twitter rant from Linda Tirado about how poverty changes your brain. It’s fascinating. (For the past few years, Tirado has been a polarizing figure in poverty debates.) Kris also helped me edit this article, which she thinks is totally misguided. (She’s a crusader for societal change!)

Systemic Poverty in Action

As an exercise, let’s look at the single largest example of systemic poverty in the United States.

For hundreds of years, white Americans enslaved black Americans. Around 150 years ago, slavery was abolished in this country.

In 1860, slaves made up 13% of the U.S. population. After Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on 01 January 1863 (and after the Civil War), these slaves were made free. But that freedom did not mean they were given an equal playing field with other Americans. Economically, for most black people, things got worse.

During the late 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (or WPA) conducted the Federal Writers’ Project, an attempt to create a sort of oral history of the United States. As part of this, the WPA compiled a 10,000-page collection covering 2000 interviews with former slaves. If you’ve never read it, the Slave Narratives are equal parts frustrating and fascinating. They offer a first-hand view of what life was like for black Americans both during and after slavery.

For purposes of our current discussion, the Slave Narratives clearly demonstrate the origins of black poverty in the United States. Take this volume of stories, for instance, which is peppered with anecdotes about how difficult it was for former slaves to make ends meet after the Civil War. (If you’re offended by a certain racial epithet, even when it’s used in context by members of that race, you should skip the following quotes.)

Here’s Ella Kelley from Winnsboro, South Carolina:

Money? Help me Jesus, no. How could I ever see it? In de kitchen I see none, and how I see money any where else, your honor? Nigger never had none. I ain’t got any money now, long time since I see any money.

And here’s James Johnson (“The Cotton Man”) from Columbia, South Carolina describing his experience:

It ain’t what a nigger knows dat keeps him down. No, sir. It is what he don’t know, dat keeps de black man in de background. […] I sho’ am glad I didn’t come ‘long then. I feels and knows dat de years after de war was worser than befo’. Befo’ de war, niggers did have a place to lie down at night and somewhere to eat, when they got hungry in slavery time. Since them times, a many a nigger has had it tough to make a livin’. I knows dat is so, too, ’cause I has been all ‘long dere.

If you read interviews with former slaves, you see this pattern again and again. During slavery, their basic needs — food, shelter, clothing — were provided (at the cost of their freedom, of course). After slavery, meeting these basic needs became a struggle. The former slaves talk about this period as “the hard times”, and that seems apt.

Obviously, the abolition of slavery was a good thing. But the process failed to provide a means for newly-free Americans to become self-sufficient.

Houston Hartsfield Holloway, a former slave who taught himself to read and write, became a traveling preacher after emancipation. He once wrote, “We colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them.” Colored people didn’t know the rules of the game, and they were playing at a severe disadvantage.

Please note that I am in no way defending slavery. Far from it. I’m merely pointing out that upon emancipation, black Americans did not magically become equal with white Americans. Aside from receiving their freedom, things got worse economically for the majority of former slaves.

Think of it this way: A group of friends is playing Monopoly. Everyone has been around the board a few times. Most of the players have acquired a few properties and some cash. One player has managed to build hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk. In walks another friend, Jenny. The group invites Jenny to play the game, but she has to start at square one. Not even square one, actually. She doesn’t get the same $1500 everyone else got at the start of the game. She gets nothing except the wheelbarrow token. Jenny spends the rest of the game trying to gather enough money to pay the rents when she lands on properties the other players own. She never gets an opportunity to begin stockpiling money so that she can buy property of her own.

In this situation, is it Jenny’s fault that she’s unable to compete with the other players? Of course not! She was handicapped from the start. Yet for some reason, there are people who cannot comprehend that there are large populations in the U.S. that suffer similar handicaps in real life. Yes, it’s true: The economic effects of slavery are still being felt today, more than 150 years after the institution was abolished in this country.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the poverty rate for white Americans in 2010 was 11.6%. The poverty rate for black Americans was 25.8%.

A Widespread Problem

That’s just one example. It’s not just black Americans who have been handicapped in the game of wealth.

For most of its history, the United States has been the proverbial melting pot, a place where people from other countries came to escape their pasts and to pursue more promising futures.

Many, many of the people who immigrated to the United States were poor. They fled poverty in Russia or Ireland or Italy or Poland or Germany or Mexico or China only to find a different sort of poverty here. Sure, we celebrate success stories of people who achieve the American Dream — as we should! — but there are just as many stories of families who came to the U.S., worked hard, and…struggled to get by. (Don’t get me started on Native Americans. They’ve been screwed over repeatedly, essentially been forced into poverty. The afore-mentioned Census data revealed that Native Americans had the highest poverty rate at 27.0%.)

By this point, I’m sure some of you are bemoaning the fact that I’m a bleeding-heart liberal. I’m not. And, generally speaking, Get Rich Slowly does not do politics. (I’m doing my best to keep this piece apolitical too.)

I did, however, grow up in poverty. Not ex-slavery poverty, but poverty nonetheless. Post-poverty, I spent nearly twenty years digging out of debt. While my life is comfortable now (and I have plenty of money), that hasn’t always been the case. I have lots of financial empathy for people who are poor because I have first-hand experience with some of the problems they face.

I’m not willing to dismiss the poor as stupid or ignorant or lazy or unmotivated because I don’t believe it’s true. Besides, my aim at Get Rich Slowly is to help everybody get better with money, no matter where they’re starting from.

Solving Poverty One Person at a Time

But here’s where I part ways with my more progressive friends: While I agree that there are very real problems with systemic poverty in this country (and, more so, in the world at large), I think it’s pointless to try to fix these problems on a grand scale. It’s never going to happen. You’re not going to eliminate poverty through government policy. You’re not going to eliminate poverty through redistribution of wealth. You’re not going to eliminate poverty by trying to make wealthy people feel guilty or by inciting class warfare.

Sure, we as a society should foster economic policies that make it possible for everyone to have the opportunity to succeed. No question. But I believe that poverty must be solved one person at a time.

I believe strongly that the best way to help individual people escape poverty — to escape it permanently — is to teach them the skills and give them the tools needed to improve their circumstances, to show them that the quickest and easiest way for them to defeat poverty is to do it themselves.

Your situation may not be your fault but it is your responsibility. It’s up to you to change things for the better. It’s up to you to learn how money works, then use that knowledge to build the life you want. It’s up to you to dig out of debt, shake the shackles of poverty, and work your way toward financial freedom.

Here’s something actor Will Smith posted to Instagram a couple of weeks ago about the difference between fault and responsibility:

If you’re poor, it’s probably not your fault that you’re poor. But like it or not, it’s your responsibility to escape that poverty.

Meanwhile, I believe the rest of us have a responsibility to:

Acknowledge that not everyone enjoys the same start in life,

Create a “level playing field”, removing barriers to class mobility, and

Do what we can to help those who are less fortunate work to improve their situation.

What does that mean for you? I don’t know. Only you can make that call.

For me, it means meeting with anyone who wants to pick my brain. It means publishing material at Get Rich Slowly that can help people of all circumstances better manage the money they have. It means teaching migrant workers how to budget. It means investing in businesses that help people to help themselves.

I do believe that wealthy people and poor people think differently. And I do believe economic mobility is possible in the United States. But I also believe that it’s callous to dismiss poor people as lazy, stupid, and unmotivated. Poverty is a weight. It’s a handicap. It’s a trap. We should be doing what we can to help others escape this trap.

Again, I recognize that this topic is loaded with political ramifications. While we generally steer clear of politics at GRS, I understand that this discussion is going to go there. That’s fine. What’s not fine are name-calling, facile arguments, and gross generalizations. Please keep the conversation civil!

The post The plight of the poor: Thoughts on systemic poverty, fault, and responsibility appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

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[pabluesman]

The latest rant:

A common picture of the Republican Party is that of a cabal of big-money plutocrats, rubbing their hands gleefully as they kick starving children into the cold and knock retirees over for the Social Security benefits while lighting cigars with $100 bills. And while this is useful as agitprop, it creates a divide in the discussion of serious issues. Granted, there are some on both sides of the aisle who are craven and corrupt, and unfortunately they also make the most noise. It also doesn't help that the top figures in the party -- trump and his staff (Spicer, Conway, et al), Ryan, and McConnell -- further this perception with their words and actions, but such is a topic for another day ... The thing is, though, almost all Republicans are working with the best of intentions. They honestly believe that their proposals and actions are in the best interest of the American people. So why is there such a gulf between Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, trump and normal people? My opinion? It comes down to a fundamental difference in how progress is measured. The Republican Party measures everything in terms of dollars and cents. This is fine as far as it goes -- it is a completely objective measure, with no wiggle room for interpretation. Something costs what it costs, and revenue is revenue, and the numbers are going to be the numbers whether you like them or not. As a result, for many things this is fine ... but there are aspects of the things the government does that do not translate well into currency. Things like quality of life for a family that can no longer afford health coverage. Or environmental quality. Or lives lost fighting bullshit wars on false pretenses. The modern Republican Party is, on paper, dedicated to the idea of fiscal responsibility. They believe that deficit spending is fundamentally bad, that social welfare programs impede individual initiative, and (at least, on the far right) that many of the problems faced by marginalized populations -- the poor, people of color, and so on -- are the result of moral failings at the individual level. Proposals presented by the Republicans are centered around the idea of "if ya ain't got the dough, don't spend it." Nowhere is this demonstrated more clearly than in the following statement made by Rep. Mo Brooks on May 1:

“My understanding is that it will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool. That helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they’re healthy, they’ve done the things to keep their bodies healthy. And right now those are the people—who’ve done things the right way—that are seeing their costs skyrocketing.”

On the surface, this seems like a pretty cruel, heartless stance. After all, what Rep. Brooks appears to be saying here is that if someone gets breast cancer, say, then it's their own damned fault for not living a clean life and they deserve to pay more for insurance as a result. Now, everybody knows this is bullshit, and it's a pretty safe bet that's not what Rep. Brooks meant. My guess is that he was speaking more to the apparent fairness of premium amounts, taking a position that people who need more health care should be paying higher premiums. And while this does seem like a reasonable proposition, it misses the point entirely on how insurance is supposed to work (the people who need less subsidize the people who need more, thus spreading the cost more or less evenly ... but diving into the intricacies of health insurance actuary is way beyond the scope of this article). This illustrates a higher point, though. Whether it stems from ideology, or the need to maintain viewership across the basic cable spectrum, or just pure salaciousness, we have been trapped in a cycle of "gotchas" for the past several decades. Barack Obama says "So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion ..." as a statement on small-town America's reaction to steady job losses over the prior twenty years, which is clearly evident when the entire quote is used:

"Our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

However, the right-wing shriek factory chose to highlight a specific phrase in a manner designed to generate the most outrage, furthering the narrative of Obama as a Kenyan Muslim terrorist atheist communist dictator, hellbent on taking away everyone's guns and forcing them to adhere to Sharia law (which, let's be fair, almost none of the target audience knew anything about except what they had heard from the right-wing shriek factory in the first place ... and not for nothing, but it is impossible to be a Muslim and an atheist. Just sayin'.). To be fair, this sort of nonsense happens on the left as well, but again ... a topic for another article ... The thing is, there are actually very few Republicans who hew strictly to this line. The vast majority of them do not agree with ideological purity at all costs; instead they adopt a stance of "Okay, I have my ideology, you have yours, and there has to be some agreeable middle ground." For example, as you may have guessed, I am a liberal. Very liberal. Not quite to the anarchist extreme of some, but definitely more than most. One of my best friends is a hard-core conservative Republican. We argue about politics all the time, and rare is the occasion when one of us makes a solid enough argument to change the other's position. Despite this obvious mental deficiency on his part (kidding, and he knows it), he is a wonderful stepfather, a good and decent person, and regularly kicks my ass at pool. And this is the fundamental point. Republicans are not, by nature, evil. They are not the sort of cartoonish, sinister villains portrayed in the media, any more than liberals are all a bunch of skinny, stoned, granola-munching whiners with acoustic guitars militantly guarding against trigger words. Republicans just have a different viewpoint from Democrats. That's all. They are both still Americans, they both still love this country, they both still respect the Constitution. Go to any firehouse, police station, military barracks, elementary school, restaurant, grocery store, auto shop. Unless there is only one person there, chances are pretty good that there will be a roughly even split between conservatives and liberals. And I guarantee that the EMT who is driving the ambulance taking you to the hospital doesn't give a hairy rodent's posterior about your political affiliation, the only concern is getting you to the goddam hospital. This is what we, as a society, are losing sight of lately. It is incumbent upon all of us -- right or left, Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal -- to always remember this, and to accept the fundamental humanity of those with differing views, and to allow the respect that is born from this acceptance to be shown. And it has to start with a decision on which media outlet to frequent. Yes, there are no purely objective sources. Every media outlet has some sort of political leaning. It's only natural, considering they are all people. Where the differences lie is in how this slant is addressed. Some, like Breitbart and the Daily Wire on the right or Occupy Democrats and the Palmer Report on the left, make no bones about their political leanings. Which is fine, as long as people understand that their content is all opinion, not fact. Others, like the New York Times and the Washington Post on the left and the Wall Street Journal and Forbes on the right, acknowledge their political stance but strive to keep it from coloring their reporting. Yes, sometimes they are better at it than others, but they all have one common characteristic: when a mistake is made, they cop to it. Publicly. They issue retractions and correct the erroneous information. If there are enough retractions credited to a specific reporter ... well, that reporter is then out of a job. So I urge everyone reading this -- both of you -- to ask the following questions when considering a news source (not including articles clearly labeled as opinion pieces):

Does this news source use objective language, or are there subjective terms (excluding quotes) used to attempt to sway the reader to a particular way of thinking about an issue? For example, the Daily Wire recently published a story about funding being pulled from a Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar" because it depicts the assassination of donald trump. While the story may be true, and it is not at all uncommon for theater companies to adapt Shakespeare to modern settings, the Daily Wire uses language like "objectively despicable contents of this production" to describe the play. Rather than just reporting on the "who, what, where, when" of the issue, the Daily Wire attempts to apply a value judgement to the play, thus robbing the reader of that opportunity.

Can the story be verified by multiple reliable sources? For example, if you see a story in the New York Times, or Forbes, or the BBC, or even the Daily Caller, can you also find reporting on that same topic from another source? This excludes the latest practice in which someone creates content that may or may not be factual and distributes it to like-thinking outlets, who then publish it blindly (basically, what happens here is that the article appears in multiple outlets, with identical or near-identical language).

In the case of erroneous reporting, does the source acknowledge it and issue a retraction? This only applies to factual errors. For example, an article about Ivanka Trump's clothing line that reports on a pair of shoes costing $2,500 when they are actually $250 deserves a correction. An opinion piece stating that they are the butt-ugliest things to come down the pike since the Pontiac Aztek does not.

It is vitally important that we all -- Republican and Democrat alike -- do our due diligence when consuming media. It is only once we emerge from the shriek factories on both the left and right and into the light of day that we can start to find common ground on the issues facing this nation today. Please like and share my page at http://ift.tt/2rkD9UV for more.