PeaceHq

Prisoners Of Conscience Run - 2004
Runner Revelations
Larry Crane



   During each and every run that I have been privileged to participate in, there have come those informative, instructive moments of realization or revelation that not only create wonder and awe at the moment, but carry forward with you as part of your special knowledge of important things. The 2004 POC run was to be no different than many others, and although there were several remarkable moments during the day, the specific one I want to relate here occurred at the very end. We had successfully completed our mileage committment and gathered on an entry road within sight of the prison for our closing ceremony and circle. Erik had spoken eloquently in the circle about how the run generated feelings such as Joy and Hope in not only the runners and POC's, but also in the general population, and about how these emotions can flow and grow in unknown and even unimaginable ways. He also talked about picking up a friend and fellow POC, Don Beisswenger, at this very facility the day before. Dr. Don is a retired professor of religion from Vanderbilt University and he was met at the gate by Erik, his family, and a young friend who was one of his students at Vandy. Erik allowed as how Dr. Don was still teaching this young friend. While waiting for Don to be released, Erik happened to see a man named Mr. Hall, a unit manager (technically a warden), come out of the admin building. He walked over to the man and called out to him. He said he had to confront Mr. Hall about the way he had treated Don, a man in his 70's, in a very harsh and unkind way. Because Don and his cellmate were accused of having to much clutter in their cell, Mr. Hall had made the two of them move all their possesions out onto the walkway and live there for months. Because of this harsh and meanspirited treatment of an old and somewhat unhealthy man, Erik couldn't just let him walk by without calling him down about it. At this time Mr. Hall was overheard to complain that he had to many empty cells, an admission that sparked my runners revelation.

   Standing there, listening to Erik, and looking up at the grim reality of this formidable institution, I began to wonder why having empty cells would constitute a problem for the warden. Having spent time in the military and working for state government, I had some familiarity with the proprietary selfishness inherent in institutional forms, and I speculated on the budgetary problems Mr. Hall might have if his prison was run at less than peak occupancy. If the cells weren't all full, then he couldn't get as much money to run the facility, and since in institutional complexes money was power - less cash, less power and influence. Great strategy! create an incentive to always keep the prisons full, shoot we could even build more and more of them,huh! Shoot then we could privatize them, get them off the general fund, invest in them and make lots of money for ourselves! Everyone knows that business runs things more efficiently than the gubment. What a great idea - Make prisons profitable - create jobs, well create a whole industry! It'll be just like real estate management, keep those vacancy rates down, we'll even put law enforcement on commission. That way we won't have to worry about losing our best officers to private industry. Then when we have all those prisons full of miscreants, we'll make-em work for their keep and solve the out sourcing problem of low wages. This will be fantastic - except for - we'll have to change the institutional name of the process. Now it falls under the Dept. of Corrections - CORRECTIONS MY BUTT - the only thing this will correct is the distinct lack of cash flow for those involved in the process. It certainly won't correct whatever problem the inmates had that got them in here in the first place, but hey thats OK because we want them to keep coming back again and again and again...keeps our vacancy rate down - don't even mention that the REAL purpose of a Dept. Of Corrections is to ultimately render the need for prisons obsolete!

   It is a sad commentary on our times where a wacky scenario like the forgoing could actually be closer to truth than we would all like to admit. When you wholeheartedly believe that all human beings are truly children of the One God, it is a sad sad day when you realize that some, eventhough they may have severe problems, are reduced to not only a number on their chest - but worse - a number on a balance sheet!



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