A prison guard is a prison guard. That's all he is designed to be. Maybe it should be different, though. We send a lot of the mentally ill to our prisons, and, those with mental illness are not going to overcome it without a lot of love. Many times, it is the stark realities of life and the harshness of the world that have chased them to their mental conditions, to begin with.
And, you don't solve a problem by administering a double fold of what caused the problem in the first place.
We can see how those with mental illness can be shattered emotionally. A good portion of them are such that their minds are fidgeting, shaking and quivering. The term "cracked" came about because that's exactly what happens to them. They get hit by life so hard that the blows crack them. Now, if someone has a cracked bone, you don't administer a couple hard knocks and expect them to get any better. You'd take all the pressure off the bone, to allow it to heal. So, why do we suppose it's any different when it is the mind that cracks? If it is to heal, it must be treated gently, kindly, and with TLC. Love, I think they call it.
And, just where is a prison like that?
At this point, you are probably thinking I'm calling for the criminal mentally ill to be separated from the rest of the criminals. I suppose I am. But, only because the other prisoners can be threatening to them. If they are to heal, they need to have as much of a threatening atmosphere stripped away from them as possible.
But, our prisons are all in need of administering more love. I wonder if all of them shouldn't be houses of love. It is late, though, so perhaps I will post more on this some other time.
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