Prison or criminal university

Prison or Criminal University by: Abe Fromen The first thing I was taught when I got to prison was: if I am to ever throw hot oil at a correction officer (co.) mix it with honey. I asked why? "So it sticks to their skin"! Really?!! Is this what you really want to teach a 19 year old kid? I then learned how to hide contraband inside my rectal cavity; this was not by choice. Isn't prison the place where you come, when you can't live by society's laws: Yes! Then why do people come here and get worse! Prisons are filled with people who made mistakes; people who are full of promise, people who have such aspirations. But we are not given the chance. When I arrived at my current facility; I tried to work in the mess hall: denied. I then tried to work in the "O.M." (officers mess hall) - denied. Don't these people realize that I have a background in the culinary arts and thats where my dreams are! Nope, they don't care! Now, I have a great deal of patience, and I've always wanted to learn how to weld; so I tried that one to; denied! Here's the funny/sad part; I was told that I can't do the welding vocational program because I already have a vocational satisfaction in carpentry; in other words; if I wanted to better my self by learning another trade; sorry denied! I see it every day day after day: people [text cuts off] they do not care! People don't come to prison to get better. We come here to get worse! I'm not in prison for drugs, but was forced to take a drug program; I learned more about drugs in that program then in 19 yrs. on the outside. When I've finally had enough and start my letters and complaints; thats when the threats start, the harassment, the urine-drug testing, the cell-searches! So far I've been incarcerated for 19 yrs. 2-days, and 8-hours. Everything that I set to accomplish when I came to prison has been met with resistance. The powers that be; know that prison is a revolving door; I've seen it too many times; and so has the public; just watch the news. The headlines are unacceptable; "Parolee back behind bars"; "Parolee Kills Again"; How do you think that looks for us; those of us who want to go home, those of us who have families to go home to; those of us who have dreams and would like to fulfill them, those of us who will never come back to this hell-hole! Prisons need better programming, more programming, more therapeutic programs; real world work experiences; we have been kept in the stone ages. Yeah, I know why I'm in here; and I regret it every single day; for these 19 years; I've been kept from my family, from my loved ones; and I have no one to blame but myself; The least they can do; is help us to help ourselves.