Discussion Ideas

A quote that stuck with me from the three chapters was, “We take prisons for granted but are often afraid to face the realities they produce. After all, no one wants to go to prison. Because it would be too agonizing to cope with the possibility that anyone, including our­ selves, could become a prisoner, we tend to think of the prison as disconnected from our own lives.” I think something about this quote juxtaposed with the experience of going to the detention center for an hour or two on Tuesday nights in a way that felt like it was a break from reality is very telling. Before this class, I didn’t give prisons a moment’s thought beyond a vague sense of agreement that they were necessary. But just like anything, once it became personal, I was forced to reexamine my connection to the prison system. We’re compelled to reckon with our previous state of oblivious meandering, but at the same time, I think the main takeaway from this quote should not be self-introspection. Yes, the experience of working with these kids helped me realize how uneducated I previously was, but beyond that, it revealed some major flaws in the justice system that are not okay. I think a lot of times, especially in the media, these kids are either romanticized or vilified; the headlines are always “The Group That Made Blankets For the Poor Kids in the Jail” or “We Need to Crack Down on Teen Crime.” But as a society, we need–we need–to realize that these kids don’t exist to fit into one of our little think-piece narratives. They’re human, and they’re going through some awful and traumatic experiences that nobody deserves to go through.